Solids

jennp1979 · December 2014

ok so I know there has been some talk on solids but FTM here and I have some questions...
So LO will be 5 months on Sunday...
We started him on solids about a week and a half ago.

So I'm not really clear on how this works and read different things in different places.
Again I know every baby is different but would like to hear what everyone is doing

So our LO has 5 bottles per day of 6 oz of formula.
At the dinner feeding j will wait kne hour after feeding and give him a Gerber babg food (1/2a pack of the stage 1).

According to paper from doctor were suppose to start him on orange and yellow veggies first, green veggies after that and fruit after that. It also said to wait 3 days to check for allergies before introducing the next. So far we have done sweet potatoes and squash and now we're on carrots.

So we do one solid per day 1/2 a stage 1 container. I'm going to work eventually up to twice a day.

So what baffles me is at this rate ...waiting 3 days to try something else due to allergy check...by the time I get through all these...he will be at stage 2 and we will need to start all over again with allergy check.

I'm not substituting solids for formula per paper from doctor

So those of you that have started or STM+. ....what have u done?

mdaniels4813 · December 2014

We only wait about 2 days to make sure he doesn't have a reaction, but we're also not concerned with which order we give the food in. Our doctor said the main thing to stray from was honey, but other than that it didn't really matter what we introduced and how we introduced it, so long as it was pureed and appropriate, of course.

You've got to keep in mind that you don't have to stop giving them stage 1 just because now they're a sitter vs. a supported sitter, and a lot of foods you'll give to baby at stage 2 will include things you've already introduced. Eventually you won't have to wait the couple days to watch for a reaction, just think of a time when you're at a pot luck or something, you can try as many new things as you want, it's easier to test for allergies when you're older.

We introduced solids 5 weeks ago, haven't fed him them every day and haven't always introduced a new food exactly on the day we could, but we already have I think 7 foods he's okay to eat. There isn't a big variety of stage 1 foods, either, so that's another thing to keep in mind.

Sorry about the long winded response, I tried to break it up some so it might be easier to read.

Nichole8787 · December 2014

My dr said you can give him any food in any order. He also said it was just for fun under age one. We are waiting until 6 months and going with baby led weaning. Which simplified means he eats when he can put it in his own mouth.

nolemomma14 · December 2014

We started solids a few weeks ago, after his pedi gave us the okay at his 4 month check up. She said the order didn't really matter and we go with the same food for about 2 days and then move on. We started with sweet potatoes and squash and now he's tried apples, bananas and prunes as well. I make his food, except for the prunes, but like PP said you don't have to stop with the supported sitter ones as soon as he is sitting on his own.

We will eventually move to baby led weaning. We have let him hold an apple slice and gnaw on it and will slowly let him try more things that way.

Jordanjkmr · December 2014

I know I stressed/really thought out what to feed my first one. But after realizing everyone does it a bit different depending on what they've read and what their doctor said, I just gave my second whatever we were having at snack/meal time that I thought might work for him. That made life easier.

And like PP said food is more for fun/experience at this point. Enjoy letting your little one try new stuff!

darkangel42 · December 2014

I've been letting her lick (some) fresh fruits and veggies from about 4 and a half months then let her have a spoonful of home-made apple sauce now and again and now she has one "food" meal a day, whenever I have time and usually about 4 'cubes' (I freeze it in ice cube trays the defrost before use). So far, she's only had simple home-made food starting with the apple sauce then avocado then squash then sweet potato then fresh, organic egg. She's got sweet potato, squash and turkey in the freezer for later and my next attempts are going to be banana something, mashed potato and some kind of green veggies.

For now, I'm avoiding things with seeds I can't easily get out (like strawberries), citrus fruits, dairy, honey and certain things that retain a lot of pesticides unless I can find organic.

For Christmas (she'll be 6 months), I've got her a little mesh feeder bag so she can have some chunkier things to gnaw and see how she gets on.

jennp1979 · December 2014

Ok so those feeding once per day...are you doing the entire stage 1 container or half?

Hilee18 · December 2014

We arent' starting until 6 months we plan on doing 4 days in a row since LO has a milk protein allergy. As the time comes closer we'll research what's least likely to be an allergen, not going through another hospitalization

darkangel42 · December 2014

jennp1979 said:

Ok so those feeding once per day...are you doing the entire stage 1 container or half?

How big are they? I'm using home made so working off ice cube tray cubes. She started off on a teaspoon full to try it then 2 cubes as a meal then 3 when she was finishing 2 every time and now 4. At a guess, 4 is about 1/3-1/2 a cup each time.

nolemomma14 · December 2014

When he gets the prunes which I just buy he eats the whole container. I also use ice cube trays to freeze what I make for him. In the morning he gets one cube of fruit, my guess is that would be about half of a container. At night he gets 1 fruit and 1 veggie cube.

nolemomma14 · December 2014

@mamalacy21‌ I got the Baby Brezza food processor at my baby shower so I've been using that, and I love it. I just chop up the food, add it to the bowl and it steams and blends all in one container. When it's done I just pour it in the ice cube trays and put it in the freezer.

ghostof5letters · December 2014

mamalacy21 said:

Those of you who are making baby food or are BLW, do you use the baby food maker or just boil and mash?

Baby food makers are a super cute marketing scam.

Today, I cooked carrots in my crock pot (because I had other stuff to do) and then used my amazing immersion blender. BAM. Baby food.

darkangel42 · December 2014

mamalacy21 said:

Those of you who are making baby food or are BLW, do you use the baby food maker or just boil and mash?

I have a food puree-er with an attachment for chunkier mixing. Boil/roast/steam stuff then get it with that and scoop into freezable containers. I did not know baby food makers were a thing until just now!

mrscutforth · December 2014

I'm making DD food. I let her try some avocado a few nights ago and she loved it. I tried again with some banana the next few night and last night she had some sweet potato that I made. Since she's BF I have only replaced one meal of hers and topped her off, so to speak, with a nursing session. Today I gave her some left over banana from breakfast and she will get some sweet potato tonight.

I started making and feeding DS (2yo) about this same time (4.5mo) and it worked out well. I'm just going with what I did with DS for DD.

And thanks for reminding me. I have some yellow squash to attend to.

alohababy14 · December 2014

mamalacy21 said:
Those of you who are making baby food or are BLW, do you use the baby food maker or just boil and mash?

I just steam veggies and then purée them with some breastmilk in my ninja blender.

PregsMcSnoozalot · December 2014

We will do baby led weaning, but not until LO can truly sit up unassisted. Then it's whatever we're eating, however much he can get in his mouth

darkangel42 · December 2014

The plan is to introduce her to things one by one for now, get an idea what she likes and then transition on to feeding her what we eat. DD1 eats what everyone else eats (she's mostly vegetarian by choice but she eats what we eat minus the meat) and DD1 will hopefully be similar.

Jbosarge85 · December 2014

darkangel42 said:
I've been letting her lick (some) fresh fruits and veggies from about 4 and a half months then let her have a spoonful of home-made apple sauce now and again and now she has one "food" meal a day, whenever I have time and usually about 4 'cubes' (I freeze it in ice cube trays the defrost before use). So far, she's only had simple home-made food starting with the apple sauce then avocado then squash then sweet potato then fresh, organic egg. She's got sweet potato, squash and turkey in the freezer for later and my next attempts are going to be banana something, mashed potato and some kind of green veggies.

For now, I'm avoiding things with seeds I can't easily get out (like strawberries), citrus fruits, dairy, honey and certain things that retain a lot of pesticides unless I can find organic.

For Christmas (she'll be 6 months), I've got her a little mesh feeder bag so she can have some chunkier things to gnaw and see how she gets on.

Don't give any honey before a year. They can get botulism

Soon2BMrsN · December 2014

Jbosarge85 said:

darkangel42 said:
I've been letting her lick (some) fresh fruits and veggies from about 4 and a half months then let her have a spoonful of home-made apple sauce now and again and now she has one "food" meal a day, whenever I have time and usually about 4 'cubes' (I freeze it in ice cube trays the defrost before use). So far, she's only had simple home-made food starting with the apple sauce then avocado then squash then sweet potato then fresh, organic egg. She's got sweet potato, squash and turkey in the freezer for later and my next attempts are going to be banana something, mashed potato and some kind of green veggies.

For now, I'm avoiding things with seeds I can't easily get out (like strawberries), citrus fruits, dairy, honey and certain things that retain a lot of pesticides unless I can find organic.

For Christmas (she'll be 6 months), I've got her a little mesh feeder bag so she can have some chunkier things to gnaw and see how she gets on.

Don't give any honey before a year. They can get botulism

I think honey was included in her list of things she's avoiding.

abundancenow · December 2014

mamalacy21 said:

Those of you who are making baby food or are BLW, do you use the baby food maker or just boil and mash?

So far, I've done green beans and sweet potatoes and just cooked them plain and put them in the blender with water and pureed them. I also just smashed a banana in a sandwich baggie and cut a tiny opening in the corner of the bag and squeezed it out. I mixed the fruits and veggies with cereal.

darkangel42 · December 2014

Soon2BMrsN said:

I've been letting her lick (some) fresh fruits and veggies from about 4 and a half months then let her have a spoonful of home-made apple sauce now and again and now she has one "food" meal a day, whenever I have time and usually about 4 'cubes' (I freeze it in ice cube trays the defrost before use). So far, she's only had simple home-made food starting with the apple sauce then avocado then squash then sweet potato then fresh, organic egg. She's got sweet potato, squash and turkey in the freezer for later and my next attempts are going to be banana something, mashed potato and some kind of green veggies.

For now, I'm avoiding things with seeds I can't easily get out (like strawberries), citrus fruits, dairy, honey and certain things that retain a lot of pesticides unless I can find organic.

For Christmas (she'll be 6 months), I've got her a little mesh feeder bag so she can have some chunkier things to gnaw and see how she gets on.

Don't give any honey before a year. They can get botulism
I think honey was included in her list of things she's avoiding.

It is indeed. Honey and dairy are waiting until a year, possible exception on dairy for yogurt but not any time soon.

kjskjs · December 2014

We started at 4 months and we just follow the charts on the Wholesome Baby Food Website. We do 4 days between new foods in the beginning but we don't retest the allergy with bigger sizes so I'm not sure if you're supposed to. Our pedi hadn't mentioned anything like that with DD or DS.

darkangel42 · December 2014

If she's lucky, my Mom might cook her some Christmas dinner separately (without salt etc) so she can join in with everyone else.

JLHV1909 · December 2014

This weekend, we tried rice cereal and ds turned his head and straight up refused.

Last night, I made some pureed sweet potatoes and DS loved them! He grabbed the spoon and kept trying to get more!

alohababy14 · December 2014

JLHV1909 said:
This weekend, we tried rice cereal and ds turned his head and straight up refused.

Last night, I made some pureed sweet potatoes and DS loved them! He grabbed the spoon and kept trying to get more!

This is exactly how it went for us too! Rice cereal was a no go but he couldn't get enough of the sweet potatoes.

melissaquinn106 · December 2014

Well I was anxious to get started so at 4 months I began with rice cereal and everything was fine. Then we have 3 days of sweet potatoes and aside from some excessive poo it was fine. Then I tried banana for 3 days and on the third day she was constipated, pushing real hard to get it out and finally passed a legit turd with a little blood. So I stopped banana and while the poos are still a little solid, there is no blood but she's been fussy for 2 days and she is never fussy. She's 5 months so I've basically decided to abandon all solid food for now and try again at 6 months. We'll see how it goes, but I'm a little disappointed because she was really enjoying the process of actually eating the food. Either way I'm sure she'll enjoy it again in a month. I don't want to hurt her poor belly and make her uncomfortable.

nolemomma14 · December 2014

@melissaquinn106‌ we had the same issue with DS. So we stopped for a few days, to let his poop get normal again and then started back up. Now, I try and give him prunes every couple of days and he hasn't been constipated. We also don't give banana 3 days straight, since we know there's no allergy problem and it's also helped with the constipation.

melissaquinn106 · December 2014

I did try one serving of pears, but my mother (who watches DD) suggested instead of trying to soften with other foods just BF only until things look normal again. Good to know another who has survived the same issue.

honeybee434 · December 2014

I suddenly feel so behind! I was planning on trying some with DD last week but we've had some things come up that have made our schedules crazy until after Christmas, so looks like we are waiting until 6 months. It's just too much for me to even think about starting anything now.

Question: am I supposed to feed her solids first and then BF after that for that feeding?

ariel8200 · December 2014

Some advice I was given by a registered dietician: always breastfeed first before solids. Solids for the first year for babies is to play and learn, milk is for the calories/nutrition.

As far as bananas and constipation, unripened bananas can cause constipation and the more ripened bananas actually help with bowel movements.

[Deleted User] · December 2014

honeybee434 said:

I suddenly feel so behind! I was planning on trying some with DD last week but we've had some things come up that have made our schedules crazy until after Christmas, so looks like we are waiting until 6 months. It's just too much for me to even think about starting anything now. Question: am I supposed to feed her solids first and then BF after that for that feeding?

You should BF first, then do the solids 30-60 minutes later.

jennp1979 · December 2014

Ok two more questions...

How do you eventually drop feedings to get them to 3 solid food feedings a day?

How many oz do you give them a day with the solids? The same as before right since it's their main source of nutrients

queenieM · December 2014

Thanks for the helpful tips! Will be starting DS on rice in a few days and will see how that goes.

PregsMcSnoozalot · December 2014

JLHV1909 said:

This weekend, we tried rice cereal and ds turned his head and straight up refused.

Last night, I made some pureed sweet potatoes and DS loved them! He grabbed the spoon and kept trying to get more!

Our LO did this with the spoon too! He fed himself with the spoon the first time we gave him solids (mashed ripe banana stirred with breastmilk). I was pretty sure that meant we had a boy genius on our hands

ETA: this happened Monday (the day before yesterday)

Soon2BMrsN · December 2014

jennp1979 said:
Ok two more questions...

How do you eventually drop feedings to get them to 3 solid food feedings a day?

How many oz do you give them a day with the solids? The same as before right since it's their main source of nutrients

I never tried to purposely drop feedings. I nurse on demand so I let my LOs initiate anyway. Even if you're doing formula, I'd think that you should consistently offer the same number of ounces/bottles until it's clear that he/she is ready to drop feedings. Though I guess that may cause some formula wastage for awhile.

[Deleted User] · December 2014

babybell22 said:

Has anyone done barley cereal instead of rice? I've heard that barley is easier to digest then rice. LO was sensitive to tomatoes when she was first born and still has a cow's milk intolerance. So I thought maybe barley cereal would be safer since she has had other food issues. Any thoughts?

I didn't do barley but I did skip rice in favor of oatmeal with DS1.

ariel8200 · December 2014

LeaLupins said:

babybell22 said:

Has anyone done barley cereal instead of rice? I've heard that barley is easier to digest then rice. LO was sensitive to tomatoes when she was first born and still has a cow's milk intolerance. So I thought maybe barley cereal would be safer since she has had other food issues. Any thoughts?

I didn't do barley but I did skip rice in favor of oatmeal with DS1.

I did the same

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