First cereal for baby?

[Dillpicklechip]

Well my youngest is almost 6 months old. Although an experiment about two weeks ago letting him try egg yolk did NOT work, he seems so eager to eat what we are eating, that I think once he is 6 months I'm going to let him try some kind of cereal--porridge, I mean. Does anyone have any tips for me? What kind of porridge is easiest on baby's tummy? I was thinking of just starting with brown rice porridge but I'm open to suggestions.

My family (mom, sister) keep wondering why I haven't given him pablum yet (Nestle cereal). Ugh. I got a free sample of the rice cereal in the mail (I think the hospital gave out my name!) and I was pretty grossed out by the ingredients. Rice flour made from white rice! Canola oil! Skim milk powder! Yuck. I don't understand why people feel it's absolutely necessary to give your baby that stuff. Oh wait, yes I do. They're brainwashed by all the slick advertising.

Okay, rant over.

Anyway, there is no way I'm giving him that stuff. I don't even go near the baby aisle when I'm in the grocery store. I feel bad that I gave it to my first two -- at age 4 months! -- because I didn't know better.

[tolovemercy]

Hm...I'm not sure I would do any grains with a baby that young, but that's just my opinion. Babies make very, very small amounts of the enzymes to digest cereals until they're closer to 1 year. What about mashed potatoes? Cubes of cooked veggies? Fruits?

[quietserena]

SF says to delay grains to 2 years old because kids don't make enough amylase.

[Rainbow2911]

My little guy is nearly two and still can't digest brown rice much! He has been fine with oats (soaked in buttermilk at least 12 hours before cooking) since about 12 months though.
I would try veggies, meat or fish. Salmon was a favorite first food with my kids as it is very soft and doesn't need chewing much. White fish and mackerel are also very popular. Chicken cooked until really soft was something they could handle fairly early on too.
Yogurt was a big hit too if you are ok with adding non human dairy to his diet. But mostly fruit and veggies until they started eating more table food (at nearer a year). I tended not to do anything specific for them - just pick out the veg or bits that they can eat from our dinner or give them a sliced banana to play with if there wasn't anything suitable.

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by Dillpicklechip

Anyway, there is no way I'm giving him that stuff. I don't even go near the baby aisle when I'm in the grocery store. I feel bad that I gave it to my first two -- at age 4 months! -- because I didn't know better.

I know the feeling about giving cereal so young- I gave DD rice cereal for crying out loud! I was so nieve then. : When she was older I gave her oatmeal that I made for us (just oats, water, and butter; minus the cow's milk for her)- she loved it!

[Dillpicklechip]

Thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by quietserena

SF says to delay grains to 2 years old because kids don't make enough amylase.

Really! I did not know this. I haven't actually read Nourishing Traditions yet.

[changingseasons]

I agree- no grains. Meat and cooked veggies are the easiest to digest.

I'm curious- why didn't the egg yolk work? Is he not actually ready to start eating yet, or did he show some kind of reaction to the egg?

[Staciemao]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

I'm curious- why didn't the egg yolk work? Is he not actually ready to start eating yet, or did he show some kind of reaction to the egg?

I was wondering this too. And I agree with everyone else...I'd wait on the grains. My daughter's first food was steak with butter.

Also, is he showing lots of signs of solids readiness? I ask because my son was ready at six months but my daughter didn't start on solids at all until she was 9 months, and has only recently started to make solids a significant part of her caloric intake.

[Dillpicklechip]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

I agree- no grains. Meat and cooked veggies are the easiest to digest.

I'm curious- why didn't the egg yolk work? Is he not actually ready to start eating yet, or did he show some kind of reaction to the egg?

A little while after he ate it, he vomited, then vomited again, then vomited some more...he kept vomiting until every last remnant of the stuff was gone from his stomach. He normally doesn't even spit up very much so this was very unusual.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by Dillpicklechip

A little while after he ate it, he vomited, then vomited again, then vomited some more...he kept vomiting until every last remnant of the stuff was gone from his stomach. He normally doesn't even spit up very much so this was very unusual.

I was wondering... eggs are very allergenic, and that definitely sounds like an allergic reaction! That's a pretty strong reaction, so I would wait a long time before introducing eggs again (like a couple years).

[BekahJ]

I regret giving my son egg as his first food. I have found out since that he is allergic to it. And I was brainwashed and gave my daughter cereal when she was a baby. Maybe I'll get it right if we have a 3rd. I guess you live and learn. I would stick with fruit and veggies, or maybe even wait a couple more months. I have a friend that has had great success with the mesh feeders, she puts bananas and apples and pears in them her little one loves it!

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by BekahJ

I regret giving my son egg as his first food. I have found out since that he is allergic to it. And I was brainwashed and gave my daughter cereal when she was a baby. Maybe I'll get it right if we have a 3rd. I guess you live and learn. I would stick with fruit and veggies, or maybe even wait a couple more months. I have a friend that has had great success with the mesh feeders, she puts bananas and apples and pears in them her little one loves it!

Don't beat yourself up about it- anything can be allergenic!! I started with chicken bone broth for DD, as it is a gentle, gut-healing food (and she had already shown food allergies to a million things through my BM), and months later I figure out that she is allergic to chicken. oops!! We've since switched to lamb bone broth.

[Peek-a-boo]

Okay, I was just reading here http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/news/?p=60 that breast milk contains amylase. So if you're also breastfeeding baby, would the amylase from the breastmilk facilitate the digestion of the cereal?

[Rainbow2911]

It would help with starchy stuff like rice. Try mixing up some ground rice into a stiff paste with breast milk and then come back in a minute or two! It does break down the starch but might not help with other components.

[momtoalexsarah]

my kids all started with vegie chunks - sweet pototo, potato, organic carrots and beets (make sure these are organic and justgive a litte because of the nitrate factor) tunip, squash. Any very soft cooked vegie - and ALWAYS as a finger food - never off a spoon. If they can't put it in thier mouth - they arn't ready for solids. My oldest was 4 months and stealing potatos off my plate, my middle DD was 6 months and eating table vegies with the rest of us. My youngest was over a year before she ate solids - she just wasn't ready (at that point she had global development delays and BM was all she needed)

[Dillpicklechip]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

I was wondering... eggs are very allergenic, and that definitely sounds like an allergic reaction! That's a pretty strong reaction, so I would wait a long time before introducing eggs again (like a couple years).

Yes, I think he is allergic. After this happened and I told my parents about it, they told me that my dad was allergic to eggs until he was about 6 years old. So although they are a favourite food around here, no more eggs for ds for a very long time!

Originally Posted by BekahJ

I have a friend that has had great success with the mesh feeders, she puts bananas and apples and pears in them her little one loves it!

Thanks for reminding me about those mesh feeders. I saw one online a few months ago and thought it was a great idea, but I didn't get it because it wasn't time yet...maybe I'll try one in the next month or two.

Originally Posted by Peek-a-boo

Okay, I was just reading here http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/news/?p=60 that breast milk contains amylase. So if you're also breastfeeding baby, would the amylase from the breastmilk facilitate the digestion of the cereal?

I didn't know breastmilk contains amylase. Just another reason why everyone should breastfeed as long as possible, if babies don't have much amylase until age 2...Here we are, my baby is almost 6 months old and everyone in my family keeps asking me, "How much longer are you going to breastfeed?" Anyway, I'm sure I'll give him some cereals eventually (I won't wait until he's 2) so when I do I'll be sure to put some breastmilk into it.

Originally Posted by momtoalexsarah

my kids all started with vegie chunks - sweet pototo, potato, organic carrots and beets (make sure these are organic and justgive a litte because of the nitrate factor) tunip, squash. Any very soft cooked vegie - and ALWAYS as a finger food - never off a spoon. If they can't put it in thier mouth - they arn't ready for solids. My oldest was 4 months and stealing potatos off my plate, my middle DD was 6 months and eating table vegies with the rest of us. My youngest was over a year before she ate solids - she just wasn't ready (at that point she had global development delays and BM was all she needed)

Thank you for this. Yes it makes sense to not give food off a spoon. I was just looking through a photo album the other day and saw a picture of myself feeding my other son pureed sweet potatoes off a spoon--at 3.5 months old! What the heck was I thinking...it makes perfect sense that if you have to force the food into their mouth with a spoon, they aren't ready yet. My current baby has been trying to steal food off my plate for some time now, so I think he'd like it if I gave him some cooked veggie chunks.

Is it really a problem to give non-organic carrots and potatoes if they're well peeled? I would love to give everything organic but money is super tight for us right now.

[newcastlemama]

nak..Warning the following advice is not strictly tf!!--

I would not worry too much if the carrots and potatoes are peeled. My dd (almost 11 mos) loves potatoes. Just an FYI--I have organic Earths Best brown rice cereal and it contains amalayze. I use it to thicken up soups/stews so dd can eat them easily. I do feed her this thickened up soup off spoon but she really loves it (no force feeding here). Her only issue seems to be cow milk (just like our family had/has so no suprise there. I think she will probably outgrow that like ds did)

She always wants a post dinner nursing session so I figure that helps her digestion too.

Jen