Eating - Crockett,CA

Yes, definitely feed him solids in the morning too. My older daughter was fascinated by solid food from a very young age, and we'd feed her little tastes of everything we ate. One time we were eating spicy Indian takeout when she was about 6 months, and she was just begging for some - so I gave her a little taste and ended up feeding her several large bites she loved it so much! It's fun to have a baby who is a little adventurous in their tastes; sounds like your baby is that way, so enjoy it and feed him what you're eating. (I know the recommendation is to feed them only one new food every 5 days, etc etc, but I kind of threw caution to the wind and fed her everything all at once. Luckily she did not have any allergies. =)

Hi C.,
as a Lactation Consultant and RN I have learned that following a child's cues (within reason) is the best way to progress.

As with all developmental levels, different children reach them at different times. At six months I would expect "solids" to be supplemental to breastfeeding just as it is for your son. However if he is ready to increase his solid food intake, that is ok. He will continue to do so over time and slowly change to supplemental nursing.

How quickly you introduce new foods will in part be how comfortable you are with it but even more where his oral development has progressed to. He may be really interested in true solids yet not yet physically ready to handle them in his mouth.

If there are no allergies on either side of the family you may be more comfortable introducing new foods rapidly. If on the other hand either family has a history of allergies I would recommend more caution.

Most parents who are well in tune with their kids do really well following strong gut feelings. You know you son better then any one else does. Good supervision as you try new things is the best caution you can take.

Ultimately our role is to offer our children a variety of healthy foods, their role is to select what and how much they will eat. At six months the variety will not be great yet (except in your diet and therefore in the milk available) however most babies do very well at self limiting when left to their own. They eat when they are hungry and stop when they are not.

I hope this helps.
K.

Gerber puffs were a favorite for my kids. Cheerios are loved by most. Bananas are messy but teach them self feeding,as well.

You should just give him morning solids as well, such as bananas or my daughter loved sucking on frozen peaches in the little mesh teethers you can buy.

At that age, we did give my son three solid meals a day. Cereal in the morning and two other solids throughout the day. I wouldbe careful with the Cheerios and things, even the dissolvable foods can be a choking hazard. We didn't start the puffs until about 2 months later, and even a little longer for cheerios. My son had teeth early on, and was eating fine, but they sometimes don't know what to do with "real Food" they just want to swallow it like baby food. We did like the teething where you could put food in the little net thing. Also, when my son was teething, I would just keep a washcloth and a glass of ice water at the table, and he would chew on the washcloth (I just dipped it in the ice water every once in awhile to make sure it was really cold)

Good Luck!

I agree with the moms on Cheerios. My first child, I didn't introduce Cheerios until my son had been eating for a few months. Second child, Cheerios were food #2. As long as your son can handle wheat, he should be fine with Cheerios. The added bonus is that he'll probably be really interested in feeding himself and work on that pincher grip, giving you a few seconds to chew your meal.

Other ideas of "self-feed" foods- microwaved cubes of sweet potatoes or butternut squash, small soft skinned beans like black or navy beans; in a month or so, peas and really cooked broccoli; at 10 mos, cheese cut into small cubes, edamame, ...

BTW, as the mom of two really aggressive eaters who happen to be in the 25% by size, kids burn a lot of energy, and some eat more than seems appropriate for their size. As long as you are feeding your son healthy food, you should feel free to feed him as much and as often as he wants to eat. If you are nervous about the milk to food ratio, my kids kind of dictated this. The ratio gradually shifted from the introduction of solids at 6mos until 10mos when solids dominated their diet. They still took a healthy amount of milk, but at that point, both kids were eating more than I do.

Hi C.,
I would go ahead and feed him solids for breakfast too. He may also enjoy snacks like Cheerios and Kix. You may try giving him some of what you are eating if it is something healthy. It sounds like he REALLY enjoys solids! My daughter loved (and still does) overcooked pasta at that age. We use wheat and veggie pastas. Also try giving him some cooked peas and carrots to munch on. I would steam baby carrots until they were pretty mushy. I also did the same with sweet potatoes. Have fun with the solids and invest in some really BIG bibs. :)
Sincerely,
L.