Feeding 4 Month Old

When I introduced my daughter to cereal at that same age, my ped's recommendation was to feed it to her until she lost interest in the feeding. Sometimes, she would eat just a couple tablespoons. Other times, she would eat like 6! It just depended on her appetite, mood, etc. We would always start with a small serving, 2 or 3 tbsps, and let her eat as much of it as she wanted. If she scarfed it down and clearly wanted more, we'd make another batch and continue with the process. Conversely, if she was done, she was done and we stopped with the feeding.

The key at this point in time is not for her to necessarily get any nutrition out of the solids (she's still getting the bulk of that from breastmilk or formula), it's more for practice. She needs to learn how to eat and this is the training ground. So don't worry about how much or how little of the solids she is eating. Just let her be your guide.

Have fun and enjoy...this is a great time in baby's development!

I started my daughter with 1 tablespoon of cereal mixed with formula, she was having trouble pooping after we stared cereal so I have mixed it with pear juice ever since. Once I thought she seemed hungry after that 1 tbs, I moved it up to 2 and so on. Just don't make her too full on cereal or she wont want the bottle after. Our pediatrician said to wait on the veggies and fruit till 6 months, but every doc is different. But I would stick to just the cereal for at least a month till she gets really good at eating! Good luck!

i start feeding smll amount of cereal like 4 or 5 tbsp and then a little more,i think for a start is ok 1 ounce and you can gradually increase that

I started my daughter on cereal at about 5mo; she was closely watching my husband and I while we were eating so I decided it was time to start introducing foods. I read the side of the box for their recommendation on what a 1st feeding should be. I think I started with a tblsp of cereal and 2 tblsp of BM at "lunchtime". It was really liquidy and within a week or two I thickened it up so she would actually eat some of it and not wear it all. I then increased it to 2 tblsp and then started to give her the cereal at "dinner" as well. She is almost 7mo now and I give her 3 tblsp of cereal at
"lunch" and "dinner" and just this week I had some leftover mango and had her try that. I cut it up and sent it through a grinder and mixed it in with her cereal. She did pretty well with it. Next week she'll be 7mo and I'll start giving her some real food, probably peas, that I made and froze in 1oz cubes. Also, since BM is still her main source of nutrition I make sure that she drinks her fill before I feed her and real food. This would be my main recommendation for you, to have her drink first and food second. But since cereal is only just to get the baby used to eating I would just give her that for a month or so, you don't have to feed the baby real food til their atleast 6mo according to my dr, but they all have conflicting ideas, as you can tell from other posts. Regardless, do what you think is right for you and the baby and good luck!

We started with 1 tbsp of rice cereal at dinner. Then after a week, if she was doing well, we added 1 tbsp of baby oatmeal at breakfast, so she was getting 2 meals of cereal. Then after another week, 1 tbsp of barley cereal at lunch, so she was getting 3 meals a day with the family. Always cereal first, then bottle. Just gradually increase the amount of cereal every couple of weeks. We are planning on holding out for fruits and veggies until our daughter is 6 months. Sounds like you are on the right track. Good luck!

Oh I feel your pain of the world of the unknown. First, as with all things trust your instinct and follow the cues of your baby. Start with 1 tbs. of cereal and move up from there. If she's turning her head or seems disinterested after the 1 tbs, then she is satisfied. If she keeps opening her mouth, then you can add another tbs. Worst thing is a little cereal goes to waste. Best thing is you can keep up with her. Good luck!

I am a FTM to be and someone recommended this site to me and later I realized it comes highly recommended by several moms. It has a ton of information on introducing solids and beyond. Thought you might like it as an added source of info.

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solids.htm

You are doing fine , take it slowly in small amounts and keep it quite runny at first (slightly thicker than milk). 4 months is a guideline and just because your doctor said you can start to introduce it you don't have to. I waited until my kids were 5 1/2 months. A tell tell sign that they may be ready to move on is when they are hungry inbetween feeds , start waking in the night when they have been sleeping through for a feed , and also if they show an interest when they see you eating.

You daughter will let you know how much is OK. It will probably be a few spoonfuls that will get all over her because of her thrusting reflex.

The American Academy of Pediatrics totally supports starting infants on solids as young as 4 months. My pediatrician recommended the same with both of our kids because they were both thriving. Their main source of food, of course, is going to be breastmilk/formula. But, it's completely fine to start introducing foods at this time (especially since very little is going to be ingested).

I'd recommend, because she won't eat much of the baby food, to transfer 1/2 of it to a small container to feed her out of and refrigerate the rest. If you feed her from the container and then refrigerate it, it will spoil much sooner because of the bacteria introduced from her saliva.