When Can Baby Start Eating from a Spoon?

HI J.,
I just noticed you have another question. ;-) My youngest is 23, but it seems to me that 11 weeks is a little young to eat off of a spoon. I remember cutting an X in the nipple of the bottle when my kids needed a little extra cereal (on top of breastfeeding)so I don't think we started with a spoon until they were ready for more foods and could sort of sit in a high chair- closer to 6 months. That is what I remember- now I have 5 young grandchildren who seem to be thriving- they are the joy of my life!
Take care,
M.

He should not be taking cereal from a bottle at any point - especially at this age - sorry. At about 4 months plus, I'd start him with the cereal from a spoon. They make great wide-mouth, plastic spoons with large easy-to-grip handles that are a great first step - they come in 2 packs so he can have his own! Good luck!

At 11 weeks old he should not even be eating ceral in his bottle, though you may hear many people tell you thats how you get them to sleep longer. Their tummies are not developed to eat untill 4 to six months old.

From my experience and research, 3 months old is a bit too young to be starting spoon cereal much less putting it in a bottle- that said,I think it is best to start spoon feeding when your baby actually shows interest in eating in this way. My daughter showed signs when my husband and I would eat and her little eyes would track the food going to our mouths & her mouth would slightly open like she was also mimicking our eating patterns. We knew it was time to introduce something besides breastmilk. She was about 6 months. We started her off with mashed bananas 1x/ day and only a few tiny bites, slowly this increased in amount, then we began introducing other foods every other week or so. Try not to rush the 'growing up' of your little one & good luck!

You can get good advice on babyzone.com. You should NOT be giving him rice cereal at the age period. he is way too young!! You shouldn't do that until at least four months of age, any peditrician would tell you the same. He is not old enough to digest it properly. And, he should eat it from a spoon at that point because at four months, he could hold his head up in a high chair. No one IS going to always tell you stuff, you need to research it on your own or call your pediatricians office and ask to speak to a nurse, they are always helpful.

J.
Please do NOT give your child cereal in his bottle. It'll make it harder for you child to learn to eat if they are "drinking" their cereal.

Check with your pediatrician, they are the best source for what is best for your child.

To help with preventing allergies, it is best to wait until your child is at least 3mos old before introducing solid food (many pediatricians recommend waitint 6mos, which is why I recommend you checking with yours). Formula or breast milk are more than enough and best for your baby until then.

When it is time, you SHOULD use a spoon (not the bottle). Your child should be able to sit up on their own, in a high chair. Mix the cereal with breast milk or formula in a bowl so it is VERY liquidy. Then use the spoon. Most likely your child will spit it out and actually eat very little the first several times you try. But eventually will get the hang of it.

When you decide to do solid foods (baby food or your own home made baby food). Do ONE food for several days to check for allergies, then try another. IT is a slow process to introduce food and spoons and such.

We found having two spoons, one for the baby to hold and one for us to use to feed her was helpful.

Again can't emphasize talking to your child's doctor!

Good luck
C. P

ABOUT ME: Mom of 2 girls 14 mos apart (19 mos and 33 mos).

By all means. If the baby is comfortable with a spoon. You might want to get a spoon with a soft end. If the baby is uncomfortable because it hurt the gums then they will shy away.

at 11wks he is MUCH too young for rice cereal in a bottle...it's a choking hazard and may make him too heavy, you should NEVER put rice cereal in a bottle unless it is for treatment of reflux (and even then a LOT of Dr.'s are no longer recomending that) and no matter what anyone tells you...no one has ever proven that rice cereal in a bottle helps a baby to sleep longer, not to mention cereal is pretty much nutritionally void (very few vitamins and minerals no fat which your baby NEEDS for brain development, it's just carbohydrates.) Every teaspoon you put in his bottle is one less teaspoon of formula which has been designed to help his brain and body develop normally.

He shouldn't receive any solid food until at least 6months or longer...when HE is showing interest in solid foods. That means reaching for food on your plate, smacking his lips and imitating chewing when you eat. Some babies don't even try to eat solids until a year of age. All of mine were at least 8months before beginning solid foods.

Though us older moms were always told to spoonfeed our babies from 6 weeks on, it's not done so much anymore. I think 11 weeks is pretty early to be adding solids.

With both of our boys they had nothing but the bottle until right around 6 months old. At that time we then started them on cereal and worked our way through all the other baby foods from there. It worked very well for us and we will be doing the same thing with our baby girl once she arrives. As far as cereal in the bottle, all I have ever heard about that is that it is not a good idea. Hope this helps!

Check this website out for some pretty good tips. http://life.familyeducation.com/infant/foods/39379.html

I prefer to wait until baby is 6 months old to introduce any solids whatsoever (including rice cereal), because their gut is not completely "closed" yet (meaning they are more sucseptible to allergies and whatnot). With my daughter, we started off at 6 months of age with pureed foods on a spoon but she hated the spoon. So I steamed veggies for her and gave her hunks of them to chew on. She didn't eat much but that was okay, because breastmilk was her sole source of calories. That's how it should be with your son. At 11 weeks old, he doesn't need anything other than formula or breastmilk.

i didn't give any cereals or solids until 4 months old...and now that i've learned more in books and switched doctors, i will for sure WAIT until 6 MONTHS w/ my next baby!! i wouldn't give anything until your pediatrician recommends it! just call a nurse and ask...the dr/staff will guide you...good luck!

ps...giving cereal in bottles doesn't make babies sleep longer...that's a myth! nothing but formula/breast milk in bottles! (unless told by your dr!)

hey J.
i have always waited to my little ones were 5 to 6 mo old before giveing anything other thenbrestmilk or formula then when they are that age i do oatmeal or barley because they say rice can cause allergies .But at 11 weeks old he just need milk base stuff formula or brest good luck and congrats on the new little one

Hi, J.,
Statring from 2 m.o. you have to add first fruit purees, then vegetable purees to the diet of your baby. How can you do that? Of course with the help of special baby sppons.
Try it and good luck,
Best regards,
E. Z.

Hi J.,

It is recommended that you wait on solids until baby is 6 months old. Their digestive systems are not mature until that point and there is some newer research that suggests starting solids earlier then 6 months can cause issues later in life. Also, it's a good idea to wait with the solids until they can sit up on their own as it is less of a choking hazard at that point.

The other thing with waiting until 6 months is many times earlier then 6 months baby will have a tongue reflex that pushes food OUT of their mouth. So, really defeats the purpose.

Even at 6 months solids should be a supplement to the formula or breastmilk. 1 year on the formula or breastmilk as the main source of calories.

Also, do a little research ... purees are NOT necessary. You CAN go straight to table food.

Google: Baby Led Weaning.

I followed this with my daughter... starting with very soft cooked veggies... like broccoli and parsnips. Then, as she got older introducing more and more foods. (I will say, she did get baby oatmeal with homemade applesauce before bed though) A baby can choke on a puree just as easily as a soft cooked piece of broccoli. Foods they can grab onto work best... that's why the broccoli...it has a natural handle. As I said, solids at 6 months are just supplements. By giving table foods from the get go, they experience the textures and tastes of REAL food.

I did this with my daughter. She will be 2 next month. Every time I get together with other moms all I hear is how their toddlers won't eat anything except mac-n-cheese, or hot dogs. I can't contribute to that conversation because my daughter literally eats just about anything I put on her plate. Broccoli, peas, corn, asparagus, snap peas, green beans, steak, chicken, ham, pasta, salmon, tuna ... anything! I don't have to make a special meal for her. She eats what we eat. I'm convinced it is because I never gave her purees and she's been eating real food since she was 6 months old.

Just something to consider.

try feeding him with a spoon. if he can do it .. then it is time to start.. if he cant do it yet wait a while till he can do it..

Hi J. -- congratulations on being a mom!
This is a great place to get info from other moms but you'll have to pick and choose what's right for you and your son. You should always feel comfortable calling your pediatrician's office for advice, too -- if you don't, then get a new ped.
We gave one of our sons rice cereal in his formula from very early on due to reflux (I think he was about 4 weeks old). It really helped him to keep his food down and now he's a very healthy and happy little boy. As for the spoon, we didn't use a spoon until we were ready to start solids at 6 months old. At that time we gave cereal by spoon once a day before bedtime and we gave jar foods via the schedule another poster mentioned.
Good luck and enjoy your little boy!

Typically you are supposed to wait until 4 to 6 months to start solids, but the longer you put it off the better. I started all of my kids on solids at 6 months or older. You can try feeding your baby with a spoon. Your baby should be able to sit up by his or her self, without support. The rule I have followed is that if more food is getting spit out and all over the face or chin, it's too early to start spoon feeding. Try again in a few weeks. Also, you should never put cereal in a bottle, it is a choking hazard and they eat too much too fast. There is a great website that will give you lots of info on feeding and other parenting topics: www.kellymom.com Check it out! Hopefully it will help you answer some of your questions. Good luck and congrats on your little one!

by all means start feeding him with a spoon. he will want to start feeding himself about 11 months or so maybe.

Hi J.,

About four months. Unless things have changed since my youngest was born thats when their tummies can handle the extra food. I was always told by their pediatrician that rice cereal too early can cause digestive problems...constipation, extra gas, indegestion.

If you read all the labels on baby's cereal there should be a chart with cereal and food steps you can follow.

Despite what my Italian Grandmother and Aunts told me...I started about 4 months with rice cereal because it's easier to digest and it can be made thinner for easier digestion and eating for baby. You will gradually increase the thickness as baby gets used to eating a more "solid" meal. Then jar foods and the next step up of cereal around 6 months I believe. My relatives always would tell me to give the girls cereal in their bottles (almost from the start)...I did it when they were closer to 4 months and only at night to keep them full longer.

Of course...you can always ask your pediatritian for advice =)

Good Luck, and Happy Feedings!

Your pediatrician should be your source of information. Unless advised by your Dr. (generally b/c of relux issues)you should not be giving your baby rice cereal at 11 mos or in a bottle. Your baby only needs breast milk or formula until 4-6 mos of age. At about 4 mos, most babies are ready for rice ceral, by spoon. At 6 mos most babies are ready for jar food, first veggies, start one at a time a week apart to make sure there are no allergies. After you go through all the veggies, start with the fruits. Again, one at time about 5 days apart to check for allergies.

Your child should not be getting cereal in his bottle.....unless the doctor has advised it. It is a myth that he will sleep better with cereal. Usually you wait until 4-6 months to start feeding a baby cereal.

J.,

I too was clueless when I had my daughter so I took my advice from her Dr and also I bought a book "What to Expect The First Year" which was invaluable and stopped me from calling the Dr every 5 minutes. I'm not and never have been on WIC but I got the info I needed - unfortunately the handbook is never provided when you give birth, they just send you home with you little lifechanger.

Good Luck and congrats.

With my daughter we started cereal and then about 2 weeks later veggies, at about about 13 weeks. The doctor said we could start at 3 months or we could wait. He said to not pressure her and we didn't. She hated cereal but got everything quickly. I would check with your pedi though before you start. I am not sure if you are already giving it in the bottle if it changes things, plus I know some pedis not say 6 months.

My pediatrician told me the EARLIEST to start rice cereal is 4 months but usually more like 5-6 months. The reasons being potential for allergies and they aren't able to move food around in their mouths to swallow effectively before then. I don't believe you're supposed to put cereal in their bottles at all, either. Hope that helps, good luck :)

Were you instructed by the doctor to begin rice cereal? If yes, then using a spoon is up to you. Make sure you give extremely small amounts. There are vinyl coated spoons that are gentle on the gums. Make sure the child is in a sitting position in an infant seat. A car seat would work. Lying down and feeding by spoon is not a good idea.

I wouldn't be giving him cereal period. He really doesn't need anything but breast or bottle til he is a year old. I believe giving babies food too soon invites food allergies that might not appear til later. I know that alot of moms give cereal at night to "hold them over" through the night so you can get some sleep. I don't know if it really works or not. Babies' mouths and swallowing reflex are not designed for food at this age. He could choke on it...YIKES!What's the rush? He has the rest of his life to eat "food". Enjoy is infant-ness...they grow up way too fast!

No he won't get it. Hes still new. 11 weeks is bearly three months. Dr. usually won't let you start feeding them by spoon till 6months. At that time you would do morning and night feedings and than by 8 months three feeding so on. You do it now it will be too much for the baby. Besides please slow down don't let them grow so fast they grow fast enough. Relax enjoy thelittle guy

The sooner the better :)

Wow, I didn't give my daughter cereal until she was 6 months. At this time she was introduced to using a spoon. I think 11 weeks is too soon to feed a baby cereal as its just empty calories. I suggest talking with your pediatrician.