Starting solid food

The doctor didn't really give DH specific instructions on starting solid food and I wasn't at the appointmemt to ask. I know you only add a new food every 3 or so days and start with rice cereal but what did you add after that? Once you've introduced a couple new foods, do you give food 3 times a day? Do you nurse/give bottle 1st and then feed solids right after?

Message edited 7/3/2016 10:02:46 AM.

Starting solid food

I started oatmeal at about 5 months and that was once a day. Then at about 5.5 months we started introducing one ingredient fruit than went on to veggies than meat. Now she is 6.5 and eats the mixed stage 2 fruit with cereal in the morning and meat for dinner. Bottles are given to her in between and after the solids if she's still hungry.

Forgot to add my ped said to gradually work up to food 3x's a day. Cereal and/or fruit in the morning, veg for lunch, meat for dinner. With bottles in between. Eventually they drink less and eat more.

Message edited 6/23/2016 8:30:55 PM.

Starting solid food

I started at 6 months and skipped cereal. I started with vegetables, one kind, once per day. Bottle/nurse like an hour before.

Starting solid food

5.5 months, skipped cereal. Fruits and veggies- one new kind every 4-5 days. I refuse to give meat until she can chew it. Went from once to twice to three times daily in a couple weeks, though I'm thinking maybe too quickly because she is now a poop machine.

Re: Starting solid food

Crashing topic sorry. just took ds to 4 month visit and was told to start introducing solids. is this too soon?

Re: Starting solid food

There's really no "rules." You don't have to start with rice cereal, or oatmeal, but you can. You can start with a fruit or a veggie, there's no order that you "have to" use. Just offer a food for 3 days to check for an allergic reaction, then you can offer another one.

If your baby is gagging or not interested, then he/she isn't ready. Try again in a week or two.

Start with 1 "meal" a day - but a meal might only be one or two spoons of food. Food at this stage is just practice, not nutrition.

Offer as much as the baby wants. No reason to limit how much you give if the baby is interested.

You'll know naturally when to add a second and then a third meal.

Most of the time it's best to add the food in between bottles/BFing. Initially you don't want the food to replace milk/formula since that's where the nutrition is, but as the baby eats more solids, this will happen naturally.

Every baby is different so just follow his/her cues.

Re: Starting solid food

Re: Starting solid food

Re: Starting solid food

Re: Starting solid food

Re: Starting solid food

Re: Starting solid food

Message edited 6/24/2016 2:49:17 PM.

Re: Starting solid food

We started about 5.5 mos. We started with fruits/veggies (skipped rice). New food every 3 days.

We picked one bottle time, and about a half hour before that bottle time, fed her. So, for instance, we picked the 6pm feeding (I work and I wanted to be home for this!), so at around 5:30 she gets her food. At first it's just a few bites, followed by almost the normal amount of formula. After a few times, it's more food and less formula. After about 3 weeks, she's entirely skipping her 6pm bottle because she's eating enough to sustain her til her bedtime bottle. Now that we reached that point, we will do the process with another bottle time (probably the 9am bottle). The goal is to be down to 1 bottle by a year.