6Month Old Feedings?

I used this website's info.... just printed out the pages and referred to them when I needed them. It's good info and very helpful. A bit conservative, as far as when to introduce allergen foods and such. I went very closely along with the recommendations. Hope this helps. Website is: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solids.htm

I would start w/cereal and fruit in the morning. Rice cereal only and banana or apple sauce. Then lunch carrots,squash,sweet potatoe(no green veggies) and the same w/dinner.
When she wakes up in the am i would nurse her then mid morn that's when i would give her rice cereal mixed w/fruit and maybe a little breast milk.
then 2 hrs later nurse her then 2 hrs later it's lunch and then 2 hrs later nurse her then 2 hrs later just give her some fruit or nurse her then around dinner time feed her and then b4 she goes down nurse her again.

Do NOT wake her up for feedings she might not eat alot at 1st.
My son would wake up in the am and i would give him a bottle then 1 1/2 hr later i would feed him then 2 hrs later he would go down for a nap and then 2 hrs later is lunch time then a bottle and fruit for snack then 2 hrs later it would be dinner.

start out w/ 1/2 a jar and DO NOT feed from jar pour a little in a bowl and then save the rest in fridge no more than 3 days.

Good luck and if you have any question just let me know.
I am single mom and have 2 boys 13 months and 15 yrs and have over 20 yrs of childcare experience.

Thanks

Hi K.,
Your pediatrician can probably answer your questions. My doc told me to start my son on Stage 1 foods - the fruits and yellow veggies first... then the green veggies and finally meats. He said you should start by trying a new food and then keep feeding it to him for 3-4 days before trying another new food - that way if there are allergies you will know which one is causing it. Good luck! My son was a great eater!!
A.

Hi K.,
One day you'll look back on this and wonder what you were so worried about.
I am a 46 year old mom and a child care provider for 12 years. Your not going to hurt anything by putting cereal in the bottle. At certain points it's all parents can do to get more substance in their child that isn't willing to take it from a spoon yet. It really does help them sleep better through the night if the child needs it. Don't worry about it. You can start by looking up a ,"meal pattern requirements for infants" chart on line. That should help you out quite a bit. Don't expect measurement to be to the T. It's just an estimate of what they might eat. They might eat a little more or less. But the sooner you get her used to getting food from a spoon the better. If she fight it a first try it at the next meal time. The different textures will be a change for her too so just be patient. Since she's nursing you won't know how many ounces she's getting so I would try letting her nurse about a quarter less of the time she usually does or at least to the point when you stop she won't be upset, then about a 1/2 hour to and hour later try the cereal. When yo u try new foods don't change to a new food for a couple of weeks to make sure she's not allergic. Also at about 6 months I would start introducing a sippy cup so that when you are ready to wean her the transition won't be hard at all.
Good luck to you,
Lonie

Hi K.,

When my husband and I had our first baby almost 2 years ago, we signed up for a monthly email from http://www.babycenter.com/. The information is timely and very "right on" for our daughter's development. Plus, they have lots of short, informative on-line articles on lots of baby topics. We have enjoyed this service and still do.

It's really fairly simple. You need to start with the plain cereals...rice, oatmeal, mixed, barley....over a few weeks. Mix them with breast milk or formula to whatever consistency works best. It doesn't hurt to feed it to her through a bottle...no matter what the doctors say. You can start with a couple of tablespoons and gradually at more until she is eating between 1 and 4 tablespoons at a feeding. You will want to watch her bowel movements. If they get too dry or she becomes constipated, then you will need to start a fruit. No juices yet. Now, you need to remember to try one new food at a time...four days in a row...before adding another. Then start the second cereal...four days in a row...etc. Soon she'll be on a variety of cereals. Now, anywhere in there or after the cereals start the pears. They are easiest to begin with and help to clear their system if they are constipated. Pears....four days in a row....the tiny 2 ounce first foods...or a portion of the 4 ounce size. Then move right on through the fruits and vegetables. No meats. I usually alternate the veggies...green on Monday...yellow on Tuesdays...green on Wednesdays...etc., once you know for sure the foods don't cause a reaction...(diaper rash, skin rash on cheeks or tummy, throwing/spitting up too much. She won't need meats until she's between 8 and 10 months. By then she should be eating three meals a day. If you want, I can send you a list of food suggestions for 8 months and older.

Breakfast: cereal and fruit, milk (start a sippy cup or straw to use occasionally, now that she's sitting up. Water with meals and feedings of breast milk or formula upon waking in the morning....mid morning....mid afternoon...bedtime.

Lunch: cereal, vegetable, fruit.

Dinner: cereal, vegetable, fruit.

Snacks: mid morning milk/mid afternoon milk/bedtime snack.

When you start the meats...give it to her at lunch and again at dinner instead of the cereal.

Start her on a spoon as soon as possible. They catch on really fast.

Be happy with feeding her the first foods until she is used to them...then you can switch her to the 2nd foods...the four ounce jars.

We rarely do the 3rd foods here in my daycare...because around 10 or 11 months old they begin to enjoy feeding themselves finger foods...starting with french fries, green beans, etc. Anything they can hold in their hands.

But, there are some good meals in the 6 ounce jars, if you decide to use them...cereal, fruits, veggies and meat combinations. They get plenty of protein from 1/2 of a 2 ounce jar of meat. But they never need more than 2 ounces of meat in a meal. No problem with the veggies and fruit. Don't force the issue on Any foods. Just try them again in a few weeks. It can become a power struggle. Juice can come later...if at all. It can ruin their teeth. No citrus, eggs or peanut butter until after a year of age. Always be careful of peanut butter. No nuts until they are old enough to spell the word.

applesauce, cheese and bananas are tightening....if they have diahrrea.

If they are constipated...pears, prunes, and plums will help loosen things.

You will notice your breast milk slowing down as you stop letting her breast feed so often. You can do it gradually and eventually move her on over to formula. The more you let her nurse, the longer it will take. She will be ready for whole milk by 12 months of age. When you start the whole milk, start giving her a multi-vitamin each day. Polyvisol is the traditional one. She needs the fat in whole milk until age 2. Don't cut her fats until that age. They need the fat for brain cell development.

Email me and I'll send you the guidelines we use in daycare. Something you can refer back to...if you worry that she's not eating enough. I've had an in home daycare for over 20 years and have raised two daughters of my own. Now I have 4 grandchildren. Look me up at http://www.missbrenda.com

Good luck and God bless!

Hi K., I have 3 kids and my youngest is almost 4 months. I exclusively breastfed all of them for a year. When they turned 4 months, I would breastfeed first and then give my baby some rice cereal with breastmilk(later I used water). It was like dessert for them; not a lot, just a spoonful or so in the beginning. After a couple weeks, I offered more, when my baby would either spit it out, turn away or just not open her mouth for more, I knew she had eaten enough. At first it was once a day(morning), then twice a day(morning/evening), then 3 times a day. I was told breastmilk doesn't have iron in it and the cereal does, so it was important to feed cereal with iron or I could give my baby vitamin drops, but I didn't want to do that. My first daughter got constipated when we started cereal(very hard, small, dry, round poop). My Dr. told me to add Karo syrup to the cereal. It worked great.
When they turned 6 months, I started with yellow vegetables(squash,sweet potatoes, carrots, etc)They are sweet, but not as sweet as fruit, so the baby doesn't get used to eating sweet and then doesn't want to eat vegetables. Then add green vegetables and then fruits. I fed the new food for 4 days before trying the next new one; to look for allergies. When trying foods, sometimes babies make a face like they don't like it. Don't make them eat it and don't make a big deal about it. Try the food again the next day and then the next day; sometimes it takes 10 tries before they will eat it. Don't give up just because they don't like it the first time. What I did when I found a food they didn't like, I alternated spoonfuls with food they loved. They loved carrots, so when I introduced spinach, which they made a face at, I would give a spoon of carrots and then a spoon of spinach. It took a week or so, but they soon loved spinach too. NOTE: When you feed carrots to a baby every day, it makes their skin turn orange. It doesn't hurt the baby, but to avoid orange skin, only feed carrots 3-4 times a week. (My Dr. laughed at us at our 9 month check up.)
I always started every meal breastfeeding, the baby food was offered after. They ate 3 meals(breakfast, lunch, dinner)and the meals always included cereal. I added meats around 9 or 10 months. I never reduced the number of times I breastfed, there are periods where the baby learns if she doesn't nurse a lot, she can eat more baby food, so I had to make sure she nursed at least some. My kids breastfed about every 3-4 hours all through their first year(except nighttime).
I hope this helps and if you have any questions, you can email me at ____@____.com.

K.,
I am a mom of 4 and a Pedi RN. I'd be happy to talk w/ you about the whole feeding thing. I am not a great typist, so it would take a long time.
The best book is available at www.aap.org and is called Nutrition and your Child. The chapter on infabts is small :-) It actually covers birth through teens in a very clear concise manner.
Anyway, my # is ###-###-#### if you want to chat.

K.,

I do not have children. I have lost a few and we are in the process of fertility treatments. Still, in the past when I have had questions about anything baby related, I have turned to iVillage. Review the following article. These articles are from professionals and seem to give good advice.

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bbreastfeed/0,,lz_9lg8...

Good luck to you and your little one!

*hugs*
Jodi

you should discuss this with your pediatrician first and this should've been a discussion you had at the 4 month checkup.

You will want to start out by giving her some rice cereal for a few days just to make sure she can learn to swallow the solids. She will make a mess with it until she learns to open her mouth for the spoon. Next you will want to give her the number 1 jar of veggies. It is the smallest portions. Give her the same veggie for about 4 days so that she does not have an allergic reaction. Do the same with each veggie until she has tried them all. Then you can start giving her fruit. Again go through each one for about 4 days. Make sure to check her diaper area for any redness. You can give her a small amount of rice cereal in the morning, a fruit or veggie at lunch, and more rice at night. If you want you can give her oatmeal cereal in the morning with some fruit. Try the oatmeal alone just to be sure it is ok. As she gets older you can go to the next size jar of food. Just remember that any time you give her a new food, try it out for a few days before moving on to the next one. When she gets to be about 9 mo-you can offer her small pieces of table food along with her jar food. She will be able to munch on crackers, bread, puffs, cheerios... Continue giving her more and more table food. There will be times as she is teething that she will not want to eat, or drink--this is normal. Her gums may get really sore and tender from cutting teeth. You can also start giving her a little juice even now. Mix it with some water. One thing to know about little girls---Too much apple juice can cause yeast infections. I don't know why, but it does. Around 10-11mo start giving her a sipper cup instead of a bottle. It's easier to transition them early.
Good look--and don't worry. It's really very simple.

I breast feed my little girl for 12 months. She started eating solids at 4 months and continued breast-feeding like normal (every 3 hours) until she was about 8mo. She started to go longer between feedings. (4hours) Then she decided she only wanted milk before her nap and at night. I gave her juice and water with her lunch and snack. Now she is 2 and still drinks a sipper cup full of milk at naptime and at night.
If you have any other question feel free to call me.
I run a day care in my home and have been apart of helping lots of parents with this same concern.
M.
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