Okay I am not getting this...

My doctor told me at the boys 4 month appointment to start them on solids. I asked her if i should continue with formula and she said yes....to start with cereal and then move onto level 1 foods. Fruits and Veggies. Then she gave me a worksheet and said its all in there on what to do. So i go home and read it and while i gome some info, i cannot for the life of me figure out what i do about formula. Right now the boys get 5 bottles (8ozs) a day every three hours.

Do i substitute the cereal for a feeding? Do i make the formula less oz's when feeding them?

What about when i start with fruits and veggies...does one jar constitute a "meal" like one bottle.

I even read some information on it and don't get what i am suppose to do. I feel like a horrible mom because i don't get it. I am fearing my boys will get fat because i will overfeed them.

So for all the mom's who did this...can you tell me what i should be doing. I am holding off starting them until i feel like i know what i am doing.

Thanks for any help you can provide

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

When you start cereal it is in addition to what you are feeding them as far as formula. I usually use an ounce from the bottle for her cereal in the am and pm. I keep her other feedings the same.

I don't know about when you introduce fruits and veggies as I haven't made it there yet.

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

Dont feel bad at all! I am in the same boat. I am starting Megan on cereal next Monday and I am so confused. LOL

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

I'd use formula from the bottle to make her cereal.

When we introduced fruits & veggies, I'd mix that in with the cereal (fruit & cereal for breakfast) then the rest of the bottle before naptime (which was about 1 - 1 1/2 later).

Lunch was cereal & veggie and eventually fruit too, then we eased the cereal out when she was sick of it.

Dinner was cereal & veggie & fruit (now, at first it'd be a few spoonfuls, then half a container, then she'd polish off a container of EACH) until we introduced meat, then the meat combos.

She still received a bottle after her meals before nap/bedtime.

At 1 year old, she's still getting 3 bottles (we are weaning to a sippy cup)

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

I started solids about 2 1/2 weeks ago and had the same issue... this is what was recommended and has worked for us...

morning - bottle (about 6oz) _ I still give them about 7 1/2oz b/c they don't eat a whole lot of the food yet. They get 2 Tb. of rice cereal

noon - bottle again and whatever fruit/veggie you're introducing (one introduction every 4-5 days)

early evening - bottle, veggie or fruit and cereal

bedtime - just a bottle.

I've been making my own so I use one ice cube sized solid for each of them for now and I'll increase that as I decrease their formula a little at a time.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

I don't think there's an exact science to it. I started off with cereal once a day, then twice a day, then added in fruits & veggies.

I didn't substitute a bottle with solids, particularly since she wasn't eating very much at first.

Some days she eats more, some days she drinks more - it varies.

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

When my son started cereal I kept his formula bottles the same and gave him the cereal with additional formula. Eventually, he started drinking less and less from his bottles and at that point is when I started giving him less ounces of formula in his bottle.
As for the fruit and veggies, I started with half a stage 1 container and then gradually gave him more.

Hope that helps!

Message edited 1/16/2007 3:20:51 PM.

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

Thanks ladies...I am going to start this soon......hopefully it will make sense once I start

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

I just gave her the same amount of formula I was giving her, she adjusted the amount on her own as she ate more and more solids.

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

I would not take away any bottles or put less formula in any of them at all, not for awhile yet. I think once they are eating table foods for a few weeks you can take 1 bottle away but that won't be for awhile for your guys, I'd say.

I just started giving Liam rice cereal on Saturday for the first time. I give Liam half of his 2nd bottle of the day, then I mix 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of rice cereal with 1 tablespoon of formula. I do take from one of his bottles, but I'm going to start using water tomorrow I think. I only used formula so it would taste somewhat familiar to him the first few times. I let him decide when he's finished, if he seem uninterested with the cereal or won't open his mouth I stop. Then give the rest of the bottle. Liam has finished his bottle every day after the cereal. Saturday was a disaster but he was tired. Sunday and yesterday he ate about 1/2 to 3/4 of the cereal. Today he ate almost all of it. After a few days you can increase the amount of cereal to formula ratio if you want to make it a bit thicker, but not too thick. Should not be too soupy but not as thick as regular oatmeal. You'll figure it out, I didn't htink I could but I did.

But you don't want to give them less formula at all. That is going to be their main source of nutrition until they are one year old. Many people say solids are "just for practice" until they are about one year old. I don't really believe that but for right now it kind of is, as in you're preparing them for eating "real" food. If that makes sense.

HTH and good luck!

ETA: Here's a good site.

Baby Center

I also bought the book Super Baby Foods by Ruth Yaron. Some of her ideas I don't follow (she doesn't advocate any meats) but the beginning of the book is good and she has alot of other good tips and advice, even for non-feeding stuff.

Message edited 1/16/2007 6:53:39 PM.

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

When James started cereal, I just gave it to him in addition to his bottles. I'm still doing that.

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

You do NOT have to start solids this early. there is a lot of research that says to wait till 6 months.

Solids at this age is for practice...formula should not change. it is the main source of food for your baby.

If you really want to start solids then just feed him small amounts in the morning to start. But give him a full bottle after.

Re: Okay I am not getting this...

When I started DD on cereal, I gave her 2 tablespoons mixed with some of the formula from the bottle once a day. After a few weeks, I went to morning and evening. After a few more weeks I went to morning, noon, and evening and she was getting just a bottle in the late afternoon (she was only taking 4 bottles of 6oz a day). Then I started giving her 1/2 a jar of a stage 1 veggie with dinner, then I added 1/2 a jar of stage 1 fruit with breakfast, then with lunch. Then I went to 1/2 a jar of stage 2 fruits & veggies. I am now increasing the amount of cereal I'm giving at each meal. She still gets all 4 bottles that she always got but I just use some of the milk out of that bottle to mix her cereal. Sometimes when I would increase the amount of food she got she wouldn't always finish all of her bottle.

Just go slowly and all will be fine. Like someone above said, their bottles are still their main source of nutrition. Once you start giving the foods, it will all make sense. I also called my ped a couple of times to ask questions about how much and when to give what. There is nothing wrong with that.

Also, be ready for them to not really take the cereal too well at first. They have a reflex that forces them to push food out with their tongues. They have to get the hang of it before they really start taking it. I didn't start Marron on cereal until she was almost 5 months, and it took her a couple of weeks to get the hang of taking it into her mouth and swallowing it. Now a 8.5 months she eats like a champ!