How do I introduce my four month old to solids.?

[MellMell]

I have already gotten the ok from her pediatrician to start her on rice cereal, pured veggies and fruits. But he did say that the cereal could cause some constipation and I dont want that to happen. Whats the best way to ease it on her besides adding it to her bottle. I started adding about a half a scoop to her bottle, she drinks enfamil, and she had a little bit of trouble passing her stool but after a while it fixed itself. And also would I heard that people give their babies a little water to help them go but would it be ok to give her water to counteract the constipation or could I give her water with the cereal to avoid her getting constipated. Please anyone with experience tell me what youve done. Professional opinions are a great help as well.
I HAVE GOTTEN AN OK FROM HER DOC BEACAUSE SHE GOES THROUGH HER FORMULA A LOT FASTER AND IM FEEDING HER ALMOST EVERY HOUR SHES CONSTANTLY HUNGRY SO THATS WHY I AM ASKING, I GET WIC COUPONS FOR HER MILK AND THEY ONLY GIVE SO MUCH AND I DONT REALLY HAVE THE MONEY FOR THOSE 14 DOLLAR CANS OF ENFAMIL

 

[Raina A]

Its fine to give her a little water I would keep trying with the cereal for a while and maybe throw in some vegies after that do the vegies first for a while they say if you do fruit first babies wont take to the veggies because fruit are so sweet. And with the cereal adding a tiny bit of apple juice wont hurt either and is great for constipation.

 

[cathrl69]

You don't. Four months is the absolute minimum age to start on solids. You only start that young if you literally have no choice because they are crying with hunger and failing to thrive just on milk.

There are no advantages to giving solids this early, and some really nasty risks. Wait eight weeks or so.

And for goodness sake stop adding cereal to her bottle! She's clearly not ready for it. You counteract the constipation by going back to what her body's ready to digest. Milk.

 

[FrostFaerie]

very few 4 month olds are truely ready to start solids, but if you want to try you can, just stop and leave it a few more months if it turns out shes not actually ready for it.. she will get upset and not eat much more than a spoonful or two, and possibly choke a bit or just spit it straight out again if shes not ready.
DO NOT add it to her bottle. the point of starting babies on solids is to teach them to eat. adding rice cereal to a bottle isnt teaching her to eat solids (its just giving her thicker milk to drink and so is pointless).
you need to mix up a tablespoon or so of rice cereal with some formula to create a runny paste then spoon feed it to her.. over a few days/weeks as she gets used to it you slowly increase the thickness and start to introduce other puree'd fruits and vegetables one at a time in a consistancy she can handle. dont give her more than one portion of rice cereal each day or constipation will occur. if she gets constipated stop the rice cereal or cut it back substantially. dont try and give her something to counteract it, if its constipating her then her stomach isnt handling it. she can have water throughout the day.. usually you should offer her a little water with each solid meal you give her, she will probably only take a sip or two but the important thing is to offer it to her.
if her tummy gets too upset or she shows other signs shes not ready, then theres no harm in delaying solids for another month before you try again.. its not something you can force, you really have to watch and wait until shes ready and you (and the doctor) cant really know that for sure until you try her on it.

 

[GenuineGemini]

She's probably hungry constantly as she would be going through growth spurts at this age which is very normal. I started my boy on rice cereal with some mashed banana or carrot, nothing more as I believ that milk meets their nutritional needs at this tender age.

It's upto you but I would hold back on "full on" solids for now and give her mashed veg or fruit as a treat or to get her to get a feel of solids when she's a little older. Generally they say Ur baby is ready for solids when they want to grab Ur food or show keeness in what Ur eating.

In regards to the constipation, water is very helpful so is diluted fresh apple juice, I gave my lil man this but initially when u introduce them to solids they could get constipated but their tummies soon get used to it.

Goodluck!

 

[Bobbie]

Introducing cereal to your baby doesn't and really shouldn't do much to cut back on a baby's formula feeding. Solids, including cereal, are mainly for fun and practice before a year old. It is inferior to formula nutritionally and digests as fast.

WIC isn't supposed to provide you with all the formula you need for a month. It is merely supplemental. You need to redo your budget to be able to pay for your baby's formula. Also, if you have another child, look into breastfeeding-it's free.

As for introducing cereal and purees, it's a real pain in the neck if your child isn't ready. Your baby will fight the spoon and have digestive issues. If you wait another couple months, your baby's tummy will be more able to handle the solids and she will be more developmentally ready to eat solids. When my baby was very young, I had this big desire to get him on solids. What I found out is that it's a real pain in the butt. It takes so much longer than a bottle and it's very messy. Also, a lot of the cereal goes on the floor or all over the face. You probably won't save any money with your baby on solids. My advice is to redo your budget to find more money to give your baby the nutrition she needs and try the solids in a couple months.