feeding baby cereals/ solids?

Question

my daughter is 3 1/2 mos old and i have begun feeding her organic rice cereal the past 3 days. i make it really watery and spoon feed her. she really enjoys it. how long do i continue with rice? how about changing the consistancy? what comes next? do i keep feeding rice along with other cereals? im not quit sure how to go about solids. she is breastfeeding. every website source says different things! i could really use some advice and even examples of daily feeding schedules for the next few months. do i wait till 8 months for foods other than cereals? thanks.

Answer 1

Daily feeding schedule for my 6-month-old:

Breastmilk.

That's it.

Solids at 3 1/2 months is not recommended. Their gut is not ready for that at all.

My suggestion is to stop the rice cereal (which has no nutritional value anyway) and wait another couple months and slowly start introducing solids.

Answer 2

3.5 months is probably a little early. Rice cereal is generally used for babies that are still a little hungry after feedings, generally 5 months ( your doctor can tell you when it's best). Some parents and doctors recommend adding it to formulas or bottles to help fill the babies tummy, which increases sleeping. Everyone has their own opinion on the subject. Honestly, rice cereal WILL NOT damage your baby or his digestive system( watch out for mild constipation which may indicate that you need to make it a little thinner). After rice cereal, doctors recommend adding in yellow veggies ( baby food) starting at 6 months. Add foods in slowly so that you make sure there are no allergic problems before you start a new food.
Your pediatrician probably has a hand out that will lay this all out for you in a handy schedule. Reassured, babies stomachs can handle baby foods by 6 months and rice cereal is not " unsafe" for a 3.5 month old baby. Just call your doctor to be sure that this is actually needed at this time. In most cases, they will tell you to start rice cereal between 4.5 to 5 months of age.

Good luck!
Missy

Answer 3

In the US it's rice cereal. It's a little bit like artificial/powdered mashed potatoes. YOu shouldn't consider feeding any solids - including cereals - until your baby is 6 months old. BUt it's not required. THe next 6 months are simply practice. Your baby can nurse exclusively until 12 months, but should be pretty well onto solids by that time. Don't stress over it from 6-12 months - it's just practice time then. A lot of it has to do with them showing signs that they're ready - ie able to sit on their own, interested in your food, gag reflex is reducing, etc. I didn't want to feed the jar foods - they're really convenient, but seemed kind of gross to me. I started with mashed ripe bananas, avocado, etc.

Answer 4

You will find many different suggestions as to when and what to feed babies. The current most common recommendation is to introduce solids between 4-6 months. Of course, there will always be babies who are ready before 4 months and some who aren't ready until after 6 months. Each baby is different. Nutritionally, a baby does not need anything except formula or breast milk until about age 6 months. Solids before 6 months are mostly for supplementation and not substitution of breast milk and/or formula. It is important that she continue to receive adequate amounts of breast milk and/or formula to meet her nutritional needs. As she becomes more proficient at eating from a spoon, then you can make the cereal a little thicker. It is a good idea to check with your daughter's doctor at her next check up. Each pediatrician has his own preferred time line for introduction of solids and will be able to offer you a guideline to follow. Generally speaking, at about 6 months babies can be introduced to a variety of foods in rather quick succession, just be sure to offer one new food at a time and wait a few days before adding another new food. There are plenty of suggestions as to the order foods should be introduced. One thing I just read recently that was interesting to me was a suggestion to introduce meats after cereal. The reasoning behind it was meats contain zinc which has been shown to help with building a healthy immune system and also contain iron. A baby is born with an adequate iron supply to last until about the time he/she has doubled his/her birth weight. Besides the fact that infant rice cereal is easily digestible and has a low risk of sensitivity, the iron-fortified feature is beneficial in keeping a baby's iron supply at a healthy level. Regardless of the order you choose to introduce foods to your baby, by the time she is around 9 months old, she'll probably be eating a rather normal pattern of meals with cereal and fruit at breakfast followed by a nursing or a bottle. Lunch and dinner will be similar with a vegetable or 2 and maybe another fruit and some meat, each meal followed by a nursing or a bottle. Bedtime may consist of some more cereal and another milk feeding. Gradually you'll find the meal schedule that works best for your baby and your family.

Answer 5

If you are using the Gerber Organic rice cereal it has been recalled due to a potential choking hazard. I was using it too and if you call Gerber they pay for you to send it back to them and will give you coupons to buy non organic cereal.

Anyway, I started cereal at 4 months and veggies at 5 months and fruits a couple weeks after. Meat comes at 6 months. I just added a little less milk/formula when I made the cereal to make it a little thicker. I did everything exactly as my doctor told me. I breastfed my daughter also until 6 months.

My daughter is 7 1/2 months old now and the doctor said she needs to be eating three meals a day by 7 months and drinking about 16-20 oz of formula or breast milk.

Her schedule:
7 wake up/bottle
10 breakfast (cereal and fruit)
2 lunch (meat, veggie and fruit)
6 dinner (cereal and veggie)
7:30 bed/bottle

Good luck!

Answer 6

ignore the negative answers, the info is ALWAYS changing! I introduced rice at 31/2 months on the advice of my doc as my daughter has reflux. I only give a tiny bit each day. there isn't much nutritional value in rice but thats not the point of it. The point of it is to get the baby used to a different texture and used to eating via a spoon, and swallowing. My baby is now just over 4 months and has around 6 small baby spoons a day. she is doing fine. I am going to wait until she is 5 months + before giving anything else. Go with your instincts, u CAN give a baby solids at that age, the key is not to give too much and keep it very bland. Baby rice is just fine

Answer 7

Don't listen to us, but take cues from your child.
I started rice @ 3.5 months (pediatrician ok'd-said if you think your child is hungrier then you should try). My daughter is just a big girl. Not fat mind you just big-tall. She's actually almost a pound underweight for her height. And at 3.5 months was smacking her lips when I'd eat and going mmmm mmmm. And just breast milk and/or formula just wasn't keeping her full. She started waking at night which she had never done. First I started a little rice in one of her bottles then spoon feeding once a day. After about two weeks I added a little mashed banana. I did this on occasion until she started sitting up better. Every time I tried new foods I'd mix it with cereal. Just go slow one new food every week or two. And take cues from your baby they'll let you know when they are ready.
Mine will be 7 months next week had two teeth since 4.5 months. She's on stage two baby food now. I've tried some soft foods a bit chunky but would dissolve easily if she'd just mill it around in her mouth abit. But when it gets to the back of her tongue she gags...so I know she isn't ready for thicker foods yet.

Answer 8

well you sould only do rice cerealuntil your baby is at least 6 months. actually you shouldn't start solids unitl you get the ok from your ped. but only feed about once a day. my son is 5 1/2 months and oly gets cereal once in a while to give him time to work it out. it is reccomended between 4-6 months to wiat it is better to wait until 6 months though, so many people are eager for their babies to grow up and whne they do it's sad. to ge t a schedule i would do it at dinner time everyday, that's jsut my opinion though my so goes most ays with only breastmilk and he is very ehalthy 16 1/2 pounds and 26 inches long

Answer 9

I have attached a link as a guide that should assist you with your question as there are many risks with early introduction of solids

Introduction of solid foods too early can lead to several problems including:
Increased chance of developing allergies
Poor growth if the solid food replaces breast milk or formula
Exposure to pathogens in food which may result in increased rates of diarrhoeal disease or
Increased stool output secondary to maldigestion in an immature gut.

Six months of age has been identified as a suitable time to introduce new foods, textures and modes of feeding as this is the time when an infant’s
Appetite and nutritional requirement are not generally met with breast milk or infant formula alone
Feeding behaviour has commenced progression from sucking to biting to chewing
Digestive system matures

The debate about timing of introduction of solids has largely focused on the immune function, the acquisition of immune-tolerance and the functioning of the infant’s gastrointestinal tract. In addition early introduction of solids may contribute to a decrease in the number of breast or bottle feeds leading to growth failure in some infants.

I hope this helps you with your question.

Good Luck

Answer 10

Has a list of foods to eat, and Foods to Avoid for that age group.

http://www.tinyike.com/feeding-your-4-to-7-month-old/