Introducing Solid Food to a 4 Month Old

I started my daughter on food around the same time. I actually did start with fruit for breakfast. I would just mix it with cereal. Then after a couple of weeks with different fruits I added in a veggie around her dinner time bottle. I started with carrots. (I don't think it matters) Then eventually added a lunch (fruit or veggie). Next we moved on to the meat. She didn't like plain jarred meat, but they have a chicken with rice jar and others that she liked. Just start trying different things. I didn't know what to do either, but she's almost 11 months now and doing great! Good luck!

I am a first time mother to a 4 month old as well... I was wondering if you could forward me any help you get. I am getting ready to introduce food to my son also. My email address is ____@____.com. I would really appreciate you passing on the info to me. Good luck and thank you in advance

M.

These guidelines are easy to follow:
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&...

Besides following the "wait 4 days to introduce a new food" rule, there really is no right or wrong way to do it. Just try to provide a variety of choices (different colors typically indicate different nutrients http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T041900.asp) through the first couple of years because once they hit a certain age (around 2 for my kids) they may become resistant to trying new foods!

I started my oldest on some cereal at 4 months b/c I was eager to feed him solids. He really just played with it more than anything.
I waited until my second son was closer to 6 months b/c that is was his doctor suggested. When I researched it for myself I found that it really is better to wait until a baby is 6 months before you introduce solids.
I suggest you look into it more so you make the healthiest choice for your baby.

This is just what I did and everyones different but I started with green beans.Just about a teaspoon with the oatmeal or cereal.I used water instead of formula because I thought it might dilute the taste with formula.Always start with the mornings when introducing anything new because if they get a tummy ache they won't keep you up all night with it.As for juice I only did about one ounce juice with one ounce water to start but I think I waited till around six months for that,and it was only once a day for a while:)Every mom knows their baby better than anyone and it is ultimately up to you how and when to introduce anything.I believe meats are the hardest to introduce because they are so yucky.Their really thick and plain and alot of children really don't like them.another reason to introduce in the mornings only is because if there is an allergic reaction to something.Sometimes children are allergic to certain things and can grow out of it.My daughter is allergic to whey and her cousin was lactose intolerent but he grew out of it by 18 months.I hope this helps:)

Yeah, I agree that each child is different. My little one HATED rice but loved oatmeal. I gave her about a tablespoon or two to start with mixed with water. She always liked it thick but again, each child is different, yours may like it real runny. I know she had her first vegetable right at 5 months. I started with green beans and then worked up to the other veggies, then fruit (around 6 or so months), then meats (around 8-9 months). They say you should try each new food item for 4-5 days for them to get used to it and to check for an allergic reaction. You could do a few tablespoons of oatmeal for breakfast with a bottle of maybe an ounce or two shy of normal (then when he/she is done, see if they want more), for lunch do 1/2 a jar (or more or less depending on how well he/she does with it) of veggies (maybe mix with a bit of oatmeal, they tend to be pretty runny) and same thing with the bottle as before and then your normal bottle schedule the rest of the day. You could also offer a little oatmeal right before bed but it's up to you. You'll get the hang of it and they will quickly let you know if they're still hungry. Don't get too frustrated at first as it is a hard transition! You'll do great! Emme (my daughter) was eating table food and Gerber Graduates by 10 months...so really...each child is different! Good luck!

Babies normally like to try fruits first. Hey, c'mon. They taste good!

I would try the very simple, unflavored types first. Those jars of food usually have a "1" on the label for first foods to introduce to a baby.

I would try one flavor for 3-4 days, see if your child likes it. Another reason to wait 3-4 days before introducing another food is so as not to confuse their litte taste buds and to make sure that the child is not allergic to the food your'e introducing them too.

I would just keep the formula the same and then take cues from your baby from there on out.

Good luck.

Hi S.,
You want to keep a baby on one new food group for several days in a row before introducing anything else to see if they have an allergic reaction to it. If you are giving them several different foods all within a short time frame and they have a reaction, you won't know which food they are reacting to. I started my daughter on carrots first, then moved on to peas. (So orange first, then green.) I don't remember hearing anything about the colors though when I went through it.... I would recommend "What to Expect the First Year" for simple guidelines and suggestions. I found myself constantly turning to this book for food suggestions, as well as anytime my baby had a fever, threw up, etc. It was a wealth of information right at my fingertips, which was amazingly helpful for my first baby. Good luck!

when i introduced my son,who is 3 right now,to solid foods at 4 months, he did not like the cereal, fruit or vegetables, but he ate the carrots gerber jar once in a while but my mother in law made rice porridge for him. the porridge is made from Jasmine rice you could buy from the asian store.he loved it, of course we are asian, so he chose that over all other food jars in the grocery store. there are so many choices you have and Gerber have differrent kinds and stages you could choose from. it says on the jar what stage for what month. you could make the baby food yourself at home, if you have time. its probably better than the one you buy in the store. you just hafta to try different things to see what your baby like.....hope this helps.....good luck!

S.-
Hi :-) I don't think it really matters what vegetable you introduce first. Or if you do a fruit first for that matter. I'm sure there are probably people who would disagree with me, but we're all doing our best for our kids. My son had applesauce after he had his rice, oatmeal and barly cereals and his favorite food is carrots! I think you do meat after the fruits and veggies, but don't quote me. I'm thinking juice at six months, but I could be wrong. It has been a while! As far as formula, my son was breastfed, so I don't know. I think I went ahead and nursed him and then tried him with the food. I know that as he ate more food, his nursing decreased. I'd think it would be the same with formula. I hope you get some great responses from this. I have! Good luck to you! A.

At this age your baby will get most of her nutrition from formula. My daughter never liked rice cereal, oatmeal is fine. As for fruits wait as long as you can because they usually will not go back to the veggies if they have sweet fruit. I intoduced meats when we went to stage 2 foods. I don't give my daughter juice because of the sugar. My husband and I made a choice to keep her off sugar as long as we can. If you are going to use juice it should not replace formula. I think she should have 24-32 ounces of formula a day. That does include the formula you use to mix the cereal. When we started introducing solids we would do cereal and a bottle in the morning and before bed and veggies between the morning and afternoon nap. As she grows she will be able to eat more. Just relax and let your daughter help you with your choices. You should wait 3-4 days before introducing something new to make sure there is not a food allergy. It is not as confusing or as scientific as you may think.
Good luck.

We didn't introduce solid food until 6 months, per our ped advice. But when we did we mixed just the tiniest bit of ceral into the milk. At first I gave my daughter a little milk first then the cereal, so she wasn't starving, but wasn't full from a bottle either. Then we gradually gave thickened the cereal. It really doesn't matter what food you introduce first, so long as you wait 24-48 hours between new foods to make sure there is no allergy.

My ped said wait until at least 12 months for meats, but we are veg so my daughter hasn't had any yet still. I would try to stay away from juice and stick to whole fruits, since juice is just empty calories and most of your vitamins and nutrients are lost during pasteurization. Plus kids who get juice too early often start refusing milk/water which they need.

When my daughter started eating baby food reguarly I bought a magic bullet and ground up whatever I was eating for dinner. Big money saver in the long run, those little jars get pricy.

Welcome to the wonderful world of kid food! good luck

I am getting ready to start cereal with my third child. Neither one of my first two liked the rice unless I mixed a little bit of a fruit with it like applesauce or bananas. Also, I tried switching back and forth between green and orange but after a few times, I just starting dong what I had on hand. Then if you don't finish a jar in a day, you can use it again. I asked my doctor about switching, and she said it was basically up to me and to take cues from my kids. Also, I mixed fruit in with them. After I had tried the applesauce and bananas which are the two most bland, I would put those with the veggies. With the meat, my doctor did say to wait til my kids were about 10 months old. Then, not to use the store-bought kind. It's mostly water and very expensive. Instead, she said to cut up chicken and then put it through the blender or bullet. When deciding during the day when to feed her her food, do it at a time when it is the most calm and you have the most time. Just starting out, you really only need to to do once a day so that she is getting all the formula tht she needs to. Real food is to get her used to eating, not necessarily for the nutrients. Hope this all helps.

Here is some information on the American Academy of Pediatrics website. http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Solids.htm

The order in which you introduce foods is irrelevant.

Personally, i think it is more important HOW you introduce foods. If you make ick faces before feeding your child peas they're going to react similarly. IMO, if you present each food with a positive attitude and let your child decide what they like you'll get a better result.

My pediatrician said that babies receive all the protein they need from formula and adding in additional meat protein is just taking up space that could be occupied by fruits or vegetables. The same theory about giving a child additional water instead of just formula. They need the nutrients so why add filler. We didn't introduce meat until we introduced table foods. We never did a jarred meat. (I hear they're gross anyway and lots of kids don't like them!)

We started our dc on juice around 8 months. However, it was more of a way to introduce a cup (of which we opted to do straw cups instead of sippy) more than anything. Still no more than 4-6 ounces of juice per day at 12 months and we've just started giving him water when he made the switch entirely to table foods.

Introducing solids at 4 months is really just a way to check for allergies. They're main source of nutrition is still derived by formula/breastmilk. If i remember correctly it wasn't until we switched to table foods that we started cutting back on formula.

We skipped rice cereal altogether because ds was allergic to it. We went straight to oatmeal. Then barley. Then we introduced a fruit or vegetable, etc... With the amount of waiting between each new food it really takes several months to just try everything. Which like i said is all you're doing at 4-6 months. From 6-9 months ds had several 'meals' per day of pureed baby foods. We introduced puffs (the gerber puffs that dissolve), etc... At 9 months we added table foods. Once he could swallow (took a month or 2) those we switched to 3 meals and 2 snacks a day with i think 4 bottles, then 3 bottles and now at 12 months we're working on getting down to 2 bottles (morning and bed time) and introducing milk (has had an intolerance up to now and been on nutramigen). However, we're replacing formula with milk so he's still getting the fat and protein.

We started introducing foods at 4-5 months (cereal only for the first month or so) because of his high eating demands. I think the normal formula intake is 30 something ounces and he was drinking 60+. Otherwise we would've waited until 6 months. I tried to find info on the aap website that states it's been studied to show it's better to wait until closer to 6 months but i couldn't find it even though i've seen it before. You have to do what's best for your baby but make sure your watching your child for cues!

Wow, i had no intention to bombard you with so much information. Hopefully you find something in that story useful! Good luck!

Just wanted to mention that a four month old doesn't really need breakfast/lunch/dinner. Most of their nutrition should be coming from breastmilk or formula. Mainly the idea is just to introduce the food so she can learn how to eat from a spoon and expose her to different textures & flavors. If you did it just once or twice a day at first, that would be fine. Then, when she seems to really like it, increase to 3x/day. (Or if she doesn't seem interested at all, you could put the whole thing on hold a couple weeks. There's no rush--the official AAP recommendation is that solids be started between 4 & 6 months, so you could wait until the week before she turns 6 months if you wanted).

It also makes no difference what you give when--just like if you wanted to eat pizza for breakfast and cereal with banana for dinner, that would be just fine. Now you'll just be doing one or two foods/day, but later on, when you are planning what meals to give, just think of the food pyramid (or whatever it is called now), only smaller. Like 3 grains, 1 1/2 veggies, 1 fruit, 1 meat, 1 1/2 dairy--in very small portions. Juice is not necessary at all, but it can be introduced (watered down 1/2 & 1/2) around 7 months. As a general rule, eating the whole fruit is healthier than drinking its juice because you get all the fiber included.

I started with cereal, then banana, then the orange vegetables--and my daughter never wanted any of it, even if I did introduce it 15 times! Now she eats really well, although she still wouldn't eat plain cereal or vegetables. I mix the cereal in with her yogurt & fruit, and sneak bites of vegetable in between.

Hey S.,

I had all the same questions as you did with my son who is now 18 months old. He didn't like the rice either it made him projectile vomit! We tried oatmeal with his formula and wouldn't have it so we used apple juice and it worked. I was told on the jars of baby food to do an orange then a green cause if you give them orange too much they will turn orange. I guess this happened to my sister. haha. I gave my son a fruit first and he did fine so its whatever your child prefers. I was also instructed that however much formula they usually drink during a meal figure the baby food into that for example if they drink say 10 oz of formula a meal then subtract however much they ate of babyfood, so if they ate 4 oz of baby food then only give 6 oz of formula. And yes doctors say to give one food for 4 days so you know if they are allergic to it. So give greenbeans for 4 days then switch to carrots for 4 days. and visa versa. Hope this helps! if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask me! Take care!

L.

Introducing foods before 2 requirements are met is potentially a disaster for your child's future digestive health and immune system. Children should be both 6 months old AND have teeth starting to pop through the gums. Those are the signs that indicate that the baby is starting produce digestive enzymes that are needed to digest solid foods. If baby eats solids before baby produces enzymes needed to digest them, digestion breaks resulting in food allergies, frequent illnesses and weak immune system...not to mention digestive complications later in life like chronic heartburn, indigestion, etc.

It is best to avoid grains in the 1st year. Fruits and veggies are the way to go as are egg yolk and avocado. The latter are good fats that nourish that developing baby brain. Babies main source of nutrition is either breastmilk or formula in the 1st year. The ONLY purpose for food prior to that 1 year mark is for practice. The baby's nutritional needs increase once baby hits that 1 year mark. Also it is important to avoid highly allergenic foods especially in the 1st year. This includes ALL products that come from cow milk (yogurt, cheese, milk, etc), wheat (most breads and crackers), corn, berries, citrus, and American Pediatrics Association is not only recommending waiting until at least 6 months to start feeding solids and avoiding highly allergenic foods, but avoid peanuts, honey, and karo syrup for the first 2 years at a minimum though 3 yrs is preferred. It is hard to hold back especially when so many in society choose to avoid following what is safe, healthy and recommended guidelines and start feeding everything to babies from as little as a month old....YIKES! Talk about setting a kid up for a broken pancreas and diabetes with an overweight /carb factor in addition to the other above listed possibilities when you start a baby on cereal too soon. Anyway, just remember that even though it is an exciting time to try new foods with your baby, take it slow and easy. Reactions to foods can actually be delayed for example one of my kids had a reaction to peas 3 days after eating them. You'll get the flow and figure out what works best for you and your little one. Don't feel pressured by your peers to be like everyone else. What you choose now will impact your childs future. I can see the difference in my kids based on what I did with feedings. Following the above guidelines with my 3rd child made her the child who has literally been to the dr 2 times in her 3 years of life, once for an ear infection but she didnt even need antibiotics for it, and once for the flu.

All of my kids were happy babies that slept through the night from the day they came home from the hospital because I had a routine. What food you feed them as far as solids or just the only nourishment God intended them to have for the first year (which obviously can be supplemented by formula but IS the only nourishment necessary in the 1st yr - ask ANY Pediatrician) had no effect to aid them in their happiness and their ability to sleep on a regular schedule....routine routine routine. Many people have a poor misconception about food. Most people even believe a baby is born hungry and that is why they should eat formula right away. Mothers milk is only colostrum for the first couple of days for most women...it isn't milk. Baby doesn't feel hunger until all that meconium gets pushed out and baby is empty for the 1st time. By then, milk comes in for the nursing mom. Babies just naturally have a desire to suck. God designed a good system that works together for a reason no matter how you look at it. Good luck and God Bless!

B. :)

Hi there,

My advice is to wait until your baby is at least 6 months-old to start feedind her anything other than breastmilk or formula to make sure her digestive system is ready. I think you can read more about the dangers of starting these foods before 6 months on www.kellymom.com or www.laleacheleague.com

Everybody has given good advice, but here is my 2 cents. My son, Austin is 9 months old and this is what I did with him.

At 4 months we started with the rice cereal..he didn't care for it. But we tried just a litte bit in the evening for about a week.
Then we moved to half rice cereal and some single grain oatmeal. We worked on that until we had done the oatmeal by itself for about 4 days.
We worked our way like this through all of the single grain cereal products...then we started with the veggies-carrots first because they are a little sweet. When it was "time" to start another one I would give him a little of the one he was used to and then a little of the new one until he had done the "new" one by itself for 4 or 5 days.

I never changed the formula routine. I just added a "meal" about 6:30 in the evening.

I also went through all of the veggies then went to the fruits and did them the same way.
Once we got through all of them he was almost 7 months old so we then started on the combinations and the 2nd foods. I also started the multi grain cereal products at his time. That included the meats with gravy or the turkey with rice type stuff. At this point I did a main dish and a side.

He still doesn't get any juice unless he is a little constipated then he gets it diluted with water.

Just for a little variety from Gerber, Earths Best is a really good brand to try. It is at Target and at Babys R Us.

Hope you find something that works for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!
S.

Hi S.,

I have 4 kids and I'm a home child care provider. We are on a schedule everyday so here it is. You may want to "tweak" it for your house.
7:00 get breakfast going
7:30 get the kids up and get them dressed and then at the table to eat
8:00 am - 9:00 am morning free time
9:00 am - 10:30 am morning nap time
10:30 am - 11:30 am playtime
11:30 am lunchtime
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm afternoon nap
3:30 pm afternoon snack
4:00 pm and later getting ready to go home

So here is how I would start. If she did not like the rice you can try one of 2 things...1) give her the rice cereal but mix in a little bit of 1st foods fruit (if you go this route add in vegetables), 2) go on to oatmeal. I would do between 2 and 4 tablespoons of cereal. Since you are just starting go for 2 tablespoons. Then make a 2 ounce bottle of formula and mix that in with the cereal. Do this 2 twice a day once in the morning and once in the evening. So whatever time she wakes up give it to her then for "breakfast" and then give it to her again at "dinner time", whatever times you eat. Try each cereal for 2 weeks and then move on.

Now if you did start fruit with the cereal you should also start vegetables with her also. So where you give her dinner add in a vegetable. Start with 2 spoonfulls, baby spoon size. Once you are going good with cereal then go to cereal with fuit and/or vegetable. Each week add in another tablespoon of cereal until you reach 4 and 1 full jar of first foods fruits/and or vegetables. Once you have accomplished this add in lunch, on Gerbers website it says that they need 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day so that is what you want to gear towards. So you want to keep breakfast the same with 4 tablespoons of cereal and 1st foods fruit (by this time you should be making a 4 ounce bottle of formula and using atleast three ounces of it). She will also be around 5 months old by the time you reach this point. For lunch she should have 1 fruit and one vegetable, both 1st foods and then for dinner she should have another fruit and another vegetable. And then depending on your daughters appetite she may want a snack before bedtime with could be the same as breakfast. For snack it could be the same as breakfast but instead of fruit do a vegetable. This way she would have 3 fruits and 3 vegetables, so she would be ahead. Now after each meal she should be offered a bottle. Depending on how much she eats of food will depend on how much she will take of formula. By the time she reaches 6 months old you want to start introducing 2nd foods fruit and vegetables, the meats are gross, they are just bad so when she reaches 6 months and you go to 2nd foods and in the "dinners" at dinner, keep plain vegetables and fruits for lunch and dessers for dinner or snack and plain fruits or variety fruits for breakfast. Every 2 months move up to a new stage of food. You can take the stages of food as slow as you want. Look at this way if you were to follow my plan you would be using 6 jars of food a day.

Hope this helps you and for the record I have used what I just gave to you on all 4 kids of mine and all 4 of my daycare kids followed what I have just given to you also. Let me know if you have any questions and I would be happy to answer them, W.

P.S. this idea to withold food from infants is absurd. When you feed a infant, you are providing them nourishment and you are giving them what they need to learn new things and turn over and crawl and cut those teeth, you will have a far more happier baby if the are well fed then if they are not.
Oh and for the record my 2 oldest were started on cereal at 4 months, my 3rd child was eating 8 ounce bottles every 3 hours and weighed 16 lbs at 2 months and we started her on cereal, my 4th child was eating 8 ounce bottles every 4 hours at 3 months old and she was started on cereal, none of them have any allergies to anything. All were sleeping thru the night by 6 weeks and not starting cereal.

Like you said every baby is different so I won't tell you what to do, just what worked with my son. I started feeding him cereal just at night and took him a good 3 or 4 weeks to get used to it. Then we started with cereal at breakfast time too. Then gradually I started giving him a 'real' baby food. At first I started with veggies, peas, sweet potatoes or squash is good because they are all on the sweeter side. I don't think it matters if you do a green or an orange first. Then I started in with fruit. Then I just alternated fruits and veggies when I introduced more foods. I think after he was eating solids for about 3 months is when we started in with meats and the mixed dinner jars. Now for breakfast he gets cereal, fruit and veggie and some juice (if he decides he likes it that day). For lunch he gets any leftovers from breakfast that morning and dinner the night before. For dinner he gets some sort of a meat, a veggie and a fruit.... and if he eats all of his dinner he gets a baby cookie or 2. I say just go slow. My son took to solids very quickly, whereas my friend's son wasn't too keen on it for a long time. Take your cues from your baby. There are days where it's a fight to get him to eat 4 or 5 bites and then there are days when it seems like he's a bottomless pit. Good luck!

Your pediatrician is right to let you know about introducing rice first. You can even mix things into the rice cereal. I would start with vegetables. Pick one, and then put a little into the cereal. When the baby seems to tolerate, I would try the vegetable alone. 4 days is a good window to see if the food doesn't cause an allergic reaction. It doesn't matter what vegetable you try first, from greens to orange. Just be prepared for a change in color of the babies stool!! After you have tried the vegetables for about a month, then I would introduce fruits. I would stick to the fruits in Gerber's first month...the smaller container. Avoid strawberries, citrus foods, etc. Those can be introduced when a baby turns one and some pediatricians are recommending until the child is two. After a couple of months of doing vegetables and fruits, you can then move on to other foods that are small enough for baby to tolerate. Remember, cow milk, eggs, honey, nuts, strawberries, citrus foods should not be started until baby is at least one. There is no hurry to start this stuff, because dealing with an allergy because they were started to soon, is not something you want to deal with.

My little guy is just starting meat now..When we started on food he wasent very interested in rice cereal; i mixed just a little bit of apple juice in with it and it went over alot better. My doctor had me start with orange and yellow veggies first (yams, squash, carrots). I've always mixed a little bit of rice cereal in with his food he likes it a bit thicker. The first time i interduce a new food he's never sure right away if he likes it or not.

A great resource is a book called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I highly recommend it - it's what I've used when introducing solids to all of my children! If you have any questions - feel free to contact me, my info is on my website! Good luck to you! www.healthyhome4family.com

Hi S.. My son is almost 10 months now. We started him on the cereal at about 2 months. His stomach was an endless pit and this was the only way to satisfy him! We started with green beans I think. Also, I don't think you want to do juice or meat until about 6-7 months. I could be wrong on that though. We did about a half a jar of veggies at each sitting (lunch & dinner) along with a bottle. They are right when they say that once they start on veggies, they don't want the fruits anymore. To get my son to eat veggies we have to mix half a jar of his veggie and one whole jar of a fruit. He's already hating his vegetables at 10 months!! Good luck and enjoy your small one - they are grow up before you know it!

i have a chart i can email you if you want to send me your email address. it tells you how much breast milk or formula, how much cereal, fruits, and veggies by age groups. i wasn't sure how to go about it either, and my dr. didn't help too much. i find it very helpful.

I just wanted to add that my child ate the supposed very healthy "purist" diet because he had an initial sensitivity to protein to dairy and soy, there was no: dairy, soy, wheat, oats, or meat (vegetarian). He basically only ate rice products, fruits (no citrus), veggies, and egg yolks. Sounds like a super health nut diet right? My child should be the picture of health...Well, my son is 3 years old now and has to get tubes put in his ears for chronic ear infections and conductive hearing loss. Just wanted to let you know that the perfect diet will not guarantee a healthy childhood so don't go crazy worrying about whether you're giving her the perfect foods.

Hello,
I have 3 children 9,7 and 4. When my 4 year old went for his 4 month checkup his doctor actually said not to give him any solid food other than ceral. Now having had 2 kids before him I looked at the doctor like he was a little crazy. He said that breastmilk or formula is the most important food to feed them during the first year and when you start adding in other foods you decrease the amount of breastmilk, or formula if that is what you are using. What he said made sense but still thinking he was a little silly I didn't fully listen to him...do we really ever? So I feed my son ceral around "lunch" time from 4-5 almost 6 months. At 6 months I feed him green beans or peas...something green mixed with his ceral. I kept everything at the lunch time and only feed him 1 time a day regular food. At around 8 months I started with some fruit and vegies. At 10 months he got ceral in the morning, and his fruit or vegies in the afternoon. At a little over a year he was eating pretty much regular food. Fruits, vegies, meats with his ceral and whole milk. I think what the doctor was trying to say and makes sense now looking back on it. A lot of people think that kids need all of those fruits and vegies and meats but really they just need the breastmilk or formula. You give them the "solid" foods to get their tonge and mouth ready to eat regular food as well as talk. Now I am not saying I stuck to this 100% but 80% of his food intact for the first 8 months atleast for breastmilk and from 8-10 months it was formula. If ever your doctor says something to you that you don't understand ask him..or her..to slow down and repeat it.
Hope this gives you something to consider.

I have a 3 yr old and I have to say that we were very luck to have an easy-going doctor. The main thing is to give her one at a time in case she would develop an allergy. Our doctor suggested to start veggies first but wasn't emphatic about it, in fact, he said "the new thing is to start with veggies then fruits" as well, but didn't say green vs. orange so I just tried what I had available. Most kids like sweet potatoes (mine didn't). Mine also wasn't thrilled with the whole process, as many aren't and that is ok - our doctor just told us to wait up to a week and try again, but if your daughter took to the oatmeal, you hopefully won't have that problem. Just make it fun and don't forget to take pictures, they make the funniest faces!!!

Hi. Most studies firmly suggest that you not introduce solid foods until 6 months of age. Until then, their digestive tracts are too immature to handle the stresses involved in different types of foods, and you also increase your risk of food allergies if you introduce solids too early.

I hope that helps!