I have a six month old son who is just starting to eat babyfood. I have tried in the past, but stopped for various reasons. Mostly because I was concerned about him not taking enough formula. He had a hole in his heart and did not do well with his bottles to begin with. Now that his hole has been surgically repaired, he is doing better with bottles and formula intake. I was still concerned.
He had his six month check up last night. The ped is very pleased with his growth since surgery. He still only weighs 13 lbs 5 ozs., so he is only in the 10th percentile.
They had told me at four months I could start food, but again it didn't last. After discussing my concerns, the dr assured me that he only needs 20-24 oz of formula a day now. She wants me to feed him. I'm afraid to give him too much, but he wolfed down a whole first foods veg last night. The dr eventually wants him to be eating 3 meals a day. I was concerned about his bm's (or lack of them) when I gave him cereal. The dr said I can skip them for now and try again later. Also I could try some Karo syrup to try to help the poo.
I want to know how much other babies his age are eating and what it is. I know I have to intro only one new food a week, but I just want some ideas of what other babies his age are doing. He is my third, but I feel like a new mom with him because of his health issues.
Thanks!!
Thanks for all the good advice and info. My guy is doing well with food. I'm just doing dinner for now. Since I went back to work, I want to time the addition of a new meal with a long weekend or a holiday break. He has only gotten to two vegs and one fruit. The dr wants chickent after the one fruit. That way he can eat a veg, fruit, and meat in one meal. I think I'll add lunch before breakfast. When I eventually get to cereal again, I can now use fruit to help things move along inside him.
Thanks again!!!!
Hi Karen,
Seems like I remember giving my son cereal in the morning and night at first. You can mix a veggie with it. Then eventually, you can move to 3 "meals" per day. cereal/fruit for b-fast, maybe a fruit and a veggie at lunchtime and meat & a veggie in the evening. I thin I always did a bottle of formula before naps & at nighttime.
FMLA Rocks! :) Going back stinks :( Good luck to you.
He sounds like he is doing great? Is it your doctor who is concerned about his weight? I have a son in the 3rd percentile and generally children grow along that growth curve, they don't expect them to all be 50%. As long as each visit he is gaining and around the same percentile there is not worry.
I made all their food sat that age, did all fruits and veggies. I would smash up a ripe banana with a fork, cook down some apples and put it in the blender, sweet potato, avocado, etc. Whatever you see on the shelf at the store you can easily make yourself. We would mix them with the various cereals, also adding one at a time, and they loved it!
My 6 month old started solids at 5 months of age. He eats 2 meals a day(morning and pm) and it has not decreased his milk intake. He nurses just as well as before and takes his bottles at day care the same amount. He eats fruits and veges and at our 6 month check up this week, the MD said we can start dairy and meats. Charlie is eating all fruits, bananas, peaches, apples, prunes, and lots of veges like avocado,carrots, butternut squash, peas. I hope this helps.
You're doing an awesome job being diligent with his diet needs. Try not to worry too much. At 6 months, you can give him food, but his health doesn't depend on it. Some babies start food much later and just eat formula or nurse. Go with your gut, feed him one or a few different little things a day, and keep up the good work. The Karo does work to "unblock" But it's sheer sugar, so only use in emergencies. Babies bodies will do what they need to, don't panic about precise quantities. As long as you're giving him enough formula and some nutritious food, it's enough. I'm so glad he's thriving after surgery!
Hi there! My daughter is just about 7 months now and I went very slow with food, because they NEED formula or breast milk more than anything right now. I started with cereal, rice then barley and oatmeal. She didn't like barley and oatmeal seemed to bother her. I stopped those and just recently started bringing in barley again. I then did veggies, all the stage 1, then stage 1 fruits. I have made my own and used jar. (peas, green beans, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, apples, peaches...), I feed her twice a day now and I just let her dictate how much. I don't shovel it in, I take my time. She has never eaten an entire jar of anything yet at one sitting. She usually eats half a fruit and half a veggie a day and about 4-6 tablespoons of cereal in two feedings. I nurse her first wait an hour or so and feed her. Sometimes I nurse one side and then feed her and finish nursing. I've read that food now is just to supplement their diet. I have not experienced any problems with constipation, which I have read is about consistancy, not frequency. I am not in a hurry, I will let her decide how much. Follow his cues and your gut. You know best, trust in yourself. Best of luck!!
My son had no health issues, was a big boy & a really big eater. We started him on cereals at 3 months. By six months he was eating 2nd & 3rd foods, the whole container usually at each meal. He was eating 3 meals & one night time snack (and breast feeding). I always fed him until he was no longer interested. Occassionally, that was less than one container, sometimes it was as many as two. He always knew what he needed, you son will too. I started out with one meal a day & worked up to the three plus a snack. I also started finger foods at this time. (You should probably wait on that until he has mastered the baby food.) I highly recommend you do at least one solid meal a day now. At this age formula should be a supplement to real food. Think of it like his drink & vitamin, not his meal. I was a little nervous when I first started my son on solids, b/c it was so early. But then I talked to my mother in law. When my husband was a boy my mother in law's doctor (she still had the paper from the doctor) had her start him on baby food when he was one week old! By 3 months he was already eating the baby food jars of meat & he was formula fed. He is a very healthy adult, who enjoys a good meal. I would follow your doctor's advice & feed him as much as he will take.
I understand where you are coming from- you have had to watch your babies intake so closely due to heart complication and the need to gain weight. Now I think it would be a great 1st step for you to let go a little. Start with the one meal and let his body tell you when he's done. Once you're feeling comfortable there, move to a second meal, then the third. At the meal time he may only take a 4oz bottle, but he has other feedings when he will take more. As far as the poop issue, I always gave 1 bottle a day of dilute pear juice (1/2 water). All babies you will find eat differently at this age but typically 2 meals of 1 jar of baby food each, working up from there as they get older to 3 meals, with jars of food increasing in size and texture.
There is a great book out there called "Mommy Made and Daddy Too, Home Cooking for a Healthy Baby & Toddler". It's great in the sense that it gives you plenty of ideas on introducing your baby to solid food! It breaks it down by age appropriate introductions, tells you how to prepare it and store it, and gives ideas for children as they become toddlers too!!
While it take a bit of time to prepare the food, you'll actually save money in the long run and you'll know exactly what your child is eating. Or you could prepare some and buy some so you'll have that many more choices (as I did when my second one came along)!
Check at your library to see if they have the book! Good luck with your precious little boy!
My son will be 6mos on 11/5 - he weighs 16lbs and drinks 20-24oz per day with cereal (he's been on cereal since 2mos because of reflux/hiatal hernia). We'll be introducing foods to him in the next few weeks, one per week to check for food allergies (I have Celiacs). Good luck!!!
At 4 months i started my son on cereal. At 6 months he was eating stage 1 foods, mostly fruits and veggies to start. Then the other stage 1 mixed foods. Then around 9 months i started him on stage 3 foods.
So at 6 months this was pretty much his schedule, a table spoon of cereal with formula mixed in to your consistency and a 6oz bottle of formula or a 1/2 jar of fruit. Then in between breakfast and lunch he would get a juice bottle if he needed or wanted a bottle. Lunch time he got the other 1/2 of the jar of fruit or he would get a 1/2 jar of a veggie and juice. Then around nap time he would get another formula bottle. Then dinner he got a whole jar of whatever and 1/2 of fruit for dessert. There were times he didn't eat it all but then i would save it for the following day. Then at bedtime he would get a 6oz bottle of formula but then be up around 3am for another one. You just have to see what your son will eat. But make a schedule. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
My son now won't really eat breakfast, he eats a couple puffs (those snacks that melt in their mouths) in the morning with juice. Around 10am he takes a 6oz formula bottle for a nap. Then for lunch he eats a 1/2 jar of stage 3 foods with juice. Then some more puffs for snack with juice in a cup. Then dinner usually a 1/2 jar of stage 3 (i.e spaghetti dinner, veg. beef etc..) with cup of juice and some of whatever we are eating (if he is able to) to get him used to chewing our foods.
Oh and when you start feeding them jarred food remember when they don't want anymore they will let you know. They will either turn their head away from it or like my son try to hit the spoon or he now spits it out LOL! Well it's funny but messy! Good luck
I always thought formula and breastmilk always should be the most any baby gets till one year old. solids are just experiments till then. I started solids with my daughter at 6 months old and she was totally not into it! She started getting better around 9 or so months old. Your ped is pleased with your son's weight gain, because I bet your son is staying on his the right curve for him (like on his growth chart. if he was in the 75% and then dropped down to like 20%, then they would be concerned). I would say to go at your son's pace.
Good lukc! :)
Karen,
The fact that your little one "wolfed" down the veggies last night says to me that he is hungry and ready for more substantial food.
I started my daughter on cereal at 5 months, and by six months, we had incorporated fruits and veggies. (My doc said that four days was long enough to test a new food.) It wasn't too long after that that I started giving her some soft table food. Soft boiled egg yolks were a favorite. By 9 months, she was eating almost exclusively table food and still breastfeeding three times a day (two 5 oz. breastmilk bottles while at daycare).
Take a deep breath and take this as a great sign that your little boy is strong and healthy and ready to grow!!
HTH,
C.
Karen,
My little one (now 12 mo) started solids at 5 months and ate an entire Stage 2 jar of sweet potatoes in his first setting! We didn't do much with rice cereal beyond in the bottle because he hated it, but I did find that I could mix 1 scoop of formula or some breastmilk in with it and not only did he like it better, but it was more calories for him.
As you probably remember with your other ones, transitioning into solids does throw the gut for a loop, but a little diluted pear juice will help until he gets used to it.
Good luck back at work. I bet you love being with your (other) kids when you get back. Teachers rock!
try different things like no sugar added applesauce. make his food versus buying it. it is healthier and cheaper. buy a food processor. veggies are good like peas and green beans. also try carrots and sweet potatoes. do one food a day to make sure he does not have any type of allergic reaction to it. try some yogurt and see if he likes that for breakfast. buy the yo baby yogurts they are good and full of calcium. when he gets a few months older try some chicken for him that is baked. most times i give my fifteen month old what i eat for dinner. i just cut it up for him. good luck and do not worry everything will be fine.
I usually gave rice cereal first for a while and then slowly mixed in applesauce. I know they say veggies now though. (It never hurt my kids to start with fruits.)
Wish you a smooth transition back to work :-)
