Starting Solids - New York,NY

talk to your pediatrician. veggies always come before fruits...always. also, not the sweet ones at first

Hi K..... I just started my five month old on Oatmeal cereal bc she didnt like the rice cereal.. Her doctor said to start with a tablespoon of cereal once a day and then 2 tablespoons....He said to then begin with fruits one at a time to make sure she doesnt have a reaction.... Let me know how it goes.

I mashed up bananas and mixed it with the cereal to give it better taste and to make it as natural as possible. I tried to do my own veggie mixes also.

Good luck

As you can tell from all of the responses there are a lot of opinions about what foods to give your baby first. My son is 7 months old and our pediatrician told us to start with rice cereal, which I did and he didn't like it. We then tried oatmeal and it made him really constipated. I was worried about his iron levels, so I talked to the doctor and he told me that the iron is not well absorbed from the cereal anyway and not to worry about it. So now my son eats a variety of pureed fruits and veggies, which we introduced one at a time with some space in between to make sure he didn't have a reaction. (Also most experts see no need to introduce vegetables first-that's what they told my mom's generation.) I always introduced them in the morning so that if he had a reaction it wasn't in the middle of the night. As far as how much, the doctor told me to just follow his cues. If he's not hungry he turns his head away or spits it back out. You don't want to force them to eat too much or they will loose the ability to recognize when they are full.

Right now the purpose of eating is mostly to expose them to a variety of tastes and textures. They should still get most of their calories from breast milk or formula. I would say don't stress about it too much. If she likes cereal give it to her, if not don't stress about it. Also keep in mind that for some foods you may need to introduce it many times (>10) for her to get used to a new flavor or texture, so just because she turns away the first few times doesn't mean you should give up on the food.

Just enjoy letting her experience new things and follow her lead. She probably knows better than you do what she needs.

I think they get their iron from the cereal so just mix the fruit and veggies into the cereal. I always just mixed it together as neither of my kids ate the cereal plain. I also mixed yogurt with the fruits and veggies.

I find it interesting, here in Germany we are told to start with veggies first, then add meat to the veggies then potatoes to the veggy and meat mix, then in the afternoon/evening start them with some cereal (oatmeal or rice) and then add some fruit to the cereal.
I started my now nearly 8 month old at about 6.5 month with veggies (yams, pumpkin, squash each for about 1 week) then added beef or chicken, we still don't do potatoes, tried it a few times and she didnt like it. She now gets about 7 oz of veggy/meat at lunch and then cereal with fruit for dinner. in between we still nurse quite a bit, she gets all her fluids that way.

On the taste issue, your baby is not used to any flavors yet so I doubt she will find it "awful" just new and different. So don't give up on trying it, you can also mix cereal up with a little bit of juice (only 100% juice please) and water, or formula or brest milk, which is something she is used to. The rice cereal is pretty mch "non-tasting" the oatmeal tastes ok (yes I try them with another spoon!)
Start her of with just a little bit of one food and stay with that for at least 3-4 days, don't bombard her little dygestive stystem with all kinds of different foods, you want to make sure if she developes any allergies or adverse reactions you will know what caused them. I keep a book and write down what my little one eats, this way I know for sure. And please do your baby a favor and dont give her cereal in a bottle, feed her from a spoon, make is very runny in the beginning and thicken it up as you go along, a little at a time.

Hope I was able to help a bit. (this is my second child btw!)

M.

K., I don't know where you heard that baby cereal has little nutritional value - read the label! It has many important vitamins that your baby needs including iron. A baby does not know what tasts good. You can mix the cereal with a fruit or veggie of the baby does not like it plain. one jar of stage one food plus 2 tablespoons of cereal is plenty to start with, increase up to 2-3 jars and 4 tablespoons per day as she gets more hungry and takes less formula.

Hi K.,
Cereal really isn't needed but if you use it, I'd avoid that white rice cereal and go with a whole grain. At this age and just starting, solids should not be measured in ounces, but about a tablespoon full twice a day. Remember that they are giving her very little in terms of nutrition, the breastmilk or formula gives her the nutrition she needs, so big meals of solids fill her up without much nutrition. The solids should not replace milk feeds. Offer the food after she's had a nursing or bottle

Hi K.,
I am surprised that your doctor didn't give you guidelines. Anyway, start with stage 1. You could try a veggie and a fruit - you know a little of each and see how it goes. You don't have to do cereal (my first son couldn't tolerate them but my second son is fine with it and likes it). I didn't add meat until after they had mastered how to actually eat solids. Meat has a thicker texture and can be difficult to handle when starting out. My second son actually perfers solids and we're up to 3 meals a day - he's 7 months old. Start with "breakfast" and then see how she does. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Start with one type of single grain cereal first and do not add any new foods until 4 days after. We started with rice cereal, 4 days later barley, 4 days after that oatmeal. This is to make sure there are no allergic reactions and is the same no matter what new food you are adding. After the cereals then you can introduce one fruit like banana (try stirring it into the cereal) than wait 4 days before introducing another fruit. I would not worry so much about nutritional value just yet since most nutrition comes from the formula or breastmilk. The introductions of food is just to getr her used to eating with her mouth.

The reason most pediatricians start you off on the cereal is because of a still immature digestive system and it is the safest to eat as far as allergies are concerned. Don't panic if she gags at first or if it comees right out of her mouth. The gag is a normal reflex and if food comes back out, it is due to tongue thrusting.