When Can You Start Giving Your Baby Other Foods..solids? Baby Food?
2 January 2010
She is purely breastfed, im just wondering when we can explore other options, I know we still have a while. But not sure when everyone usually starts.
Also, another questions. What is everyones view on rice cereal on helping a baby sleep all through the night?
The American Academy of Pediatrics says:
At four months, your baby’s diet should consist of breast milk and/or formula, but by four to six months you can start adding solids foods. Some babies are ready for solids as early as three months, but most have not lost their tongue-thrust reflex at that age, because of this reflex your baby will push his tongue against at spoon or anything else inserted into his mouth, including food.
Usually when your baby is 4 to 6 month old, your pediatrician may advise you to begin introducing solid foods to your baby. It is important that you follow his instruction about how to do so. Only one new food should be given to his at a time and the process should be slow. Do not worry if your baby refuses solids in the beginning, and do not force them on him.
For most babies, te first solid food is rice, followed by oatmeal. After your baby has accepted eat cereal, you can start introducing other foods, like meat, fruits, vegetables.
I practice baby-led weaning with my daughter and she started getting her own plate of whatever we were eating just shy of 6 months.
She still eats what we do, the way we do. No baby foods, purees, or mushes have ever been fed to her. She’s been a self-feeder since she started.
Cereal does not make baby sleep longer. Even if it did, forcing your infant into a carbohydrate coma isn’t a good idea. Night waking is a survival mechanism in babies, it helps prevent SIDS.
Babies do not need solid foods until around six months old, with four being the absolute minimum. I suggest you look up the physical signs of being ready for solids and use those as a guide as to when to start your baby on solids.
Rice cereal is a high GI food, meaning the body digests it quickly. It does not help a baby sleep through the night.
My son is a month old and we had to start him on rice cereal w/ a very small amount of fruit or veggies mixed in with it…at first the forumla wasnt satisfying him now this is and he seems to be doing perfectly fine…I would start when you think she is ready to be fed it…oh and my son doesnt take it in a bottle he hates it and rather be fed it on a spoon..
You can start feeding your child rice cereal by spoon between 4 and 6 months. It depends when your baby is ready.
As for rice cereal helping baby sleep through, HA! Never happened with my son. Heck, he could eat table foods and still wouldn’t sleep through!