So now that my big boy will be six months old tomorrow, it is time for him to start eating solids and honestly, I have mixed feelings. I am a little bit sad that he is getting so big and find myself with a lot of questions and a little bit of stress. The stress comes in because I am not sure how it will affect my supply.
We started giving him rice cereal earlier last month because everything I read said that he was ready; he had doubled his birth weight, could hold his head up, for the most part he had lost the tongue thrust reflex, so we decided to give it a try.
The first time he struggled a bit but it made for some great pictures. The next couple of times he really got the hang of it. But then the more I read, the more I felt like I needed to wait until he was six months old, mainly because of the breastfeeding benefits. From what I understand, there really is no benefit to starting them earlier and that really the only reason to start feeding them solids is to get them use to eating with a spoon. They could be breastfed and get all the nutrition that they need just from this alone for the first year (not that I would do that). Basically, I didn't want to fill him up on rice cereal, which is pretty nutritionally dense, making him less hungry for the good stuff. So, we stopped feeding him cereal but now one month older, it is time to start again.
I am turning to the moms to answer my questions. Rice cereal once a day and a vegetable? Cereal twice a day, no vegetable? Vegetables first over fruits? Is it OK to mix the cereal with water? I hate to use breast milk when everything I pump is for the next day. I can always pull out some frozen, but am curious what others have done. Juice? There is apparently a lot of controversy over juice. What about water? Do they even need anything else to drink besides breast milk this young? When should you start giving them a cup?
Let me tell you based on what I have read what I am thinking. For now, I am thinking of doing rice cereal at night after I feed him. Once he gets the hang of that, two weeks maybe, we would up it to twice a day and add cereal after a morning feeding. Then maybe at seven months, start vegetables at one feeding, up it to two feedings and then start with fruits. I have heard to start with vegetables first because if you start with sweeter tasting fruits, he won't eat the vegetables, which is also what I have heard about juice. What have been your experiences?
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- Lindsee
- Utah, United States
- Why autumn skies? Well, simply put, I love fall! I am happily married to my handsome hunk of a husband, Marco, for six years now. We balance each other out quite nicely; like the ying and the yang. He keeps me laughing and I keep him responsible! We are new parents to our little smunchkin, Mateo. He was born in May, 2009 and life has changed in more ways then I could have imagined, for the better. Our first child is our five-year-old beagle, Savannah. We just built our second home, both have been in Farmington. We love it here!
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Seriously Linds I think you are right on the money with your last paragraph and what your plan is. That sounds great to me. The funny thing is I really liked reading this because I honestly can't remember and i am thinking of starting Luke on solids too! ahh! Anyway with the rice cereal I used to just add a little water and a 1/2 scoop or so of formula if you don't want to waste breastmilk. They also usually love the rice cereal mixed with a fruit or veggie when you start introducing those.
I started introducing Drew to sippy cups around 9 months old. just to let him play with it and figure it out.
Anyway I don't know if I have helped much. Good luck mommy!
Hey Lindsee things have probably changed a lot since my days with little ones. We tried to avoid giving them certain foods for as long as possible to avoid/prevent certain food and environmental allergies. My mom's generation was the opposite. She was proud of the fact that she could feed her babies "meat and potatoes", etc. straight from the table from a very young age. Unfortunately most of us have also had life long allergies and even asthma. Not sure if that's the connection but I know it's not fun having to take 3 allergy shots every week! With the new pandemic going on it might be good to breast feed as long as possible so he can get the anti-body protection he needs to stay healthy. What is your pediatrician's advise?
So I am totally freaking out about this too (glad I'm not the only one). Our doc said rice cereal and water is OK now, so we were going to start it. But then I started reading more and everything says six months, so we haven't started anything yet. I'm sure I'll be asking you tons of questions since you're just a few months ahead of us!
I've heard that about the vegetables too. Our doc said to introduce things one at a time and give it a week before starting another one (so you can pinpoint any allergies). Also, I read that their bodies can't process the salt in water, so you should only give a certain amount.
I thought this was helpful from Baby Zone: http://www.babyzone.com/baby/nutrition-chart.pdf
Oh, on the water thing though, my mom swears she gave me sugar water from the very beginning and that it's fine, so who knows???
I GIVE LEAH WATER ALL OF THE TIME... SHE LIKES IT SO MIXING THE WATER AND RICE SHOULD BE FINE.. MAYBE EVEN BUY A SMALL THING OF LIQUID FORMULA AND MIX THAT WITH THE RICE.. I SAY BE YOUR OWN DOCTOR WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR LITTLES ONES NEEDS. NOBODY KNOWS YOUR BABY LIKE YOU DO. IT WONT HURT THEM TO TRY IT. YOU'LL KNOW IMMEDIATELY IF IT'S NOT THE RIGHT THING...ALL A DR CAN DO IS SAY TRY IT SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL TRY IT.. I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY ADIVCE FROM DR'S SINCE LEAH'S 2 MONTH CHECKUP. THEY SAY SCARY THINGS AND EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT AND HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS AND WANTS. I JUST TAKE HER FOR HER SHOTS AND I'M OUTTA THERE HAHA. THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE 90 YRS OLD RIGHT NOW.... THERE WASN'T THAT MANY OPTIONS BACK IN THE DAY AND THERE ARE A TON OF SMART INTELLIGENT OLDER BEINGS ( ; JUST SAYIN... XOXO
OH P.S. THEY DO HAVE BABY WATER YOU CAN BUY IN GALLONS AT THE STORE FOR LIKE A $1.20...
P.S.S. I STARTED CHLOE AND LEAH ON BANANAS AND PEACHES AT 4 MONTHS AND SO FAR NO ALLERGIES... IF ANYTHING I THINK IT MAKES THEM STRONGER FASTER! CHLOE WAS WALKING AT 10 MONTHS AND EATING NORMAL TABLE FOOD...BUT AGAIN EVERY KID IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND GENES... SORRY I'LL STOP NOW. JUST DONT WANT YOU TO STRESS OUT ABOUT THE BEST YEARS OF THEIR LIVES (; MAKE IT FUN AND DO IT HOW YOU FEEL IS RIGHT..
Hey Lindsee! I"m so glad I found you! your blog is cute.. not as cute as your little boy, though! he is adorable. I thought I'd remember from my 1st to 2nd baby- only 20months apart.. but, no :) I forget everything.. I think that happens. It sounds like you have a great plan. My only suggestion is to trust yourself and do what feels right. When they got a little older, we loved our little hand grinder- Kidco I think? anyway, good luck! lets keep in touch!
Hey Lindsee- finally getting around to checking out your blog! I have one too, but it's private- send me your e-mail address and I'll get you an invite.
Your baby is so cute, congratulations.
As for your questions, I think if you just trust your instincts- you'll be fine. You have to do what makes the most sense for you and your family.
With that in mind, here are a few things I remember with my girls. I did breastfeed both of them exclusively until they were 6 months old. Then I started doing rice cereal once a day. I can't remember when I introduced vegetables, probably around 7 months? I did one at a time and started with the greens, since they are the most bitter. I was told to do fruits last so they learn to like the veggies first. I mixed rice cereal with water, because I didn't want to waste breastmilk either. My pediatrician's office told me to avoid juice until after the age of 2. I thought it was great advice. Neither of my kids are juice drinkers now, so I like that they aren't filling up on sugary calories. They love milk and water and prefer it to anything else- so personally, I think it's a great habit. I'd rather that they eat actual fruit so they can benefit from the fiber.
I started doing more table foods at 9 months, but I did breastfeed my girls until they were past the 1 year mark, usually just in the mornings or evenings.
Anyways, good luck. Don't stress too much. Just avoid the foods that cause allergies {peanut butter, eggs, etc...} until the doctor okays them- and I think it will all be fine!
Alright, Linds. Time for a post!
LOL JESS, I AGREE THE OUTCOME OF THE SOLIDS IS VERY INTENSE FOR SOME OF US!
Hey Lindsee ...Where'd you go??? Just when you got me hooked you disappeared again! I can't wait to hear about your Christmas and New Years adventures. Come baaaaack!!!
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