When and What to start feeding baby???

When and What to start feeding baby??? 

This seems to be a burning question lately.  It has been posed a few times in the short time that I re-started this group and my short stint in the previous one by the same name.

So, instead of re-iterating again and again in the comments I figured I should start a document about this topic.  I encourage everyone to contribute their methods for starting, why, and how it works out for them.

Our first child was born in a town near Orlando, FL in 1996.  We had a wonderful pediatrician whose wife also worked in his office with him as his nurse practitioner (on a part time basis as they had, I think it was, 7 children at that time [I thought that was a lot of kids… we have 5 now and it doesn’t seem like that anymore… lol]).  She also helped out as a breast feeding consultant with his patients as she had plenty of experience with it.

When our son was 4 months old we dutifully took him to his check up.  At this visit the Dr. asked me if he had started showing signs of being interested in our food… I was curious… how would he show this? 

Dr. said that he would start reaching for the food on our plates… when he did this he would be ready (digestive system wise even) to start taking solids, but not before then.  He told us that baby would start reaching for the food on our plates between 4 and 6 mos of age and at that time we should consider putting on a tray in front of him food that was small enough and could dissolve within 30 seconds in his mouth.  He said bananas, avocadoes, and eventually whole oat organic O’s (NOT Cheerios brand as they have a coating on them that wouldn’t let them dissolve fast enough) could fit that criteria.  Just start with those and gradually increase the variety and dissolvability rate making sure that what you give is not going to be a choking hazard.  So, obviously not grapes right off the bat ~ lol.  Puffed rice cereal is also an option for snacking on.  Anything that baby can pick up and put in his/her own mouth and will dissolve in 30 seconds or less.

Now, you have to remember… this is a self feeding type of thing… not much ‘food’ is needed – they don’t really get all that much ‘food’ out of it.  It is more an exercise in self feeding and dexterity that they get out of it.  This frees you up to eat as baby ‘feeds’ him/herself and you are obviously the primary food for baby as far as breast feeding is concerned.  He also told us that this gently gives way to being able to use a fork/spoon over the next few months, as the amount of food they get in them increases, and translates into being able to color and write nicely sooner.  

-Wendy

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I would just add that foods in there most natural state as possible, is where you want to start. I have mashed/pureed for my LOs and then gradually did it thicker until no longer needed. The foods most loved in our house to start were banana, sweet potato, carrots, homemade applesauce and peas, then I would mix in other less desirable ones like broccoli, cauliflower, green beans. I steam until soft and then usually just mash with a fork. I also start meat a little earlier than some might recommend but I would just chop it fine and stir it in to a veggie they liked to help get more iron, because I did not want it to be an issue, about 9 months or so. Following baby's cues to start and that can be as late as 9-12 months for some. Some of them are sitting up with only minimal assistants, no more tongue thrust, ie: pushing things back out with the tongue, unsatisfied with increased nursing, and also an interest in food! Things to wait to introduce until late in the fist year or into the second year are berries, egg white, fluid dairy ie: milk and nut butters as these tend to be high sensitivity foods that are the most likely sources of allergies in young ones.

-Melissa G