So my husband came home with rice cereal...

[Conifer]

At our ds's 4 month well child check up his doctor said "well, he's 4 months now, you can start introducing food". I was totally not ready for that. He's my BABY...the youngest of 4 with a 5 year gap for the next youngest. I was a little shocked too since I know I didn't start introducing food until 6 months or later with the other kids. I am remarried and this ds is the only one I have with my current dh. I managed to put it off another month. Ds is almost 5 months now, but imo he is still so little. On the other hand he is super interested in food. He managed to grab a handful of yogurt from my bowl yesterday and shoved it in his mouth. He is constantly trying to swipe stuff off our plates. So now I'm wondering if he is ready for food and it is me with the issues. Dh came home from the grocery store with a box of rice cereal today. I'm really torn!

[Funny Face]

Kellymom has some great info on solids. http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...lids-when.html

We did child led weaning for solids. Ds has never eaten baby food and while he had his first 'taste' of food around 6 months he still doesn't eat table food consistently and he's 15 months now.

We give him bites of this and that but overall I still prefer him having breastmilk.

There is no rush! 5 months would be a bit young for me but maybe your dh just wants that thrill of giving him his first food and then he'll realize how much easier it is just to let them nurse.

Rice cereal however is on my list of 'no no' foods. Ds's first food was avocado and still eats mostly fruits and veggies.

[MamaChicken]

My DH brought home a box of rice cereal for the twins at that age, too.

And it sits, a year later - untouched - in the back of the pantry.

Don't stress!

[ewe+lamb]

I'm sure you know most of this but wanted just to remind you of things to look out for when introducing solids,these are the signs I like to look out for when introducing solids to a baby;they can sit unassisted for a reasonable amount of time, they can pick up small objects with the fore finger and thumb, they seem interested in solids, they no longer have a tongue thrust which spits the food out of the mouth, some babies will be ready earlier than others but these are the main points that, personally, I feel are important to look out for.

Another point is introducing solids is just that, an introduction, a journey of discovery in tastes and textures and not really 3 full meals a day, baby's main source of nourishment should really be breastmilk, many mothers don't necessarily give purees there are lots of things we can introduce such as avocado and sweet potato which baby can eat without mushing everything up!

[ktmeyer]

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp

[Asparagus78]

Funny, DH did th same thing last week (DS2 is 4.5 m/o). I think he's very anxious to be able to fed the little guy! I'm not a fan of cereal, but DH was really proud to announce it was organic, and on special. So he bought 4 huge boxes!!!!! I did do rice cereal with DS1 but I'm not sure whether I'll do it for DS2, but I'll be waiting for 6 m/o for sure. I think we sometimes lose sight that solids are probably a bigger deal for our partners than for ourselves. For me, solids mean more messes to clean up and worrying about reactions and choking, but for DH, it means being able to nourish DS. So I indulge him!

[mntnmom]

If he seems interested in your food when you eat, give it a shot and see if he's ready. A few kids are at that age. But otherwise, "thanks for thinking ahead hon, we'll have it when we want it"
My last 2 were between 6-8 months when I started solids, but really didn't do more than experiment before a year. You're just fine!!

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Conifer

At our ds's 4 month well child check up his doctor said "well, he's 4 months now, you can start introducing food".

I'd watch the advice your DS's doctor gives you about nutrition and breastfeeding! This is REALLY outdated. The medical community now realises that there is evidence to keep the introduction of solids until 6 months. There are health reasons for the recommendation that exclusive breastfeeding continues until 6 months!

[Conifer]

I'd watch the advice your DS's doctor gives you about nutrition and breastfeeding! This is REALLY outdated. The medical community now realises that there is evidence to keep the introduction of solids until 6 months. There are health reasons for the recommendation that exclusive breastfeeding continues until 6 months!

I agree. Especially when her first question was "is he taking a bottle yet or are you still breastfeeding". I like the way "yet" was used :P

I'm glad that I am confident enough in the way I parent, that I know when not to listen to Dr.'s advice.

[jecombs]

We didn't do any solids until DD was over 6 mo. old. We based that decision on the current rec's and research about early introduction of solids and obesity, diabetes, and allergies. And I never gave DD that nasty rice cereal. It is basically empty carbs, full of man-made vitamins. It's probably the least nutritional thing to feed a LO. When we started solids, we went with nutrient-dense foods like sweet potato and avocado.

Maybe you can give your DH some articles to read about rice cereal and early introduction of solids?

[doubledutch]

at that age, my babies were also always trying to grab our food/fork. i thought it means they were hungry for table food, but they were also trying to grab my pen, my keys, my cell phone and put those in their mouths too.

[averlee]

My daughter was only 10 weeks old the first time she stole food from my plate and she did her darndest to gum that cantaloupe to bits. Over the next few weeks I noticed she had all the readiness signs ewe+lamb mentioned above, and I let her practice having breastmilk from a spoon/bowl. When she was almost 4 months, I fork-mashed a bit of avocado and offered her little bites. She did not spit any out, choke, or gag at all...so I let my daughter have solids early. (She survived.)

[kriket]

Originally Posted by doubledutch

at that age, my babies were also always trying to grab our food/fork. i thought it means they were hungry for table food, but they were also trying to grab my pen, my keys, my cell phone and put those in their mouths too.

I have to remind MIL that DS 'wants' her soda or pizza as much as he 'wants' a lint ball off the floor or the cord for the laptop.

I think pedis say the 4 mo thing because soooo many parents ask. A lot of people are really anxious to feed babies "real" food early, so if the pedis can keep them on milk for 6m that is a victory.

Which does make me think your pedi is using some outdated info. Our pedi recommended 6, and even the WIC clinic has "NOTHING BUT BREAST MILK FOR SIX MONTHS" in huge red letters all over the place. I think 6 is the new magic mainstream number.

[cheryllynn]

My pediatrician said wait until six months. We tried with avocado @ six months 1 week and was rejected. Tried banana at six months 2 weeks and rejected. Used organic rice cereal with DHA and probiotics the next week and she ate the whole little bowl as if she had been starved - I swear she would have licked it clean if she knew how. We went back to fruit & veggie purees and had better luck. It wasn't until seven months+ when she really took to food. Now she prefers food to breast milk. We always put some of that rice cereal in with the purees and never had any problems with poops during the solid food start-up period. She never waits longer than a day for her poopy diaper.

I'd put that rice cereal on hold for now.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by kriket

I think pedis say the 4 mo thing because soooo many parents ask. A lot of people are really anxious to feed babies "real" food early, so if the pedis can keep them on milk for 6m that is a victory.

I think it is also because most people do not see the pediatrician between 4 and 6 months. A formula fed child *needs* to start solids earlier than a bfed child (because formula does not change composition as a child ages). Many parents would like to feed their child some food before the 6 month appt (which might actually be like 6.5 months) so they can report how it went and get specific advice based on their individual child.

[Conifer]

Update

I decided to humor my dh and let him feed cereal to ds. I was never planning on it replacing any breast feedings so I was okay with it. Ds grimaced and spit out every bit (we tried 3 bites). He looked at me like "what the hell are you trying to feed me". Then we just laughed and said...guess we'll wait another month or so lol! Problem over! He's definitely not ready and there isn't really any reason for me to feed him anything other than breastmilk

[ewe+lamb]

Delighted that you managed to sort this out - well done you!!