September 2009 Weddings
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Starting solids...
When did you introduce baby to solids?
Just curious!
I want to wait until Audrey is 6 months, but Josh wants to do it sooner.
Re: Starting solids...
updated 10.03.12
We started at a little over 5mos.
Originally we wanted to wait until 6mos, but we got the go ahead from the pediatrician at 4mos. Around 5mos, Newt started indicating she was ready - watching us eat and showing interest in foods other than BM, mimicing eating, etc. Also, the ped told us solids might help with the reflux, which in fact it did...but contributing factors were also being able to sit up for extended periods of time and age.
Had we started at 4mos, we would have introduced rice cereal first, but since we were closer to 6mos, we went right to a puree (I think sweet potato or carrot...it was orange, thats all I really remember, lol).
Anyway, I would say just take cues from Audrey. She'll let you know if she's ready to give it a try.
Dx: Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism After 2 years TTC & failed IUs,we have our IVF baby born 9/24/11
LO#2 aka 'Miracle Baby' Orig. EDD= 9/28 EDD moved to 10/3/13
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." -- Dale Carnegie
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." --Thomas A. Edison
we obviously haven't started them yet, but..
Pedi said we would discuss solids at his 4m appt. I too want to wait until at least 6 months, but we'll follow his ques to see when he's ready.
I'm thinking about skipping rice cereal, since it has no real nutritional value, and going straight to avocados or sweet potatoes. I'm going to discuss in at his next appointment.
Not to highjack here.. but do any of you think rice cereal is a necessary thing?
As Angela said, it's more for practice than anything else. And it's healthy enough, especially when it's mixed with formula or breastmilk. It's not to replace anything, nothing is at this point...
updated 10.03.12
Yep, it's just for practice.
We did rice cereal at 4 months, started mixing in purees at about 4.5 months, and then did straight purees at about 5 months.
We started at 5 months. I did rice cereal 1x and he didn't like it but I think we made it too watery. We waited a couple weeks and started with mashed avocado. Them we just went from there. Besides that very first time, he's never had the cereal plain. I started with avocado and banana, then made my own purees. Maybe I did it wrong, but I found when making your own food, it's more watery than jarred food so until I just started mashing his food, I usually had to add cereal of some sort to thicken it up. I did oatmeal more often than not but had rice in hand. In the past 6 months I only used 1 tub of rice compared to the numerous oatmeals tubs.
I talked to the pedi about it at 6 mos I think and he said to be sure he gets the cereal at 1 meal bc of the iron so I mix a fruit and 3 scoops of oatmeal in the morning and add either oats of rice to the others as needed. Now he rarely needs it added though.
I also felt like the rice was unnecessary and we pretty much went to oats right away.
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We did a BLW-hybrid and started right around 5.5 months when he could sit up on his own for longer and showed interest in food. We skipped cereal altogether and went straight to purees and solids. He would get purees at DC (we liked the Ella's kitchen, Plum Organics and Target Brand), and he would get pieces of our food (as long as it was age-appropriate) when we ate dinner.
He didn't take to the solids (pieces) until after 6 months when the pedi cleared us for proteins and he discovered chicken. The kid loves chicken! And potatoes!
We also started yogurts and cheeses soon after (he loves cheese), and did puffs and freeze-dried yogurt to encourage his pincer grasp.
He was in all table foods right around nine months, other than nursing. He still gets one puree of fruit/veggies with dinner so we can get another serving in. He likes to suck it straight from the little package.
And no, I don't think cereal is necessary. I think you can start straight with fruits/veggies that are age-appropriate.
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I agree with everything NuNu said.
*stepping onto soapbox* I'm pretty passionate about infant nutrition, so here's additional info:
Look into BLW (baby-led weaning.) It's messy, but it gives baby control of what/how much he/she wants to eat. Like NuNu though, I did start with homemade or organic purees because BLW takes patience and I don't always have it! We started Kyler at 6 months and he only ate runny purees for a couple weeks before we moved onto chunkier ones. He really wanted something to "chew!" By 8 months, we were onto finger foods (like Cheerios, peas, yogurt melts) though we also give him a veggie puree of some sort once a day or every other day because I want to get some veggies in. (The BLW-advocates would probably roll their eyes at this, but whatever.) It is true, however, that "food before one is just for fun," so really you don't need to stress out about whether baby's getting enough fruits/veggies. Baby still gets almost all his/her nutrition from breastmilk or formula.
Also, please remember pediatricians are usually NOT nutrition experts. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until baby is six months old to start solids. Before then, they advise that baby should have nothing but breastmilk or formula. Why do pediatricians tell parents to start solids at 4 months if the Academy recommends otherwise? Beats the hell out of me. Babies tummies take a long time to be able to handle new foods and prior to 6 months, they can have a lot of trouble digesting them.
Rice cereal isn't necessary, a lot of babies don't like it, and they don't need it "for the iron." I started Kyler with mashed avocado, bananas and sweet potatoes instead. Cereal should never be forced on a baby. They get a much more easily absorbed form of iron from breastmilk, and formula-fed infants get their iron from formula. Occasionally babies with anemia may need iron-fortified cereal mixed into a puree, but this is rarely needed. In fact, I've read studies saying that supplemental iron can interfere with the way iron is absorbed in breastfed babies, so you want to be careful with that.
*steps off soapbox*
Good luck with the journey into big-girl foods.
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This could get long......
We also do BLW and started just a few weeks ago. I rec the book Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley. EXCELLENT BOOK and resource.
I didnt do rice cereal or any type of purees. Rice cereal is just a filler. If you're concerned about iron you can start with meat purees. It doesnt matter what you start with be it veg, fruit or meats. The updated infant nutrition info states that as long as your family history doesnt indicate potential food allergy, you can start with whatever purees you wish.
The first food I ever gave Olive was a half of a banana, just like you and I would eat. Its slippery so it took her a bit to figure out how to grasp it. She LOVED it once she figured it out. After that I gave her an fat apple slice, she sucked on that. She's since had a thick pear slice, a thick slice of steak, strawberries, a piece of pork chop, a turkey sausage link, and sweet potato. She's slowly eating what we eat. SHe started off just sucking the juices from the meats (which is where the iron lies) but now she's getting a bit off here and there. She doesnt have teeth either. She does just fine gumming the crap out of things. I know some of you are side eyeing me right now and probably worrying about her choking. Babies' gag reflexes are farther forward on their tongue than for adults so while we might gag once fod hits the back of our throat, babies will gag way before food gets to that point. Also, gagging =/= choking. There's more of a risk of baby choking from being spoon fed than from feeding herself. Plus I'm nt giving her food and leaving her alone or even moving frm the table when she's eating. (Staying seated during meals with her also begins to teach her about family dinner time) Also there's evidence that babies who are left to feed themselves grow up to have less issue with food textures, less picky, less likely to over eat or pack their cheeks, and generally make better food choices for the rest of their lives. Plus its 10000x easier. If I didnt do BLW I'd be making her food but this saves me time. Plus she's learning now to eat the foods that Jesse and I eat. She sits at the table with us for meals too.
"Under one, just for fun" is the idea. It will be awhile before Olive is relying solely on food for her main source of nutrition. She hasnt dropped any nursing sessions. She doesnt have food every day either. Its more about her playing and exploring her food, learning about flavors and texture; than actually eating. Sure its a mess but we have dogs.
Its s fun to watch her "eat" and I'm really excited to see how things go once she's older. I'm not spending extra time wrrying about when or what she'll eat because she just shares with us.
Annnd there was more I wanted to write but I cant think now. I'm sure I'll think of more once I hit post. Get your hands on that book if you can Rach. Its awesome and a really quick read. I want to say Gill has a website as well. You can try that too.
Today for we had fajitas at one of my favorite Mexican places. Steak with green pepper and tomato, tortillas, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, rice and beans. Olive had all of it in the same form that I did (well, not in a tortilla but YKWIM) and she freakin LOVED it. She was really into the peppers.
Here she is with her first steak