Advice Needed on First Foods

You should only offer foods once a day (and with her milk also) for a meal. The rest of the time, she should be getting milk. This should go on for a few months and then you will gradually work up to three times a day, etc. I just started my son on first foods and he also got peas for the past three days and is loving it. I offer him about two tablespoons worth total and then finish his dinner with a bottle.

The guideline that I was told was to give a new food once a day, preferably in the early afternoon so that if there was a reaction of some kind to it, it wouldn't happen overnight. I was also told to concentrate on that new food alone for 3-5 days so that if there was an allergy, you'd be able to pinpoint what food was causing the allergy. I'm guessing that she was fussier than normal because she's unaccustomed to digesting vegetables. She'll get used to it. Did you serve the peas with a little cereal? The fiber in the cereal will help her digest newer fruits and veggies. Or, as long as you know she's not allergic to the peas, give her a little applesauce with them. That will also help her digest them.

Peas have lots of fiber, so they may have made her a little gassy.

Wait at least 3 days in between introducing new foods. That makes it easier to spot a potential food allergy, and it's easier on their little tummies. My pediatrician recommended we start with yellow & orange veggies first, then move up to the green. After the veggies he recommended we start the fruits.

You can also try spicing things up a bit. I put cinnamon and pumpkin spice in my daughter's cereal. Cinnamon in apples... garlic in peas, etc. This also helps to expand their palate and accept table food later on. Just stay away from salt, they don't need it.

When they first start solids and until they're about 11-12 months old, breastmilk and/or formula should still be their main source of nutrition. Solids come second and are more of an extra, practice for table food later on. So, keep the same nursing schedule and just add in a few snacks of solids.

You need to be careful when preparing your own babyfood, especially if you are just introducing foods. Some vegetables have higher nitrogen content - especially carrots after being cooked. The baby food companies have to manage this very carefully and take good care in making sure the products they make a healthy. If you are worried about feeding your baby organically, there are a lot of new organic baby products on the market. It may be best to start with jarred foods and upgrade to babyfood you make yourself. Your doc should have given you a pamplet with foods to avoid for your five month old. It is trial and error when it comes to what they like and dislike. If there is something that she dislikes, try it again in a few months. It is amazing what my 15 month old will eat now that she wouldn't touch just a few months ago. Don't make the mistake of not feeding her something because you don't like it, it may be her favorite food. If you have tried a few foods and you know she does not have an allergy, start introducing them together, they get bored with the same taste over and over. When trying a new food, you can continue to feed her the old ones that did not cause a problem. Make sure you stay away from citrus, egg whites and other foods on the list to be enjoyed after 1 year old. Mix the baby food in with her cereal, that was always a treat for my little one.

I think your baby might not be ready for solids. I know lots of people start solids before 6 mos, but the Academy of Pediatrics at this time recommends waiting at least that long. I tried solids w/my dd1 at 5 mos and she was super gassy/spitty, so we laid off and at 6 mos she had no trouble at all.

Lots of great stuff at kellymom.com

The purpose of introducing one food at a time is to see if they have a reaction to each individual food. She may or may not being having one to peas. I'd either stick with the peas and see if she gets fussy again, or try different one and lay off the peas for a week or so. I'd probably try a different one and go back to peas later.

Hi R.!

My 9 month old is still embarking on her 'first foods' journey and it is a lot of fun! Take it slow and don't stress. I too made all my own baby food b/c it's easy and not to mention cheaper!

I would wait at least 3-4 days between each food to make sure that she doesn't have any allergic reaction to it. I fed my daughter the same food, like peas, at every meal for those days to make sure she had exosure and wasn't allergic. After that, I mixed it into with whatever else she was eating.

Also, it is said that starting with veggies by color is helpful. Save the sweeter stuff, like fruit, until they've mastered many veggies so they learn to eat it all. Keep up the cereal as long as she'll eat it b/c it has other good nutrients in it. Also, make it easy on yourself...you can totally use things like cannned pumpkin from the pie aisle (just make sure it's not pie filling) and jarred applesauce, just use the "natural" kind so there's no added sugar.

I also use this website a lot: wholesomebaby.com----it gives lots of good advice, knowledge and recipes too! Good luck and have fun!

Good Morning R., I think your doing very well.
Only give her one type of new foods for a week to see if she reacts differently. Like the pea's if you felt she was fussier give her one of her other favorites at dinner. then try again the next day. I know it was along time ago for me but our boys never seemed to have a problem with any thing. They ( Doctors ) didn't have all the advice and suggestions back then that they do now. I only used the jar foods for a short time.
They had mushed up peas's, green beans, I waited on the corn..lol they had mashed potatos, mac & cheese, tiny bits of hot dogs. ( they both hated vienna sausages ).
I just waited a few days between introducing different foods to make sure there wasn't going to be some type of bad reaction.
It doesn't matter right now about them having meats etc. most children do not like the grainy texture of meat. Will chew and spit it out. With the little chewing they do, they get what protein is there.

Good Luck and God Bless R.
K.

i agree with all of the ladies, however, I didn't see this mentioned anywhere. If your daughter has mastered cereal, mix the veggies into the cereal. the cereal has a sweeter taste and different consistancy which she is used to;as she gets used to the different taste you may try to seperate the foods once you have tried them all and had no allergic reaction. GOOD LUCK

Hi R.,
Amber S. said everything I was going to say.
I am only going to add check out:
Ruth Yaron's book--"The Super Baby Food Book"
It was a great source for me and my group of mom-friends.
I also was suggested for beans and greens to be last because
of gas. Keep cereal and fruit for morning and yellow/orange veggies for lunch.---Again keeping to the "only one new food every three days rule."
Have Fun--Breast Feed always First.
Kudo's, M. N.

I say it sounds like you are off to a great start. I give you KUDOS for introducing food at mid-day... I once tried it at dinner time and ended up with a fussy baby for most of the night. I quickly learned that ANYTHING new to the diet was given in the morning or at lunch. ;D
Congratulations on your little girl!

Our rule of thumb was always try the food for 3 days in row and back off 2 and see if reaction...if not, it's ok. Start new food following week.

With trying new foods their little systems sometimes just can't handle too much...you may want to pick up some Little Tummy's Gas Drops...her fussiness was probably her bowels rebeling...keeping her comfortable will make the process much easier and less likely to backfire (pardon the pun)...but if she associates a food with causing him discomfort, then she's not going to want to eat it again. I sure wouldn't! LOL Good luck.

I would just do peas for lunch for at least 3 days in a row then go to green beans,sweet potato Etc.Since she is just starting out follow this routine till she has tried all fruits and veggies given to her.You only need a few tablespoons,as for cereal you can add just a lil touch of fruit if she has started to eat them this will give it added flavor add her tastebuds will enjoy it.If she seems fussier that normal it may be extra gas that is in her belly her poopies will begin to change as well you can help her by rubbing her belly and back give her extra breastmilk and burps

Sounds like you're doing a great job so far. I too started my son on peas first. Be careful with bananas, they really made my son constipated. Just treat the solids as little treats, not meals. Keep up with the breastfeeding!

We introduced veggi's first and then only one for a certain amount of days, usually 2-3 days. Then we could tell for sure if that food was what bothered them or not. We made our own baby food also. The few times that we did have to buy store bought foods they did not like them as well.

she has all new you might say plumbing so her tummy may have some gas the first few times that will cause fussiness and make her uncomfortable. Just keep doing what your doing and make notes of things that disagree with her and wait a while to reintroduce those foods. Good luck and enjoy this precious time with her.

Hey, I seen your question and it caught my attention. The other day I fed my daughter who is five months peas for the first time as well. I fed them to her at about 8 or 8:30 at night. That night she didn't sleep very well at all. She was very, very crabby. Cried out in her sleep almost all night. Woke up three times, which she usually sleeps all night, and had diahrea and a very bad diaper rash. I asked the doc, and he didn't think that it had anything to do with the peas, but now that you said your daughter was fussy I wonder? He told me to lay off of the peas just in case for a month. I had never heard of anyone being allergic to peas. Like your daughter this is not the first foods that I have made for her. Just thought it would be something for you to think about. Something my daughter absolutely loved was bananas. When I first introduce a food I mix a little of her cereal or formula in with it to give it a familiar taste. Just something her doc suggested. Hope this helps, M.

The first food I tried my daughter on last a couple of months ago was asparagus. She did not like it, but the next feeding I mixed it with cereal and breastmilk. She did just fine. When I gave her apples, her 1st fruit, she didn't like that the first time either, but she did much better the 2nd try. If you are making your own baby food, super easy and cheaper, check out this website: www.wholesomebabyfood.com