Another Solids Question - Diff Cerels and Not Wasting Food

A couple of tablespoons to start. If she likes it and wants to continue, keep feeding her. She will let you know when she is full.
And yes, just keep the rest in the fridge for later. Vegetables warm just a little. Fruit give a little cooler.

I didn't go through all of the cereals...my ped told me that was not necessary. I did rice cereal and my 4 month old just had peas for the first time last night...and loved them! I spooned out half into a bowl and served it at room temp and will use the rest this evening. I think that room temp is great b/c then that is what they will be used to. All the advice I've gotten is have fun with it. My ped suggested cereal in the am still and a "dinner" type solid food and the same food for at least 3 days. After you introduce fruit/applesauce, you can mix it in her morning cereal as well. Hope this helps!

We started with rice cereal, then moved to oatmeal and barley. Once on the oatmeal is when we introduced baby foods. For your first feeding of rice cereal, there should be instructions on the box about how much to use of the cereal vs. the water or breastmilk/formula ratio. They typically give what a first feeding should be, and then there after that, also. If you're still unsure, it's always best to check with your pediatrician. Don't save baby food or cereal because bacteria can grow, even in the refrigerator. Only make what will be eaten. The first few times, baby may not eat all of it, but that's no big deal. For baby foods, especially when first introducing, you should dish out only a few baby spoonfuls into a separate bowl, and put the lid back on the jar and stick it in the fridge.I believe it can keep like that for about 3 days. Don't feed directly from the jar until baby is to the point of eating the whole jar, that way there's no waste.

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Actually, at 5 months babies should still be exclusively breastfed. That being said, at 6 months you can try one new solid a week, to check for allergic reactions. Yes, just put some in a bowl and refrigerate leftovers. Real food is tastier and less expensive and less wasteful that jarred baby food, so try making your own! Mash up a banana, steam carrots and mash them, bake a sweet potato and mash it, etc... Use a blender or food processor when necessary. Have fun!

Babies don't need cereal at all if you wait until they are ready for solids (6 months old). Cereal is just a thin substance to teach babies to eat and overcome their tongue-thrust reflex when it's started too early. Here's what you should be waiting for:

~6 months old
~shows interest in food at family meals, reaches for your food, pretends to chew, etc...
~doubled birth weight
~can sit unassisted in a high chair (not the kind that reclines back)

If you are mixing with breastmilk, it gets thinner and thinner because breastmilk actually starts to digest the cereal! (How cool is breastmilk?! lol) So, it won't last until the next day. I don't know what happens when you mix with formula, you don't want to mix with juice or water. There's almost no nutrition in the cereal, babies only get nutrition from the milk or formula it's mixed with. I think common wisdom is that you shouldn't feed from a jar and save it because saliva can introduce bacteria. I make all my baby food and I never really worried about it...

I don't know what the deal with cereal is.
I never gave my babies cereal...always started them off with mashed banana, and finger food like Cheerios.
Always spoon food into a bowl so that you do not contaminate the whole jar with her saliva, if she only eats a little at a time.
Room temp is good.
Get yourself a baby food hand grinder so that you can eventually just grind up whatever you are having...veggies, pasta, chicken...canned fruit etc.
It is so easy to use when you are at the table, and you can just make as much as you need at the time.
I did this for my six children.

I have always only used Rice cereal. As far as the jar foods go. I just feed them directly from the jar at room temp. Then if for some reason, she doesn't finish it, I put the lid on and put it in the fridge, then offer that one at the next feeding. When I give her the leftovers, I just give them to her at fridge temp. She seems to like it, I think because she is teathing.

J., I used the rice cereal but I didn't work through any other kinds. My doc said as long as it is a single grain (rice, oatmeal) then that was fine for now. My son would only eat a couple of tablespoons at a time. I did not keep it in the fridge because it got watery.
At 6 months I started introducing pureed veggies and fruits. I made my own with what I bought at the grocery that week and froze extra. He still would only eat a couple of tablespoons a at a time.
I don't think there is any magic number on how much she should be eating. When my son started to lose interest with his meal then I knew he had had enough. I was still nursing him so I felt breastmilk was his main source of nutrients anyway. Hope this helps,
D.

You will want to scoop some of the food out and put it in a separate bowl. I think it says that right on the jar. If you feed directly out of the jar, saliva gets in the food and it can cause bacteria to grow. I think you're also suppose to use it within 24 hours or throw it away, refrigerated or not.

We did use all the different cereals with my daughter, but that was because she HATED the rice with a passion. If you taste it, you'll know way..yuck! She really liked the oatmeal though. As long as it's single grain, you shouldn't have any problem.

Keep in mind that most doctors now will tell you no solid food till 6 months.

Hello J.,

Congratulations on being a mommy. I only did the rice cereal before starting on regular baby food. I did not go through all the cereals first. I would recommend you take a couple spoons out of the jar to feed her. The left overs you can put in the fridge. You possibly know this already but they recommend starting veggies first because if the baby gets the yummy fruits first, the veggies aren't as good and much more challenging to get your princess to eat.

If you are interested in making your own baby food, let me know and I can give you a few tips. My sister and I did this with our second babies. Didn't know about it for our first(she did since they were missionaries to Haiti), and to busy(or plain lazy) to do it with our thirds. It is rather easy and much cheaper. You can also get info by searching online. We purchased ice cube trays. When the food was done cooking, we would fill the trays and then one cube is the correct amount for a little one. You can add more cubes as the child grows.

Good luck and God bless,
You'll do great. Remember, God gave you mommy instincts for a reason. They are pretty much always correct.