1st time mom questions: Started rice cereal--now what?

[lkmiscnet]

Just introduced solids to my EBF 7 mo old son 4 days ago. I mix a tablespoon of organic brown rice cereal with some BM and feed it at breakfast and dinner time in the middle of BFing so he's not too hungry but not yet full, then I top him off with BM again usually.

I'm not sure what to do next. From what I read, he should be eating about 1/4 cup per meal. Should he even be getting two solid meals a day yet? Do I wait until he is eating that amount at each meal before I introduce another food?

I did bake some yams yesterday that I had planned to puree and freeze, but am wondering if I should go ahead and introduce that, mix a bit in his rice cereal, or freeze and wait until he's eating larger amounts?

My DH does have terrible allergies, so I am doing the 4-5 day wait when I do introduce something new to our son.

[nycmom18]

we would introduce 1 new food for about 3 days at a time and no other food with that for the first couple of months. i wouldnt worry about getting a certain amount in, just see what babe wants and how hungry etc.

we never did rice cereal as i read that they dont have the enzymes to break down the grains for a while but heres what we started with:

-mashed bananas
-avocado
-peas
-green beans
-prunes

everything was either mashed to a liquid or cooked and then milled to a liquid almost. if i had to do it over, i probably wouldnt do bananas first, cause they were so sweet. whilehe really liked them, it was hard to get him to like other things at first. now at 19 months he likes just about everything though! hope this helps!

[lkmiscnet]

I'm not sure if I should add in new foods until he's mastered his first one. Today, he was pushing out the rice cereal with his tongue and not accepting it as readily , though it's been hit or miss on other days as well. It's only been 6 days since it was first introduced.

Is it best to wait until he's gotten the hang of eating his first solid food or could it be that he might be more eager for something that is better tasting, though the BM does give rice cereal a sweet taste?

[LadyCatherine185]

I wouldn't really consider rice cereal mixed with BM "solid" food. It really has no nutritional value, I would (and did) skip it entirely. Have you heard of Baby Led Weaning/Solids? Just offering little bits of whatever you are eating and letting baby self-feed. It has a ton of benefits, and a lot less work/stress for Mama! The PP had some great first foods to offer as well.

Here is a great page from Kellymom.com on starting solids.

The basic concepts behind BLW is watching for readiness signs (sitting unassisted, pincer grasp, no tongue thrust, interest in solids/grabbing food and putting it in mouth) and offering foods baby can self-feed. That way they can regulate their solid intake.

Good luck, and have fun!

[fruitfulmomma]

I don't give rice cereal at all because of the reasons pps mentioned. I give gently cooked egg yolks, small bites of meat and cheese, dairy, soft fruits and veggies, etc... I don't make special meals for my babies. Barring allergies, they get whatever is on my plate that isn't a choking hazard.

Solids before one year old are really just for fun and getting used to tastes & textures. I wouldn't push them. He'll let you know when he is ready for more.

[nycmom18]

oh yeah!! i forgot about the egg yolks! those were the best and so good for them

[AustinMom]

wholesomebabyfood.com was my baby food bible when mine was starting solids

[claddaghmom]

Hi there, first thing...pushing it out w/ his tongue is a good sign that he is not ready for anything else other than human milk. A thrust tongue reflex should be completely resolved before introducing solids.

Second, rice cereal is not a great choice for introduction to solids b/c it lacks varied texture, color and flavour. It also has about nothing nutritionally, is implicated in wheat/gluten sensitivity and can cause infections if aspirated.


This was released in November:

http://www.pediatricnews.com/article...296-6/fulltext


"Rice cereal has traditionally been the first complementary food given to American infants, but “Complementary foods introduced to infants should be based on their nutrient requirements and the nutrient density of foods, not on traditional practices that have no scientific basis,” Dr. Greer said"

(and please ignore the thing about human milk being insufficient *sigh*)

[Abraisme]

Originally Posted by LadyCatherine185

I wouldn't really consider rice cereal mixed with BM "solid" food. It really has no nutritional value, I would (and did) skip it entirely. Have you heard of Baby Led Weaning/Solids? Just offering little bits of whatever you are eating and letting baby self-feed. It has a ton of benefits, and a lot less work/stress for Mama! The PP had some great first foods to offer as well.

Here is a great page from Kellymom.com on starting solids.

The basic concepts behind BLW is watching for readiness signs (sitting unassisted, pincer grasp, no tongue thrust, interest in solids/grabbing food and putting it in mouth) and offering foods baby can self-feed. That way they can regulate their solid intake.

Good luck, and have fun!

[GreenGranolaMama]

A few of us were chatting in this thread a short while ago about solids, I'm sure some of it would be helpful!

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...st+solid+foods

[lovebug]

Great Thread!