starting baby on solids?

Question

Three days ago I started my baby on milk mixed with a very thin rice cereal just for one meal a day. All seems to be going well for her with that.

How should I transition her to a thicker rice cereal? And then how should I transition her to baby foods? Also how should I transition the number of meals this way? What about other liquids such as water and juice?

I'm mostly looking for time frames here, but I'd also welcome any extra advice you have on the subject.

Thanks!

Answer 1

You're question is actually QUITE complex, and would require way too much text in the answer.

Do a google search for the following:
transitioning baby to eating solid food

to get more information after you read what is given to you here.

All you need right now is how to START... That usually takes a little while, and will give you time to learn more.

The way you have started sounds fine, but to make the transition better, you need to now change the pattern. The baby needs to be used to receiving liquids at each meal, so now feed rice cereal as a separate item from the bottle.

Feed it by spoon, thinned a lot with the baby's formula. You feed her cereal now by spoon from a dish. Make it thicker than what you gave her when you started, and as each day goes by, add less milk to make the cereal thicker till it's normal rice cereal consistency. Do NOT thin the cereal with milk. Thin it with formula. Feed the cereal first, followed by her bottle.

Once she's used to her first solid, you don't need to thin subsequent foods as you add them. There are a couple of very important rules:

1) Feed ONLY ONE new food at a time.
2) Feed each new food for at least 7 days or more before adding anything new to the diet.
3) For her first food, since you are transitioning the baby to getting accustomed to the thickness of solids, take at least TWO weeks before you try any new food.
4) While you're in this first food period, read all you can find in websites about feeding your baby solid foods. You'll find answers to your questions, and to questions you have not asked or thought of yet.
5) As you go through new foods, it would be worth considering making your own. You can process food cooked the way you cook, that will taste like what she will eat with family as she matures, and you can put in less salt and sugar and fats than the baby food companies use. This is really a good idea. You can get small containers like the littlest Glad containers, and freeze small portions.


Since you started with rice cereal, which is just fine, give it at breakfast time.

When you're ready to add something, it would be good to add a vegetable like green beans, but give them at lunch time. Don't shift to sweeter foods till later on, as that can make it harder to accustom her to non-sweet foods. When you add something like beans or peas at lunch, give a little cereal at breakfast, and a little beans at lunch. This moves you towards the mealtime type of feeding schedule.

Don't feed any mixed foods till all the ingredients in that food have been tried as the only new food for a week as single foods.

My 2nd son was so hungry that I started him on solids younger than my first son. While he seemed to need it, later on I wondered if this was why he had more difficulties with weight control. These days most seem to recommend starting solids at about 6 months of age, when they finally have some teeth.

Answer 2

well you need to verify that she is not alllergic so between each different thing give her the same thing for about 4-6 days and then go to the next thing untill you know she is not allergic to those foods as for starting to go thinker just when she is able to take what you give her now and seems to not be haveing a hard time i at first gave my daughter some really thin cereal and she like didn't want it that thin so i started just thicking it untill it seemed to be just right for her it will take a few trys to find the right consistency for her! remember that formula or breastmilk is number 1 right now untill a year old so once a day is good for a while and then start giving another or a snack in between breast or bottle feedings and then by the time she is like 9 months or so give her alittle bit more ! by 10 months my daughter only had 2 bottles and the rest were meals good luck and if you need anything else your welcome to ask [e-mail] good luck hope i helped becca!

Answer 3

Once you start BB on thin rice cereal, I would give it to her for 3 to 4 days. Start to thicken it untill it is aprox the consistency of applesauce. If at any time BB starts to gag on the cereal, thin it a little more and give it a day or so at that consistency. Once you hit the applesauce consistency then you can start to introduce new foods, allowing 4 to 5 days before you start anything new. This will alert you to any allergic reactions that she might have to food. Once you know she tolerates a food OK, you can continue to feed this to her, even while you inroduce new items.
You can start with one meal a day, or you can do three. That is really up to you, since it is messy and is just to get her used to new flavors and textures.

Answer 4

At 3 months there's no hurry but. Many authorities recommend that 4 months is a well time to begin with porridge (cereal), however plenty of kids are simply now not interested at that age. Bear in brain, too, that the youngster must be capable to take a seat up via themselves earlier than you'll be able to start to supply them solids. What we did with either one of ours was once simply to supply them a tiny little bowl and allow them to style the porridge. The first few instances have been simply train and such a lot of it got here proper again out in their mouths, however after a few days, they have been historical execs! They will such a lot certainly mean you can recognize whilst they're complete or in the event that they desire extra, so simply comply with their cues and also you are not able to move flawed!

Answer 5

well it really all depends on the baby and how well they do with each thing- my child couldnt have rice in her bottles it was too much for her belly! but shes now 3 months old and hates her bottle already so we started to use baby food at about 2 1 /2 months and shes doing great with it but you dont want to push it on them too much like try applesauce once a day for a week then a new flavor the next but you definetly dont want to do like applesauce one day carrots the next not untill you see if they have a reaction to any of them after having them for a solid week but only one time a day try the food till about 6 month but they really should have some intake of there formula daily untill a year old

Answer 6

a little soon to be thinking about everything listen just feed her a little bit a day til she gets used to it... once a day id fine for now....do this for a few weeks or a month or so.... then start adding other types of foods.... they will stop her /him up so be prepare with juice to open them up again dont over do it cause they cant really handle anything full on for months so always water it down with what ever... yes im a guy but i have six kids and five grand kids so yes ive been there and done that. with about everthing one could go thru

Answer 7

I would Put less Formula in the bottle,Then ween her off the milk, take the cap off the bottle and start putting a spoon into the bottle now full of rice cereal then move to baby food!
Make Your own schedule,since it is your baby!

Answer 8

the baby should be at least 3-5 months before feeding rice cereal. try putting the rice in her milk, but do both milk and rice it won't hurt

Answer 9

My daughter is 8 months old and will eat some solids. She really enjoys it.

I'd say from 8-11 months they should start.

Answer 10

Can't give direct advice on this one myself, but ask (1) your mother, (2) your mother-in-law, and (3) (via the printed page) Dr. Spock.