Sensitive Tummy

Would balancing the apples and pears with the cereals and bananas work? (ie, mix some cereal into the fruit, mash a real banana with some applesauce together. I think it is a bit early though, I think my son just started on basic food at 5-6 months old and we worked up slowly.

He also did not like baby jarred foods and would not eat the whole jar in one or even two sittings, so often I would just mash up some slices of a ripe banana and feed that to him then eat the rest of it myself. But that was more like 9-10 months I think???

Cheerios are a great food for babies (and ME! ha I still love Cheerios!)

If she truly is hungry for food variety, give her just a few bites of this, and a few bites of that to balance each other out. Not a jar of one food.

Hope that helps.

I didn't start my last baby on solids until she was 8 months, I tried rice/oatmeal with her and she would have nothing to do with it. She also disliked most jarred baby foods but she loves all food now that she is one and can eat food 'as is'. I know your issue is not with what she likes/dislikes but how her body is handling them. Anyway, I found that she really loved avocados and they are a great first food (and recommended by many nutritionists for a first food). I would just cut the avocado in half and mush it up and feed it to her that way, right out of the peel. Now that she is One, I just dice it up on her plate and she loves them! Plus it is so good for her health wise.
Good Luck, I know you will figure it all out :D!

Give her babies magic tea and she'll digest everything without any tummy ache or gas problem.

There's a great baby food book called "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. I highly recommend getting it and you will never have a problem with her being "bound up" from food again. It's got great recipes to make your own, healthy versions of what you would buy in a store. It takes a little more effort, but it's so much better for your little one - and an added bonus is it is super cheap! I'm on my 4th boy and it's worked for us! Good luck and happy mothering! P.S. -- In the meantime, you should try avocados. They are a super food and is actually an ideal first food...it's got all that good fat that babies need too. P.P.S. -- Kudos to you for breastfeeding. That right there is giving your baby exactly what she needs. Keep up the good work!! :-)

We started my son on homemade avacado and carrots. Just puree the avacado and they freeze in ice cube trays (it is just the right amount) With Carrots boil them first and then puree and freeze in ice cube trays. You may need to add some water to it once you thaw them to make the consistency right fot your little one. Good luck.

For her first year, breast milk should be her primary source of of nutrition. Your milk will keep up with her hunger, so if she's having trouble with solids, back off of them and just nurse. Only give her what you know her system can handle. Plenty of people wait longer than six months, so there's no need to push solids on her little sensitive system.

I'm a big fan of the book mentioned earlier called Nourishing Traditions and feed my babies according to that philosophy. You can read more here:
http://www.westonaprice.org/children/nourish-baby.html

But otherwise, just take a step back and follow your baby's lead. Her little body is clearly telling you what she's ready for! Just prunes and sweet potatoes are fine for a six month old for awhile since she's nursing. And if she's prone to constipation and stomach upset, I would HIGHLY suggest high quality probiotic foods (homemade yogurt, kefir, etc, not store bought stuff, which often has sugars and the active bacterias are not so potent). Good luck!

My daughter, now 10, has a lot of food allergies. You need to start only one food at a time and make sure there are no allergies or intolerances to those before starting another food. If you just give her three new foods at once it will overwhelm her system and you wont know which food she is reacting to.

I would recommend you stop everything but breast milk and then pick one you know she can tolerate. After several days on that combo, add one food, like squash, if she tolerates that, wait several days before adding anything else. Let her system get used to processing each food before you add something new. When you do come across something that upsets her, you will know exactly which food it is.

Hi H.,

Congrats on breastfeeding! Sorry about such a rough intro to solids. bananas are notorious for causing constipation though....I wonder why they are recommended so much for little ones. (Maybe they are just soft and sweet) Cereals also are very hard for some kids...rice supposedly being the safest.
You might try one (gentle) food at a time rather than this food mixing that our culture seems to demand ("eat around the plate" doctrine). I have done some reading on something called sequential eating...our food digested in layers so putting more delicate foods first is a must to prevent stomach and digestive upset.
It works quite well for a lot of adults...but you have to leave the "eat around the plate" behind with the dinosaurs.
My daughter lived on sweet potatoes for quite some time (same age). She just did not like a lot of other stuff...until I started feeding her things I ate during my preg...like miso soup and seaweed. (I had been in Japan at the time) I mixed it with rice and made a gruel. curry she also liked. Baby food can be so bland...I would not be afraid of flavor. You might also try squash...a soft but fiberous veg. We get hung up on fruit a lot...for infants...then wonder later why they beg for sweets. More veg exposure can't hurt.
I just remembered a book called Nourishing traditions by sally Fallon. Many cultures not cut off from their ancient roots (like ours) soak and/or ferment their grains before eating them. This makes them easier on the digestion. You might look at this concept for the health of the whole family. (A sensitive stomach may or may not go away as your daughter ages.)
There might be some pro-biotics (prepackaged bacteria) made for infants too...helps with digestion.
Good luck!!!

I would back off on everything for a while...maybe as she gets older she will do better. My daughter didn't really start solids until last month at 8 months old, my son after a year old. It's not mandatory that they start solids now, and it's just for tastes, so waiting a month or two isn't going to hurt. Of course, if she's like my daughter and DEMANDING food, then pick whatever she can tolerate and you know she can tolerate and just stick with that for a while, but just watch how much you give her. :)

Hi H.,
My daughter is exclusively breastfed too and now and then she can be a little bit of a picky eater. What I find works for her (especially with veggies) is I put a little of my pumped breastmilk in with her food. It gives her a familiar taste but not so much that she can't get a real taste of the veggies.
Another thing I think that helps is sticking to one brand, preferably organic.
My daughter has been on Earth's Best since 5 months and now when you offer her Gerber she'll turn her little nose up :P She also loves Happy Baby green puffs from Babies r us. Lately though she's becoming more aware of her surroundings, so if I won't eat certain veggies, you can bet she won't either. Hope everything works out great!

Six months is really young to be worried about expanding her diet. My doctor recommends way more food than my girls were ever ready for at that age! Both were early crawlers/walkers and used a lot of energy.

I'd stick with the sweet potatoes, avocado (great brain fat for a little one) and breast milk!

M.