When should i feed my daughter solids? or rice cereal?

Question

She is four months.... she was born premature at 35 weeks. Because she was born early, hubby and I want to wait until she is 6 or 7 months to start her on that rice cereal stuff?? Is this too long of a wait and is she going to be starving for something more than milk??

Answer 1

The AAP now recommends holding off on solids until at least 6 months, and most pediatricians will recommend you wait until 6 months adjusted for preemies. Delay of solids helps prevent allergies, so waiting even longer than 6 months is often ideal. Noted pediatrician Dr. William Sears reminds parents that solid foods are not a necessity in the first year of life for many children -- breastfed infants especially have all their needs met by breastmilk for approximately the first year, but whether a child is breast fed or formula fed, the majority of their nutrition needs to come from milk (breast or formula) in the first year. If she seems hungrier than normal, don't assume solids are the answer -- it could be a growth spurt, and feeding her smaller amounts more often (if formula fed) or breastfeeding her more frequently could be a solution.

Dr. Sears's page on starting solid foods is an excellent resource for starting solids. It helped me immensely with my boys! http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp

Good luck with your daughter.

Answer 2

I can totally relate to your concern as all 3 of my children were born premature my first at 32 weeks then my other two were at 35 weeks and you hear that many things you don't know which one to do or if it's even right all i can do is to share my experiance and what i did but you decide for yourself because it's true what they say nobody knows your baby like you do.When to start is when you notice that your child starts waking in the night again for feeds after a period of sleeping through or that they are crying for their next feed an hour or two before their next feed is due that is their way of telling you they need more than milk to saticfy them.As your child is premature i was always told to knock the number of weeks they were early of their age so if they are for example 16 weeks old development wise they are really only 11 weeks old so my advice would be to wait until your child reaches 21 weeks then try with introducing solids.In the mean time try putting your child on a milk for hungrier babys every brand do them so it's not hard to get hold off you should notice an instant improvement your child should go back to feeding like they were also when you change your baby's milk its is very common for them to be a little constipated for a couple of days about 3 days to be exact and it's nothing to worry about it's just their digestive sytem adapting to the new milk.I hope you find this information usefull.P.s just wanted to add that if your baby is fine and still sleeping through and not wanting feeds before they are due i would leave them until they are waking or crying before changing anything your child will let you know when they want more.

Answer 3

The majority of your baby's nutrition will come from breastmilk or formula for the first year of life. However, according to our pediatrician, from 6 months on, the iron stores in breastmilk are depleted, so introducing small amounts of rice cereal is recommended. This is mainly to get the baby used to different textures and the mouth feel of solids, as well as to provide the needed iron. Many times infants want little or nothing to do with solids though, even after 6 months, so it may take a number of attempts before she is truly interested in solids at all. The cereal is usually substantially thinned out at first, almost like a thick milk, and only a tablespoon or so once or twice a day in the beginning. She may spit it out and want nothing to do with it, but I wouldn't worry. Again, since the main form of nutrition will be coming from breastmilk or formula, any solids introduced are either going to be for the needed iron or simply to get the baby used to texture.

Answer 4

Before you start her on solids, check with her pediatrician. Infants really don't need anything other than breastmilk/formula until 6 months of age. At our daughter's 4 month visit, her pediatrician said we can start giving her a small amount of rice cereal once a day to get her used to eating with a spoon and pushing solid to the back of her mouth (she was developmentally ready) but it is certainly not her primary source of nutrition. She also told us to never give a baby cereal in a bottle because of there is a serious risk of choking.

Don't let anyone pressure you into starting her on solids until you think she's ready, and when you do, check with her pediatrician.

Answer 5

Breast milk or infant formula supplies all of your baby's nutritional needs for at least the first 4 to 6 months of life, so don't be in a rush to start solid baby foods. Starting solids too early can cause your baby to develop food allergies. Your baby's intestinal tract is not as fully developed during the first few months and introducing solids at this time can be too much to handle.

Another reason for holding off on solids is your baby's inability to swallow solids correctly before 4 to 6 months of age and this can potentially cause choking. And contrary to the popular myth, starting solids early will not help your child to sleep through the night.

When offering a new type of food, always feed it for several days in a row before starting another new food. This makes it easier to detect food allergies, which can present with diarrhea, vomiting, coughing, hives or a rash. Do not offer mixed ingredient foods until you are sure that the baby isn't allergic to any of the individual ingredients. Also, don't add any seasonings to your baby's foods.

Hope this helps!!

Answer 6

You could start her now on the rice cereal. Allot depends on her. If she is having trouble sleeping through the nights on that last bottle you are giving her the start substituting it with a little cereal. What we would do is add cereal to the bottle. Doing this of course you need to widen the hole in the tip. If the bottle tip has an (x) type hole just make it larger. If it has the three pin type holes, take apair of small scissors and cut a circle hole no large than to cover the are of those three holes. Keep the milk cereal mixture very runny this helps allot. You'll nitice a difference in her sleep pattern right away.
During the day, if your giving her her fruits and vegitables, you can mix a little cereal in with it. Thats the nice thing about rice cereal, it is flavorless and can be mixed with anything. I would only mix it during the day for her morning and late evening meals. This will keep her digestive tract working good and not bind her bowels up. Take it slow and best of all let her decide when its right. This may sound strange, but babies have a very good sense of when its time for change and when they are getting bored with the same old flavors.

Answer 7

This is an extremely helpful site on the subject of introducing solids.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html

Solids should NEVER be introduced before 6 months, based on recent findings that their bodies are not ready for it. Giving your baby anything but breastmilk/formula before 6 months can cause constipation and irregular weight gain. In the long run, it can put your child at high risk for food allergies, a lifetime of digestive problems, and high risk of obesity! A child gets EVERYTHING they need (except sometimes iron) from breastmilk until about 12 months old. By that age, their diet should still be 75% breastmilk or formula (if you must). By 18 months old, ideally they should still get 50% of their nutrition from your milk, and still at least 25% at age 2. Dont make a decision simply based on what is the "norm" in America, because we are often waaaay off when it comes to our childrens nutrition. If you want your child to be as healthy as possible, check out the link I posted above, and do some further research. A lot of doctors are not up to date on what is best for growing babies, so dont always take their word for it. Having a medical degree doesnt mean everything that comes out of their mouth is correct.

Answer 8

Babies should be started on solids at 6 months of age. Before then it's not necesary at all, in fact it takes away from the milk intake. When a baby is premature, some doctors will want you to wait until their adjusted age is 6 months, so talk to your daughters pediatrician.

Answer 9

I'm just a mom... I think my ped told me to start cereal at for months, so I'd go by her adjusted age. She will not starve as long as she drinking as much as she wants too. Really, you need to be comfortable with what you decide to do. Some babies need more time to figure out how to use their tongues to move food to the back of their mouth. Try a tiny bit and see how she does. You'll know if she is ready.

Neither of my kids liked cereal, so I skipped it altogether. My second, in fact, never ate baby food. She did not like it so I had her go to table food at 5 1/2 months. Sounds crazy but she turned out to be a much better eater than my son who I fed "by the book" (introducing food slowly and at older ages).

Answer 10

if you are breast feeding, only watered down juices at your child's age. after a while introduce samples of pureed, easily digested fruits & veggies. then just add new healthy bits of things you want them to develop a taste for. do that till she weans herself. by then she will be able to tell you what she likes & you give her what she should have. here is fun thing to do--babies taste buds change frequently. early on most have no real reaction to sour. give her a drop of lemon or lime every so often. have the camera ready . when those taste buds kick in, you'll want that picture! sound kinda mean? well, i'm pretty sure that's not what traumatised my daughter---