Need to Start Food, but How?

Hi C.: I am also a first time mom my baby is 5/12 months old. Ask the day care to feed her solids at breakfast and lunch. You could start out slowly-I am still a bit lazy about feeding her solids at every meal-I am lazy about it because I also work full time and take care of her when I get home from work till it is bedtime. I started my girl out on squash which she loves/I need to now buy some different food to introduce her to other types. Don't fret about it at this age feeding her solids at just one meal a day and still giving her a bottle after the solids works well. Use the bottle to wash down the solids. Good luck and don't worry she will get the hang of it her tummy is still young so she might be just adjusting to the cereal.

Single-grain rice cereal is perfect to start with. And there's o measuring needed. You simply add a liquid and make it to the consistency you want. Start it out a little runnier at first add formula that you've mixed. That way it'll be a similar taste. Then you can stop using the formula to mix the cereal and use water. Juices can also slowly be added in. *Never put rice cereal in a bottle*

C.,

Hi! I have a 9 month old baby boy. He never liked the cereal, still won't eat it to this day. I wouldn't worry too much about that. If you feel she's ready for more than formula than go ahead and start with the stage 1 veggies. Some say to start with veggies b/c the fruit is sweeter and they won't ever want the veggies afterwards. I dont' think it makes that much of a difference. They are still developing their tastes. Start with what you feel like. Just give little bits and see how she does. Your baby won't eat what you're eating for quite a while longer, so dont' worry about your diet right now. If I can be of any further help let me know.
-A.

C., that probably means her digesive system isn't ready to handle food yet. I would suggest that you back off the cereal and try again in a couple of weeks to a month. Every baby is unique, so she won't do everything you did as a baby at the same time. Let her develop at her own pace. Hope this helps!!!!

It sounds like she may not be ready for food yet. I would wait another couple weeks and try again.

Also, I completely understand about being busy and too tired to fix fresh foods! That's why we have not made our own baby food. However, the baby food jars of fruits/veggies are just that- fruits & veggies. They don't have anything else added so it's pretty darn close to fixing those foods for her yourself. They are also convenient.

Our pediatrician told us we should introduce veggies first followed by the fruits (since those are sweeter). Stick with 1 type of food for about 3 days to make sure there's no allergic reaction and move on to the next kind.

I've heard a lot of parents don't give their babies the rice cereals so it's not mandatory to start with that.

Let your daughter be the guide- try another kind of food and if the same thing (spitting up) happens again, I would definately say her little body just can't handle it yet.

With our pediatrician's guidance (and, please get the blessing from yours before starting) we started our baby on solids at 4 months. Also, our baby turned into a 'happy spitter' once he began to roll over and scoot.

To deal with the spitting up, our ped. had us switch to Enfamil AR (has rice starch added to the formula) so that the formula is 'heavier' and less likely to come up. It took about 2 1/2 weeks but we are noticing a huge difference.

About the food - don't worry yet about your baby's attitude to food, except that when you do feed your baby solid act as if it is the yummiest food you've ever tasted on the planet. Babies like to please and imitate, and right now eating is more about learning how to eat and trying the different textures (taste buds are not as fully developed yet) and temperatures.

Here's the schedule our ped gave us for starting solids. Again, although this is a good guideline, EVERY child is different and unique, so consult your ped.

Week 1 - rice cereal with breakfast (1st day runny, slowly thicken it, increase to 1-2 tablespoons as baby is comfortable)

Week 2 - rice cereal with breakfast and dinner, yellow veggies (squash, sweet potatoes, carrots...3 days in a row for each) with lunch

Week 3 - rice cereal with breakfast and dinner, green veggies (T,R,S...peas then green beans, again 3 days in a row) and yellow veggies (same as week 2 but M, W, F) with lunch

Week 4 - same format as week 3, add fruits as 'snacks' if needed

Some babies are ready this early and some are not. Many people stick by a hard and fast '6 month' guideline, but since my pediatrician is an FAAP (fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics) I trust her 100%. If she has not lost the tongue-thrust reflex (she pushes the food right out of her mouth when you give it to her) or if she is unable to hold her head up/sit up supported, then she isn't ready.

Follow her lead and take it easy. Expect messes! And, most of the baby food you buy is straight up veggies and water or fruit and water, so don't worry yourself just yet.

I think ur doing great so far:D Thats the main thing is u know its time and ur trying. Moms need support too!!=} Its 4 to 6 months that u begin solids. Ur on track:D My julia didnt know what to think with the whole solids deal as well. At first they just need to get used to the texture before the child begins to eat them for meals. The reason rice is recommended is because u can control the texture. More milk in it makes it more soupy like so u can wing baby into thicker solids as needed. I would for sure be adding the rice in with her milk. Just a tip..usually need new nipples when u do that too. Also make up some soupy rice to just introduce to baby. Let her play with it. It'll be messy. Once she gets used to the texture and taste she'll start eating it ...plus adding some stage one baby fruit will help make it taste better and also great vit. in that. Well best of luck!! Takecare. ~R.~

Many Dr.’s will have you wait to start solids until 6 months, so if she continues to spit up the cereal and not eat it well, she is probably not ready. Mix the rice cereal with formula and make it about the same temperature you have her formula. That is the best way to get her started. Also make sure it is fairly runny. Once she is eating that well and enjoying it, then you can start adding other foods one at a time. But the cereal is the easiest on their stomachs, so if she is having problems with that, I wouldn’t try anything else yet. After cereal I started with smashed bananas, carrots, and sweat potatoes. Then I added green veggies, and other fruits.

i started my now 2 year old on cereal when she was almost 5 mths she didn't do so well with it when i made it according to the box when i made it the consistancy of mash potatos she did much better she didn't spit it up and she didn't gag on it things went much smoother. i started her with oatmeal that seemed to help too! good luck!

Ok. If she spits up worse after cereal, it's probably NOT the formula, but maybe an allergy to the cereal. Try oatmeal instead. Maybe she really isn't ready - the American Academy of Pediatrics position is to wait until 6 months, our pediatrician says 5. Try increasing the amount of formula, could just be a growth spurt. There is no reason to rush into cereal and baby food.
On a side note, I did start my son at 5 months on cereal - he was trying to take my food out of my hands and off my plate. He got two weeks of cereal before I added anything else. I have been making baby food - I like to cook and I feel good about using fresh fruits and veggies. Good book is "Top 100 Baby Purees" - also some good websites, I like wholesomebabyfood.com myself.
I understand it's hard being busy, but how you handle this sets up your child for eating right the rest of her life! Don't give up!