When to Start Fruit and Vegetables

The stomach lining is not fully developed until 6 months. That is why food allergies run high when a child starts solids early.

My 1st was FF and we started him on soilds a few days after he passed the 6 month old mark and we started we vegetables. Fruits are sweet and we did not want him to perfer the fruits over the vegetables.

My 2nd is still breastfed and we delayed solids till he was almost 9 months. We started the same way as with my oldest vegetables over fruit. I skipped cereal with him all together.

What I have noticed is that my oldest is a very picky eater and my youngest will eat anything you offer him. A few other mothers that I know who have delayed solids also noticed their LO will eat anything offered.

As per my son's dr she said to start solids @ 6 months and not before. She is also pro breastfeeding so she was ok with the delaying of solids as long as he was on them by 9 months.

C.,
Generally, most sources I have seen say 6 months is a good time to start any solids, however I used interest as my indicator and let her use broccoli and asparagus as teething tools when she was about 5 1/2 mos.

She is 14 mos now and eats a little of almost anything I give her, though most of her nutrition still comes from breast milk. She is healthy and happy.

Feeding a little one can be stressful, the key is relax and follow his lead.

A resource that I found invaluable as a new mom and now is www.askdrsears.com. Can't funtion without it!

V.
Mom to Phoenix 14 mos

C.,

As a mother to 3 boys, with my first son it was a bit different. He started with solids, all solids at a month old. With my next to boys it was six months. I would say start him at 6 months and wait a day or two in between introducing them to your son, not 5.

Hope this helps.

S.

35 y/o SAHM of 3 boys

It's always been stated that a baby's first solid should be baby cereal. Baby cereal in the morning for breakfast and baby cereal at night before bedtime is what I always did. I breastfed everywhere in between. I didn't attempt baby cereal with any of my babies (I have 3 of them) until they were at least 3-4 months. I attempted at 2 months but they were never ready. You can tell they are not ready when they push the food back out. Try the cereal for a couple of months and at 5-6 months introduce veggies. Steam them in batches and freeze them in ice cube trays. That is what I did. You can steam sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash. Once you introduce a solid, you stick with it for about 3 days before introducing a new food. By doing this you will know for sure which foods, if any, your baby is having allergies (gas, rashes, diarrhea, etc.). My ped said it was better to hold off on introducing fruits because babies in general prefer sweets over anything else and they will have a harder time taking the veggies if you introduce fruits first. With fruits, you can steam most of them, mash them up and you are good to go. I'd hold off on strawberries until your baby is closer to a year old. All 3 of mine were allergic to them. With meats, I didn't offer meats (ground up) until my babies were past 6 months old.

The AAP recommends waiting 6 months as by then baby's digestive system is better able to handle solids. Plus, studies have shown an increased risk with asthma and allergies if you start too soon.

Personally, I would try to wait until at least 6 months, when the tongue thrust reflex was gone and when baby can sit up on his own. I don't think grabbing food is a particularly reliable sign since 4-5 month old babies like to grab EVERYTHING! The other advantage of waiting is that introducing solids is kind of a pain in the butt. Life is a lot easier when you don't have to worry about "mealtimes" and the accompanying mess. It's not like they digest all that much of it anyway. You see so much come out in the diaper.

We started at like 5 months and 3 weeks (I won't be in such a rush this time) and started with a little cereal and BM (also planning on skipping the cereal next time). I started with veggies before fruits. And waited about 3-4 days between new foods. Oh, and solids did NOT make my daughter sleep better at night. =)

I started my twin girls at about 4 1/2 months on food because they were watching me eat and making chewing motions with their mouths which told me they were ready. Wait to start until they are ready which is different for every baby, but when you do start, start with vegetables so your son will eat the food thats not sweet. If you start with fruit you run the risk of him not wanting veggies because they don't taste as good. After he's eating veggies well then introduce the fruits. This worked very well for me as my daughters like all foods now. Hope this helps!

You can start anytime between 4-6 months. The advantage is usually they are full longer. This sometimes helps with them sleeping longer at night for some. I started my daugther at 4 months with just oatmeal for 2 weeks gave her a little more each time, then I started with vegetables oranges ones first, then green, then fruit. I did each one for 3 days and gave a little more each time. I did this at one meal then once she tired most things I added it to lunch and dinner.

the 'new' recommendation is to wait until baby is 6 months old. Their digestive systems are a bit more mature, and they get all the nutrition they need until then from breastmilk or formula. actaully, they get all the nutrition they need for about a year! starting food is just that: 'starting.' It's introducing them to tastes and the actual act of eating...

As for what to start with: some say not to start w/ fruit because they're too sweet. well, if a baby is breastfed (or not! using this as an example), breastmilk is very sweet so it's not like if you give them fruit they'll 'never want veggies.'
I have more to say & I posted here:
http://www.mamasource.com/request/16303018883021799425?

enjoy that baby!
~L.

That's a great question. I think the first thing you need to look for is cues that your son is ready. by 4 1/2 months my daughter was reaching for our utensils when we were eating, and just moving her mouth a lot when she watched us eat..so I knew she was ready. And as you stated, it is essential to give at least 4 days before the introduction of a new food to check for any allergic reaction. I started with rice cereal, then definitely vegetables. her first was green beans. I think, as do many people, that if you start them on fruit it will be more difficult to interest them in vegetables, since the fruit is so sweet. I will say that I think it worked, because my daughter is a great, healthy eater. There is a book, "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron, that was my absolute bible during those months. I really recommend that you pick up a copy. I made all of my daughter's baby food, and this book shows you how. Even if you don't want to go that far, it is still such a great book, because it lists every fruit and vegetable, and tells you what age it is appropriate to introduce. It takes the guess work out of which items to begin with, and lets you know which ones baby is not ready to digest. Congratulations on this special time!!
A. C. :)

Generally, 6 months is the recommended ago to start solid foods. You are correct that you should wait about 5 days to a week in between each new food you introduce. Good first foods are things like baby cereal, bananas, strained fruits and vegetables, and so on. Don't serve complex things like pureed spaghetti because if he or she reacts badly, you won't know if the problem is the wheat noodles or the tomato sauce. Make sure you don't feed a child honey until he or she is at least a year old because it just isn't good for babies.

You can start solids b/w 4-6 months. However, the baby's tummy is not quite developed until 6 months. I read up a lot on solids, and found that cereal does not have to be your baby's first food. It can be any fruit or veggie. The only reason they recommend cereal, is b/c it's so bland that most babies will eat it. My baby is drinks only breast milk and I started solids at 6 months. By the way, her first food was a veggie...sweet potato. It went very well, and she still loves it. some great sites... www.kellymom.com and www.askdrsears.com. You can also buy the book - Super Baby Food Book. It's great even if you don't plan on making your own baby food - it's packed with great information! Good Luck!
jessica