Starting Solids?

Question

When and how did you start your baby on solids. What kind did you start with? and How? (spoon)

Answer 1

6.5 months. I wanted to wait longer as waiting until after 7 months reduces the risk of anemia to almost 0. However my baby was eating the grass at the park and I could only eat when he was sleeping or he would steal off my plate.

I started giving him anything that I was eating that was appropriate. (IE no nuts or honey, I didn't do grains until 8 months, no dairy etc) I gave him large and smaller pieces. He prefers large, as in a half an apple, a slice of chicken. Etc. He loves flavour, garlic, oregano, chili, burrito (filling). However he wouldn't take anything off a spoon until 8 months and even now generally prefers anything he can feed himself.

This is called child-led introduction to solids, it is a scientifically tested method (and exactly what mothers did before the baby experts tried to take over the world), and no your baby will not choke. Here is the link.
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html

Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have learnt to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get the food into his mouth in the first place. On the other hand, the action used to suck food off a spoon tends to take the food straight to the back of the mouth, causing gagging. This means that spoon feeding has its own potential to lead to choking – and makes the giving of lumpy foods with a spoon especially dangerous.

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Reasons to delay solids:

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html
(click the link for the details)

he following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

* World Health Organization
* UNICEF
* US Department of Health & Human Services
* American Academy of Pediatrics
* American Academy of Family Physicians
* American Dietetic Association
* Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
* Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
* Health Canada

Most babies will become developmentally and physiologically ready to eat solids by 6-9 months of age. For some babies, delaying solids longer than six months can be a good thing; for example, some doctors may recommend delaying solids for 12 months if there is a family history of allergies.

Reasons for delaying solids
Although some of the reasons listed here assume that your baby is breastfed or fed breastmilk only, experts recommend that solids be delayed for formula fed babies also.

*Delaying solids gives baby greater protection from illness.
*Delaying solids gives baby's digestive system time to mature.
*Delaying solids decreases the risk of food allergies.
*Delaying solids helps to protect baby from iron-deficiency anemia.
*Delaying solids helps to protect baby from future obesity.
*Delaying solids helps mom to maintain her milk supply.
*Delaying solids makes starting solids easier.


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Is my baby ready for solid foods?
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html

What do the experts say?

Health experts and breastfeeding experts agree that it's best to wait until your baby is around six months old before offering solid foods. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, and many other health organizations recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or other foods) for the first 6 months of life. Some doctors may recommend delaying solids for the first year if there is a family history of allergies. I'm not going into the many health benefits of delaying solids here; see Why Delay Solids? for more information.
Developmental signs that baby is ready for solids

Solids readiness depends on both the maturity of baby’s digestive tract and baby’s developmental readiness for solids. Although the maturity of baby’s digestive system is not something that we can readily observe, research indicates that 6 months appears to be ideal for avoiding the allergies and other health risks of too-early solids. After this point, different babies are ready for solids at different times -- developmental readiness for solids cannot be determined using a calendar. Most babies are developmentally ready for solids somewhere between 6 and 8 months.
Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:

* Baby can sit up well without support.
* Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
* Baby is ready and willing to chew.
* Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
* Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

Answer 2

Around 7 months a started giving my kids toast , eggs, cherrioes. Foods that will get soft quick in there mouths because they don't have teeth to really chew with.But I continued with baby food right through until they were able to eat all solids easily in order to get the nutrients they needed daily. I also gave all my kids a spoon at around 9 months even if they couldn't use it because they at least had it available to try and figure it out.Also around 1 year old I gave my kids some of everything we had on our plates and if they ate it fine if not fine. It lead to my 2 youngest being great eaters and not picky even to this day(14 years later) Hope some of these tips help.

Answer 3

Doctors will tell you to wait until the baby 4-6 months old. (I started mine at 3 months)

Start with about one tablespoon of rice cereal mixed with formula to a somewhat soupy consistency. Spoon feed baby until he/she shows signs of being full, turning head away, closed mouth, spitting it out. Use a rubber-tipped spoon to protect sensitive gums. Start with one feeding daily, then gradually increase to two and eventually (around 7 or 8 months) 3 feedings a day.

Once cereal is mastered, you can move on to veggies and fruits. I would recommend starting with green veggies as they aren't as sweet as the others. Use the stage 1 jarred foods or you can puree your own with a food processor. Introduce one food at a time, and wait about 3 days between each one to watch for allergies.

My little girl isn't fond of plain cereal so I buy the kind with banana flakes in it to sweeten it up, then I mix in veggies because that's the only way she'll eat them. Hope this helps :)

Answer 4

My son was about 6 months when I first introduced baby cereal mush. I used Nestle, and used a spoon!!!

Answer 5

I started around 4 months. If your baby keeps pushing to food out of its mouth with its tongue after a few different tries, it is too early. My pediatrician said to start with rice cereal first (make it very watery to be more like what they've been drinking, then do orange veggies (squash, sweet potatoes, carrots) one per week (so if they have a reaction you know what it is too) then green veggies, then fruits last.