Help w/ solids

Our boys are 6 months old and we just started playing around with solids. Started with the Rice cereal and neither wanted anything to do with it so we thought we would try squash. They will not eat off the spoon and are very hard to trick to open their mouth so I can insert the spoon. When I succeed they spit most of it out. They pick up the puffs and will eat those and will eat the squash off of my fingers. So my question is they obviously want finger food but that is tough to do with the baby food. Do I continue to try to trick and feed with the spoon? Is the spoon a matter of time? Or do I go straight to table foods because I know they will eat anything that they can pick up and put into their mouth? Our doctor said we can give them little pieces of table food but I have no idea what to give at this early age. I know bananas and puffs but I do not want to start with the sweets and fruits. So do I continue with the baby food...we have only been trying for a week.

 

They are probably not liking the taste so far. I would try some Oatmeal cereal maybe with some applesauce in it. You might be surprised how much they love that. It's a little sweeter and Oatmeal has a much better taste than rice cereal. Try to make your consistency a little thicker too. If they like Puffs a lot, they are probably not liking the soupy consistency of the cereal. Once you have the cereal in place, go back to the Squash and add applesauce to that. You will surprised how much you can disguise with fruits. Good luck!

 

Breastmilk and formula are pretty sweet, so it's not like you're introducing sweets - they're already programmed to like them...

But that's not your main question...you could dice up sweet potatoes or regular potatoes, carrots, and green beans and cook them pretty soft - or cook them then cut them up. Our ped said that anything orange or white was safe as an early food. If you're willing to do fruit, ripe pears and frozen peaches, thawed, work really well. You can also cook regular oatmeal so it's thick enough to pick up little bits.

I guess the only thing to consider is that they're going to take in a lot less food this way. It won't be a problem for a few more months, as formula or breastmilk is still their main source of nutrition until 9 months or later. You might want to give them an iron supplement, though, if they're breastfed. Peds often recommend commercial cereal as a first food simply because it's iron fortified, but formula is, too.

 

Can I introduce oatmeal and applesauce together...is it still important at 6 months to introduce only 1 solid at a time and only 2 a week?

 

Try making it runny, then put the tip in their mouth and let them suck it off like they would to a nipple. I held the spoon by their mouth until they got it all off. THey will keep sucking, it is a natural reflex. I had a hard time until my sister showed me this tip.

 

QUOTE(sf @ Feb 16 2008, 10:12 PM) [snapback]625354[/snapback]
Can I introduce oatmeal and applesauce together...is it still important at 6 months to introduce only 1 solid at a time and only 2 a week?


If you introduce the Oatmeal for about a week then you can add the applesauce. Mine were already trying fruits by 6 months.

 

My babies hated the spoon at first too, but they got into solids when I let them pick things up and feed themselves. Finger food doesn't have to be tiny - you can give small things, like Cheerios (unsweetened, so not as addictive as the Puffs), but you can also give them things that are way too big to choke on, and they can gum off little bites. Mine liked apple and avocado slices, big chunks of banana, pieces of toast... You could also try big chunks of sweet potato or squash, well-cooked carrots, stuff like that.

And above all, don't sweat it! Don't worry about making your babies eat solids. Some kids are just slow to take an interest, and that's perfectly fine. Mine didn't really eat much at all until 7.5 mo, though we started offering at 6 mo, and now they wolf down at least 3 meals a day (sometimes more!). (And they did make peace with the spoon in the end too.) Breastmilk/formula is where they're getting all their nutrition from at 6 mo anyway, solids are just for fun and practice.

 

QUOTE(fuchsiagroan @ Feb 17 2008, 12:34 PM) [snapback]625522[/snapback]
My babies hated the spoon at first too, but they got into solids when I let them pick things up and feed themselves. Finger food doesn't have to be tiny - you can give small things, like Cheerios (unsweetened, so not as addictive as the Puffs), but you can also give them things that are way too big to choke on, and they can gum off little bites. Mine liked apple and avocado slices, big chunks of banana, pieces of toast... You could also try big chunks of sweet potato or squash, well-cooked carrots, stuff like that.

And above all, don't sweat it! Don't worry about making your babies eat solids. Some kids are just slow to take an interest, and that's perfectly fine. Mine didn't really eat much at all until 7.5 mo, though we started offering at 6 mo, and now they wolf down at least 3 meals a day (sometimes more!). (And they did make peace with the spoon in the end too.) Breastmilk/formula is where they're getting all their nutrition from at 6 mo anyway, solids are just for fun and practice.




Since your babies would not use the spoon...did you just skip over the baby food at the beginning and start right on finger food? I feel lost with what to start with and wanted to start a routine where I try solids every morning around 8 after their first feeding. Should I just continue working on the spoon a couple of minutes every morning or would you forget the spoon and start with a finger food?

 

I pretty much wrote the exact same post about a month ago. Cody would not take a spoon for nothing. It wasn't untill this week that we found something he liked off of it. Now I am mixing in that with every meal I give him. He is even opening his mouth more often. I was worried when the Dr wanted me to give him so much food, but it really is just for practice right now. Don't rush & soon they will take the spoon. I just kept trying a little about every other day. Gerber also just came out with some new finger foods. We bought some last night, but haven't tried them yet.

 

I never really did baby food. Rice cereal for a week or so, but it was clear they just wanted what we had. We've been on "table" foods ever since. Anything they can feed themselves is what I give them. it's tough in the beginning before they get the real hang of feeding themselves---I would definitely give the oatmeal a try--and thicken the consistency. That was key for mine. They were NOT fans of runny. but all the same veggies you'd give them as jarred food is easy to just cook and cut up. There is obviously no right or wrong here...just what your babies prefer. Good luck,

Reyna