What Do You Introduce After Rice Cereal?

I started as basic as you can get by introducing my son to mashed bananas and then mashed avocados. He's 17 months now and is a brilliant eater. Loves all veggies and fruit and even eats up his good grains like quinoa. Good luck!

Hello S.,
I have a son who is 22mos old. The things I heard the most was to feed him one type of food for a week so that if he did have a reaction I would know what it was that he had. Also they may not like it the first time but I was told to keep trying because they may just not be in the mood for it. I think that we started with apples mixed with rice cereal. I always tried everything that he tried because I wanted to know what my son was eating. I found that the apple sauce was pretty tart sometimes depending on what brand we bought. We then moved to peas then pears and then back to a vegetable. After a while we just fed him what ever we had because he had tried pretty much every kind. I hope this was of some help. Good Luck!

S. - Avocado is a wonderful first food for babies. Here's a quote from living-foods.com, "Avocados are bursting with nutrients--vitamins, A, B-complex, C, E, H, K, and folic acid, plus the minerals magnesium, copper, iron, calcium, potassium and many other trace elements. Avocados provide all of the essential amino acids (those that must be provided by our diet), with 18 amino acids in all, plus 7 fatty acids, including Omega 3 and 6. Avocados contain more protein than cow’s milk, about 2% per edible portion. Since rapidly growing nursing infants obtain no more than 2% protein from mother’s milk, we can safely assume that children and adults do not regularly require foods richer in protein than avocado."

I wish I had known this with my first two daughters! My youngest wouldn't eat it mashed up - only spit it out - but when I diced it into finger food for her she gobbled them up! Her other favorite, and a nice balance to the avocado, was steamed diced carrots.

Stick with real, raw fruits and veggies rather than processed baby foods from the store. It's better for her, and she will continue to eat them without complaint as she gets older because it's just the norm for mealtime.

I think that it is mostly up to you - new articles I have read say that there is not much truth to the theory that introducing fruits first will make your child only like sweets (most veggies are sweet anyway)...some people say that you should go with color groups (i.e. do green veggies one at a time, then do orange veggies one at a time...) We just mixed things up with our first son - sometimes, what we had is what we gave him. Good choices might include sweet potato, squash, avocado, banana (all easy to make), beans, peas, applesauce (a little more work, but not too bad!) We, for a suggestion, made a sweet potato and froze it in an ice cube tray - pop one or two out, that's a meal...

Have you tried the other baby cereals? Such as barley and wheat? That might be a good place to start. Also, I started mixing fruits and veggies (pureed of course) into the baby cereal at that age.

You can buy the fruits, veggies, applesauce from the store, or if you like, you can just boil them until they are soft (remove any skins/seeds,ect) and then run them through a food processor or baby mill or blender. If you do a new food, adding it gradually into the cereal, increasing over about a week or so, without adding any other new foods in that time, you'll be able to see if there is any reactions and to what easier.

I've heard that giving veggies first and the sweeter fruits later avoids picky eaters, but it sure didn't work for us!! LOL! Every kid is different, and can be so independent. It still sounds like a good idea though, so you might want to try it.

Hi S.,

Our pediatrician gave us a chart with recommendations for which foods (and recommended serving sizes) to start at which ages. It suggested yellow/orange veggies first (squash, sweet potato, carrot) followed by green veggies and fruit. Also, follow the rules for only introducing one food at a time every 4 days (I think that was the number) so you can tell if baby has a reaction to a new food.

My mom suggested starting with the less sweet foods first to keep baby from developing a "sweet tooth." Don't know if that's always the case, but it worked for us.

You can also find suggestions for foods to try on homemade baby food Websites or in baby food cookbooks, even if you intend to use jarred for most of your little one's meals.

And don't be afraid to try things that aren't traditionally sold in baby food jars. My daughter loved pureed asparagus and pureed sweet potato/broccoli/cauliflower combo together.

As for allergies, if you're concerned, talk to your ped (or your allergist if you see one) about delaying introduction of certain foods like wheat, fish, nuts, etc. past the normal ranges. Waiting for some of them can reduce the likelihood of having allergic reactions.

Have fun!

We started with the "green" veggies, like peas and green beans with our second son. The reason being that maybe if our son hadn't tried anything yummier he woudn't protest so mcuh. He didn't love it at first, but soon started gobbling it down. Once he was successfully eating the green veggies, I introduced squash and sweet potatoes and then onto fruits. He loves it all now.
With our first son, we were told to start with fruits and so we did. But, when we introduced veggies, he hated them. So, in my experience veggies first seems to work. Hope this helps!

First of all, don't stress! That's one of my regrets from my first son - I was so wound up about what to give him, how much to give him, that I didn't sit back and enjoy his learning pricess. That said, my 3 yr old ate everything under the sun when he was a baby. Then he hated vegetables, then he refused cheese. He's had a couple anti-banana phases. They all pass, and if you keep offering good food choices, your child will be fine.

For my younger guy, we skipped rice cereal entirely and went straight to regular foods. Our go-to foods are avocado and sweet potato. The avocado can be scooped right from the shell with a little spoon, or it can be mashed up. Sweet potato can be baked and then cut into pieces and frozen. When I leave the house I grab a chunk of frozen sweet potato and toss it in my bag. It's thawed out by the time I need it. We also feed him broccoli tops, peas, green beans, other beans (black, pinto, kidney, etc.), basically whatever we're having for dinner. Cheese is great, so are fruits like pears, applesauce, peaches, bananas. You can try Cheerios or toast bits for something crunchy.

Good luck, and have fun!

Hi S.,

I have three children, 8, 7 and 18 months. With my first and last I went from cereal into vegetables and nothing but vegetables until they were about a year old (they baby did not like fruit until just a month or two ago and would still rather eat veggies than fruit). My oldest still eats her vegetables before any other food and the baby willingly eats all of her vegetables. Unfortunately I did not do this with my middle (she also was my only formula fed baby due to medical issues) and she is NOT a vegetable eater, it drives me crazy. She eats them because I make her but it isn't fun always having to be 'on her' about it. I definitely vote for veggies before fruit, long before fruit, especially given the fact that you fight allergies. Sugar, in any form, is not good for the body and for the most part vegetables will give the nutrition you are looking for anyway. When you do start fruit going for the lower sugar content fruits are the best bet. Finger fruits is what I usually did-- blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc. I avoided all of the fruits they use in baby food (banana, apple and grape) because it is naturally really high in sugar. Another thing to consider, especially with the veggies/fruits and your own allergy issues is being conscious of pesticides, etc. I have always fed as much organic food as possible, particularly to my babies. I am still particular now that they are older but I know I can't control *everything* that goes in their mouths.

Good luck!

We started with peas! And the only reason is....because I absolutely HATE peas. And so did my mom. So I figured if my daughter started off with peas maybe she would like them. She's almost two now and absolutely loves peas! :)

S.-

When we introduced "solid" food to our kids, we just did a variety of Gerber's "first foods". I think we started with pears, did that for a few days, then introduced others one at a time. We just experimented to see what they liked and didn't. We also asked ourselves "is this something I'd eat?" (not in that form, but you get the idea.)

Good Luck!
-B. M.-

We did both fruits and veggies. Carrots are low allergen, peas,apple. Introduce them one at a time and watch for a reaction before you move to the next.
If you prepare the food yourself you will know what's in it, as well...and can be acreful not to cause any cross-contamination.
Also, talk to your pediatrician for suggestions... espcially with regards to your own allergies.

Hi S.,
I'd like to second what Jennifer S recommended. We steamed fresh organic veggies and used a food mill. We even brought it to Mexico on vacation so we could avoid jarred baby food. It doesn't really take much extra time and you can prepare quite a bit to use later. Our food mill cam with little cubes in which to freeze the food we made although fresh is always better. Our daughter had some gagging issues and often preferred the texture of the store-bought baby food (always organic of course!) on the occasions we bought it. The first food we gave our daughter after the rice cereal was avocado on advice of our midwife. Our daughter didn't like the avocado (and still doesn't-she'll be two at the end of July). :( Our pediatrician gave us as list of food to introduce at various stages of a child's development up to age 2 to best prevent food allergies and to avoid giving your child food he/she is not ready to digest. I consulted that piece of paper everyday for a year plus! The list came from Bastyr University and I have tried to find it online with no luck. Perhaps your pediatrician might be able to get hold of it? Good luck!!!!

S.,

From what our pediatrician told us, start with veggies. The fruits are liked so well and easily that many children will refuse veggies if they are not introduced first. We went with green veggies first. Yellow next. Then after all these we went to fruits. Now, our boys eat most anything that they are asked to eat.

God Bless and Good Luck,
T.

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We started with peas, it is good to start with the veggies one at a time carrots and sweet potatoes later because they are sweeter. If you doing the gerber or gerber like "baby" food don't do the green beans...they were so discusting that my DD still doesn't like green beans. We then went to oatmeal and after a couple of days we would start to mix in some of the fruits. Avacodos are great, so are over steamed potatoes mashed with a fork.

Did I understand you to say that you give your daughter cereal out of a sippy cup. I am a M. and grand ma stop the cereal in a sippy cup!. Sust start the vegetables as a lunch one at a time for at least 5 days in a row before introducing another vegetable until you have gone through all of them. My girls did not like spinach. strong vegetables broccole, brussel sprouts and cauliflower need to be kept last and they might not like them my kids did the tirst try.
Good luckPaula

Go check out from the library or buy the book: Super Baby Foods by Ruth Yaron. This has been our baby food bible! My daughter was also exclusively breastfed for the first six. We don't have a family history of allergies, but did want to make sure she learned how to eat what was available and nutritious. It's a great resource!! I'd also recommend talking with your ped. about what foods are likely to be allergens for your daughter given your personal allergies. My understanding (which might be wrong) is that any family history of allergies creates a predisposition in kids to have allergies, but not necessarily the same one as the parents. If a mom has a peanut allergy, then her kids are more likely to have a nut allergy, but not necessarily peanut. Here's a couple of our "first foods" that went really well. My daughter is nearly 2 and will eat anything we offer her. We've made almost everything she ate until she was one and still continue to make her foods so we know exactly what's in them.

winter squash (such as pumpkin, also good for her bowels)
sweet potato/yams
avacado
asparagus
beets
carrots (can't be fresh until she's a little older)
potato
peas
applesauce (don't bother to make it, just buy the jar!)
pear
banana
mango

S.,

Neither of my children would touch rice cereal with a 10-foot pole. They hated it, my (now) 5 year old more than my (now) 2 year old.

I started them on the Gerber 1st foods as soon as I could. I think it was peas and carrots for both kids. Once they ate those like a champ I think I started with applesauce or peaches. Remember that it takes at least 10 introductions of a "new" food before a little one will decide if they like it or not. My son reacted to sweet potatoes so we cut that out for a few months, re-introduced it a couple months later and all was good. My daughter reacted to almost all the fruits, but does them just fine now with the "real" fruit not the puree.

Every child is different and will like different things. Just keep an eye on your daughter for reactions, and introduce new foods slowly so it's easier to catch a reaction. My daughter's reaction would show up as a rash at her temples while eating a food. It would go away within minutes of stopping the feeding. I don't remember how we figured out my son's reaction to sweet potatoes.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

Dear S.,
A good first food for them to start on is steamed and mashed broccoli, carrots, or green beans. I believe bananas and yogurt are healthy sweet extras you can give them that are really good for them. They can also have whole grain bread that you can pick apart into mushable pieces. If you give them white bread it will be all they ask for.

Mashed (ripe) avocado. It takes virtually no prep (just peel and mash) and is probably great for a little one potentially prone to allergies.

My little one loved pears and sweet potatoes. These you'd have to cook and mash (or blend or foodmill), but they're still really easy.

Good luck!

We started with Sweet potato - and he loved it! and who can blame him after eating food with pretty much no flavor for 6 months! We just went back and forth introducing a veggie and then a fruit at 4 day intervals and he is a GREAT eater now at 15 months. If you are really worried about allergies I would encourage making your own baby food so that you know exactly what is in it - it is actually super easy and so much tastier! Check out the following website for info as well as a great chart that has different foods for different ages (whether you are going to make your own or buy it). There is also info there on different allergies. Good Luck!

www.wholesomebabyfood.com