start eating?

Question

my daughter will be 4 month old on 1/17. I fed her formula with cereal yesterday. How much can I feed her? can I feed her jar fruit (gerber)?
thank u

Answer 1

hi-did you contact your doctor before starting her on cereal?
you really should start her on anything until her doctor says its ok.
her stomach may not be ready for either one yet.
they usually dont start babies on cereal until 6 months--and jar fruit 7-8
every baby is different of course, but dont start her on your own--wait until her doctor says its ok.

Answer 2

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that babies should receive breastmilk, or barring that, formula ONLY for the first six months of life. No juice, no water, no solid foods, period.

Even at six months, a child may not be ready to eat solid food. This readiness is linked to development, not calendar age. A baby is ready for solids when:
- he is able to sit up on his own, without support
- he no longer has a tongue-thrust, meaning that he does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue
- he is willing to chew
- has has developed a “pincer” grasp, and is able to pick up items using only the thumb and index finger
- he has shown a specific interest in food

Unless these signs are present, your child is not ready for food. Few four month olds ever meet these criteria.

There is also great question as to the usefulness of baby cereal. It is essentially empty calories; it is vitamin fortified but is nothing but highly refined processed simple carbohydrates which fill a baby up when he could be getting better nutrition from whole foods. Better first foods would be sweet potato, banana or avocado, mashed and thinned with breastmilk or formula. 2 to 4 tablespoons (50/50 food to formula ratio to begin with) twice a day is all that a beginning baby needs. Baby should be given a bottle or the breast first, solids second.

Also, by no means should cereal EVER be put into an infant's bottle. It is a choking hazard that could cost a child his life. There is simply no reason whatsoever to engage in this practice.

Answer 3

Do what you think is right and what your instinct tells you. Doctors don't know worth a crap about your baby and they don't have to know everything. They tell not to feed this or that during your pregnancy and after, we have more allergic babies in this country then anywhere else in the world. Feed her 1/2 a jar of fruit with her cereal. Start with pears and applesauce. Watch out for diaper rash,otherwise it will be fine. Trust me I raised three children, doing my own thing, feeding cereal at 6 weeks and veggies and fruit at 3 months. Neither of my children had an allergy, a cavity or absences from school.

Answer 4

Its best to ask your pediatrician these kinds of questions. Every baby is different.

I know for my son when he was about 4 months old I fed him 3 meals of cereal a day, till he did not want anymore at each feeding. He also got regular bottles.

For instance he woke up at like 6 am,
had cereal at 6:30 and a water bottle when he was done with the cereal,
then at 10:00A a bottle of formula,
then at 1:30P cereal and a water bottle,
then 4:30P a formula bottle,
then at 7:30P cereal with a water bottle
then at 9:30 a small formula bottle.

My son was low birth weight so he at only a little at a time but he ate often.

Oh, and I made his cereal the baby oatmeal and added a dash of cinnamon and moistened with warm apple juice. He loved it!

This schedule worked for us. It may or may not work for you.


After cereal we did add veggies and then meat, and then fruit to every meal. Introduce them slowly and watch for allergic reaction which can take days to show up. My son is 7 years old now and totally loves his veggies, in fact green beans are his fav food!

Answer 5

check with your pediatrician! some cereal should be ok at 4 months, but only a little in her morning bottle. i would hold off on the fruit for two more months. but check with your doc...he will tell you the guidelines for feeding your baby!

Answer 6

only a couple of spoonfuls, no fruit or anything till about 6 months, u should check with your infant welfare nurse.