Starting solids

DD just turned 5 months and we started her on oatmeal. Dr. said to try applesauce (or another fruit) next then squash or green beans and I am just a little confused...

Once I start her on applesauce, do I stop the oatmeal or do I give oatmeal for bfast, then applesauce for dinner- or can I do both at one feeding?

What happens when I start vegetables? Same question- is it in place of fruit or can I do fruit/oatmeal for bfast and veg at dinner?

At what point do I stop oatmeal?

I hope this all makes sense.. I am going to call Dr. but I figured I'd ask here to see what everyone has done.

Thanks!


ETA
When do they typically start eating solids twice a day?

Am I supposed to reduce the amount of formula she is eating, or will she gradually drop a feed or eat less ounces on her own?

Right now she has 5 bottles of 6.5 oz each. When I feed her the oatmeal I give her a 5 oz bottle first, then use the extra 1.5 oz to make the oatmeal, is that the norm?

Message edited 6/13/2013 9:35:49 AM.

Starting solids

You can do it separate or combined. Once you've given a food for 3 days and know there's no reaction, you can add a new food in combined with the old or alone. I usually mixed fruit or veggies with DD's oatmeal. Once she was up to two meals I typically did oatmeal and fruit at breakfast and veggies or fruit and veggie combined for dinner. You really can do it any way you want. I never stopped oatmeal until DD was off of purees.

Starting solids

Thank you!

Anyone else?

Added more questions in OP

Message edited 6/13/2013 9:34:33 AM.

Starting solids

We started DS at 6 months with two meals a day. Breakfast at 10:30am and dinner around 7pm.

For breakfast, we generally give him cereal mixed with a fruit.
For dinner, it's usually a veggie.

After about a month, we started giving him lunch too which usually consists of yogurt. Sometimes we mix it with fruit. Other times with cinnamon.

We generally wait about half an hour between food and formula.

I wait 4 days between foods to make sure there's no reaction (had to do this for cinnamon too)


As for formula, give the same amount as always. Once DD gets used to eating solids, she'll probably eat a bit less formula.

The bottles themselves need the be the same size as usual (ie: if she usually eats 6oz, she should get oatmeal with 2oz of formula AND a 6oz bottle later).

Starting solids

I agree with the other posts. Start with the 1 solid and wait 3-4 days to make sure there isn't a reaction. And you should still feed the same amount of formula. The food just complements the formula doesn't replace it.

BM/Formula and solids

Message edited 6/13/2013 1:53:51 PM.

Re: Starting solids

we just started DD on a solids June 1st. We gave her oatmeal mixed with formula for a week. Then, we started introducing different veggies in the evening, giving her 2 meals a day.

As of now, she gets a little oatmeal at 8am (she has her first bottle at 7am) and a veggie at 6pm (with her last bottle at 7pm)

Starting solids

My DS started at 4 months. We started with once a day until 6 months then went to 2x a day then finally 3x.

He did slowly start to drop some ounces of formula but not enough to be an issue. He drank way more than he really need for nourishment so it wasn't a big deal. Once you have a food (cereal, fruit or veggies) that you have tried and you know your LO is nto allergic to you do not have to stop that one to start a new. You can give some cereal with the apple or whatever. Just never add two new things at a time.

Re: Starting solids

We started at 6 mos and did oatmeal 1x a day for dinner and did that 1-2 weeks. Then we did a fruit or veggie for lunch and then plain oatmeal for dinner until we "tested" all the main foods.

Now at 8 mos we do fruit for lunch and veggie for dinner. We sometimes mix oatmeal with the fruit or the veggie to thicken it because all the jarred baby foods are so loose!

Starting solids

Thank you so much for all the replies. This was very helpful!

Re: Starting solids

we started at 4 months and slowly went up and by 6 months was at 3 meals a day