my baby is 4 and a half months she seems quite settled wth just formula do i introduce solids yet??

Answer 1

my son's doctor had me introduce solids at four months. he was content with formula, but she thought he was ready. one way you can tell if they baby is ready is by their tongue reflex. babies are born with the instinctive reflex to push foreign things out of their mouth with their tongue. if they do this when you try to feed them solids, then the reflex is not gone and they are not ready. sometimes it's a little hard to judge though because some babies have just not realized how to use their tongue to get food down yet.
the first solid his doctor had me introduce was rice cereal. he took that well so she said to start with the yellow vegetables: squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes because those are the easiest on their tummies. but you of course one to do them one at a time with about a week in between each because you want to make sure they dont have allergic reactions.

Answer 2

Doctors and Health visitors always say the longer you can give them milk in the first 6-8 months of a baby's life the better.
The thing is a lot of these people have never had kids or it has been so long since they had them they've forgotten most of what they did as parents. I have four children the youngest of which is 13months. We started giving a taste of our food at 11 weeks and started giving him a regular solid meal at 15 weeks. He was a very demanding baby and wasn't settled with formula alone. Our third child was 6 or 7 months when we started her on solids, but she was very small. What I am getting at is every child is very different, if you think that she needs a solid meal try her and see how she goes, if not leave her. Your health visitor may try to advise you differently, but at the end of the day you are her mother and if it makes sense to you then more than likely you and your daughter will be OK.

Answer 3

If you are giving your baby formula then around 4 months is a great age to start introducing solids..If you are breastfeeding then I would suggest any where from 4-6 months. You could wait for the obvious signs that would include waking during the night if shes been sleeping through it or seeming very interested in the foods that you eat...Babies often lose the tongue reflex as well when they are ready helping them push the food to the back of their throat so they can swallow...I would just wait if shes happy...Good luck and I hope this helps :)

Answer 4

Check with your doctor. If she is growing, there probably is not a reason to introduce solids yet. The experts usually suggest introducing cereal at about 6 month. I used to put a little cereal in their formula.

Answer 5

If she is happy enough on formula carry on until she starts getting hungrier. Government guidelines were only changed last year recommending no solids till 6 months. Before that they said 4 months. My health visitor doesn't agree with 6 months so she photocopied her old leaflets and hands them out as well as the new ones recommending 6 months!
I started my son on baby rice at about 14 weeks cos he was starving and it didn't do him any harm.

Answer 6

Our Pediatrician wouldnt let us introduce solid food for my children until after the first YEAR!

She was a well respected Pediatrician and known through out our area, and even in the Pittsburgh reigon, so, we figured she was a good one...(When we get confirmation from a lot of Doctors at Childrens Hospital, then we were certain that she had to be right).

Well, our kids are now 13 and 20 and both are doing very well...

I wish you well..

Jesse

Answer 7

They keep changing their minds, as when my son was a baby I was near enough forced to start solids at 16 weeks.

If your daughter seems to be draining 8oz bottles throughout the day, or starting to wake in the night after sleeping through, she may be ready for more.

However this is the current guideline

The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding until your baby is six months old. After six months, breast milk alone doesn't provide your baby with enough nutrients, in particular iron, so other foods are needed.

Waiting until six months to introduce solid foods into your baby's diet will help minimise the risk of her developing adverse reactions to foods and allergies. This is particularly important if you have a family history of allergies, as the incidence of adverse food reactions, allergies and coeliac disease does decrease if you delay weaning until this time.

If you feel your baby needs to start solids before six months, do discuss it with your health visitor first. This is particularly important if your baby was born prematurely. The Department of Health states that solid foods should not be introduced before the end of your baby's fourth month (20 weeks). If you do decide to wean your baby onto solids before six months, there are a number of foods that need to be avoided, such as those containing gluten, eggs, cheese, dairy products, fish and shellfish.

Answer 8

If she is happy with the formula for now then let it be. In the next month or so she will want something more. At that point you start with the baby rice cereal and slowly introduce veggies and fruit. Her doctor will be able to tell you.

Answer 9

Only introduce solid foods to your daughter if she is acting like the formula isn't enough. Infants' digestive systems aren't as developed as ours. When your daughter begins to act as if the formula isn't enough, talk to her doctor about whether it is a good time to introduce cereal into her diet. You would want to start with something like rice (any single grain cereal, but rice is the easiest one to digest). Then after a few days, slowly introduce another single grain cereal. You don't want to introduce too many things at once, however, incase she is allergic to something. When she is ready for babyfood, start with Stage 1, and I would suggest starting with a vegetable. If you start with fruits, it is going to be tough to get her to enjoy vegetables. (Trust me, I know from experience.) Start with something like squash or peas, wait a few days and introduce a new food. As for meats, wait until she is at least 8 or 9 months old. I understand that they make Stage 1 meats, but infants' systems cannot properly digest those. Plus, they don't need it yet.
Best of luck you and your baby!

Answer 10

There's not really a 'right time'; if she's adventurous about new foods, she'll adapt quite easily; if not, you might have to spend quite a while trying.

See how she reacts; you might waste quite a bit of food by trying things she doesn't want, but it's worth it to find out what her preferred schedule is.

Or she might be really keen; if so, then try not to make a rapid conversion from one to the other. Quite a long overlap is OK, and she might have days when she wants to go back to formula, which is ok too.