Rice cereal, baby foods, transitioning - I know nothing!

[sonyak]

Hello, everyone -

We have a 5 month-old baby (who was 2 months premature). She is presently bottle-fed on Similac's Gentlease formula (I wasn't producing an adequate supply of breastmilk, as I have hyperthyroidism).

We like our pediatrician; however, I don't think she's well-versed on natural family living. I would really appreciate everyone's assistance with my questions below - thanks in advance!

So, I had a few questions:

1) When did you start introducing baby food to your baby?
2) Was the first food rice cereal? If so, what brand(s) do you recommend? Did you mix it in the bottle or spoon-feed it?
3) When do you actually start feeding veggies/fruits??
4) How are you storing your frozen baby food? Can you recommend any covered containers?
5) I am wondering if we should delay giving our baby solids, since she was premature? She's developmentally about 1 month behind, but we were informed she'd catch up within this first year.

Thank you again in advance for your replies! Any and all suggestions/answers greatly appreciated!

[Bokonon]

My DS was 8 weeks premature, and we introduced solids at 6 months adjusted age. His first food was sweet potato, and we never bothered with rice cereal. DD was 6 weeks premature and we did the same thing with her, but her first food was avocado.

Preemies are generally expected to "catch up" by age 2, not age 1.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by sonyak

1) When did you start introducing baby food to your baby?
2) Was the first food rice cereal? If so, what brand(s) do you recommend? Did you mix it in the bottle or spoon-feed it?
3) When do you actually start feeding veggies/fruits??
4) How are you storing your frozen baby food? Can you recommend any covered containers?
5) I am wondering if we should delay giving our baby solids, since she was premature? She's developmentally about 1 month behind, but we were informed she'd catch up within this first year.

Thank you again in advance for your replies! Any and all suggestions/answers greatly appreciated!

1. I didn't really introduce food to my dd as she did to herself. She sat at the table with us and started reaching for foods and picking up little pieces at about 10 months. She was exclusively breastfed.

2. No rice cereal. That's just empty calories.

3. Fruits and veggies were her first foods at about 10 months... no purees, small bits that she practiced her pincher grasp with and put in her own mouth.

4. N/A

5. She will want to eat solids when she's ready, so follow her cues. Just have her at the table, and when she's ready to eat, she'll give you all the signs.

Good luck!

[tessie]

1) When did you start introducing baby food to your baby? About 5.5 months, I think? She was ready earlier (grabbing at food etc) but I wanted to wait a bit longer.

2) Was the first food rice cereal? If so, what brand(s) do you recommend? Did you mix it in the bottle or spoon-feed it?

We did give a little rice cereal at the start. I have no idea what brand we used. If I could do it over I'd start with fruit/veg as it was a faff (I had to express milk to mix with it and I sucked at expressing.)

3) When do you actually start feeding veggies/fruits??

Very quickly. Things like sweet potato, apple, pear were popular. Avocados were not.

4) How are you storing your frozen baby food? Can you recommend any covered containers?

I used to freeze stuff in ice cube trays and then tip the cubes into a larger container. We did a mix of puree and finger foods as soon as she hit six months and we could introduce a wider range of foods.

5) I am wondering if we should delay giving our baby solids, since she was premature? She's developmentally about 1 month behind, but we were informed she'd catch up within this first year.

The advice here is often to wean prem babies earlier than standard. However it is also recommended to consult with your dr. You can download the Bliss prem baby weaning guide here. It is focused towards introducing purees rather than baby led weaning (not sure if you're interested in BLW?) but that would seem to be appropriate advice for prem babies who many not have the fine motor skills to handle finger foods.

[KristyDi]

Originally Posted by sonyak

1) When did you start introducing baby food to your baby?
2) Was the first food rice cereal? If so, what brand(s) do you recommend? Did you mix it in the bottle or spoon-feed it?
3) When do you actually start feeding veggies/fruits??
4) How are you storing your frozen baby food? Can you recommend any covered containers?
5) I am wondering if we should delay giving our baby solids, since she was premature? She's developmentally about 1 month behind, but we were informed she'd catch up within this first year.

Thank you again in advance for your replies! Any and all suggestions/answers greatly appreciated!

1. I offered some purees just after 6 months. DD wasn't really interested and I didn't push it.

2. DD has never had rice cereal.

3. After giving up on purees (around 6.5 months) I just started offering her small bits of soft stuff from my plate. She really liked steamed carrots, sweet potato oven fries, and cooked apples. I also intro'd meat in the form of grilled or baked chicken or turkey around 7 or 8 months. She loved it and loved to gnaw on legs or wings that had been mostly stripped of meat.

4. for the little time I made purees I used covered ice cube trays to freeze then stored the cubes in zip top bags.

5. I don't know much about premis, but I would wait till she showed the signs of readiness for sure.

* Baby can sit up well without support.
* Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
* Baby is ready and willing to chew.
* Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
* Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

[Mama2Kayla]

I say watch the baby not the calender. Do you feel she is developmentally ready? If not, just wait.
Both my babies began eating around 9 months and then it was only what they could feed themselves. I never did purees, but for foods like applesauce and yogurt I would give them a spoon so they could feed themselves. Both hated to be spoonfed.

We just started with whatever we were having. I gave them small bits of meat, soft cooked veggies, plain brown rice, sweet potatoes, avocado, soft fruits, cheese, egg yolk, oatmeal, etc.