Can you help me introduce solids to my 5 month old?

[CHRISTA]

I am starting to feed my baby solids. Does the bottle come first or the food? I am having a hard time getting a schedule together.

 

[Emily]

Our pediatritian said there are no rules on what time to give food or whether to do it before or after a bottle. However for us it has worked best to offer it in between feedings. After a bottle he is just not hungry enough to be interested. Before a bottle he is sometimes too hungry to have the patience for food (since it's not constant like the bottle). Our baby usually has bottles every 2-3 hours. So we do one feeding a day about an hour and a half after he has had a bottle. We offer him a bottle when he is done eating. Lately we've been able to time it to where he is eating cereal or banana while we eat our dinner (we take turns feeding him) which is a lot of fun. He is also 5 months and has been eating solids for 3 weeks.

 

[Married and so in love!]

Feed solids once a day right now. Here is how my schedule is: Nurse about 6pm, feed baby food about 7:30 and nurse again at 8:30 for bed time. I started out with sweet potato and she ate about a teaspoon. Now a month into solids, she's eating about 1 to 1-1/2 oz.

You're supposed to just give them a feeling for how the texture is in the beginning and give your baby as much as they want until they stop eating or turn their head.

Good luck!

 

[heidi]

Christa the bottle is still going to be her main source of food at this age, you might want to start by adding a little rice cereal to her bottle if you have not yet. also when you do give her solids i would maybe try one new food a week to make sure there is no allergic reactions.

i would give her the food first to see how much she will eat of it before she is full from the bottle.

sorry don't know if its a boy or girl.

 

[LiquidPeppermint]

Remember this: Food before one is just for fun. All her nutrition will come from breastmilk or formula. When you start feeding solids, give her the bottle first as normal, and then when she's done give her some thin rice cereal on a spoon. Let her make a mess! Let her play with and chew on both ends of the spoon. As far as a schedule, you really should just start doing this once per day. Some studies indicate that if you feed rice cereal near bedtime, it may help baby sleep. It may also give her gas, which will bother her sleeping, so it's a toss-up.

After a few days, when she's used to eating from the spoon, add a vegetable. Continue to add vegetables, then fruits, a few days apart to isolate problem foods in case of allergies or intolerance.

Make sure she's ready for foods before you start her on them. Is she sitting (with help), holding her head up, leaning towards the spoon, and showing interest in your food? If she's not, it's completely okay to wait a few weeks to introduce solids.

 

[Pippin]

5 months is still a bit early for solids. Is there some pressing reason you need to start now? (Most sources recommend waiting until 6 months unless baby clearly needs them a bit earlier.)

Regardless -- bottle first, and then solids. And you'll only be offering solids once a day at first. It doesn't matter when, though it's sensible to not start at bedtime -- if she has a bad reaction she'll be up all night. (And so will you.) Also, most babies fall asleep while being nursed/bottle-fed at bedtime, so you don't want to wake her by sticking her in a high chair at that point.

So continue to give bottles in whatever pattern/schedule you've been doing. After one bottle, put her in a high chair and offer a small amount of solid food. (Doesn't matter what -- it's traditional to start with rice cereal, but you can give fruits or veggies if you prefer or she likes them better.) A teaspoon or so is a sensible first meal. If she opens her mouth for the food, eats it, enjoys it, and has no bad reaction, you can offer a bit more tomorrow. Gradually increase as she enjoys.After a week or two (depending on her interest) you could add a second solid meal, but she probably won't need 3 meals a day until around 9-12 months. You want to be sure that she isn't taking so many solids that she cuts back on her milk -- the formula is still the basis of her diet; solids are mostly 'just for fun' for the next few months.

If she won't open her mouth or spits/pushes the food out, you can try again tomorrow. If it's still no-go, wait a week or so before trying again. There's no rush.

Remember that it's just for fun, so keep it fun.

EDIT: Do NOT put cereal in his bottle. (As another poster suggested.) If baby can't sit up and eat from a spoon, baby isnt' ready for solids. Period.