When to Start Rice Cereal and Solids?

I started my sons on rice cereal about 3months i would put alittle in thier bottles at night so they would sleep longer. then by the time they where 4 to 5 months old i was feeding them cereals mixed with fruits. I didnt start them on veggies until they were about 7 months old..
Everybody thinks different I would talk to my doctor.Or just go with what you feel is right.

I do things a bit differently than anyone who has responded so far. My older daughter got her first two teeth at 6 months and at 7 months I started giving her bits of mashed (just mashed between my fingers) food off my plate. I started off with bits of brown rice since we eat that frequently and then I gradually introduced other foods one at a time a few days apart. I never did purees at all and by the time she was 11 months old she was basically eating what we eat. Then again, we eat mostly whole foods and not much processed.

With my younger daughter, she didn't get her first tooth until she was almost 8 months old so I didn't start giving her bits of my food until she was 8 months old. I'm still introducing foods to her slowly (she's 9 months now) the same way I did with my older and so far everything is going great! I've been giving my younger daughter raw veggies to teethe on since she was 7 months old. That way she got to experience the different flavors and without any teeth she wasn't able to bite anything off them. She liked chewing on raw carrots, cucumbers (sliced in quarters), and celery the most.

They also were both breastfed (still are) so I knew they were getting enough nutrients without eating so much in the way of solid foods.

My older daughter (2.5 years) eats everything we eat and is very willing to try almost anything the first time she sees it. I realize she may have phases of being picky later on, but I think that feeding her the same food we eat helped a lot also. She never got used to having a "special meal" different than what we eat. She also was used to having different textures from the very beginning since I never did purees. It was much easier on me, not having to make purees and feed her (she fed herself mostly) and it was infinitely cheaper because we didn't have to buy any expensive baby foods or a food processor.

Best wishes!
~B.

I don't know if I really agree with some of the first postings. I think you should wait a little bit longer, maybe until about 6 months. Also, our doctor said to NEVER put baby cereal in with the bottle, they could choke and there is no reason to put it in his bottle. He said that if he wanted to eat cereal, to give him cereal on a spoon. His doctor also recommended giving him veggies first as opposed to fruit. Fruit is really sweet, so if you give him that first, he may not want to eat the veggies.
BUT, like every other woman will say, talk to your doctor.
Good Luck, L.

I started both my boys on just plain rice cereal at close to 6 months, then once every three days or so i would try a new food starting with prunes and veggies, just to make sure there was no allergic reaction.

As a doc i disagree with the previous postings. Babies do not start making the enzymes to properly digest solids until 6 months. unless your baby is having significant problems with weight gain i would not start anything until 6 months. at that point you can try sweet potato, rice cereal, avocado. start with lots of breast milk/formula or water added to that it falls off the spoon. you should really talk to your doctor about the best time to start, although many doctors disagree. good luck!

Introducing food to your baby too early increases the chances that he will develop allergies, obesety, and heart problems later in life. Many moms ignorantly feed their baby solids sooner because they think it will solve some problem with sleep or attitude.

It is generally recommended that you start feeding solids between 4 and 6 months old. There is no rush, so pay attention to whether baby is interested in the food you are eating. If you wait to late after 6 months, you may have trouble introducing new textures.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends you introduce foods in this order…
• Breast milk or formula
• Cereal (Rice, Oatmeal, and then Barley cereal)
• Fruit
• Strained vegetables
• Meat

Within 2-3 months of starting foods, baby should be eating a balanced diet including something from each food group in each day.
I personally started rice cereal at 4 months, and then did not introduce other foods until 6 months. With my first child, I started with pureed veggies, and by the time I got to fruits she refused them all. Now, at 6 years old, she still will not eat fruits, but absolutely loves veggies. With my second, I started with fruits. Now at 2 years old, he loved fruit, and eats only a select few veggies. If I had it to do over again, I would alternate fruits and veggies when introducing them instead of starting with just one food group.

http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Solids.htm

This may be uncouth but i started both my kids on solods between three and four months. and i also was a bit umknowing when it came to starting just with rice and then gradually moving through the foods a few days at a time. My first i jumped in and did rice with fruit and gave him something new every day. my pedi freakedout when i told him that so i slowed it down and with the younger one i did move through them a bit slower. I would go by what baby is showing you. if he seems more and more hungry that is when i would start to introduce the solids. They say that for the first month or so solids arent to be a main part of nutrition because they are learning to eat them but the sooner you start the sooner they do become a filler in the daily menu. I guess i am pretty laid back when it comes to these things but i also know the food wont kill them. So trust your insicnts and you will do the right thing by your son!! Good Luck and have fun!! I love the tranistion to solids!!

Go with your mama instincts!
AAP says 6 mo. but some start at 4 months, some at 8 months...
Does your kiddo make chewing motions with his mouth when he watches you eat? Does he seem ready?
When you do start, do rice cereal mixed with breastmilk - runny. It will take him a while to get the hang of getting the food off the spoon and figure out what to do with it when it is in his mouth. Gradually you can work into other foods. (And yes, sweet potatoes are one of the good first ones to try!)
Also, sometimes having food with more substance may help keep food down and minimize or eliminate reflux!

We started our oldest on rice cereal about 4 months, then once that was fine, sweet potatoes! She loved those. They say to start the yellow vegetables first (s.p., carrots, squash) then once those are fine the greens, then fruits. Now we can't wait to start our 3.5 month old eating the same soon!

One concern for our family was to avoid developing food allergies. I've read and my granddaughter's pediatrician also said that if you start solid food too soon you have a higher risk of developing food allergies. It's important that the baby's system have the enzymes needed to adequately digest the food.

My aunt and I both have several food allergies which makes finding food to which we don't react a challenge. Although my granddaughter is not genetically related to me she was found to have several allergies when she was around 3 months old. She was tested because she began spitting up and being fussy when she started dtrinking formula. The primary allergy was to milk products. Fortunately she has outgrown all of them except the one to peanuts.

My grandson had GERD and was spitting up after every meal. He continued to spit up once he started solid foods around 7 months. I don't femember the relationship between GERD and diet for him. He tested negative to allergies for food. Taking him off milk related formula didn't help.

I recommend that you talk with your pediatrician about when to start solids and which foods to begin with.

I really like the suggestions about starting solid foods later and right off the adult's plate. Seems to me that this is a more natural way and would result in a better appetite for regular food.

Since your little on has refulx...I would first ask your Dr. But we started our little one out on rice cereal (also the bananna flavor one) and sweet potato at 4 months and she did great!! I feed her once a day as part of an evening routine...at this age it's more just for practice than anything else!! (She is about to turn 5 months old).

The typical age to start on solids is between 4 and 6 months of age (the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until 6 months). Don't give solids before 4 months of age because their little digestive tracts aren't developed enough for it, yet. Before starting solids, your baby should have good neck control and should be able to sit up with a bit of assistance. Generally, they also show interest in watching others eat "real" food. This interest is one of the ways to determine if he/she is really ready. My daughter was ready at 5 months, but some babies aren't ready until a little later. Rice cereal and/or mashed bananas are a good food to start with. Sweet potatoes and carrots are also pretty popular. Starting solid foods can be really fun. Particularly when the baby gets something they really like. (I found that rice cereal was tolerated, not really enjoyed. She preferred bananas, pears, and sweet potatoes.)Good luck and keep a wet washcloth handy! :-)