We're starting solids!

We're just beginning to introduce solids into our feedings, but I have a few questions for those of you that have already mastered it.

- When is the best time to incorporate rice cereal? Middle of a bottle feeding, beginning or end?

I'm only giving it to them once a day now since they don't really have an understanding of what it is yet.

- What time of day is best?

I was giving it to them with their bottle at night, but I think it may be more effective to try it during their day feedings when they're more alert

- When should I introduce other Level I foods (beyond rice cereal)?

Any other tips that helped get your babies on solids would be great.

Thanks!

 

QUOTE(marchtwins @ Jul 21 2008, 08:31 PM) [snapback]887763[/snapback]
- When is the best time to incorporate rice cereal? Middle of a bottle feeding, beginning or end?

I usually gave solids about an hour to hour and a half after a bottle. I did not want to interfere with the formula consumption.

I'm only giving it to them once a day now since they don't really have an understanding of what it is yet.

- What time of day is best?

I dont really think there is a wrong time. Whatever works for you and your babies. We did it in the early afternoon or really just when I had time. It not easy to squeeze in solids in an already packed bottle feeding day

I was giving it to them with their bottle at night, but I think it may be more effective to try it during their day feedings when they're more alert

- When should I introduce other Level I foods (beyond rice cereal)?

Once they are able to eat consistently from a spoon is when we moved on to stage one foods.

Any other tips that helped get your babies on solids would be great.

Have fun and dont stress if they dont get it right away. You can always take a break for a week or two and come back and try again.

Wholesomebabyfood.com is a great website to help you make your own baby food or get ideas for what to offer next.


Thanks!


See my answers in bold. Good luck and keep a camera handy

 

We did our first meal between the 4pm and 8 pm bottles (around 6pm). This worked for our schedule since DH and I both work and it was a good time for the girls too (hungry, but not starving because like Rachel, I wanted to make sure it didn't decrease the amount of formula they drank per day). We only did rice for a few days and then started doing veggies. Orange ones first (sweet potatoes and carrots) and then green and then fruits. This was recommended by our pedi. We followed the 4 day rule to make sure they didn't have any interactions. Get lots of cute pictures of your lil ones covered in food!!!

 

We're just beginning to introduce solids into our feedings, but I have a few questions for those of you that have already mastered it.

- When is the best time to incorporate rice cereal? Middle of a bottle feeding, beginning or end?

I did this more like an hour after the last bottle.

I'm only giving it to them once a day now since they don't really have an understanding of what it is yet.

- What time of day is best?

When they are the happiest .

I was giving it to them with their bottle at night, but I think it may be more effective to try it during their day feedings when they're more alert

- When should I introduce other Level I foods (beyond rice cereal)?

At least a few days after introducing rice cereal. This way you know if they were allergic to rice cereal

Any other tips that helped get your babies on solids would be great.

Thanks!

 

I tried the rice first at any time and I added pears about three days later to prevent constipation. I dont' have allergies in my family or my dh so this is what I did and why...

I didnt' wait any time between foods because there are only carrots, beans, and sweet potato on their own and then every other fruit and veggies are mixed together. I have NEVER seen anyone with a carrot allergy ever in my life. Some say veggies then fruit because fruit is sweet.... well so are veggies !! I taste them both and sweet potato and carrots are very sweet to me. some say no milk products but my pedi encouraged custard and yogurt because my two were not taking alot of bottle even before starting solids. My formula's second ingredient listed is "low fat milk solids". The order you give your foods will not prevent your child from getting allergies. They already have them. I will be waiting til about 5 to give them anything with peanuts because peanut allergy is such a severe one.

I thought of other cultures that have their babies eating more variety, textures and spices. I often mix their fruits, veg and yogurt altogether and it doesn't matter if it is breakfast, lunch or supper. I figured I eat meat at breakfast and we eat fruit sauces with our meats. So why not.

The rules I try to make is to gradually add texture instead of getting them too used to the really pureed stuff. So even apple sauce consistency is better than baby food pureed apples. I just keep working towards more texture. Also I give my pears, figs, blueberries, raisins, oats, prunes... anything to make them poop first thing in the morning and I dont' give any of this at supper. I figure I dont' want to encourage an early AM poop or night time poop.

A hand blender is the best -- if you make your own.
Heather

 

When we first started, I offered a few bites of very thin rice cereal just before the bottle. A few bites won't effect the bottle at all. When they began to figure out and be interested in eating more of it, I moved it to right after the bottle. I never understood waiting to do solids in between bottles. I felt like all I did was feed them every three hours so doubling the number of feedings was NOT something I wanted to do! After about a week, I started to mix a touch of fruit into the cereal and added a veggie at a different feeding. I started with cereal at the midmorning feeding and the veggie at the later afternoon feeding. (They were eating at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7 when we started solids.) About a month later, they were eating enough solids after the bottles that they weren't hungry for the next bottle so I switched to a three and a half hour schedule for a few days, then four hour. (So we went to 7, 10:30, 2 then 5 and 7ish to keep bedtime the same. That was only a few days then we went to 7, 11, 3, and 7) Have fun with it!

 

QUOTE(marchtwins @ Jul 21 2008, 04:31 PM) [snapback]887763[/snapback]
We're just beginning to introduce solids into our feedings, but I have a few questions for those of you that have already mastered it.

- When is the best time to incorporate rice cereal? Middle of a bottle feeding, beginning or end?

I'm only giving it to them once a day now since they don't really have an understanding of what it is yet.

- What time of day is best?

I was giving it to them with their bottle at night, but I think it may be more effective to try it during their day feedings when they're more alert

- When should I introduce other Level I foods (beyond rice cereal)?

Any other tips that helped get your babies on solids would be great.

Thanks!


I started the rice cereal at their first feeding, mine are the most happiest when they first wake up. We then would try other solids at different feedings. We kept it at just rice cereal for the first week and then the second week added a vegetable to the next feeding. We tried one vegetable a week and went through the vegetables before we started fruit (our pedi recommended this, saying that having them go through vegetables before starting fruit will get them to appreciate veggies more). We do all of our solid feedings before the bottle. If we did it at the end, our babies would not even touch the stuff. Good luck!