[akilamonique]

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At our last visit the DR. said that my son could begin solids when he is four months, which is next month. Even though she said that I could I'm not sure that I am going to. He doesn't seem to be eating anymore then he used to so I doubt that he is anymore hungry then usual. What did some of you do?

Did you start the rice cereal at 4 months?

How long did you stick to rice cereal before introducing other foods?

Did anyone else use homemade baby food?

Any great homemade baby recipes?

I've also seen a thread about making solids with breastmilk...What is that about.

Please help out the novice!

Thanks,
Akila

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[Lact-o-Mama]

Welcome to MDC

I hope you fnd the Mammas here as helpful as I have.

The following I took from La Leche Leagues Breastfeeding Answer Book:

Signs of readiness for solids include:
-the ability to sit up unassisted
-a fading of the tongue thrust reflex so that the baby does not automatically push solids from his mouth with his tongue
-readiness to chew
-the ability tp pick up food and put into his mouth

Here are some quoted reasons to delay solids until at least 6 months old:
-decreased risk of developing allergies
-increased ability of baby to be ale to digest foods
-assurance of proper nutrition through Mothers Milk Supply
-decreased risk of ear infections
-decrewsed health risk from contaminated foods
-more rapid weight loss for Mother
-ease of feeding

In my humble opinion, your baby is far too young to introduce solids. At the very least I would suggest 6 months old, nothing less. But, the choice is yours.

Some of the best foods to offer are "whole foods" in as close to there natural state as possible. Ripe banana, avacado, sweet potatoe, yams etc. It is not necessary to use commercially prepared baby foods like cereals. Meat is also good to mush up and serve as one of the first foods as it is high in iron. Some foods you would want to avoid, cows milk, eggs, peanuts, citrus/dried fruits, seeds and high sugar/fat foods, honey.

There are lots of Mommas here who have delayed solids until closer to 12months, me included. Up until then I offered bits of our foods as my kids showed desire and now that my yougest can self feed, I know he's ready. I encourage you to enjoy the complete nutrition that breastmilk offers your baby, well beyond 4-6 months. The sooner you start complimentary foods, the sooner weaning begins to happen. Your doctor seems mis-informed, perhaps he would enjoy to read the lasted WHO statements on introducing solids, importance of breastmilk...

Hope you find the help that you need in these forums

 

[LianneM]

Did you start the rice cereal at 4 months? No - I didn't let him taste anything other than breastmilk until 6 months, and then it was just a taste - he was not ready. Readiness signs include sitting up on his own, getting teeth, pincer grasp (to pick up food and put it in mouth), no more tongue thrust (when you put something in it doesn't automatically get pushed out by the tongue), definite interest in food - grabbing for yours, watching you eat, if you give an empty bowl and spoon it is no longer good enough, etc.

How long did you stick to rice cereal before introducing other foods? Never gave cereal - started with soft banana and cooked sweet potato.

Did anyone else use homemade baby food? He got soft food we were eating - I didn't specifically make baby food for him. He didn't start really eating much until about 9 months so by then he could eat soft chunks.

Any great homemade baby recipes? I didn't use any, but they are out there - check the recipe forum (search) and maybe some others will pop in with recipes.

I've also seen a thread about making solids with breastmilk...What is that about. You can use breastmilk as the liquid in cereal if you choose to give cereal. You can also thin food (banana, sweet potato) with breastmilk.

Hope that helps

 

[mhr1406]

I tried cereal with my ds a month ago for a time or two. It was gross! He did not like it and the smell was really bad. He is now 7 1/2 months and I bought a food mill for about $9 and have mushed a couple of things in it for him to try. He is really interested when we eat dinner so I let him taste a bite when interested. So far we have tried sweet potato, and avacado.
I have just decided to let my ds decide when he wants solids.
Good luck solids can be fun when the little one is ready.

 

[babygrant]

Did you start the rice cereal at 4 months? At aruond 5 1/2 months I tried rice cereal once. He didn't like it at all and I don't blame him, that stuff tastes like crap, so I stopped ALL cereals.

How long did you stick to rice cereal before introducing other foods? At 5 1/2 months I tried him on solids but he got really constipated so we stopped until 6 1/2 months. We started and stopped along the way, but now at 9 months he gets FINGER FOODS only. He can choose how much to bite off and how much to eat. I wish I had taken the advice earlier and done that right from the start.

Did anyone else use homemade baby food? When I was giving "pureed baby food" I was making my own. I just threw it in the blender and then froze it in ice cube trays. Now I have about 20 bags of baby food cubes in the freezer that I have to figure out what to do with.

Any great homemade baby recipes? Nope, just wait until baby is ready to self feed, then cut up little strips of soft foods.

 

[cyclone]

Did you start the rice cereal at 4 months?
I think 4 months is too young to start solids. What's the hurry? It is so much easier to just BF. We started with rice at 6 months. I wan't to skip rice and do avocado, but DH insisted that we start with rice since that is what the doctor said. I refuse to buy the boxed baby cereal though. I bought organic rice and made it on my own.

How long did you stick to rice cereal before introducing other foods?
We did rice for a week before introducing other foods. I wanted to get to some more interesting foods.

Did anyone else use homemade baby food?
I am on week three of making baby food for DS. I absolutely love doing it. I make a big batch and freeze it in ice cube trays.

Any great homemade baby recipes?
The book Super Baby Food is a nice reference. I also like to look at wholesomebabyfood.com.

I've also seen a thread about making solids with breastmilk...What is that about.
I mix breastmilk with rice. All of the other foods, I use the cooking water to thin the purees.

 

[alegna]

I would not even consider ANY solids at 4 months. It would be an unusual situation where I would consider them before 6 months. As posted above, the readiness checklist I go by says no solids until all of the below:

6 months
sits unassisted
no tongue thrust
can grab food and put it in mouth.

THEN I would never use rice cereal. Nasty stuff. I am a big believer in letting baby self-feed. They can better regulate their own intake that way.

-Angela

 

[LittlePeanut]

I started a week ago at 7 1/2 months. Even then it's only occasional. We are doing the 4 day wait rule - Only introduce a new food once every 4 days to watch for allergic reaction. One of the sites I love for homemade food is http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ It's very good and has a guide as well on when to introduce certain things.

We have made sweet potatoes, carrots and peas so far - I must say, the Magic Bullet is awesome for pureeing baby food!

LP

 

[akilamonique]

Thank you all for your advice. My instincts tell me to hold off on giving solids, so I think I am going to wait.
You ladies had some very valid points. Especially not giving him anything I wouldn't eat. I Would Never Eat Rice Cereal!!! If someone told me to eat that "I would tell them that it was nothing but "bad" carbohydrates, so why should I eat that?" So why would I give it to my son, I'd rather give him somthing he will enjoy!
Thanks Ladies,
Akila,

:

earing,

: mama, to my sweet

: JB, May 18, 2006

 

[XanaduMama]

Did you start the rice cereal at 4 months?
Nope--we also waited until about 5.5 months, at which point ds was grabbing food off our plates and stuffing it in his mouth. He'd hit all the other readiness signs by then, too, so we felt he was ready. Started slowly, though: just tastes of things at first.

How long did you stick to rice cereal before introducing other foods?
I gave him one sample sachet of Earth's Best brown rice cereal until it was gone, then switched to baby oatmeal, which he still eats. The brown rice stuff is way yummier and healthier than the overprocessed goop that usually passes as "rice cereal," but I feel that oatmeal is even better, has more protein etc. Plus I love oatmeal myself! Simultaneously with the brown rice cereal, we did mashed banana, mashed avo, applesauce...that sort of thing. Now he eats almost everything, other than dairy, meat, soy, eggwhite and the other potential allergens. He hasn't yet encountered anything he doesn't like!

Did anyone else use homemade baby food?
Yes!! I still cheat and use jarred stuff a lot of the time, but he has at least 1 meal a day of homemade.

Any great homemade baby recipes?
I've also recently discovered Super Baby Food, and highly recommend it. But my "standard" dinnertime mix is a bunch of veggies: potato, squash, peas, carrots, spinach, sweet potato, whatever, steamed or boiled together and mashed. I freeze it in ice cube trays and defrost one each night (sometimes two, if he's really hungry!), sprinkled with nutritional yeast flakes. It's yummy.

I've also seen a thread about making solids with breastmilk...What is that about.

Yep, mix cereal with it, thin out mashed banana or avocado at first, etc. Now I just mix cereal with fruit and water, though--he gets enough bm from nursing, and it's a pain to pump that much.