When to start feeding my baby baby food from the jar?

Question

My daughter is almost 4 months old and has been eating baby cereal from a spoon. I dont plan to anytime soon, but was wondering when is the earliest I can safely introduce all the fun foods like peas,carrots, sweet potatoes and such from a jar to her? And which ones are the best to start off with?

Answer 1

I've read that generally anywhere between 4-6 months is the ideal age to slowly begin to introduce a variety of single ingredient foods. Some pediatricians and nutritionists advise waiting until your baby is 6 months old before giving any solids in order to reduce the likelihood of future allergies.

When introducing solids use the 4 day rule. Wait 4 days after introducing a new food before offering another... this way there will be enough time to determine whether or not your baby is allergic to any one particular food.

Most experts recommend beginning with single ingredient pureed vegetables instead of fruits so that your baby doesn't develop a sweet tooth and end up refusing the healthier vegetables later. I've read that sweet potatoes and squash are best... but everyone has there own personal preference and opinion on that matter it seems.

Here are some links to some websites that you might find helpful.

www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/feed47m_prt.htm

www.earlychildhoodmichigan.org/articles/8-03/Meister2003.htm

www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=51458

www.babycenter.com/solidfoods/charts.jhtml

Answer 2

Everyone has given great answers.. Yes a child can start eating solids at 4 months, try things out with daughter. Yes stick to one ingredient foods and yes feed her the same food for a few days to see if she has an allergic reaction to it.....

The only think I dont like about these answers are NO ONE SUGGESTED YOU MAKE THE FOOD YOURSELF!!!!!

How hard is it to steam a carrot or some peas or what ever vegetable you want. Add a little breat milk or just leave it plain and mash or puree it. Start off with one solid meal a day and it will take you a whole whopping 10 minutes to make.

It's much cheaper then buying jars and letting those companies profit from feeding your child. And who actually knows what they put into these so called 'organic' foods. The still have preservatives in them and some have food dyes.

Up to you of course.

Enjoy feeding your little one.

Answer 3

I wrote a booklet on how to start babies on solid foods. Tells you everything. If you want more info, email me at [e-mail]. I charge a small fee for printing.
Have you also given her all the different kinds of baby cereals. Barley, mixed, etc. Give each new addition three days (see below).
Start with yellow vegetables/ green vegetables. Don't do fruit first, it gets them used to sweetness and you'd rather have them wait. Remove what you want from the jar. DO NOT refeed from the same jar if you have stuck the feeding spoon in it. THe saliva starts to break down the food in the jar. So scoop out what you want and then save the jar. Stick with the same one for at least 3 days, so you can make sure she is not allergic. Switch to a new one and then you have two you can use. That is just a start. Write me if I can be of more help.

Answer 4

Just from experience with my three kids, between four and six months seems to be the right ages for trying new foods. I would recommend trying bananas or peaches or apples first-sweet tastes are easier to accept for babies. I'm sure you already know, but I'd stick with a major brand of baby food or organic baby food as there will be less chance of additives or anything harmful in the food. Your baby should be able to sit up in a high chair fully and if she spits out the food the first few times, keep trying. If you notice any strange rashes or funny-smelling poo, I'd talk to your pediatrician as it would be likely that your girl may have an allergy to a certain food. That is why it is also important for you to try one flavor of baby food at a time(like apples for three days before moving on to the next)so you can identify any adverse reactions she might have. Good luck and happy feeding!

Answer 5

The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breast/bottle feeding until 6 months of age when solids (baby cereal is a solid) can be introduced. This is because of the link with starting solids early (even 4months is considered early), and the increased risk of allergies (gut not ready) and childhood obesity (not sure of the exact mechanism for this, but i know that exclusively breastfeeding for the the first 6months puts the baby at a lower risk of developing childhood obesity according to the lactation consultant at my local Child and Youth Health).

I strongly urge you to wait until your little one is 6mo before you give more solids, to ensure she is developmentally ready for them.

When you do start, if you eat those vegies, just make a tiny little bit more and mash or vitamise them (Don't add anything like butter, cows milk or salt to the mash - just the plain vegie). If you do want to use jars, have a taste of the food first. My mum's group did and the food really didn't taste too good. Chicken and Corn Supreme tasted like plain corn and left a horrible residue in our mouths... it was eye opening.

Start one vegie at a time (it doesn't matter what ones) and don't add another new vegie for 4-7 days to make sure your daughter isn't allergic to it.

Answer 6

If there are food alergies in your family you are supposed to wait until 6 months if not 4 months old. Start with stage 1, you go through each of those twice then on to stage 2. My dr recomended starting with fruits as they digest easyer. I had NO PROBLEMS with rejecting veggies because of this. He actually liked the veggies better. Also if there are no allergies in your family you can introduce a new food every 3 days. Introducing solids can cause poop issues so keep some apple prune juice on hand or some apple baby food to help loosen things up if your baby gets stopped up.

Answer 7

I would suggest asking your baby doctor, because there is a reason why they want you to wait a certain period of time before you start feeding jar food. And there is a particular order in which you are supposed to introduce the different foods.

The reason being is allergies. The theory is that the longer you wait to introduce these foods the less likely they will be to develop allergies to these foods. So ask your doctor for the most successful advise.

Answer 8

Here I go climbing on my soapbox again about doing what's "right". LOL! Sorry, I just have a thing about all these new ways to raise babies nowadays. Look what our parents & grandparents grew up on and they survived.
Since I'm sleepy & tend to get longwinded I'll just restrain myself and say that you know your baby better than any doctor, what she is capable of as far as swallowing. It should be entirely up to you when you start her on anything. We started our baby on Gerber's 1st foods at 3mo.
Here's a tip that I didn't know until someone pointed it out to me last week (you may already know this) don't feed the baby directly from the jar because if she doesn't eat it all & you put it in the fridge bacteria could build up in it from her saliva.
Good luck & have a good night.

Answer 9

My youngest is 9 1/2 months. Started her on cereal at 4 months, no problems, reflex was gone. Went in around that time for her check up, he said it was ok to start her on baby food at that time also. He said everyone has a different opinion, but he had no problem with me starting her on it at 4 months. He said stick with veggies first, like previous post said. They love the fruits, and tend to dislike the veggies then. He said babies tend to like the orange and yellow veggies better-carrots, squash etc. Make sure you only feed one at a time, and not to introduce another for 5-7 days to be sure there's no allergies. That's what our doc said, probably best to check with yours, since he/she sees your baby.

Answer 10

well first dont try to introduce her to too many things at once, because if u start with one thing at a time you can see how she reacts to it and see if she is allergic to it. But you could start feeding her baby food now or when she turns 4 months, your baby lets u know when she is ready for certain things.


I tried givin my daughter applesauce and bananas at first.
Try anythin that doesnt have too much acid.