How You Started Your Baby on Solids?

i didn't have time to read all the responses but Baby Super Foods was a book that helped me. good luck!

I started with cereal but my babies did not really like it so I tried pears, and bananas and sweet potato, watered down with breast milk and then worked up to thicker as they learned to eat better, I liked the book, Super Baby Food by Ruth "somebody" I would not expect a big eater at first- it takes time to learn to eat solids and breast milk or bottles will still be the primary food until 9-12 months
good luck

I did baby cereal first (which he took to great) then moved on to mashed up veggies. Do veggies before fruits (they say it's not good to introduce lots of sugar then give them bland tastes). I mixed cereal with mashed bananas & other easy mash fruits.

It's super easy to steam squash, green beans, etc & blend them up in a food processor. I did it when I could - otherwise he loved Gerber Organic.

Good luck!

Hi M.,
We started our grandson with cereal in the bottle mixed w/formula. For about a week or so. Once he got more used to it we tried feeding him runny instant oatmeal (which he LOVES)...then ONE new food item a week. He tried something like sweet potatoes,several times in a week period(could also be added to the oatmeal)...before we tried him on something else new. This was done to make sure he didn't have any allergies to the food.
Good Luck.....I'm sure she will let you know what she likes & doesn't...remember though that they are just getting used to alot of new textures, so IF she doesn't like something now try it again in a few weeks. Sometimes once they get more use to different textures they will like something they didn't, even a couple days before. Also ALL my kids LOVED FROZEN BANANA's...especially when teething...Peel,slice & freeze (in a ziploc bag)then give as a treat...Or try bananas smashed with a fork,no need to add anything, lots a natural sugar etc......this was the first thing we tried after the oatmeal.

I did pretty much what your pediatrician recommends with my children, except that I started the meats last. Start only one food at a time and give it several days (even a week) to make sure there are no adverse reactions to that food (allergies, constipation, diarrhea, etc.). If you have only introduced one new food, then you will know the reaction is due to that particular food. If all goes well for several days, then you can try another food. I had mine on only cereal and fruit (in addition to milk) for at least a month before I started any other food.

We started the kids on cereals, and veggies first. We did the veggies first and not the fruit simply because breast milk is already sweet, and veggies and cereals are more savory or bland. I did not want my kids getting hooked on the sweet flavors and rejecting the veggies and grains.

Be sure you avoid potatoes/startches until baby is a bit older. Babies cannot digest them from what I am told. I did not know this when my kids were babies. Ask your pediatrician. I would also avoid straight dairy, honey, and peanuts. Dairy and honey are not recommended for children under 1 I believe it is. Peanuts/Peanut butter can be high on the allergy risk list, so I recommend delaying that test till baby is older.

When we started solids I did not buy anything but the baby cereals. Everything else I made myself. I would mix the cereal, veggie, or fruit with my pumped breast milk in a food processor. I started feeding my baby in the morning when they woke up to nurse first thing. Then after a bit of eating, I would nurse them a bit. I can't remember the schedule we used aside from that, it has been too long, lol.

I wish you all the luck!

Hi M.-

I just started my sone on solids about one month ago. I started him with organic rice cereal which constipated the heck out of him. I then switched to oatmeal cereal mixed with breast milk and made it very runny. I also started him on a sippy cup with water at this time. I them moved to yams a week later, then butter nut squash the following....he was pooping but still seemed to be uncomfortable with it. I decided that next I would give him plums and that did the trick. He was good to go and this week we are on pears. He seems to like the yams and buternut squash the best. I am making his food for him. It is time consuming at first but you get 24 servings out of each recipe so it lasts a long time. I decided that evey week I would make a differant food. I have peas, acorn squash and yellow crock neck squash ready for the up coming weeks. It is way cheaper than buying baby food too which is a huge plus. Even if you don't want to make your own food there is a great guide in the recipe book. Follow this link to see it. http://www.diapers.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product...
Good luck

Gerber has a fantastic website with wonderful resources on how to start your baby on solids. It also provides some sample menus. Reading and exploring there will help you feel informed and allow you to make good choices for your child.

we did cereal, then vegies, then fruit (I believe, its been a while as my little one os almost 7!)...otherwise, you might have a little one unwilling to try the vegies becasue they are not sweet like the fruit

Hi M.,

I was a bit overwhelmed at first. The one thing to remember is that the two foods that pretty much everyone recommended to start first, rice cereal and bananas, also can cause constipation :( I would try to introduce some type of high fiber food (spinach, prunes) as soon as you can along with extra water/fluids. As long as you start new foods slowly (one tablespoon of new food every 3-4 days) to make sure there are no allergies, your baby will probably love solids. Even stuff he/she doesn't like at first, they may in a couple of weeks. I buy all sorts of frozen organic veggies and fruits and then boil/steam and then puree (if needed, some things like squash are soft enough after steaming) - tastes so much better than jarred baby food, even though my baby loves the jarred stuff too. I also buy big jars of cinammon apple sauce and mix that w/ dry cereal and milk/water. Keep portions at 1-2 TBSPNS and work up slowly. Remember there's no rush! Most books and websites have good info. on portions for liquids and solids and how to increase etc... that was the hardest part for me. Keep a chart and a journal for reference. Have fun!
-B.

I went for the green veggies almost right away. i think it was applesauce and cereal (she had already had apple juice), then sweet potatoes, then green beans. I don't remember what came after that, but I know I pureed my own broccoli pretty early and she loved it (I ate a lot of broccoli during my pregnancy too). I figure it's pretty much a guarantee that she'd like the sweet fruits, i wanted her to learn some other flavors early. Oh, and I've read some doctors are now reccomending starting with the meats even!

Have you tried one of those food nets for the frozen grapes? The first time I thought I was going to hold on to a strawberry while my daughter sucked on it she sucked it out of my fingers! So into one of the nets it went, she could eventually hold it herself and I knew she wasn't going to get anything big enough to choke on... though it DOES make a big mess.

I started my daughter on barley cereal in her 5th month then moved onto other pureed veggies and fruits. Check out www. wholesomebabyfood.com for recommended foods at various age stages.

As for grapes, I have been told by several folks not to give them to kids until they can SPELL them. Major choking hazard, esp if your daughter does not have the proper teeth to break down the grapes before swallowing.

Also, we went to a baby first foods (basic and advanced) class at Kaiser Permanente which was super helpful. The hospital also has available a pediatric nutritionist who can offer menus and fun recipes when your daughter is older.

Good luck and have fun! It's an amazing time of discovery for you and your daughter.

Hi M.. We ignored the cereal first thing and started out with sweet potato. Our son LOVED it. He was just over 6 months. I think we moved on to avocado and banana. When we introduced "cereal", I think we ground up oatmeal and then cooked it. The boxed cereals just seemed nasty. Good luck and I hope your little girl is delighted with her new menu, whatever you choose.

L.

As most of the other moms have responded, mine was similar. I started my dd on rice cereal first at about 5 months then introduced oatmeal. At about 6 months, I introduced peas (gerber)then slowly one new item evry 3-4 days including squash, bananas, applesauce etc. I used Gerber for about 2 months before starting to make my own baby food at home especially bananas, apples, squash, carrots and peas.

The important thing is to introduce only one item on a given day and to offer it during the day so you have the whole day to observe for any allergies or anything.

Good luck :)

I did it differently with both my kids, and it wasn't that long apart. With my daughter I did the more traditional brown rice cereal, then veggies, one a week and then fruits, by a year she was eating just about everything. I should say we do not have any real allergy concerns...
It worked fine. With my younger one who just turned a year, I heard some more information on cereal, and the lack of benefits that it has nutritionally. Apparently it is a leftover from the days of less nutritious homemade formula. Anyway because of this and having a kid who already eats lots of fruits and veggies. I waited a little longer, until she was almost 7 months or later. I gave her sweet potatoe and other mashable finger food, and she has been self feeding since she started and she too eats about everything now. Both ways worked just fine, but if you eat semi healthy or want to start, having to prepare non-baby-food style veggies and fruits daily helps keep you in line. Just don't stress, it always stresses me, but once you get going whichever you choose works!
Sorry, I think I should also add that there have been studies that show that mixing any food items in a bottle is a direct link to later childhood obesity! (i.e. cereal in milk in bottle)

I would recommend rice cereal, then oatmeal. Then once the baby has mastered eating, add vegetables first, then fruits. What I have noticed is that if you start with fruits, the babies tend not to want vegetables because they are not as sweet. Start will the green veggies, then orange and yellow, then fruits. Try one kind at a time for 3 days to check for allergies, then move on to the next one.

We started our little girl at six months on a one grain cereal: rice, followed by oatmeal then barley. Generally we spent a week on each cereal before introducing another. Then we did veggies, one for about 3 or 4 days with cereal. After that came chicken (I don't eat beef, pork or lamb so didn't give her those). Our pediatrician gave me some good advice, he said Have her eat what you eat (minus the seasoning and added fat). Currently she is almost ten months old and eats fish, chicken all veggies and has been introduced to one fruit only-bananas. Mostly because I've observed that when children start on fruit (sweet) they aren't interested in eating alot of other things. Fruits were last for me.
Hope that helps.

L.

I offer rice cereal, but most times its a bust, for the most part I mash up a banana and give it to him, then offer some orange veggies the next day. I wait a few days before introducing new things, but 3 would be a stretch for me.

Good Luck!

I am currently starting my 4.5 month old on solids and am planning to follow the same course I used with my two big boys. Rice cereal, then oat or barley cereal, veggies, fruits, meats. I was told that you should start with veggies first because if you start them with sweeter foods (fruits) they will reject those that are not as sweet. So far we have done cereal and green beans and all is going well. Good luck!