Changing Foods...??

Hi M.,
I remember weening my daughter off the bottle when I was able to introduce the table foods. My daughter was eating regular peas and cheerios around this time. You can definitely start to introduce the stage 2 and possibly stage 3 foods depending upon the baby's teeth situation. My daughter had a mouthfull of teeth by 8 mths as she got her first set at 3 months old. So she was a little ahead of the game. As for the bottle, maybe one before a nap in the daytime and one before bedtime so she/he will sleep through the night. But in the morning, definitely just give the table food first before anything else. Hope this helps.
A.

I would start now he is old enough to eat stage 2, plus the stagge 1 meats. I would start the day with some cereal with fruit, then lunch could be a simple diner Gerber makes them they are a fruit or veg. with meat, then when you try the meats I would do a meat, veg., and fruit or some type of desert for supper. If you have not started juices I would do thqat to just remember to mix it 50-50 with water. His formula can still be given between meals. Hope this helps.

hey girl ,like i told this other lady ,the doctor all about makeing money and giveing us a bunch a run around.im old school.and my mom show me how to feed the babys at 5 mo my daughters 19&29 was eatting verry good.some table food like mash potatoe not thick you want it thin,she would chew up some food and give it to them.but to answer you,go on anf feed your baby.and stage two when they get very close to 1 years of age if they have teeth and can chew.start winging off the bottle to when the baby turn 1

My pediatrician followed the gerber diet or recommendations. We started rice cereal when my children were 4 months. A couple of weeks later we started on the fruits, first bananas then apples, then peaches & pears. We would leave a few days in between introducing a new one to make sure the baby isn't allergic. After we got through the fruits we moved onto the vegetables. I would think by now you could move onto stage 2, which still does not have any chunks of food in it, it's just a little thicker. When my kids were around 9 months they started having cheerios and the biter biscuits and things like that Gerber makes I think. I'm not positive, maybe someone else can answer this, but I believe it's probably ok for you to start giving more of the "meals", like lasagna, and chicken/pears. You want to make sure that the baby has just tried each veggie and fruit first to make sure they're not allergic to it. It's a shame that your doctor isn't better about educating you. Maybe check out gerber's website, that may help you out. Good luck!

Hi M., well I have an 8 month old son and our doctor actually told us that we can give him those Gerber fruit snacks, yogurt, we can even start introducing lunch meat to him and allowing him to feed himself. He is on Stage 2 foods and does good. You can probably start giving him small amounts of your food like breads and mashed potatoes. Also I give my son small amounts of food at least 3 times a day. I also have a 2 year old and when he was a baby we put him on those Gerber stage 2 foods that were mixed with fuits but they were like Chicken and Pears. He loved them. Hope this helps.

Hi M.,
My son is 8 months old and has been on Stage 2 foods for about 4 weeks now. If he is going through more than one of the Stage 1 jars at one time, he is probably ready for Stage 2. You can always try it and see how it goes. As for bottles, my son is down to three 8oz. bottles a day. Hope this info helps.

K.

I would recomend either going to the library or borders or amazon.com and getting "The everything Baby" or "everything toddler" book series... both have devemental guidelines.. that are good.. the biggest thing i would say is be excited about the food you are giving your child.. i believe the stage 2 is food that is for when the child has more teeth.. so i would use teething as a guideline.. if your baby has some teeth.. maybe slowly introducing one of those foods a week.. maybe one time in a a day.. and then wait a few days to see if there are any alergies.. i wouldnt push leaving the bottle till about a year old.. although others might disagree.. i think though that going back to the teeth thing.. when your baby has most teeth.. that is your babies body saying i am ready for some more solid foods.. check with your pediatrician though.. if you dont like the awnsers you are getting check with his or her nurse.. or change pediatricians.. you are going to be going to them for a while.. so you might as well be able to communicate with them... most insurance companies have at least more than one doctor in a given area... it did not say where you were.. but i know a few good pediatricians in my area.. but i had to try out one or two till i found them..
and do not forget the nurses.. they are a wealth of information.. the are the support system of doctors.. and most of them love to help out...
good luck to you.. just remember go gently.. lovingly.. and set the mood by being excited about new foods.. your baby will follow...
god bless

I have a 3 year old and 23 month old and a new one due in may. I exclusively nursed them until 6 months and then we started with the cereal and fruits/veggies gradually. The main difference between stages 1 & 2 are that you get a bit more variety and they begin combining flavors. Because of this, you just want to be sure he's tried each individual ingredient before giving a combination to isolate allergies. Otherwise, you really don't need to worry too much.

I made basically all of my kids' babyfoods. It was just easier for me. So, I just started with single veggies and fruits and tried them for about 3 days to watch for reactions. If nothing happened, we moved on to new things. We avoided citrus and strawberries as they are supposed to be harsh for their little systems and possible allergens. I'd make a bit more than my husband and I would eat and let it cook a few minutes longer to get extra soft, toss it in the food processor and then scoop into ice cube trays and freeze. Once froze, you pop them out and toss in a labeled baggie and then pull out and warm up for meals...perfect portions. As I noticed my little ones wanting more food, I'll pull out a double portion or started mixing 2 different items to make it a bit more interesting - so basically making my own stage 2 foods.

You should just be able to follow your son's lead on quantity. If he seems hungry still, go ahead and offer him another couple bites. By 8 months, he will probably not drink quite as much milk as he did before 6, but formula/breastmilk are still really their primary source of nutrients until age 1 so don't cut it back too much. I always started offering a sippy with water at all meals when we introduced foods. You could also put formula in a sippy during meals by now to start getting him interested in that. My little ones got teeth early so we were also started on finger foods before 8 months. Gerber "puffs" are great as an early one - they basically melt in their mouths so it's pretty hard for them to choke and they like them. It's a great activity to keep them busy while you're eating too. It's a lot of work to pick them up and get them into their mouths! Mine liked the biter biscuits too for teething, but they do break off in pretty big pieces as they soften from the little one chewing/sucking on them. So you do have to watch carefully. You can also try frozen bagels and cheerios. Cheerios are good once they learn how to deal with the puffs in their mouths since they don't completely disolve - they do have to munch a bit for them to go down properly.

Try not to get too hung up on the details - introduce foods individually and watch for allergies and otherwise, go with your instinct and enjoy this new adventure. It's really not so important if your little one eats new foods in a particular order or quantity. What works for each is different. If something doesn't seem right, check with the ped.

Hello..
I have a 2yr old son and I changed him to stage 2 around 8 months as long has your son is able to eat a whole jar of stage 1 then he is ready for stage 2. Gerber has a wonderful helpline and website. You can call them with any questions like this also. I would also look into getting another ped. She should be available to answer any of your questions that you have and if it's something that she can't answer right away then she should definately get back with you. I hope this helps.

M.,
Iwas told with my son and daughter to start stage one when they were 4months old. so by the time they were 8 months I was on stage 2. But it also depends, the only real difference between stage 1 and 2 is that there is more in the container. Stage three is when there is a defference in the food. stage three had the smooth like stage 1 and 2 but it also has peices of food as well. You might want to try and move to stage 2 and make the bottle more a drink than being the mainstay of your son's food. YOu might fing that it.will take you a while to get him use to that but then it might be fine to start moving towards having food and the bottle is a drink and an inbetween food as well. Really what the dr. tells you is just a guideline...do what works for u. it is all a hit and miss. Every child is different and you have to just feel it out sometimes. I hope that i was some help. Good luck with all of it.
K.

Hello M.,
I don't know if I'm repeating anything as I have not read the other responses. My son is 8 1/2 months old. I feed him the stage two foods. He is a great eater! I started him on stage two about a month ago because stage one just wasn't enough for him anymore. He now is up to eating four containers of stage two a day and drinks 4 to 5 seven ounce bottles a day. He is also eating regular table food with us at breakfast time (Cheerios) and he'll have whatever we are having for dinner (pasta, soft veggies, potatoes etc..)
Hope this helps...remember that as a mommy you have natural instincts that other people don't....just do what you feel is right.

You can go to stage 2 foods any time now. The texture is not much different, but the jars are bigger. You can start to try some finger foods and soft cooked veggies and fruit chunks when the baby is crawling- I usually would do one pureed food with a canned veg, fruit, or gerber graduate while my kids were getting used to it. They gag a little- don't worry about it or react too much, its normal as they adapt to having to chew. You may even cue him to chew by saying chew and doing the motion with your mouth. As my kids were eating more, I started nursing or giving a bottle after the food, and they natually drank less as they ate more. Now as my youngest has been taken off formula/breast milk, he gets a cup of milk (about 4 oz) with his meal, with a little time after the meal to drink it if he's not done.

I always wondered the same thing! Babies should definitely come with an instruction book for these things! My son is
9 1/2 months old, and I started feeding him meat with veggies (gerber) a couple of weeks ago. Up until then, it was just veggies and fruit. Actually, he doesn't like fruit, but I tried! I know that they're still supposed to have either breastmilk or at least 4 bottles of formula a day until they're one year old. I wish I could write more, but my little guy is crying in the other room! Best of luck!

When changing my kids food I always too cues from them. What foods does your son like best? Try those first in a 2nd food. When it comes to how much I made differnt types of food the highlight of differnt meals. For instance, for breakfast they mgiht have a bowl of oatmeal with some bananas and their milk. For lunch I might have given them some rice cereal with fruits and veggies and their milk. For dinner I gave them all fruits and veggies and milk. For snacks, they got milk or bitter bisquits or something like that, depending on how much they had eaten for meals and things like that. If you receive WIC, they can help you answer your queastions. I would follow your insticts, they are usually pretty good, after all that is what alot of moms do. Good luck!

when my son was that age, he was already starting fish and steamed rice, and pastas i think. I was breastfeeding at the time still. His schedule went a little something like this: cereal for breakfast with some milk, then nap. then a fruit for lunch, then milk, then bottle like 3 or 4 oclock, then a vegetable with rice cereal again at dinner time, then bottle. I think its something like 28 oz of milk a day, so if you give like 8 oz bottles thats 3-4 bottles a day. check with your doc. just give the fruits and veggies before giving milk and he has an appetite.

this is my first time on here and I have a daughter ( Eva ) she is 16 months. I fed her stage 2 very quickly because she handled the stage one without gaging and seemed very eager to start new foods. I was VERY scared to give her solid foods but I started with cheerios and of course she almost choked and I cried but I kept trying and now she is a pro at eating solid foods. I think she started on cheerios at 9 months. good luck I hope this helps

Hi M.,

My daughter is 4 1/2 months old and so to prepare for the upcoming transition to solids I bought a book called The Petit Appetit (by Lisa Barnes) that gives you recipes and advice for every stage from baby through toddler. Though I am going to try and make her food at home and not buy it, it is a helpful book for any new mom because it talks about the developmental stages that cue you in to when your baby is ready for certain types of food.
It might be helpful to go to the library or bookstore for this advice because though your pediatrician should help you with this, I always feel I need to get more indepth information from other sources because I can't trust that he will have the info. I want.

Good luck with everything and I'm sure you will figure it out!

Hi M.,
First, I'm not sure I'd trust a ped that doesn't give me the information I ask for. BUT, I had to learn that the hard way. As for the foods, does your son seem interested in other foods? I started out feeding my daughter stage one, then moved to stage 2 at six months because she seemed interested in them. At nine months, shes eating what we eat throughout the day. If you are ready, and you think that your son is ready, try one new food at a time. Sometimes he may not like it...just wait a while and try again. Keep an eye on him when you give him a new food in a new stage. Make sure it sits well with him. When we first started this with my daughter, we would sit in front of her and she would like to copy us chewing (granted, she'd chew applesauce). As far as the bottle, your son still needs to get the recommended amount for several more months. My daughter is nursed, and I nurse her after each meal that I feed her, as well as other times through the day, regardless of what I feed her or how much of it makes it into her mouth.
Some ways to tell if your son is interested...at least how we could tell in my daughter.....mimicks hand movements you make when you eat...seems frustrated with 'thin' food (you could always add texture to the stage one foods...we tried rice), doesn't seem as satisfied after you finish the meal (stage two servings are larger than stage one). These are just things that worked with us. A friend of mine has a 10 month old that eats differently than my daughter. Also, some parents give kids cold, hard veggies to chew on to soothe teething pain. My daughter liked her piece of celery a lot more than some of the things we were giving her at meal time, so she was very happy when we changed stages.
I hope this helps you. Just be sure that you are comfortable changing, and watch your son closely to make sure that he's ok with the change. Best of luck.

My son is six months old, and I just switched him to Stage 2, mostly because Stage 1 portions were too small for him. It's nice to have the additional variety of Stage 2, also. Gerber offers some great Stage 2 mixed-food options and even a few single-ingredient options that you don't get with Stage 1. I also highly recommend making your own baby food if you are at all interested. I do large batches of things whenever I have time, and it's easier than I thought it would be. And then I don't worry about wasting food because I can heat up individually frozen small portions one after another until my son is done eating. (It seems like he's NEVER done eating, though....!)

Not that you asked, but if your baby's doctor disappears whenever you have a question and doesn't respond promptly, you might want to think about switching pediatricians.

My son is 6 mos old. This is what he eats:

breakfast - 4tbs oatmeal cereal, stage 2 fruit & 7 oz bottle
lunch - stage 2 veggie & 7 oz bottle
dinner - 2tbs rice or barley cereal, stage 2 veggie & 7 oz bottle
before bed - 7 oz bottle

Your son should also be on meats and a sippy cup. (according to my ped)

Hello M.. My son is 10 months old and he was on stage 2 foods by the time he was 8 months. he is now on stage 3 foods. My doctor said that they should only be getting 4 bottles a day and the rest should be food. Breakfast lunch and dinner and snacks in betwee. Does your son have any teeth yet? If so then you should start giving him snacks in between meals and he will start to eat less formula but he still needs to have at least 4 bottles untill he is one years old. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

First since you are a first time mommy I think your ped should have made it a priority to go over the feeding process with you, you shouldn't have to ask this question. Anyway my baby is 7.5 mts and is eating all stage 2 baby foods. She also eats some table foods, very small pieces of chicken, banannas and so on. She enjoys her bottle above anything else. Every baby progresses differently thought, so if you think your little man is ready give him more complex foods. Let him take the lead, and get a new pediatrician. Hope this helps!

i have a almost 9 month old son and our ped. told us once he has tryed all stage 1 food, that we could go to stage 2. she told me when i come in for our 9month well child that i could switch to stage 3.

i'd look into getting a new ped. if you do not like the way you are treated. I love CCP-Pittsburgh Pediatrics, on penn ave across the street from the old st. francis, in lawernceville.

i started feeding my son stage two foods around 8mo, (but we didnt start feeding solids really until 7mo). We just recently started adding cheerios and some other little table foods until this past week when he grabbed them off the table and started eating them w/o any problems (he is almost 9mo). i am a big proponent of letting your child call the shots with when to start feeding certain types of foods, does your child seem to be eager to try new things, is he ok when you feed him baby food that has some chunks in it? has he tried all the stage 1 foods? if so then since he is almost 8mo, go ahead and try out the stage 2 foods. good luck :)