Hi everyone,
My LO is 4mo. His pediatrician recommended starting rice cereal in two weeks, followed by barley followed by oats (trying each new thing after 2 days). He then said to start vegetables (squash, sweet potatoes, apples then pears). He said to give him baby food before breastfeeding so he doesn’t fill up on milk. No meats, eggs or fish until 6 months and said he should be having three meals a day by 6m.
Does this all sound normal?
honeydew / 7463 posts
@MsBAM: This is also what my ped recommended. Well, she didn’t care what we started with (cereal vs veggies) just that we should wait a few days between introducing new things.
Keep in mind that they are on 3 “meals” a day, but they are still pretty small at first. Like half a jar of veggies is a meal. At first it’s just getting them used to a routine/schedule and introducing new flavors and textures.
Lots of people wait till 6 months, I think it just depends on what you and your ped are comfortable with. I think there’s enough professional opinion out there to make either decision OK 
pomelo / 5720 posts
My pedi recommended this for my first (a son) because he was developmentally ready for solids and was still waking every 1.5-2hrs overnight to eat. And although my son was happily eating solids, his digestive system wasn't able to handle the foods yet and he was constipated and uncomfortable a lot. We waited until 6 mos with our second and she had none of the same issues with her digestion.
apricot / 265 posts
@SweetiePie: How much cereal and baby food can he eat at first to start at 4.5months? If he eats too much cereal or baby food and gets full will he still BF?
pomegranate / 3438 posts
My pediatrician was the opposite, breastmilk before solids because the breastmilk has more nutrients. Ours also said no rice cereal because we were breastfeeding, it can cause constipation in breastfed babies. We started with baby oatmeal at just under 5 months with my second.
She also said to feed solids once a day until he gets the hang of it. Then go to twice a day. Once he can move from one side of the room to the other (either rolling, scooting or crawling) then we can move to 3 times a day. We didn't start 3 times a day until almost 8 months.
Its amazing how different advice from pediatricians can be!
nectarine / 2951 posts
There are a few different camps on feeding.
My pediatrician recommended that we start @ 6 months and with green veggies, then orange veggies, and finally fruits.
Some people do baby-led weaning others do puréed food. You'll figure out what works for you and baby. Have fun!
apricot / 265 posts
@KT326: That’s what I was thinking! If he fills up on baby food or cereal then he won’t want breast milk!?
Okay that makes sense to start solids once a day. I wasn’t sure how many times per day he should eat solids a day at 4.5m. Makes sense to get them used to it first then increase.
honeydew / 7463 posts
@MsBAM: very small amounts. Like I think a tablespoon at first! I might have something helpful from my peds Office, let me check. It was 3 years ago. Lol.
pomegranate / 3438 posts
@MsBAM: it also took a couple of weeks for my second son to get interested enough to eat more than a couple bites at a time. Now he is 9 months and we have a pretty good schedule. He starts getting mad if it's time to eat and I don't have it ready yet!
honeydew / 7463 posts
Here’s what I was looking for. I got confused it’s not from my ped. A friend sent it to me after she went to a “starting solids” seminar. Some ways down it says between 4-6 months they’ll still only take 1/2 to one tablespoon at a time. And milk consumption shouldn’t decrease.
http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/solidfood4to6montholdbaby.htm
grapefruit / 4278 posts
I would wait until your LO shows signs of readiness for solids. Here's a good list. https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-when/
For some kids, that's around 4.5 months, for others it's closer to 6. And start with whatever kind of food you want. I think this is one of those things that mom's tend to agonize over but isn't an exact science by any means and the same thing doesn't work for every kid. I do agree, however, that "food before 1 is just for fun", so I'd do breastmilk beforehand since that is still the primary source of nutrition.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@MsBAM: A lot of new studies show to wait for solids until age 6 months which is when the gut starts to close.
http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/complementary_feeding/en/
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
My pediatrician wasn’t that exacting, but yes when we started solids because my LO was at his max for formula and weight was a concern we followed something very similar. We started with whole wheat cereal mixed with formula then added veggies every two days. Soon our routine was cereal + prune purée and a veggie and fruit plus all the regular bottles in a day.
honeydew / 7235 posts
With my first, we waited a long time to start solids and that worked well for everyone.
With my second he was VERY stubborn and refused bottles while I was away at work during the day. So we introduced oatmeal mixed with the breastmilk and that was pretty much the only way he would eat while I was away... So we were forced into starting solids early but it was good. We introduced vegetables soon after and mixed that in with the oatmeal cereal as well.
clementine / 828 posts
The recommendations are trending towards earlier introduction, 4 months versus 6 months, to prevent food allergies, although recommendations for different organizations are very mixed, between right at 4 months, 4-6 months, or 6 months. My pediatrician recommended starting at 4 months, but not in any particular order. He recommend introducing high-likelihood of allergy foods earlier, and a variety early. He also recommended introducing the same new food three days in a row.
apricot / 265 posts
Does anyone know what the best brand for baby food is if I’m not making it?
honeydew / 7463 posts
@MsBAM: i never made anything myself except like mashing a banana. I just looked for minimal ingredients (ingredients: pears and water. You might see citric acid added and that’s totally fine, it’s basically lemon juice as a natural preservative). Up to you if you care about organic. Beechnut was good for us to start single ingredient foods. When I wanted more complex mixtures I liked Earth’s Best and Sprout Organics but honestly pretty much anything is good these days.
I think the only one I was iffy about was Plum Organics because their food names didn’t match the ingredients. Like they’d have a label on the front that said “spinach pear banana” making you think it had lots of spinach. And then you read the ingredient list and spinach is the very last ingredient which means it was the least prevalent in the mixture. But they got busted and I think they’ve since changed that.
But, like, nothing is going to have BAD stuff in it these days because we’re all so hyper aware of it.
Oh and this is just a random thing I didn’t know until my ped told me - even if you buy pouches, you should feed with a spoon until they are older. She wanted to make sure he learned how to use a spoon rather than continuing to just suck (like they already do with a bottle or boob). So get the little spoons and on the go you can squeeze it into the spoon and at home I just squeezed the pouch into a little bowl.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Just want to add my Pediatrician advised if my LO had been on a BM diet the next step to help him gain weight would have been to add formula not solids.
apricot / 431 posts
@bushelandapeck: please tell me when you started solids with your first he began sleeping through the night?! My son is 4 months and wakes up every 2 hours. I'm dying
pear / 1547 posts
You must have an old school doctor. The AAP recommendation is only breast milk until age 6 mo. And then with solids cereal doesn't (maybe even shouldn't) be first - I always rec veggies. And offer breast milk first because that is where all their nutrition should still come from at this age. Also no evidence for several days between each kind of food unless there is a family history of significant food allergies.
persimmon / 1111 posts
Honestly, that doesn't sound evidence based at all. For a breastfed baby, you always want milk first until 9ish months. I'd nurse an hour before eating. We were told no food before 5 months and to do veggies, fruits, then grains. I believe we started at 2 meals a day around 6 months then around 9 he went up to three.
At 6 months a meal was a tablespoon or two of applesauce with rice cereal (Mott's applesauce and beechnut cereal) and dinner was sweet potatoes or squash. Beechnut was our favorite
honeydew / 7463 posts
@MsBAM: If it helps, this is what our schedule for solids, formula and sleep looked like at that age (4/4.5 months):
7am wakeup
7am Bottle
8-9:30am nap
10am solids
11am Bottle
11-12:30/1 nap
3pm Bottle
3-4:30pm nap
5:30-6pm catnap
6:30pm bedtime routine
7pm final bottle and bedtime
As he got older and more familiar with solids we added in lunch and then finally dinner. But it is hard when they are napping so much and still drinking so much milk. And then nap schedule changes because one gets dropped or whatever. You have to be fluid in that respect. I knew bottles and sleep were nonnegotiable so if something had to give it was solids. That’s why I didn’t stress if I couldn’t fit a solid in at some point in the day, I knew he was getting the vast majority of his nutrients from the formula.
Also I want to note that I did try to do any solids and bottles an hour apart from each other. I never noticed that he didn’t finish a bottle or refuse a solid because he was too full. I think just spacing them out as best you can helps regardless of which you want to do first.
pomelo / 5720 posts
@ocean81: I wish!! No, he didn’t STTN until 9 mos which is when he started walking.
pomelo / 5621 posts
We started DS on solids at about 4.5 months. Started with cereals and then added in fruits and veggies.
At our 4 month appointment our ped said to start any time as long as we tried by 6 months. We started when we did as DS was super interested.
I'm backwards and started with a meal around dinner first and then lunch and breakfast last. It just felt easier to start this way as there was another adult home to help out.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
That sounds early. My understanding is 6 months is the recommendation to start, although we followed a somewhat similar order- based on checking for allergies first. 3 meals a day at six months and doing before breast milk or formula is just counterintuitive to me, but as this thread shows there's a range of recommendations. If you don't feel comfortable with this keep looking though.
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
In terms of age: same dr changed his rec on when to start from my older lo to my younger, so 3 years ago he said 6m, now he says 4: when my lo2 was able to sit supported and reach for things (he mentioned solids at our 4m well baby visit bc she was perched in my lap and trying to put his stethoscope in her mouth lol)
His advice on what is also based on recent allergy advice-/ he says to give anything and everything except honey. Intro common allergens early. No need to wait between goods.
I started w giving her just bites of my softer foods, like yogurt or avocado. Just off my plate if she was curious. At 7m now she basically gets something while/lo1 we sit at dining table; she ends up eating 1-2 pouches total per day. I nurse on demand around that— sometimes it’s before, sometimes after. I haven’t done any cereal or oatmeal, just things off my plate that I’m comfortable giving her or pouches (happy baby or plum are the brands I usually get). Lately as her pincher grasp improves I give her puffs, mum mums, or yogurt snacks to keep her busy too
apricot / 265 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: That’s funny you say that, he told me he would put on weight with solids!
pomegranate / 3127 posts
@MsBAM: the weight thing really depends on what solids you give. I think cereal mixed with milk or formula does help with weight gain. Fruit and veggie purees, not so much.
The recommendation sounds a bit early, but there are reasons a doctor might recommend that - like slow weight gain if you're nursing, or just the child showing signs of readiness. One of my kids was nursing and drinking formula, and the formula gave him some tummy problems. He felt much better once he could also have fruit purees to balance it out.
apricot / 265 posts
@SweetiePie: That is helpful.
Now when he says he should be on three meals a day by 6m, does he mean eating solids 3X a day?
cantaloupe / 6131 posts
My boys both started solids young - around 4.5/5 months. In the beginning, it was really about learning to eat off a spoon, not nutrition. Like, I'd be shocked if my kiddos ate more than a tablespoon or two at a time.
I found oatmeal cereal to be the least constipating and mix it with a little bit of prune baby food. I mix it up with breastmilk. They both took like 1-2 tablespoons of mush max.
I think by 6-7 months, they were eating like half a jar, maybe 2/3 of a jar if they were hungry.
I started with just 1 meal a day for a week or two. So we just did cereal for "breakfast" every morning. Then I added in "lunch" of a single veggie or fruit for about 2 more weeks. Then I added dinner. By that point I was comfortable giving combination foods and I knew what bothered my kids and what was fine.
At 6-7 months, I added finger foods like puffs or banana, and yogurt.
As to the timing of the milk, I gave half the normal portion of milk first, then fed solids, then offered milk again. That way if they were still hungry (which at the beginning they usually are since they're not really eating anything), they can fill up some more. This did make mealtimes/feedings longer, but its really a temporary thing.
My kids were both on 28-30oz of milk a day when we started solids, and by the time they were on 3 solid meals of food around 6 months, they went right down to 24oz of milk and then it was just a slow and gradual reduction in milk volume until they turned 1 because the amount of food they ate ramped up.
honeydew / 7463 posts
@MsBAM: yes, 3x but still prob relatively small.
I didn’t focus too much on how much he ate except for the very beginning. Maybe first month? And then I would give as much or as little as he wanted. I’d pour half a jar of whatever into a bowl and if he finished it and seemed to want more I gave more. If he didn’t finish the first half I didn’t push. Some days he seemed to eat a ton and others barely anything.
Again, as long as I spaced the bottles and food apart it didn’t seem to impact milk intake. Though I think around 8 months food intake ramps up a bit and, at least for formula fed babies, formula intake decreases. For my son he went from 8oz bottles to 6oz.
For 3 meals a day, I’ll post what our schedule looked like just let me get to my laptop.
apricot / 265 posts
@Mama Bird: he told me he’s not concerned about his weight but he’s not a chubby baby by any means. He’s 13lbs at 4m. So just slightly double his birth weight. I have some stashed BM from July that I could put in his rice cereal. I know it’s good 3-6months but how can you tell if it’s actually spoiled? If it curdles?
pomegranate / 3127 posts
@MsBAM: if it smells bad, probably... and sometimes stashed milk develops a nasty metallic taste because of too much lipase enzyme. That doesn't mean it spoiled, just tastes bad, though I've heard some babies don't mind.
honeydew / 7463 posts
Ok, once on 3 meals a day with 3 naps it looked like this:
7am wakeup
7am Bottle
8-9:30am nap
10am solids
11am Bottle
11-12:30/1 nap
2pm solids
3pm Bottle
3-4:30pm nap
5pm solids
5:45/6pm start bedtime routine
6:30pm final bottle and bedtime
apricot / 265 posts
@SweetiePie: That seems like a good schedule. I’ll have to keep in mind spacing out solids and milk so it doesn’t impact milk intake. Thanks!
apricot / 265 posts
@gingerbebe: He’s basically going to still be having quite a bit of BM then since he won’t be eating much of the solids at first. I didn’t realize how little they eat at first! I’m probably gonna start with cereal too, then prob introduce veggies/fruit gradually. Thanks for all the info!
grapefruit / 4418 posts
Sounds outdated to me. We wait until 6 months and skip rice cereals and just go right to regular food. We do BLW, though.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@MsBAM: yes my pediatrician did too- add solids to gain weight. However, the weight gain can happen too with formula. If LO had a BM diet then we could have delayed solids and supplement with formula. One more benefit to BF is you can delay solids if you want to since formula can bridge the gap. Since LO was on a formula only diet and already drinking the max amount of formula allowed our only option was solids. Make sense?
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