So confused about how to introduce Soilds HELP!!?

Question

My daughter will be 4 months on the 14th. And i know at 4 months you should start introducing rice cereal to your baby. Well since my daughter was 3 months we have had to put rice cereal in her bottle because she spits up so bad. The doctor said this helps her from doing that so much. So since she has already been taking the rice cereal where do i begin. I dont know if i should just start giving her rice before her bottle and then give her the bottle or just keep the rice in the bottle and move on to oatmeal. And how do I know how much to give her and how often. How do I know when to start giving her fruits and vegs. Please help first time mom and so confused on the whole food thing.

Answer 1

Those bottles that feed cereal were so handy to me, but the drawback is that baby doesnt get used to the food being in the mouth.

I would start with the rice cereal, just thickening it up a bit, and feed it on a spoon. Try giving her only one third of her bottle feeding, so she wont be starving and unwilling to be patient for the cereal, since it takes longer to feed. Remember, keep it runny. Introducing solids needs to be done slowly for the digestive tract, but you are also training her to eat from a spoon, and teaching her a little patience as well.

How much and how often, many opinions will abound. She will let you know when she is hungry or full. 3-4 baby spoonfuls a few times a day should be good. If she still seems hungry, and you think she got enough down, try water or a pacifer, she may just need to suck. You can move on to oatmeal now, also. I believe foods are introduced slowly and 1 at a time so as not to irritate the digestive tract as well as to determine possible allergies.

There is no right and wrong time to introduce fruits and veges, they just usually come after the cereal. If you want a time frame, introduce 1 new food every 3 or 4 days., or when 1 jar is gone, whichever is latest. One pointer, when spoon feeding, transfer food to a small dish, as saliva from the spoon will 'break down' the remaining food in the jar.

My father started us on mashed potatoes, soup broth, and the broth from creamed corn straight from the table, no problem.

Because this is your 1st child, of course you are nervous. Dont be overly concerned. Have fun.

Here's how it goes,
When your 1st child drops her bottle, you boil the nipple before letting her drink from it again.

When the 2nd child drops the bottle, you wipe the nipple off with a towel or (gasp) on your clothes.

When the 3rd child drops the bottle, you pick it up and hand it back.

Just RELAX, and take it slow, follow your instincts, you know your daughter better than anyone else does.

From a mother of 3 ... 11 , 16, and 21 !

Answer 2

Just relax! You will do just fine. My suggestion is to keep the rice in her bottle since it helps her to not throw up. You can try feeding her a little rice or oatmeal cereal before you give her milk, start off with a small amount like 1/3 cup. She probably won't eat it all at first, but just keep trying. Pretty soon, like in a month, you can try to give her baby food. My doctor suggested trying veggies first and then try fruit mixed with the rice or oatmeal cereal. Just try a little at a time, and don't be discouraged if she doesn't like everything that you try.

Answer 3

First, Relax your doing a great job,the most important part of parenting is being sure your doing what's right for your child.And by being so concerned you have more than, established that. Second, your daughter is still pretty young and the introduction of cereal for the first time has probably hit her little tummy like a ton of bricks!, What I (as a mother of two) would recommend is to start off by feeding her about one-half a tablespoon of cereal diluted with her formula, just until it is almost soupy, but not quit, then wait about thirty min. making sure she burps. Then fix her about a four ounce bottle of formula, at this point if she holds that down she should be full and sleepy.(make sure she burps frequently,this is very important so she don't develop colic!) If she done well with that,then next time you can make her cereal a little thicker, and if, introduced to juices,? Maybe, mix her cereal with juice instead of formula, and or, babies first-foods, fruits, I have found that babies love their cereal mixed with juice or fruit, it gives them variety. And something that tastes better than that nasty formula, have you ever tasted that stuff? Ikey, huh?!! I sincerely hope, and would almost, bet this will work for your daughter,my best wishes and prayers of good luck to you and yours. If you would like you can e-mail me @ [e-mail] It would be nice to know if this works for you?Thanx. Best wishes

Answer 4

Babies do not have to start solids until they are one years old although most people start them around 6 -9 months. So you have some time to do reading. I also have a 4 month old and I am going to hold off for longer. Babies run a risk of developing food allergies if you start too early. You didn't mention if the bottle that she gets is Breastmilk or formula. I have enclosed an article from LaLeche which gears toward the breastfeeding baby but the info is still useful even if you aren't.
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/solids.html
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-how.html

this is for either breast or bottle
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/infant/startingsolids.html

Answer 5

I would give it to your daughter in a bowl to see if she likes it. Watch her for 7 days. If you notice that she's getting gassy or spiting up more, then you know its a food allergy. I wrote this message from another post too:

Every 7 days I introduced a different cereal. Oatmeal was a hit with my son. Then every seven days I introduced different vegetables from the gerber jar first(I spanned all new foods once a week to see if he had an allergy from any of the foods he ate.)

Vegetables are introduced first cause my son learned to eat them first. Then I introduced fruits. A pediatrician once told me that when you feed a child fruits first, they may not want to eat the vegetables next cause they like the sweetness of the fruits instead.

Answer 6

If you think your baby is getting hungry and needs a bit more then I would start on the rice cereal and puree food. Go with your instincts.

Answer 7

start with a tablespoon of the pablum, and 2 tablespoons of formula. Mix them together, and put a little on the spoon at a time. she will at first seem to spit it out, but that's just because she is still trying to suck. keep trying. it should take up to a month before she gets the hang of it. then increase the pablum until it is thicker. However, she will be messy until she is at least a year old. and by then she will want to feed herself. I found that feeding her the pablum before the bottle or breast worked best

Answer 8

i feed cereal in the morning and six oz..of formula then for lunch vegetables and end result and a bottle of formula a million hour or so after now and returned between lunch and dinner a 4oz bottle of juice diluted dinner comparable as lunch and till now mattress cereal no longer continuously he does not alwasy needs it and an 6-7 oz..of formula and stale he's for 10+ hours 5 a million/2 month old

Answer 9

Haha! Every parent has probably faced this one.... our solution (3 sons) was 'plops' - we pureed fruit and cooked veggies in a blender and froze them in an ice cube tray. One defrosted 'plop' of veggie and fruit per feeding.... their favourites included pears, peaches, apples, squash, carrots and peas....

Answer 10

Try this link, I think it may be just what you are looking for.

http://www.uhmc.sunysb.edu/pediatrics/solidfoods.html