How did you start solids?

Mom2Aries wrote:
See now, I just don't agree with that. My son doesn't have molars, but he
chews just fine. Until they get them, they do a variation of the chew, and
chew with their front teeth. Or rather, all the babies I know without
molars... who would go crazy not being able to eat things because they have
no molars and therefore "can't" chew.

I didn't have *any* teeth until I was 18 months old. I apparently managed
to eat well enough. I know I was bottle-weaned (I was FF) at 14 months, so
I must have been eating something.

Manda

Beth wrote:


Food was really easy to start, since he started so late, had good head and
hand control, and could feed himself. Frankly, if I ever have another baby,
I'm going to just skip all the early offers of food--at least until 7 months
of age. That way, one doesn't have to worry nearly as much about texture,
choking, allergies, or anything else. I suppose early feeding of food had
its uses during the formula feeding heyday, but now it's more of a
manufactured need than anything--if one is nursing.

One reason that I'm hoping that he takes to food is that he goes to day
care and won't eat much out of a bottle. He drinks about 10 - 15 ounces
while he's there. I nurse him at 5:30 AM and not again until 7:00 PM (he
won't eat immediately upon returning home because he's too excited and
wants to play). He used to sleep through the night and doesn't anymore
because he needs to eat at night. I don't expect him to stop reverse
cycling by adding solids, but it will alleviate some Mommy guilt if I feel
like he's eating a little more during the day. I'm hoping he maintains his
milk-intake and just adds in the solids for a few more calories while I'm
gone.

My son grew very fat on my milk alone, weighing 22 lbs. at his six-month
WBV.

DS will probably be a little over 20 lbs. at 6 months (was 19 lbs, 4 oz at
5 months, 1 week). He's done well on BM, too.

Manda

wrote:

I want to start
with table food and avoid cereals and jarred food (mostly for my
convenience). From what I understand, this should be possible since I've
waited until he is 6 months old.

Caterpillar still (at almost 8 months) is not a big fan of anything with
texture. Although she was a huge fan of the stalk of celery she found
on the floor last night - she carried it around and gummed it for over
an hour before it had disintegrated to the point I took it away. You
may find yourself with a baby who says, "Do not pass goo, do not collect
$200."

When can he eat things like cheerios
and graham crackers?

Cheerios aren't a choking hazard, but they do contain wheat, which is a
12-month food for allergic babies. Assuming a non-allergic baby, if
he's OK with plain oats, I don't see any harm in Cheerios once he's able
to pick them up himself.

my only plan is to start with a banana and see how that goes.

That's what we did - beware that banana stains horribly, and nothing but
a diaper is probably a good outfit. A whole banana was more popular
than any smaller quantity, regardless of mashed-ness.

Phoebe

I think many people have given some great advice. It is typical for his age
range to make a "munching" pattern and push some food out of his mouth. Its
a new skill that needs to be practiced. You said you have distracted him
with Momsicles...so, he is interested in adult food?

Depending upon your kid (each one is different), some may like the pureed
stuff and others might turn up their nose. I think cooking veggies and
mashing them up is a great way to introduce some new tastes. Also softer
fruits, like a banana, or very ripe pear that are mashable are great.
Mashed potatoes might be good (as long as they aren't too sticky). Avocados
are great for kiddos too. Many parents I know have started out with baby
cereal and gone from there. If your baby is interested in what is on your
plate, you can mash something up with your finger and give a dab on his
tongue to see his reaction.

HTH!

--
M~Elizabeth

To thine own self be true
wrote in message ...
The time is quickly coming to start introducing some 'real' food to DS. He
will be six months old on February 11th. He sits well. I've made him a
couple of Momsicles to distract him from my food at dinnertime and have
fed him slushy BM off of a spoon. He seems to have a chewing motion, but
some is still pushed out of his mouth when he swallows. On the days that
I'm home all day with him, he's reverted back to eating every 2 1/2 hours
(from every 4 hours) and is now eating at least twice at night. He's
nursing for at least 20 minutes each time. Developmentally, he seems to be
very nearly ready for some solid food.

The problem is that I'm totally confused about how this works. I've read a
hundred posts, every baby book I have, and a bunch of websites and I'm
still not sure what to start with and how to progress. I want to start
with table food and avoid cereals and jarred food (mostly for my
convenience). From what I understand, this should be possible since I've
waited until he is 6 months old. He doesn't have any teeth yet - does that
make any difference in what I feed him? Day care provides jarred food and
table food for the babies. Their snack list contains graham crackers,
diced peaches, cheerios, yogurt, etc. When can he eat things like cheerios
and graham crackers?

At this point, my only plan is to start with a banana and see how that
goes. Since you're supposed to just do one solid 'meal' a day, he'll
probably eat it at day care, so that he'll still nurse a lot at home. Of
course, this gives me guilt pangs because my baby will be eating solids
and it won't even be me feeding him. When he's ready for a second meal,
we'll probably add that in the evening, but when is he ready for that?

I'd love to here how some of you started introducing solids and what path
you took.

TIA,
Manda

I followed the baby food route (although I made a lot of my own) with Baby #1,
went straight to table food with Babies #2 and #3, and tried everything without
success with Baby #4, who still at almost 3 has a limited menu!

I started #2 and #3 on meats for the iron in them. What I did was saute liver,
then cut it up in pieces so tiny that they couldn't have choked on it if they
swallowed it whole. Then I put it on the tray and let them feed themselves.

Leslie

melizabeth wrote:
I think many people have given some great advice. It is typical for his age
range to make a "munching" pattern and push some food out of his mouth. Its
a new skill that needs to be practiced. You said you have distracted him
with Momsicles...so, he is interested in adult food?

Oh, yes. More interested in adult drinks recently. He tries to drink
out of our cups all the time and cries if you don't give him a cup to
'drink' out of of while we eat. He sits in his jumparoo so that he isn't
eye level with the food most of the time, but if he makes it to our laps
during dinner, the plates have to be moved far away from him. He tries and
tries and tries to reach for the food on the plate and gets frustrated
when he can't reach.

Thanks for the advice,
Manda

Leslie wrote:
I followed the baby food route (although I made a lot of my own) with Baby #1,
went straight to table food with Babies #2 and #3, and tried everything without
success with Baby #4, who still at almost 3 has a limited menu!

I started #2 and #3 on meats for the iron in them. What I did was saute liver,
then cut it up in pieces so tiny that they couldn't have choked on it if they
swallowed it whole. Then I put it on the tray and let them feed themselves.

I saw that the LLL suggests starting meats early for the iron. It sounds
logical, but it just feels wierd to go straight to meat. I don't know why
though. I think we're going to try to add meat in early.

Thanks,
Manda

He's letting you know that he is ready to try some new stuff. Have fun!

--
M~Elizabeth

To thine own self be true
wrote in message ...
melizabeth wrote:
I think many people have given some great advice. It is typical for his
age
range to make a "munching" pattern and push some food out of his mouth.
Its
a new skill that needs to be practiced. You said you have distracted
him
with Momsicles...so, he is interested in adult food?

Oh, yes. More interested in adult drinks recently. He tries to drink
out of our cups all the time and cries if you don't give him a cup to
'drink' out of of while we eat. He sits in his jumparoo so that he isn't
eye level with the food most of the time, but if he makes it to our laps
during dinner, the plates have to be moved far away from him. He tries and
tries and tries to reach for the food on the plate and gets frustrated
when he can't reach.

Thanks for the advice,
Manda

Make sure those meats are really soft and mushy. A child's musculature may
not be ready for the tough stuff.


--
M~Elizabeth

To thine own self be true
wrote in message ...
Leslie wrote:
I followed the baby food route (although I made a lot of my own) with
Baby #1,
went straight to table food with Babies #2 and #3, and tried everything
without
success with Baby #4, who still at almost 3 has a limited menu!

I started #2 and #3 on meats for the iron in them. What I did was saute
liver,
then cut it up in pieces so tiny that they couldn't have choked on it if
they
swallowed it whole. Then I put it on the tray and let them feed
themselves.

I saw that the LLL suggests starting meats early for the iron. It sounds
logical, but it just feels wierd to go straight to meat. I don't know why
though. I think we're going to try to add meat in early.

Thanks,
Manda

wrote in message ...
The time is quickly coming to start introducing some 'real' food to DS. He
will be six months old on February 11th. snip
I'd love to here how some of you started introducing solids and what path
you took.

The Moo boy is nearly 8 months old and I started him on solids at 6
months. He is not particuarly keen but as long as he gets a taste of
whatever I have lovingly prepared that is ok. The most he has ever
eaten in one day is a couple of teaspoons of mushed warm banana and a
rice cake (accumulated from several that ended up all over
everything). The poster who said not to get stressed about it is
absolulty right. Mealtimes are a cheery, wheres the duck peekaboo oh
its a spoon with food on it suprise time, even if it is a bit forced
on my side. The only reason I keep going is in case there really is a
window of tasting opportunity where he needs to try things out. Lumps
make him vomit, but rice cakes are ok cos they seem to dissolve
mostly.

What I am trying to say is not to worry if your baby does not seem to
interested in the food when the time comes. The Moo was grabbing at
our food and showed all the signs of being ready for solids but when
it comes to it he really couldnt care less. He's fat as a fat thing
and healty without for the moment.

teapot