Introducing baby to other food.?

Question

My daughter is 5 m now.The doctor said that i should start giving her fruit+cereal+formula.(i breastfeed only)But i found it very hard,as she does`t like it at all.So now i try to give her at least some fruit twice a day to make her to get used to smth new.She still cries and makes such a face as if i am giving only God knows what.
Please, share your experience and some advice how to make it easier for me and more pleasent for the baby.

Answer 1

Try something other than fruit. It may be too sweet. I am a little surprised that your doc told you fruit first. Most will tell you to start with veggies. But get her to eat rice cereal mixed with breast milk first. She will recognise the taste and get used to the texture. If she is having alot of trouble and all your getting is frustrated, give it a week and try again.

Answer 2

First, I'm surprised that he said to start with fruit. Most say veggies because fruits are nice and sweet and sometimes they get to like them and won't want their veggies.

At any rate, I would start with only cereal mixed with your breastmilk. To start, very thin, mostly milk, then slowly thicken it up as your daughter becomes more used to it. Then, once accustomed to the cereal, start a food. I'd say veggies, but obviously your doctor said fruit (and I am no MD). Don't try too many new things at once as it can become overwhelming and they start to get fussy. I'd say stick with the cereal and keep thickening it over the next week or so, then onto baby food stage 1s. I believe most doctors say only give one or two new types of food (i.e. I started with peas and carrots) per week. That gives them time to get used to the new food.

Also, just a side note. When you decide to start veggies, make sure it's a mix. If you feed them too many orange things, babies can start to take on an orangey skin tone. It will go away. It's just from one of the vitamins or minerals in the orange veggies. (It might be the keratine, not sure.)

Good luck!

Answer 3

I'm surprised your doctor recommended cereal plus fruit and formula considering she's never had any to be introduced at the same time. Introductions should be made on their own with at least 3 days apart in order to see if she has a reaction to a specific food. My doctor also told me to start introcing foods to my daughter early on, but I knew she wasn't ready. Trust your gut. Mom usually knows best and truthfully it may be easier to delay introducing solids a bit yet. It' so much easier once they lose the trust reflex with their tongue.

I feel for you as I was in a similar situation though. Your daughter may not like what you're feeding her. Up until now she's only ever had breastmilk. Do you have a pump? If not you can hand express. It won't take very much breastmilk and keep in mind it's much easier to do on a full breast early in the morning. It's a little tricky to hand express at first (lots of info online), but once you learn it really is easy and super efficient. Once you have a little breastmilk add cereal to it (no fruit) and keep it pretty watery in texture. She may take to it better than with formula as she'll recognize the taste of your breastmilk and it's something she already likes. Later once she's more familiar with cereal (and likes it) you may want to mix it with formula (with formula being the new introduction). Most babies aren't thrilled with solids initially, but don't force her either. Solids are meant to supplement her diet at this age, so start with a nursing session first and catch her in a good mood. I like to wait a little bit between her nursing and solid food introductions. You want her happy, not starving, but not full either. Start out slow. They really eat very little at first. Good luck and if you still have no luck with this after a few days you may just want to wait a few more weeks.

Answer 4

My son in 6 months old and has been eating baby food and cereal and juice since he was 3 months. I had to start him early because he would get real mad when you ate in front of him. He wanted something off of the table. My doctor said to try and give him some cereal. My suggestion is to let your daughter run the show. That's the motto I've had with my son from the start. I fed him when he was hungry. Let her tell you when she is ready. And you will know when she is ready because instead of her crying because your trying to feed it to her she will be crying because you aren't. I also started out mixing the cereal with breastmilk so that I still kind of tasted and smelled like what he was used to. Once he was used to it, I switched to mixing it with juice. He's six months and eats baby food three times a day and nurses 4-6 times a day. And he's actually underweight.

Answer 5

Try to breastfeed her a little first so that she is not starving but hungry enough to want more food. My daughter is 5 months as well and it takes them a while to get used to the taste. Try applesauce first mixed with cereal. If after a few tries she is getting more frustrated go back to the breast and try again at the next feeding.

Answer 6

Shes not ready!

The new reccomendations are breastmilk ONLY until 6 months and then to start whenever the baby is ready after that.

My son had no interest in solids until nearly 8 months. By then we just gave him table food and he fed himself :) Look into "child led feeding"

I would DEFINATLY find a new doctor. And dump the baby food! She will let you know when shes ready for solid food (my son would grunt and pound his fits on his high chair at dinner time, it was way too cute!)

Check out this article! :)

Answer 7

When I would feed, I would dab a little fruit and cereal on the spoon at the same time. Then after a few days you won't have to do that anymore.

Answer 8

Hi there, to me, it sounds like she is not ready. I would leave it a week or so and try again. My daughter was ready at 6 months to eat (granted I did not try any earlier) and she was like a baby bird. One of my friends girls did exactly what your daughter is doing - up until 8.5 months! If you are fully breastfeeding your baby, she is fine not having anything else for the moment. Trust yourself and listen to your girl :)
Also, I started my daughter with fruit and she loves her veggies too, so go for the fruit when you try again if you like :)

Answer 9

she may not like the fruit you are giving her try a different kind or try sweet potatoes,
also for the cereal instead of formula use your breast milk that way it tastes more familiar to her.
if your are using formula right now taste it your self and see if you like the taste I think it tastes horrible