and a half month old starting solids?

Question

My 4 month old son is now eating rice ceeal once a day in between his morning bottle, about 3 tablespoons of cereal. When do i move him up to cereal 2 and 3 times a day and does that mean he will skip a bottle?? When do i start fruits?? what will his schedule be like when he is eating more, Would it be a bottle, cereal, fruits, a bottle and veggies and meats and another bottle for bedtime??

i have an 8 yr old but my mom helped me with her a lot wqith the soklids and now i am clueless

i also put 2 tablespoons of rice cereal in the bottkle and i also give it to him on a spoon as well

Answer 1

Your pediatrician will discuss a eating schedule for your child. Usually doctors don't recommend any solid foods until the child in 6 months. I would not introduce any veggies or fruits until then. The rule of thumb is feed the baby one type of fruit/veggie for 5 days to be sure there is not allergic reaction. I would talk to your child's doctor before introducing anymore food. You DEFINITELY don't want to substitute a bottle for solids at this point, formula/breast-milk is the most important food for your baby.

Answer 2

Every child is unique so there is no set pattern. I had one that was really hungry and I started her early on cereal because the bottles weren't filling her up. She was 3 1/2 mos. I started the second one at 6 months because she didn't seem to need it. My son started around 3 mos.

Try to use a spoon and resist the urge to put it in his bottle as this is a skill that baby must learn - to tongue and swallow.

Typically you can add a new food every few days. I think they recommend waiting 3-5 days between new foods to screen for allergies.

Try adding different cereals and give him as much as he wants. It is hard to overfeed a baby.

I would recommend starting vegetables and meats before fruit. While I know every doctor has a different idea on this one, experience has told me that babies love the sweetness of fruit and it seems that kids that start on veges first, then meats, then fruit have less of a sweet tooth.

Given that 1 in 4 kids is overweight and more than half of all adults, and that the percentage of people with weight problems is rising, maybe this difference can help baby with a healthier start for food preferences.

I rarely gave my second and third kids juice either. It is basically sugar water and they don't need it. If it is hot and they need extra liquids, give water. Besides learning to like plain water is also a good thing to teach early. If you give juice, dilute it.

If the baby doesn't like a food, don't sweat it. Nobody likes everything and you can always try reintroducing it again a few weeks or months later.

You can start a new food every few days so introduce the next food class (veges, meats, etc.) on that schedule or as it suits you. You don't have to speed it up.

Then work towards 3 times a day like meals, food first, then bottle. It won't hurt to give him cereal 2 or 3 times a day. Only you know how really hungry he is. You will gradually work him into a normal meal schedule.

Another tip - around 7 months babies learn to use the pincher - finger and thumb together. At this point start introducing finger foods. These can be those marketed to babies or pieces of your own food. Cheerios is also a great one for this. Not only is your baby learning to feed himself, but it is a lot easier on mom when they do. Put a plastic mat under the high chair and let him go at it!

Around the same time introduce more table foods. Spices are okay as long as they aren't too strong. This will help your child be a good eater. Babies don't need bland food and you don't need a picky eater!

Resist the urge to feed junk to your baby and toddler. Quite frankly a one year old doesn't know what a french fry is and doesn't need it. Don't start this habit early. Same with sugar. Stick with real food.

And check with your doctor or do some homework. There are a few foods not recommended for babies and toddlers because they can cause allergy problems. For example, during the first year they say no milk, eggs, strawberries, citrus or peanuts. No chocolate until two.

Best of luck.

Answer 3

What I did with my son was when he started on the cereal and liked it, I started giving him a little bit of it at what would be normal meal times (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with a bottle. In between those times I just let him have a small bottle of juice or water. After he has taken to the cereal well, start introducing other baby foods mainly try to start with the veggies first and not the fruit, introduce only one at a time that way if they have an allergic reaction you know which one it happened with. Give him a few days to a week then introduce another one. As he get's a little older he will eat a little more at a sitting and you can move him up into the next stages of the baby food.

Answer 4

I started cereal 2 times a day normally about this time with my daughter. Once in the morning and once in the evening. If he is taking it okay than move him up on quantity. My schedule was normally like cereal and bottle, then later lunch was veggies, fruits and bottle and then dinner was meats or a dinner and then before bed, cereal and bottle...whatever works for you, as long as he is taking it okay. I wouldnt start actual baby food until 5 months. Make sure he is taking to the cereal good!!

Answer 5

At 4 months you start with cereal in order to give him different textures or tastes. But the only thing he really needs is the milk.
Wait until he is 6 months to start giving him baby food and start slowly, yo do want to develop an allergy.

When he is 9 months then he should have the milk every 4 hours (exception the night time) plus breakfast, lunch and dinner (baby food).

By the time he is 12 months then the food is more important than the milk.

Answer 6

Not a problem. While most babies are physically ready for, and interested in solids at around 6 months, plenty of healthy babies are not. And that's fine. At this age, and for the next several months solids will be 99.9% 'just for fun' -- his milk still provides all the nutrition he needs. If he enjoys the apples, that's fine. You can keep offering other foods, or you can wait until he's more actively interested. Some babies don't want solids until they can feed themselves 'real' foods -- pick up table foods and eat them. Most babies reach this stage around 7-9 months.

Answer 7

follow his lead. if he is able to take the food off the spoon and swallow it you can give him more. introduce 1 new food every week or 2 starting with vegis so you can watch for allergies. still give him the bottle. if he's hungry he'll drink it. I always nursed my daughter alittle bit to take the edge off her hunger so she was more patient with the food and then nursed alittle bit after she was done trying to eat the solids.

Answer 8

You seem to be doing okay.

LC

Answer 9

i think your doing fine! just don't over feed him!