How and when did you introduce solids?

[Nicole Bescoby]

Not what the guidlines say but what you as a parent did. x x x

 

[Starsfan14]

I started both of my girls off at 6 months. I never saw a reason to try earlier. My first wasn't too interested even then. So I tired them even few days. Then once I tried apples and rice cereal she really like it at 7 months. And then we tried other fruits, veggies, meats and the like. She l love all of them. And realized she didn't have any teeth until she was a year old. So purees were the best choice at first.

My second I tried again at 6 months. She refused them completely. Tried baby food many times. She just hated baby rice and purees. At about 8 months she started to eat puff and other crackers. And slowly, slowly she started to eat regular table food. She was a little over a year old before I would consider her a good solid food eater.

 

[Ashley]

My daughter was 4mos old. I'm not one of those parents who goes by everything in a book, but I do take tips. Most books say 6mos, & when babies double their birth weight, & act like they're interested in what your eating. She met 2 out of those 3. I started her on Gerber Stage Ones, 1/2 a tub a day, & I went 2 days on a fruit, 2 on a veggie, 2 on cereal. She'll be 5mos on the 7th, & I plan on giving her solids 2x a day til she's 6mos old, then I'll go to 3x a day. A grain (cereal,) a veg, & a fruit every day.

 

[Lydia and Maisie's Mom]

My first daughter was just over 6months but honestly, she could have done with getting them sooner. I was just really about ''going by the book'' and was scared to stray from them. I've realized since that's it's a lot better to trust your instincts because you know your child better than any book does. My second daughter got solids for the first time when she was 4 1/2 months because I knew she was ready and she handled them fine.

 

[Brittany]

I introduced them early. My son was able to eat off a spoon at 2 , 2 1/2 months. and he was also able to keep the food down that i fed him. my son was always hungry so i had to do something.

I started out with rice,and oatmeal and then by 2 1/2 months i introduced bananas and apples.

I didn't do anything by the book and still don't i feel a woman knows her child best and can determine whether they are ready or not.

but i feel like the biggest thing is them being able to eat off of the spoon!

 

[Abi's Mommy]

I would say when your child starts to seem interested in what you are eating. You can start with softer stuff like bread, ice cream, yogurt (gerber makes some great baby yogurts). And move on to crackers, carrots, veggies, etc.

I would say though, the one thing I did learn is to not introduce too many new foods at once. Because if there is an allergic reaction to anything its really hard to pinpoint what it is if they have had 5 new foods that week.

Good luck

 

[Beth]

I started my daughter at 5 months, because I didn't know any better then. Started with rice cereal, then oatmeal, wheat, and barely cereals, then pureed veggies and fruits, one new food at a time every few days. She was eating 3 meals a day by about 9 months. Around that time she also started having serious issues with any wheat products - it gave her bad diarrhea and a horrible diaper rash. I had to eliminate all wheat products from her diet for about 9 months. I got extremely tired of spoon feeding her purees all the time. She continued breastfeeding until shortly after her 2nd birthday. At 4 years old, she is still a picky eater and often wants "help" eating her food (put it on the fork/spoon for her and put it in her mouth) even though she is perfectly capable of doing it herself. She is very skinny and I often have to fight with her to get her to eat a decent meal.

When I had my son, I waited until 6 months. I started with pieces of ripe banana, only slightly mashed, once a day. We did a little bit of baby cereal, but mostly pieces of soft cooked fruits and veggies, rice rusks, cheerios, and other adult cereals. I fed him with a spoon at first, but he learned to feed himself with his fingers very quickly. The only purees I fed him were applesauce and rice/oatmeal/barley cereal. I waited to introduce wheat products to avoid the issues my daughter had, which seems to have worked. He went to 2 meals a day about 8-9 months, and didn't eat 3 meals a day regularly until after 1 year old. By 1 year old he was eating exclusively adult table foods, cut up into small bits. He'll be 2 years old next month, and he already eats more and a better variety than his big sister. He feeds himself with a fork or spoon, and usually won't let me help him at all - I just put food in front of him and he eats it. He absolutely loves veggies, and usually finishes those first. He's still breastfeeding, and I plan to continue for about another year or so - we'll see how it goes.