my 4 month old and "solid food"?

Question

my daughter is 4 months old, and i want to start her on solids. i know to start with baby rice cereal, wait a week, then move on to a new food. what foods come next? how much and how often will she eat? when can i just give her a little of everything that i am eating, pureed? my boyfriend says we should start giving her 1 tbsp of each item in each meal, that is what his mom did, and i want to, but i heard its bad... please shed some light for me.

Answer 1

I have a 4 month old and just started her on rice cereal. She's doing very well. She'll get a few tablespoons of that, then I've been introducing her to stage 1 veggies, like peas and carrots. (she didn't like the peas btw)

I'm for starting babies early on foods, since most of our parents did and we all turned out ok (for the most part) but do wait a few days before trying something new. This way, you can see if she develops an allergy to it, and you can in turn tell what food it was.

To each their own, and don't let some of these moms tell you any different. Even her doctor will tell you it's fine to start solids now.

Answer 2

If I were you, I would only do cereal for a month or two and then start introducing baby food veggies around 5 1/2 to 6 months old (only do one at a time for 3-5 days to make sure there's no allergic reaction). It's going to take some time for your baby to get used to eating solid stuff and you should take your time with it. Then, after you have gone through the veggies, start introducing the fruits one at a time too.

Answer 3

Keep her on rice cereal for a few weeks then you can add in oatmeal, barely, or mixed grain cereal. But wait until 6 months old to add anything more, such as stage1 veggies then fruits.

The reason you should do one food at a time for one week before adding another is to make it easier to trace food allergies should your child develop one.

For example, my son was sensitive to sweet potatoes. I found that out at a time when he was only eating sweet potatoes...had he had a reaction after I started 3 new foods in a week I would not have been able to know for sure quickly and easily what caused his reaction.

Answer 4

Starting solids too early can harm babies while waiting wont. Solid logic to me!

Remember that babies who were fed early solids suffer many more digestive problems than their later-fed counterparts. This is a medical fact! My generation was fed early solids and consumes more digestive medications than previous and post generations who were not given premature solids.

I didn't start my two girls until 7 1/2 months and you will not find more un-fussy eaters. Today at 3 and 6, they eat everything. Even waitresses in restaurants are amazed and have even tried to "warn" me of my order, only to watch in amazement and they downed all sorts of seafood and veggies.

We were advised to start with veggies. Rice is simply empty calories and the iron is added and poorly digested.

Avoid allergens like sweet potatoes, mangoes, strawberries, white potatoes, oatmeal, chocolate, peas, other beans, avocodos, etc. One girl insisted on giving her daughter sweet patotoes only later to see her have a terrible allergic reaction.

Veggies in the squash family are first food winners. Not too sweet (like fruit) and doesn't displace milk like cereals do.

Good luck!

Answer 5

start with yellow veggies, like squash, you shouldnt give her more than one thing at time untill you are sure, that she isnt allergic to anything, people have been feeding babys alot younger than yours table food for years but the peditritians advise to start with one food item at a time be cause of allergies. We started my 7th month old on squash, and then ventured into other veggies, she loves sweet potatoes, also Nuby makes a feeding system thats great it starts with a nipple plunger bottle and then moves up to a spoon, I used it with my baby and she loved it.

Just remember that formula, or breast feeding is the most important thing for the first year. But at four months its perfectly normal to start feeding more solids, and let grandma give her a taste of things thats the joy of being a grandma.

Im not saying, feed your baby a four course meal, but sometimes grandmas knows best, after all they did take care us... : )

Answer 6

These are strange answers (for the most part) that you're getting. Starting solids at four months is a bad idea.

My daughter is the same age. I have no intention of ever giving her the junk food that is "rice cereal," and I definitely wouldn't give her anything but breast milk for some time yet.

Note the "tongue thrust" reflex. She'll just push it out of her mouth. It is not a good idea to override that...

See

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

&

"The following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

World Health Organization
UNICEF
US Department of Health & Human Services
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Dietetic Association
Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Health Canada

Reasons for delaying solids
Delaying solids gives baby greater protection from illness.
Delaying solids gives baby's digestive system time to mature.
Delaying solids decreases the risk of food allergies.
Delaying solids helps to protect baby from iron-deficiency anemia.
Delaying solids helps to protect baby from future obesity.

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

"Cereals started as an important part of a child's diet back when the infant formula companies couldn't get an absorbable form of iron into the formula. They then fortified rice cereal with iron and introduced the rice cereal early into the diet as a way to make sure the kids got the iron.

Now, all the infant formulas are fortified with iron and of course, breastmilk has an abundant and easily absorbable supply of iron in it, so we really don't need an extra source. If you take away the iron in the cereals, it's just starch...

That's a long explanation to say that I don't really think the cereals are necessary-- they aren't a good source of nutrition and they don't make kids sleep and may, with the new info on the link to diabetes, be actually be harmful. The AAP says 6 months without solids...we are learning that the rush to solids foods is NOT a good idea."

http://www.drjen4kids.com/myths/mythrice.htm

"Have you checked out the taste and texture of commercial baby cereal? Pour some commercial rice cereal in a bowl. It has no smell. The taste is the very definition of bland. The cereal is made from refined rice that has been processed and precooked. Refined grains have nothing to offer but carbohydrates. Whole grains, on the other hand, contain not only carbohydrates but also protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, essential minerals, and life. The germ is still intact. If you put a whole grain in water, it sprouts. If you put commercial baby cereal in water, it makes paste. Why train your baby to want this? By pre-toasting organic whole grains, grinding them in a small electric grinder, and cooking the grains with water, you can create a fresh, delicious, nutrient-dense cereal with taste, texture, and aroma."

http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/kitchen_baby.html

"Take rice cereal, for example. Under conventional American wisdom, it's the best first food. But Butte says iron-rich meat — often one of the last foods American parents introduce — would be a better choice.

Dr. David Ludwig of Children's Hospital Boston, a specialist in pediatric nutrition, says some studies suggest rice and other highly processed grain cereals actually could be among the worst foods for infants.

"These foods are in a certain sense no different from adding sugar to formula. They digest very rapidly in the body into sugar, raising blood sugar and insulin levels" and could contribute to later health problems, including obesity, he says."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9646449

Wait a couple of months, and then you can start smushing up what's on your own plate. Much nicer for all concerned.

Answer 7

The reason docs recommend waiting until 6 months is for digestive systems to develop. Basically think about how you'd feel after eating a couple of large steaks in one sitting, sick to your stomach, nauseus, constipated, etc Thats how your precious little angel would feel if you gave them solids too early.

So, why the rush?

Answer 8

The actual fruits and veggies are to be done at 6+ months.