I felt a little bit overwhelmed with the idea of starting solids. I wanted to wait as long as possible to start on solids, but we ended up starting right at six months.
It's actually not as bad as I thought it would be. You just need a few new supplies:
1). High chair
2). Bib
3). Bowl
4). Spoon
5). Baby food
6). Camera
The first couple of meals were pretty messy, mainly because the cereal we gave was quite runny and Max was still trying to 'latch on' to the spoon. Messy, but cute!
Our pediatrician said that we did not need to start on cereals because they have very little nutritional value and are mainly used as filler. However, since cereals tend to be enriched with iron and if baby is eating solids, they are consuming a bit less milk, I figured the iron was worth it. We started with rice cereal.
Max eats about five times a day, so here's what our schedule looks like:
Feeding 1: (7:30am) - breast milk
Feeding 2: (11:00am) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 1: (11:30am)
Feeding 3: (2:30pm) - breast milk
Feeding 4: (5:00pm) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 2: (6:00pm)
Feeding 5: (7:30pm) - breast milk (down for the night)
UPDATE: Here's our NEW feeding schedule at 7 months of age.
Feeding 1: (6:30-7:00am) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 1: (7:30am)
Nap (varies - due to work) 8:30-9:20ish or the more recent one 10:30-11:30am)
Feeding 2: (11:30am) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 2: (12:00pm)
Nap 12:30pm-4:30pm (I feed while he sleeps...we both nap)
Feeding 3: (3:00-3:30pm) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 3: (6:00pm)
Feeding 4: (7:30pm) - breast milk (down for the night)
I have read that it is better to introduce a new food in the morning, so that in case of a reaction, you will be able to spot it during the day and any take precautions necessary. Also, if there is a reaction, symptoms may subside by nighttime, and everyone will be able to get some sleep. Unfortunately, my work schedule does not permit for me to start solids at 8:00am and baby just isn't interested in eating that early. Thus, our first solid feeding is at 11:30am, it has worked well so far.
I followed the recommendations for starting solids provided by BabyWise. Here's what our first five days on solids (rice cereal) looked like:
Day 1:
1tbsp of rice cereal
4tbsp of breast milk (or liquid of your choice: formula, purified water, etc.)
= Super runny cereal, offered in the am
Note: Much of this cereal ended up on the bib, but it was pretty fun! The faces Max made were great! Like I mentioned earlier, he had a tough time because he kept wanting to suck the spoon.
Day 2:
2tbs of rice cereal
8tbsp of breast milk (or liquid of your choice)
Offered in the am
Day 3:
3tbsp of rice cereal
around 10tbsp of breast milk
Offered TWICE: once in the am and once in the afternoon (we gradually switched to 6:00pm feeding due to our schedule)
Day 4:
4tbsp of rice cereal
(maintain runny consistency with liquid of choice)
Offered once in the am and once in the afternoon.
Day 5:
With no reactions, we continued to offer twice a day. The book recommends offering solids at least three times a day, but we're just not there yet. We're sticking to twice a day for now!
After this, I started on veggies right away.
NOTE: I have been exclusively breastfeeding and my pediatrician warned me that there is a chance that milk supply will decrease and that it is perfectly normal. I read that it is important to nurse first and then offer solids. We have been on solids for about five weeks now and are still fine, but I will keep everyone posted.
UPDATE: After 5 weeks of solids, I realized that Max might need a little bit more food. This happened after I took (ahem, pried) a spoon out of his little sticky hand he started crying and opening and closing his mouth. I felt horrible. We've altered our schedule to include another solid feeding at 3:00-3:30pm. He's also has developed a taste for the little puff snacks and he really enjoys the yogis snacks. I might make another entry dedicated to the snacks, but I just give him about 10 pieces (the dogs eat half) just to let him practice putting food in his mouth twice a day. To me, it's incredible (and super satisfying in some way) to watch your child master putting food in their mouth. Again, I'm obviously a FTM and think my kid poops rainbows...but if your kid grabs the spoon, guide them and see if they can feed themselves!
 |
| First meal, ever! |
1). High chair
2). Bib
3). Bowl
4). Spoon
5). Baby food
6). Camera
The first couple of meals were pretty messy, mainly because the cereal we gave was quite runny and Max was still trying to 'latch on' to the spoon. Messy, but cute!
Our pediatrician said that we did not need to start on cereals because they have very little nutritional value and are mainly used as filler. However, since cereals tend to be enriched with iron and if baby is eating solids, they are consuming a bit less milk, I figured the iron was worth it. We started with rice cereal.
Max eats about five times a day, so here's what our schedule looks like:
Feeding 1: (7:30am) - breast milk
Feeding 2: (11:00am) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 1: (11:30am)
Feeding 3: (2:30pm) - breast milk
Feeding 4: (5:00pm) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 2: (6:00pm)
Feeding 5: (7:30pm) - breast milk (down for the night)
UPDATE: Here's our NEW feeding schedule at 7 months of age.
Feeding 1: (6:30-7:00am) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 1: (7:30am)
Nap (varies - due to work) 8:30-9:20ish or the more recent one 10:30-11:30am)
Feeding 2: (11:30am) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 2: (12:00pm)
Nap 12:30pm-4:30pm (I feed while he sleeps...we both nap)
Feeding 3: (3:00-3:30pm) - breast milk
Solid Feeding 3: (6:00pm)
Feeding 4: (7:30pm) - breast milk (down for the night)
I have read that it is better to introduce a new food in the morning, so that in case of a reaction, you will be able to spot it during the day and any take precautions necessary. Also, if there is a reaction, symptoms may subside by nighttime, and everyone will be able to get some sleep. Unfortunately, my work schedule does not permit for me to start solids at 8:00am and baby just isn't interested in eating that early. Thus, our first solid feeding is at 11:30am, it has worked well so far.
I followed the recommendations for starting solids provided by BabyWise. Here's what our first five days on solids (rice cereal) looked like:
Day 1:
1tbsp of rice cereal
4tbsp of breast milk (or liquid of your choice: formula, purified water, etc.)
= Super runny cereal, offered in the am
Note: Much of this cereal ended up on the bib, but it was pretty fun! The faces Max made were great! Like I mentioned earlier, he had a tough time because he kept wanting to suck the spoon.
Day 2:
2tbs of rice cereal
8tbsp of breast milk (or liquid of your choice)
Offered in the am
Day 3:
3tbsp of rice cereal
around 10tbsp of breast milk
Offered TWICE: once in the am and once in the afternoon (we gradually switched to 6:00pm feeding due to our schedule)
Day 4:
4tbsp of rice cereal
(maintain runny consistency with liquid of choice)
Offered once in the am and once in the afternoon.
Day 5:
With no reactions, we continued to offer twice a day. The book recommends offering solids at least three times a day, but we're just not there yet. We're sticking to twice a day for now!
After this, I started on veggies right away.
NOTE: I have been exclusively breastfeeding and my pediatrician warned me that there is a chance that milk supply will decrease and that it is perfectly normal. I read that it is important to nurse first and then offer solids. We have been on solids for about five weeks now and are still fine, but I will keep everyone posted.
UPDATE: After 5 weeks of solids, I realized that Max might need a little bit more food. This happened after I took (ahem, pried) a spoon out of his little sticky hand he started crying and opening and closing his mouth. I felt horrible. We've altered our schedule to include another solid feeding at 3:00-3:30pm. He's also has developed a taste for the little puff snacks and he really enjoys the yogis snacks. I might make another entry dedicated to the snacks, but I just give him about 10 pieces (the dogs eat half) just to let him practice putting food in his mouth twice a day. To me, it's incredible (and super satisfying in some way) to watch your child master putting food in their mouth. Again, I'm obviously a FTM and think my kid poops rainbows...but if your kid grabs the spoon, guide them and see if they can feed themselves!
2 comments
commentsThank you for sharing your experience. We are about to introduce our little one (5 months old) to solid foods and we are trying to figure out what the right approach is. He is very curious, he always wants to try his big brother's food. Usually, when his father is having breakfast in the morning, he is constantly looking at his daddy and trying to imitate him.
ReplyWe would like to introduce him to fruits first. I don't really know if there is any difference whether we introduce him to veggies or fruits first. My only concern is how to combine the solid foods with formula feeding. Unfortunately, breast feeding isn't an option in our case for health reasons, so we need to combine formula milk and solid foods. Do you by any chance have any experience with that? I have also read that in case of BF, mothers should breastfeed their baby first. In this blog article I read that formula fed babies need not be given formula milk before eating solid foods. Do you know if this is really the case? Thank you!
Hi Danielle,
ReplyI’ve read that some recommend starting on veggies first because fruits are sweet and of course, taste good, but then baby may not like veggies as much. However, that’s just a recommendation, my baby likes everything, haha. I started mine on sweet potatoes (I thought it was a happy medium) and he still loves them more than any other fruit/veggie. Yes, with breastfeeding in order to keep up the supply, you have to breastfeed first and then offer solids. However, even though formula will still be the main source of nutrients for your LO, there is more flexibility with the way you offer it.
One of the books I have says the following: “If you are bottle feeding, offer 2oz, then solids, and then the remaining amount of formula. Once you can start adding solids to your baby’s diet, his/her daily intake should gradually decrease from [roughly] 32 ounces a day to [roughly] 24 ounces a day. After your baby is established on all solid foods [offered three times daily], he/she should receive at least 20 ounces of formula per day alongside a varied diet until he/she is a year old.” This is an excerpt from BabyWise, I love their books (although I cherry-pick recommendations).
I’m sure there is a ton of information all over and it’s so overwhelming sometimes. Anyway, I hope this helps you decide what to do. Thank you for visiting my blog! Good luck!☺