I didn't start cereal (oatmeal) until about 6 1/2-7 months and would only do it once a day. For his other meals, we used purees that were veggies or fruits. I started those around 5 1/2 months. I would give him his bottle first and then a 1/2 - 1 hr later he got the purees so formula was his primary source of food.
As far as a serving, I think they say to start out with a couple tablespoons and then they work up to a regular serving of 1/4 cup (this is Gerber brand) when they are doing more foods and less BM or formula.
Post by sstwinklinglites on Apr 15, 2015 8:11:15 GMT -5
I started with oatmeal. not cereal, at 5.5 months. We started it once a day at "dinner,"and basically it was mostly formula with some oatmeal.
We started with about two tbsps at first. Follow your babies cues. You can prepare a baby bowl for her, and just feed until she doesn't want anymore. DS lets me know when he's full.
Once we would get into a groove, I added a lunch meal... started making baby food at that point. Then breakfast came along. I used to give him a bottle so it would remain his primary source of nutrition, then 2.5 hours later, he would get solids. Then 2.5 hours after that, another bottle, etc. Now I usually just do bottle, and immediately follow - up with solids. Since we're about to do away with bottles, it'll just be solids, and some milk in the sippy with each meal... haven't quite figured out what we're going to do when the formula goes away.
sstwinklinglites - it's a little weird when they don't have formula and purees as their main sources of food. Now I have to meal plan and make sure we have a variety from all the food groups for him. We're down to 1 bottle at night of milk and hopefully will change that to a sippy cup soon. Good luck with the transition.
sstwinklinglites - it's a little weird when they don't have formula and purees as their main sources of food. Now I have to meal plan and make sure we have a variety from all the food groups for him. We're down to 1 bottle at night of milk and hopefully will change that to a sippy cup soon. Good luck with the transition.
I know! I'm really worried about him not getting enough nutrition, because he still gets three 8 oz bottles a day... more if he's spurting or teething and wakes in the MOTN. And I rarely cook, so this will be tough.
Post by mrscatfarmer13 on Apr 15, 2015 8:37:25 GMT -5
We started oatmeal around 5.5mo. Our pedi rec'd we start with a teaspoon mixed with bm/formula to a very soupy consistency. We gradually increased the amount When you're first starting solids remember, "food before one is just for fun". It doesn't matter the time of day you start, but it's important to nurse/give a bottle first before solids.
mom2boxers balanced meal planning is the worst. I just try to sneak things in when I can, like throwing some frozen mixed veggies in mac n cheese, greens in smoothies, and veggies in omelets.
We bought a bag of the frozen shredded chicken by maybe Tyson? And a bag of frozen mixed veggies, and we keep yogurt, fruit cups (in water with no added anything), cottage cheese, little cans of baked beans, veggies- and if we aren't making something he would eat or it's not healthy enough- I microwave a few pieces of chicken, veggies, and add some fruit. Seems to work well in a pinch.
sstwinklinglites - it's a little weird when they don't have formula and purees as their main sources of food. Now I have to meal plan and make sure we have a variety from all the food groups for him. We're down to 1 bottle at night of milk and hopefully will change that to a sippy cup soon. Good luck with the transition.
I know! I'm really worried about him not getting enough nutrition, because he still gets three 8 oz bottles a day... more if he's spurting or teething and wakes in the MOTN. And I rarely cook, so this will be tough.
We are here now! I'm forced to cook and come up with meal plans since DD decided she no longer wants to be fed but feed herself. We are still working on dropping bottles, she just won't drink enough out of her cup and lets the milk dribble out of her mouth, I'm sure it will happen with time. But any advice welcome!
narbuckle01 great advice from pp already, we started with rice cereal at about 5.5 months, then quickly switched over to oatmeal. We just did it once per day usually for breakfast.
Post by narbuckle01 on Apr 15, 2015 9:19:12 GMT -5
Thanks ladies! I should have mentioned I made the cereal myself... just put oats in coffee grinder and boiled with water. Plan on mixing with bm/formula. I guess I'm struggling with why I need to go through all the trouble of spoon feeding if it's not for nutrition at this point. Pedi did recommend we start with cereal and she's definitely showing interest. I think I would rather wait another 6 weeks or so and start with veggies.
Thanks ladies! I should have mentioned I made the cereal myself... just put oats in coffee grinder and boiled with water. Plan on mixing with bm/formula. I guess I'm struggling with why I need to go through all the trouble of spoon feeding if it's not for nutrition at this point. Pedi did recommend we start with cereal and she's definitely showing interest. I think I would rather wait another 6 weeks or so and start with veggies.
It's totally up to you. You will not harm her with either choice. We started at 6 months because he acted like we were poisoning him before then. Even with veggies.
Thanks ladies! I should have mentioned I made the cereal myself... just put oats in coffee grinder and boiled with water. Plan on mixing with bm/formula. I guess I'm struggling with why I need to go through all the trouble of spoon feeding if it's not for nutrition at this point. Pedi did recommend we start with cereal and she's definitely showing interest. I think I would rather wait another 6 weeks or so and start with veggies.
Usually they want infants to do the cereal because it's iron-fortified - not sure if regular oats would have this too. The formula we used was iron-fortified, but they might watch BF babies more closely since it would depend on mom's eating habits on the nutrition they are getting from the milk.
The original recommendations for iron-fortified foods were based on a formula-fed baby’s need for them and the fact that breastmilk contains less iron than formula (doctors didn’t know then that the iron in breastmilk is absorbed much better). Also, some babies do have lower iron stores and will need extra iron at some point in addition to what they are getting from solids (though this can often be remedied by making sure that solids are high in iron and vitamin C – see below).
Also, formulas might not have had as much iron in them in previous years as they do now. That might be why we're not having issues with it considering I fed him only one serving of oatmeal per day.
Post by mom2boxers on Apr 15, 2015 12:34:40 GMT -5
narbuckle01 - Did your doc recommend the supplement? You could ask him/her about it and request an iron test and if her levels are on the lower side even with the supplement, you could continue with it. If she's well above the cut-off, you could always try eliminating the supplement and then she could be re-tested at her 1 year check up.
She just got on the iron supplement polyvisol at her last apt because the pedi said that by 4 months a bf'ed baby's reserves of Iron dry up.
This was the reason our pedi gave for encouraging us to do cereal. I always tried to mix it in with fruit and veggie purees until he was eating enough to really get iron from his food. With the supplement, I would just start with fruits and veggies whenever you're ready. If you make your own purees, cereal is nice to have on hand to thicken some of the thinner ones but (besides iron) that's about all it's good for, IMO.
sstwinklinglites - it's a little weird when they don't have formula and purees as their main sources of food. Now I have to meal plan and make sure we have a variety from all the food groups for him. We're down to 1 bottle at night of milk and hopefully will change that to a sippy cup soon. Good luck with the transition.
I know! I'm really worried about him not getting enough nutrition, because he still gets three 8 oz bottles a day... more if he's spurting or teething and wakes in the MOTN. And I rarely cook, so this will be tough.
We've been doing three regular meals a day, (plus 3 bottles) and it hasn't been too bad. I'll give him things we eat, but I always end up making him his own meal because he's usually ready to eat before we are. Here are my go-to foods. He pretty much eats everything cold. I can easily throw together a meal for him with no cooking.
Breakfast: cheerios, yogurt or cottage cheese, fruit. Eggs are a great choice for LOs too, but Bub doesn't really seem to like them. Lunch & Dinner: strips of lunch meat (turkey, ham, chicken), or peanut butter sandwich cut into strips, cheese sticks, fruits and veggies
For veggies I buy the frozen bags that you just stick in the microwave and steam in the bag. I usually buy the mixed veggies, refrigerate after he eats some and it lasts 4-5 days. Also canned beans. I'll give him fresh veggies if it's something I bought and cooked for me and DH, but I found it was hard to have a variety on hand when I was buying everything fresh.
For fruits, I do bananas and berries fresh, then I buy canned mandarin oranges, peaches and pears (just be sure to get the no-sugar-added kind)
His absolute favorite snack is SnapPea Crisps. And I feel good giving them to him because the first ingredient is peas!
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