When do you plan to begin solids & what will the first one be?

[busymama77]

We started solids with DS#1 when he was around 5mos and we plan on doing the same with DS#2, maybe a bit earlier or whenever he seems to be interested. With DS#1, we started with sweet potatoes and bananas. I was thinking of the same with DS#2, but wanted to branch out a bit, but still want to keep it simple as it will be his first 'meal'.

Ideas?

[firewoman]

My daughter is almost 8 months and she is still EBF. I don't plan on giving her solids for another month or 2 and when I do it will probably be beans/lentils that she can "chew" with her gums. I would definitely cut sweet potatoes into little squares and then bake them for her so she can pick those up easily, too. 5 months is a little early for solids, IMO, but to each their own. I like to let the baby's gut mature a bit longer and then allow them to self feed.

[SunRise]

Avocado!

My first son was about 6months when we started solids - he loved trying foods! Avocado was the 2nd or third. Its a fun stage, but still seems far in the future for our little baby!

[akind1]

DS has been interested in solids since around 5 months. I am sort of a "slacker" mom - I didn't really plan his first foods or anything. I think he gnawed on asparagus and carrot sticks first. He prefers either hard things he can gnaw on, or purees.

His first real "meal" was probably sweet potatoes, beans, and bananas. (these were all at a mother's day cook out) around 6 months. We don't have any food allergies in either family, so I just sometimes mash a bit of what we have, although we have done some jars also, because he seems to like that texture. I wasn't planning on purees. but well, he likes them!

The only thing he hasn't seemed to like at all is squash.

[MammaG]

My two older kids started solids at 8 months and 7 months. I waited until they had a couple of teeth and were sitting, as well as showing interest in food. DS2's first non-BM food was a slice of apple in a mesh feeder...he kept grabbing the apple out of my hand and trying to manage it into his mouth! I wanted to wait a bit longer, but I thought I'd see if he really wanted it...he did.

Now my little one is 6 months and starting to show some signs of readiness, but I'm in no hurry. He's beginning to sit up and he's definately teething, but I kind of hope to put him off until he's closer to 8 or 9 months. I feel it's better to wait until the gut is really, truly mature enough to handle solids. I'll probably do avacado or a lentil softly mashed. I also tend to let them self-feed rather than doing the baby-spoon thing.

[Norasmomma]

If he is exhibiting signs of readiness, I'd try sweet potatoes or avocado. My kids are way early eaters, my son is 8 months self feeds and eats everything, there is NO way I could keep up with his nutritional needs with BM alone, I pump 3-9oz bottles a week for while I work and he drinks those, eats food AND has to have a small 2-4 oz bottle of formula(gasp!)I'm gone for 5 hours-that's it. He is extremely active and burns it all off, this is in addition to his eating food during the day and nursing, the kid has a crazy high metabolism, but that runs in my DH's family.

I'm from the school of thought that all babies are different. Both my kids wanted solids around 4.5-5 months, DS cried every single meal, until we gave him food. He was fine with the playing with a spoon thing for a few days. DD ripped a sandwich out of my hand and literally started gnawing on it. For me the solids thing is totally dependent on the kid, I fully believe some of them are ready at 5 months and others are fine with just mama milk until age 1, my children are in the first group.

[jennybear]

We just started (a bit past 5 months). Honestly, it was kind of a whim. DD had been grabbing at our food, has been sitting up, is 20 lbs already (WELL more than double her birth weight) and....I had some sweet potatoes on hand, lol. So, she's tried a bit of sweet taters, carrots and peaches. She's a total chow hound and has been having a blast. Here's a photo of her first taste of carrots:

http://tinyurl.com/2b3ykc7

I have to tell you, though, I miss the poops of an EBF baby, especially since we CD.

[HappiLeigh]

We won't start before 6 months, and then only if he can sit unassisted, doesn't have the tongue-thrust reflex, and shows interest. We'll probably do what we did with my DD and start with sweet potato and let him self-feed.

[Shannie77]

I started giving DD1 soft pieces of avocado, sweet potato and banana after her turned 6 months. At that point she was sitting fully unassisted and had a good pincher grasp. She didn't really start eating any solids until she was 9 months, and it wasn't until past a year that she really started eating anything that resembled a meal. We just followed her lead.

DD2 is only a week but we will do the same thing but I might hold off until she is 8 months or so to even start.

[jillmamma]

Probably around 6-7 months, when she can sit unassisted, and is showing some interest in food. Right now she is just 4 months, and defnitely not ready for awhile yet. I probably will start with letting her try bites of a banana, like I did with my other two, then move on to avocado, and then whatever veggies we are having with dinner. I know my dog can't wait...she loved it when the other two were eating solids in the highchair and she got whatever fell on the floor!

[Vancouvercat]

Can someone please remind/inform me why no one is doing cereals?
And if you ARE, which kind and why?
Thanks!

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by Vancouvercat

Can someone please remind/inform me why no one is doing cereals?
And if you ARE, which kind and why?
Thanks!

Totally unnessecary, processed, and all the nutrients are fortified which makes it harder for their bodies to digest REAL nutrients. Also, we did self-feeding with DS and he can't feed himself cereal, even now at 21 months old. We fed him whole, nutrient dense foods like avocado, sweet potato, lots of fruits and veggies. Their bodies also do not posess the enzymes necessary to break down grains very easily until closer to a year old.

To the original question-- we started at 6 months (DS had all of the "readiness" signs at 5 months but we waited) and let him self feed first banana and second avocado. He didn't start eating much food until he was closer to 15 months old. Before that he would just pick at/play with whatever was on his tray, which was fine because he was being breastfed on demand. Then at 15 months he started eating a LOT, and he is a great eater now, hardly picky at all. Here is a link from kellymom.com with tons of starting solids info, including research that states waiting until after 6 months old is best for babies.

[Plarka]

6 months and self feeding, probably a roast chicken dinner!

[BunnySlippers]

Originally Posted by firewoman

My daughter is almost 8 months and she is still EBF. I don't plan on giving her solids for another month or 2 .

This is what we did only I did not think of offering chickpeas or beans that would have been a great idea.
I started with avacado, then sweet potato, and rice puffs

[Parker'smommy]

I won't even consider solids until they are at least 6 months old, can sit unassisted, have no tongue thrust, and show interest. Interest alone is not a sign that baby is ready for solids. I always tell people who say, " but he was grabbing for my food, he wanted to eat!" that if my baby was grabbing at my margarita, I wouldn't give it to her either...lol. But really, they are just interested in what you are doing...not neccessarily food.

I offered my dd very ripe bananas on my finger at 6 1/2 months of age and she pushed it right out. So, we waited. She didn't start eating solids then until 8 1/2 months of age when she perfected her pincer grasp and was able to self feed. Her favorite firsts at that time became small, cherrio sized pieces of avocado and banana. The only thing she let me spoon feed her was yogurt, at about a year old.

[cristeen]

We started at 6 mos, since he was insistent. His first food was avocado, second was sw potato, and he didnt care for either. At 8 mos hes just starting in the last week or so actually swallow instead of chipmunking. His fave foods now are broccoli, asparagus, peach and plain yogurt. He also loves my homemade refried beans (cooked in bone broth) and chomping on nori.

[Knitting Mama]

Hey Cristeen, this has nothing to do with first foods, but I just wanted to comment on your signature-- we too are EBF with a low supply and donated milk. It's not an easy road to travel, but I wouldn't want it any other way! My biggest hope is that we can make it all the way past 6 months on just breast milk, without having to add formula. So far we've made it to two and we have enough milk to make it to three, so we're halfway there!

[Kmama2]

Around 7 months we started giving ds things to hold and gnaw on... carrot sticks, peppers, cantalope, watermelon... he basically just gnawed on it. He will be 8 months in 5 days and I have offered him small chunks of things to try.. banana, rice etc. He really isnt interested... he turns away for everything except carbs basically... he likes cheerios, bread, crackers and thats about it. So basically he is still 99.9 % breastfed which is fine by me. I wasn't planning on feeding him till closer to a year anyways but he wouldn't stop whining when we were eating so we let him try stuff... He realized he wasn't a fan and now he lets us eat in peace.... unless we open the pantry as he knows the cheerios are in there and then he whines.

[Mom2M]

Maia is 6.5 months and just had her first food tonight! Watermelon!
She made the funniest face, it was great! she spit it out twice so nothing actually went down but the juice.

[LindsC]

With DS, we started out just after 6 months old with bananas. He was sitting up unassisted and was able to feed himself. I wouldn't say that he actually started "eating" anything for a couple of months, but by a year old, he was eating regular meals.

DD started around 7 months and her first food was sweet potato sticks. She too didn't actually "eat" anything until closer to 9 months, but now she eats everything in sight. She is still BF on demand (sometimes up to 10 times per day) and eats 1-2 "meals" per day.