Introducing Solids

My LO is going to be 6 months soon so I'm trying to figure out what would be best for her to start with and what the schedule should look like bc I have no idea. I'm reading that rice cereal has no nutritional value and I would skip it if it's okay to do.

What solid did u start off with?

What was ur schedule like?

Should I skip starting with rice cereal?

Is it all veggies then fruits?

Sorry I have no clue as to what to do... TIA! :)

Introducing Solids

I was overwhelmed with starting solids too. I feel like everyone has a different opinion, even my peds.

This is what I did:

skipped rice, started on oatmeal for about a week, once a day, then went up to twice a day.

Then I introduced a veggie at night (same one for 3 days)
I don't remember the exact order but i know I started with sweet potatoes, then carrots I think then peas. Then fruits. Once she tried all the fruits, I gave her oatmeal and fruit in the am and oatmeal and veggie at night.

There really is no wrong way, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just make sure to do 3 days in a row of each new food.

Re: Introducing Solids

Thank u! I really appreciate it... I just feel so nervous,. It's crazy. I want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly

Re: Introducing Solids

I just started this 5 weeks ago, so I totally understand! DD was just shy of 5 months but she was showing all the signs, so I just went ahead.

I started with oatmeal in the morning and afternoon and added half a container of fruit to it right away because it's pretty bland. I did pears, bananas, and apples. Tried each for 3-4 days to watch out for allergies. I also tried peaches but she hated those. I really should try again because I read that it can take up to 10 tries for a baby to get used to something new.

About a month later, I started orange veggies. Sweet potatoes, squash (loved!), and now we are on carrots. Then I will go to green veggies. So at almost 6 1/2 mos, I do oatmeal with fruit in the morning and a veggie in the afternoon/evening. Around 7 mos, I will introduce yogurt and water in the sippy and will add sometable foods to see how she does.

Solids is definitely something that a person can overthink. Don't get too crazy about it. It's just really practice right now. There are days where I skip a morning or afternoon feeding or occasionally an entire day depending what we have going on and if we are out all day.

Have fun with it. Take pictures and video because it's the freakin cutest thing and so damn messy. Feel free to reach out any time.

Re: Introducing Solids

Everyone does things a little different. I started with oatmeal. Did that for 5 days. Then did 3-4 days of of each of the following
Sweet potato
Carrot
Butternut squash
Then I did pear for 3 days. Today we started apple.. She currently only gets 1-2oz of solids a day (usually around 5pm when we eat). The rest of the day she is BF.
Once she turns 6 months we are going to go up to 2 meals a day (one will be oatmeal) the other will be a fruit/vegetable meal.

Introducing Solids

I did oatmeal first then went on to fruits and veggies (banana, avocado, squash, apples, sweet potatoes, prunes). No real order, just whatever was easy on the tummy first. We stayed at one feeding a day for a month (2 meals at 7 months, 3 meals at 8 months).

Introducing Solids

We started with oatmeal once a day. Then moved it twice a day. Then started on fruits and veggies.

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Thank u all so much! We tried a little rice cereal today and she hated it... Made a face the whole time... It was the cutest thing ever! :) Maybe we should just go with the oatmeal instead of the cereal... What brand is best.. Gerber?

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Re: Introducing Solids

Message edited 2/11/2014 10:31:39 PM.

Introducing Solids

Stray with anything you want. There are no rules. I would start with one meal. And add from there.

Re: Introducing Solids

I consulted Julian's pediatrician and they recommended him to start on cereal but not rice - oatmeal. They felt it was better nutritionally as well as it would keep him regular and not constipate him. He loved the oatmeal, did very well with it.

You can start by mixing a tablespoon of cereal with formula or breast milk - about four ounces for each tablespoon. We started with one, then graduated to two. You can spoon feed it or put it in a bottle but you just have to buy a nipple that is for "thicker liquids" - our bottles, AVENT, have those nipples. Hope that helps. Otherwise, spooning it is fine. He just didn't have the patience when he was so hungry to eat it with the spoon so we bottle-fed it.

I was nervous that because of that, he wouldn't take to the spoon that well when we introduced baby food but he is actually excellent with the spoon so that was nice.

Then, his pediatrician advised to start fruits - stage one. This was after doing the cereal for about a month. For Julian he was on cereal at three months, stage one fruit at four months, and then stage one veggies at five months. He is a TALL boy though and was growing like a weed so that's why the ped advised us to step it up with the food. I looked into all the options for brands and felt that Earth's Best was the right choice for us - it is organic. His doctor stated to try fruit first because the vegetables can sometimes upset the digestive track if it is the first non-formula or breast milk introduced food. So, we did organic stage one apples and he did very well with that - loved them.

We did those for a week, just to make sure there's no allergy. Then, we switched to pears - there was no allergy with the pears but they made him gassy and considering pears are very gassy, it made sense. So we stuck to apples and then switched to bananas - he loved those too. We did bananas for about a week, no allergy. So, it was apples and bananas for quite some time - about a month. I would buy some stage one prunes and just mix a spoonful of it into the apples or bananas - that kept him nice and regular although I have to say, the fruit in general really kept the poop very consistent which was nice.

His doctor advised that at five months, start veggies - stage one. Again, each food you introduce, do it for like 5-7 days and see that there's no reaction. Then, you can go between them once they are in the 'clear' - so, once bananas and apples were both OK we would do both in the same day, etc.

His first stage one veggie was carrots - he loved them. Then, sweet potatoes about a week later - loved those too. There's also peas. A lot of times infants will make such a face because the peas are bitter tasting compared to the sweetness of all the other ones... So, we just mixed the peas in with sweet potatoes and carrots. That way, he didn't gag. The only one he didn't care for - he would eat it but start to gag was squash. So, we took the squash and mixed it in with carrots and sweet potatoes that way he is still getting it but not straight-on so that it made him cringe! :)

Next month, at six months, he can start on stage two and then there's all sorts of fun stuff like pureed chicken and wild rice, etc. So excited!

Hope that helps - we would use a high chair, put his little plastic-type bib on him which is great because it washes right off and just spoon a bit into his mouth, he got the hang of it like he had been doing it his whole life And, at first, of course it was a little messy but you'll be amazed at how quickly they pick it up!

Good luck

Message edited 2/12/2014 11:29:06 AM.

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Re: Introducing Solids