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Starting solids and low supply

snookums2013snookums2013 member
edited January 2014 in Babies: 3 - 6 Months
I gave my 5 month old daughter her first rice cereal yesterday and it went well.  I made it very liquidy with an ounce of breast milk and a tablespoon of cereal.  How long do I need to stick with the rice cereal before trying other foods?  My concern is that I'm already not producing enough milk for what she needs at daycare.  I was giving her 4 x 3oz bottles a day and was barely able to pump enough for that and now I have to give her 4 oz in two of them.  Do I need to use an entire oz of milk with the cereal?  Do I need to do it twice a day?  Does the rice cereal have any nutritional value or is it just a starter?  How much should I be giving her at each feeding?  Does the amount change when you start on fruits and veggies?  I'm trying to hold out on adding formula as long as possible.  I know it's not the devil, but I've tried to hard to make EBFing work that it would be a huge let down to have to introduce formula again.  Thanks!
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Re: Starting solids and low supply

  • Carnation77Carnation77 member
    I think the recommendation is to start with 1-2 tablespoons of food a day, and to use it in ADDITION to BM/F, not as any sort of replacement.  If she's actually eating all the rice cereal you make with the BM then that BM should still count toward her daily intake so it shouldn't increase your need to pump.  If she's spitting it out and wasting it then maybe you'll need just a tiny bit more milk per day.  At this point it's all about getting her used to eating, not really for nutritional benefit.
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  • slh6363slh6363 member
    Google wholesomebabyfood. It has some good info.
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  • carrotcake06carrotcake06 member
    edited January 2014
    I'd move on to other food, like squash or sweet potatoes, that don't require you to add liquid. I hate "wasting" pumped milk to make cereal. I did it exactly twice and then moved on.

    Edit: food before one is just for fun, so it doesn't count for anything except practice for a while. Somewhere around 10-11 months food intake will increase, but certainly not now.
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  • trudibelltrudibell member
    You can introduce lots of foods alongside the rice cereal.  Babies do well with things that are easy on the digestive system like bananas, sweet potato (baked of course), avocado, butternut squash.  These are all dense sources of nutrients and introduce your LO to a variety of different flavors.  We usually puree a few of these things, store them by tablespoonfuls in an ice cube tray and let LO play around with them on the tray that attaches to his high chair.  I have never used formula (I was unable to BF) in the purees I make for my son.

    There's a saying "before one it's just for fun" when it comes to solids.  I usually give LO a tablespoon of whatever at a time.  Sometimes he eats it, sometimes he plays with it, today he put it in his hair, and sometimes he screams at it.  

    Also, I applaud you making it 5 months EBF, I tried really hard and only made it five days, and then I had to supplement until he was about 3 months and now he's EFF.  It is a huge disappointment when your body doesn't keep up with your baby's demand, but unfortunately solid foods aren't supposed to make up a major contingent of your baby's needs until they are over a year.
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  • RedDDDRedDDD member
    I skipped rice cereal altogether. No nutritional value and it made my son constipated. I went right to regular foods like bananas, green beans, carrots etc. Plus it tastes terrible :) I'll be doing the same with my daughter.
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  • Mom38673Mom38673 member
    RedDDD said:
    I skipped rice cereal altogether. No nutritional value and it made my son constipated. I went right to regular foods like bananas, green beans, carrots etc. Plus it tastes terrible :) I'll be doing the same with my daughter.
    This...   LO loves the regular items so much better.  
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  • vintageutopiavintageutopia member

    Even though I was dragging my feet, DD was showing all of the signs of being ready. So, we started her on avacado yesterday. She was so excited.

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