Infant Eating

Babies do not have the digestive enzymes to utilize food until about the time they can sit up by themselves. Therefore, feeding them food means they won't get the nutrition they need, and you are wasting money as the food basically goes right through them.
But the main reason for not giving an infant food other than mother's milk for the first 6 months is that their gut isn't 'sealed' yet. Things that have larger molecules than mother's milk can pass through the gut, and the baby's immature system basically targets those substances and you end up with food allergies. This is why we have so many deadly food allergies in children: they are exposed to the top food allergies when their bodies are not equipped to deal with them.
Dr.Linda Palmer has a great book that discusses food allergies in babies (among other things). http://www.babyreference.com/
Your doctor is right. Giving your baby solids before 6 months could cause so many problems you just don't want to subject your poor baby to.
I'll be giving a free presentation on HypnoBirthing at the Center for Spirituality and Healing in July, as well as a class on the Spiritituality of Birth and early parenting with a viewing of some fabulous films. see www.fcsh.org or the calendar on my website at wwww.kimwildner.com for more info. In both of these presentations, I touch on Nature's plan for birth and early parenting (birth to 3 years).
K. Wildner
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2 moms found this helpful

Everybody seems to be responding to your question about cereal, so I will respond about Gerber. Screw Gerber. If you're a SAHM, make all your baby's food from scratch. I did that working full-time. Not only will it save you money, but it is better for baby. All Gerber does is grind the food up small and put it in cute little jars with added preservatives. If anyone should understand the health benefits of doing this, I would think it's someone who runs a wellness business.

1 mom found this helpful

I started Rice cereal with both of my children when they were 3 months old and then started the baby food (mixed in w/ the baby cereal) at 4 months old. Some say its too early but really it all depends on the CHILD. Both my kids were ready at 3 months old for rice cereal your's may not. My friend still can't get her 6 mth old to eat rice cereal so it just depends on the child.

I tried cereal with my older son at 4 months but he wasn't ready yet so I stopped and started again at 5 months. I started him on baby food around 6 months. I have a 4 month old now that was just at the doctor for his 4 month check up and I was told I could try cereal anytime between now and 6 months. I'll probably wait until 5 months or so with him, too.

My doctor told me to start my daughter with rice cereal at 4 months and then to go slowly through the stage one fruits and vegetables (no combos or meat until 6 mo). If there was no allergic reaction at the rice cereal, then to work our way through the other cereals (rice is the least one to cause an allergic reaction). I wouldn't advise you to giver her cereal until at least 4 months or until she can sit supported in a high chair, be able to hold her head up, and can swallow watered down cereal.

I went by my own instincts... On Thanksgiving my dd was 3.5 mos old and had mashed potatoes.

I think I started the rice cereal around 3mos. It's all about each baby. My baby was just always hungry and seemed to need more.

Now I tried regular milk straight at 10mos.(ran out of formula at a friends house) and she didn't digest it at all and got sick.At 11mos. I tried regular milk with her formula like 75%formula 25% milk and she handeled it just fine. By one year she was on straight milk.

I've worked in daycare and have seen some parents not give their kids even babyfood til one year and I've seen some 4mos. olds eating spaghetti.I've seen infants everywhere I go licking their parents icecream cone etc. Technically they donot NEED anything other than formula for the first year.

Just go by your instincts and try a little at first if no bad reactions the next day try some more. 2mos. may be a bit early may not.

They say not to introduce honey,peanut butter stuff like that til after one year to avoid allergies. I never had any problems with that either.

Good Luck!

I started cereal around 5 months and fruit around 6 months. I know lots of moms start cereal around 4 months but I decided to wait a little longer.
Did you ask your doctor why 6 months? It could be because your doctor is worried about food allergies or your child's digestive system. I have heard of research that waiting longer to introduce cereal etc. can help with those issues.

J.-mom of a 2 year old boy

Reading some of the advice of the other mothers concerns me, but I think both my kids started on cereal and the gerber/baby fruits and veggies around 4 months of age, and as far as I can tell they are both fine for the most part. Any issues they might have, I don't know if it was from the fruits, veggies, and/or cereal. I'd say to wait until at least 4 months unless your doctor tells you otherwise. It may not be necessary to wait until 6 months, but it may not hurt either.

We started our daughter on rice cereal at 4 months, and she was really ready for it. We started fruits at about 5 months. I think you probably can wait until 6 months, but I think that's a little overboard. Our pediatrician said 4 months was great. So I think you should just take cues from your baby - if she's interested in your food and you think she's ready, go for it!

Both of my children where on rice cereal at 3 weeks old cause they were eating multiple 8 oz bottles a day. SO I mixed a little cereal with formula and fed it to them in a feeder bottle. They went down to four ounce bottles and they were less cranky cause they were full and happy. I didn't start them on cereal in a bowl till 5 months when they had mastered keeping the food in there mouths and not push it out with there tongue.

Research is showing that the ideal window is between 4 and 6 months. Before or after that and they are more likely to develop diabetes and other health issues. I waited until my son gave overwhelming signs that he wanted to try solid foods (around 4.5 months for him). This varies greatly child to child. If you are breastfeeding, all adding solids does is make their poo stinky. A lot of people believe eating solids help kids sleep through the night but I believe it to be baloney. A child will sleep through the night when they are developmentally ready. My son was only breastfed and he slept through the night (10pm-7am) from 4 weeks on.

you really sho uld wait till about 5 months.. the reason the doctors say that is because the infants can develop a food alergy if fed to soon. they will take this with them for years can also irritate their bellies.. i neve waited that long but i did wait till at least 4 and half months old when ur child can start sitting up a small amount on his/herown and and can visibly move mouth more than a su cking movement. good luck! ps. if you ask ur dr. why wait hell tell u the same lol

I totally agree with Stephanie H's post and totally DISAGREE with what Joy C. had to say. There is a reason why your ped suggested you wait til 6 months. We waited until our twins were 6 months and have had no digestion or allergy problems - now 9 months old.

The digestive tracts of children are not fully developed when they are born, and it takes time for development to complete. If your into health and wellness you should check out the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations on feeding. Their advise is based on research - not mood, wives' tales, or convenience. There is also research indicating that children who are introduced to solids at a very early age are also at higher risk of weight problems - which I'm sure is of concern to you.

Trust your ped. He/She knows what rules can and cannot be bent.

My pediatrician leans towards more "natural" tendencies like encouraging breastfeeding, has the lowest ceserean rate in the Twin Cities, teaches NFP in her clinic...yet she says to start rice cereal at 4 months, fruits and such at 5-6, cut up foods at 7 months and to be done with babyfood at 9 months all together. We are doing this with our baby (8 months) and she is very happy! It has also reduced her reflux problem. My best advice would be go with your instinct! You'll know if your baby is ready. If he/she responds to babyfood, go for it! My daughter didn't right away so I waited a couple of weeks and tried again. You'll know.

It's healthy to question doctors, but in this case, she is absolutely correct. Wait till six months.

My daughter was growing a lot on the formula so my doctor recommened that I start the rice cereal at 4 months. At 4 1/2 I switched to oatmeal, because she wasn't taking the rice cereal, and then a 6 months I started veggies.

Doctor's recommend waiting until 6 months for most baby's because of their digestive maturity. I know our parents started us on cereal at 2 or three months, but keep in mind that a lot of other things they did have been disproven now. I would go with what the Dr says, no need to rush into anything. Enjoy the simple days of breast milk or formula only while you can.

Actually, your dr. is correct. The recommendation is to not start cereal etc. until 6 months. We started our daughter on oatmeal cereal at 5 1/2 months. (We skipped rice cereal as there are a few studies that indicate it could lead to diabetes later in life). I would definitely wait until at least 4 months for cereal and maybe even 6 months for the gerber foods.

Introducing solids earlier than 6 months has shown to increase the likelihood of food allergies. They've also discovered that the stomach is too immature before 6 months to properly digest the food. That means that the cereal will take up space in your babies belly but not give her the nutrition she needs. I'd recommend listening to your doctor and not introducing solids before 6 months.

Our doctor said to go ahead and start rice cereal at 4 months. My son did fine with that. She then had us start the baby food at 6 months. Slowly adding a new one after 4 or so days. Once again, he did great with that. He remains a good eater even today, at 2 years. Unless there is some specific reason your daughter should not start rice, most guidelines have them start at 4 months followed by baby food at 6. It worked great for us.

Good luck!

The best thing to do is go by what your little girl is needing. I started my Son on rice cereal when he was 4 months old, because he was going through bottle like crazy. So, I would say that if she is starting to go through bottles like crazy then you could start her on rice cereal. But I would hold off on the Garber foods until she is 6 months. But the rice cereal should be okay at 4 months.

I have to agree with the other moms, two months is probably too young to start cereal. We waited until almost 6 months to start cereal or anything else -- food allergies on both sides of our family. I know right now it sounds like a lot of fun to "feed" your daughter, but believe me, you will miss the days of easy bottles or nursing! lol my son is 9 mos. and feeding him is a real chore some days. Personally I would wait as long as possible. My son showed every sign of being ready to eat, but he didn't like the cereal and he had a difficult time eating right away, so I'm glad I wasn't wasting my energy even earlier. At his 6 mos. appt. the doctor told me if he wasn't eating well, i should just let it go for a week and try again later. I did, and it worked, and now he eats like a horse. Oh, and the rice cereal can be really binding, we basically skipped over it and went right into pureed veggies and fruits. Now he can eat rice cereal, but at 6 mos. his guts just _hated_ it. Wait as long as you can, and good luck!

My daughter's pediatrician indicated to me that it was ok to put a little rice cereal in her bottles at her 4 month check up. I had started doing this about a week or so before that appointment because I had to start getting her acclamated to it before I went back to work. I then started with a bit of cereal aside from the bottle about 4 weeks later and eventually baby foods (veggies first then fruits). It was something that we kept trying until she eventually got the hang of it.

Pediatricians opinions vary. Just remember, our parents didn't have the guidelines that we have today and we turned out fine.

Good luck!!
J.

My doctor said I can start rice cereal at 4 months and to feed her that until she's 6 months old and then I can switch her to other cereals and fruits & veggies. I did the same thing with my son and he's 3 years old now. If you have allergies in your family they recommend waiting until 6 months to introduce anything. Since we have no allergies in the family we are planning to start my daughter on cereal next month when she's 4 months old.

I started my son on rice cereal at 4 mo. He loved it from the start, but he hasn't slept through the night since! I'm sure they're non-related, but don't let anyone convince you food will make your baby sleep better. It wasn't the case for us.

I started my first DD on cereal at 4 months but I stopped after a few days because I didn't think she was doing well. I waited until 5 months. My second I started at 5 months. At her 6 month check up my doctor told me to scrap baby food and start table food. She choked on a graham cracker so back to baby food I went. At 7 months I started very small on table foods. She's 8 months and on stage 3 foods and eating puffs. I'd wait until 5 months for baby food but I think at 4 months if you wanted to try cereal try it. I think a super watered down version would be fine. JMO

I've read that the intestines really aren't ready for this until 5-6 months. Starting too early could cause intestinal problems later in life. A search on google of when to start solid foods and intestine will give you info about it. Babies really don't need more than milk and study after study shows it really doesn't help them sleep through the night anyway.

D.,
The doctor is right...I know it seems weird, I thought so too, but milk is all the need right now.
Good Luck!
C.

I tried a little at 4+ months, then I waited until 6 months and my daughter still wasn't ready. She would spit it back out (they have a natural reflex) and puke if I got some down until about 6 1/2 - 7 months really. They don't want you to introduce cereal until 6 months so they don't form allergies. They should be exclusively breastfed (or formula) until they are 6 months unless they have weight gain issues and the doctor tells you you need to. I did a lot of reading on this matter when we were gettiong close to that point.