When did you start solids?

[calbury]

I'm currently researching the 'rules' regarding introducing solids to a premature baby for my baby food website. I understand that parents are often giving conflicting advice re when to start (adjusted age vs actual age, for example). I'm hoping to include a page on my site which brings together the advice and experiences of parents who have been through this, in order to help others who are trying to make an informed decision about how and when to start.

If you have a story to share, I would LOVE to hear from you. Please PM me.

Moderator - I do hope this post isn't breaking any rules - I didn't include my website URL for this reason but would, of course, provide it to anyone who replies if requested. Thank you.

[liberal_chick]

Our doctor recommended we start solids at 4 months, which was 2 months adjusted for my ds. Obviously, he was far from ready. He was ready for solids around 7-8 months actual age.

[~bookcase~]

in the uk the advice is to wean 5-7 months from birth. it's waaay too early imo, but each baby is individual.

[AFWife]

DS is just shy of 3 months...at his 2 month appt the doctor said we could start playing with solids at 4 months. I'll probably try a bit here and there to just see if he's interested (she said to start with green veggies and I've heard around MDC that rice cereal is a horrible product)

I'm subbing because I'm interested too

[sbrinton]

We were planning on waiting until 6 months adjusted age with our earliest preemie (zephan, born at 31 weeks), but he was showing many signs of readiness at 6 months actual age. We talked with the pediatrician about it and she said to go ahead and start, but to go slow and make sure we were careful to avoid potential allergens (especially eggs, soy and dairy as these are issues in our family).

Good thing we did! Zephan is about 7 1/2 months now, or 5 1/2 months adjusted, and he loves to eat. He doesn't seem to have any significant sensory issues and was a good breastfeeder from about 34 weeks on, so we weren't anticipating any struggles other than possible allergies. He really likes fruits (pears, bananas, apples) and veggies (avocados, carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes, not so much peas). We've also introduced chicken and salmon as he seemed very interested. He really likes salmon - he ate like 2 ounces of it for lunch yesterday. He doesn't like rice cereal so much (terrible texture, imo). We introduce lumpy food pretty early (fork mashed banana or soft pieces of salmon, for example) so he never got used to totally smooth food and he seems to be very good at mashing it with his gums.

[henriksmom]

My son's neonatologist said to wait until 6 months corrected (by then he was 8 and a half months old). But he weighed over 16 lbs at six months and showed signs of readiness. Without solid food he started waking 2 or 3 times a night until he was over 18 lbs when he was 6 months corrected. He really liked solid food right away and now wakes once per night, except when teething. He has gained over 3 lbs in the past two months. I am looking for ideas on transitioning him to chunkier foods since dairy is not allowed, he has exzema.

[waldenmommy]

Georgie was six and half months actual, so about 5 months, 1 week adjusted. We tried a bit here and there and he acted like we were posioning him. Since he is nursing VERY well and clearly not starving, our dr was fine with him waiting but said we may want to start with the sweeter foods first.

I've noticed that he likes the jarred purees better than the table mush. He now will take some table ground food and is trying very hard to self feed. He still has no pincher grasp. Unlike my mother two, who took mommy made food or went straight to table food, he enjoys me feeding him! I think he would also eat the purees until he popped and not nurse so I'm being careful about his intake. I give him some puffs or Cheerios at each meal to practice self feeding and I feed him one or two meals a day. He eats 1 (sometimes two) container(s) of stage two foods, 1 Stage One + a Stage Two or a couple rice rusks. This is IN ADDITION TO nursing several times between meals!

But, he's a bit of a nut!

[sbrinton]

Originally Posted by henriksmom

I am looking for ideas on transitioning him to chunkier foods since dairy is not allowed, he has exzema.

I would try fork mashing things like avocado, banana, ripe or poached peaches and pears, cooked root vegetables, beans or other soft foods. Salmon even works well for this. You could also try making your own baby cereal by pureeing cooked rice or oatmeal (or other grains) and then pureeing it, but not too finely. You could also try introducing some finger foods like Mum Mum (rice rusks), baby puffs, cheerioes, steamed peas, cubes of tofu, bits of cooked noodles.

I've found that by about 8-9 months, our older boys were eating much of their food right off our plates. Zephan (almost 8 months, but 6 adjusted) is not quite there, but he's very interested in what we eat. Developmentally he's getting ready for eating table food, but we're still going slow!

[homewithtwinsmama]

My non-preemies didn't want anything for nearly one year. My preemie finally could swallow without gagging at 15 months on solid food. I ignored the peds for the most part and trusted my gut with her. But, then I had already had three kids by then and was not too enamored of a lot of ped advice I had already been given.

[OGirlieMama]

I think our ped said go ahead at 6 months actual. We waited a little longer, and probably gave their first try and 5 adjusted. But it was very sporadic for the first few months - I might have offered them solids once every few days, because they weren't really into it. In retrospect, if I had thought about it a bit more, I'd have waited until 6 months adjusted, at least. I don't think they really got into until around 8 adjusted, maybe.

[DocsNemesis]

My kids ped always says to wait until at LEAST 6 months, unless the baby happens to seem very very ready, which does occasionally happen. Since he was a preemie, she said to wait until he was at least 6 months adjusted-which made him almost 8 months actual.

I was a bit worried about him since my other kids had the tongue reflex thing and then once it was gone, they went straight on solids. My little dude had lost the tongue reflex, but absolutely HATED anything beyond milk. He made the most horrid faces. In any case, I kept trying every few days and then one day it was like a switch went on. Now he eats pretty much anything. He was 10 months actual before he even touched solids

BTW, my full term babies varied in readiness too. You just have to watch for signs that they are ready and give it a try. If they automatically stick their tongue out all the time with the food on it, they arnt ready (thats the tongue reflex I was just talking about), even if they seem to like it. I think its the body's way of keeping them from getting food before its their time.

[calbury]

Thanks so much for all your replies, they've been really helpful in writing my article.

[Spring Lily]

I posted a thread asking about when to start solids a few months ago, the responses may help:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1055287

Like any child, age ended up not being as important as other readiness signs for my two. We waited until 6 mos adjusted, and it turned out their systems still weren't ready to process solid foods, so it was closer to 8 mos adjusted before it became more of a regular thing.

[walstib]

At my DD's 6 month appointment I asked her pediatrician what he thought about giving her solids and he told me that she was definitely "older" than her adjusted age of 4 months and that we could start solids if we chose. I did some research and she showed all the signs that she could handle it (she sat up on her own and turned her head very well, etc.) so I gave it a shot. I think we started with a small amount of mashed avocado mixed with breast milk. I went very, very slowly and if she showed any sign of being full (not opening her mouth, turning her head) I immediately stopped feeding her. I didn't start giving her two "meals" per day until she was 8 months old. Now at 1 she is on all table foods and is trying to use a spoon herself and drinks very well from a sippy cup and regular cup.