What Should I Feed Him Next?

Hi T.-- I started adding a little fruit to both my childrens cereal first and then in the evening I would serve some veggies with it for some variety. After a short period of time they were getting cereal, fruit and a veggie each meal. Definetly introduce one new food at a time to watch for an allergic reaction (I think you wait 24 hrs. before trying the next one). I don't think there is any specific way you need to introduce your little one to new foods but definetly check with your pediatrician for restricted foods---I believe you should avoid strawberries, milk, peanuts and eggs until a year- there are others that you should avoid as he eats more "big people" food so it is best to have a list handy. I do have to say my son was eating pretty much the same meals as my hubby and I at around 9-10 months but he was a big baby (9.5 lbs at birth) and had all his teeth by then and I just checked my list to see if I needed to adapt the recipe or make him something else. Hope this helps a little :)

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I was told to go by colors... all things in the orange family, then green, then everything else.
The first veggie I gave my little one was carrots, followed shortly by avacados. I didn't wait to introduce fruits until later, and mine still loves veggies. Sweet potatoes are really good first foods also.
They make a Barley cereal you can try, or you can make your own with various grains... I made mine out of millet.
Whole milk yogert is also a great first food, but I would wait a couple more months to introduce that to avoid any milk reactions.
I mostly made all of my baby's food from scratch, there is a website, I think it is annabelkarmel.com , and she teaches you how to DIY. But there is also a really accurate list of when is an appropriate time to feed baby which foods.
Hope this helps!!

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Hi-my name is H.. I am a 36 year old mother of a 13yr old girl and a 20 month old boy. My advice to you would be to start mixing some of the first step Gerber vegetables in with the cereal. Then eventually phase out the cereal to where your baby is only eating the vegetable. I know it sounds strange, but my son loved the Gerber chicken, ham, beef, etc mixed with rice cereal. You can also mix the fruits in with the cereal-I always mixed fruit into oatmeal and veggies and meats into rice. It seems like we stopped giving the baby cereal around 12 or 13 months old. I feel confident in giving you this advice based on past experience and the fact that my son was lactose intolerant and had so much trouble keeping anything down at first. I hope this helps you somewhat and always remember to enjoy your babies-they grow up so fast!

H. W.

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Hi T.,
What I did with my little boy was to mix 1 jar of baby food (ceral, etc)and the rest of the bottle with formula. Shake well. If you are using powdered formula, pre-mix it before putting it in the bottle with the baby food. What you will also need is a "Y" shaped nipple. I always used the Playtex vent aire bottles, but Wal-mart did not carry the "Y" shaped nipples, so I had to go to
"babies-R-us" to get those. It worked wonders. I do know that you are only suppose to introduce 1 new food at a time for allergy reasons, but I mixed everything with my little boy's bottle. I would mix ceral of a morning, fruit as a snack, a lunch item (peas, carrots, etc), etc... The only thing he didn't like very well was the meat items. Keep in mind that these foods will stain the inside of bottles and the nipples. But I found that they worked well for him. Good Luck and let me know how it goes.
J.

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T.,

Starting cereal at 4 months is great. Since he is handling oatmeal so well you could start adding one fruit at a time until you know he isn't allergic. (24hr increments) Then start with yellow veggies and then green veggies.

That's my suggestion, and that's how I did it with my daughter.

J.

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They say start with veggies first because the baby might get used to the sweet taste of fruits, but you can interchange the two. You should start with yellow fruits and veggies first, orange second, green next. Only introduce a new fruit every 3 days or so to make sure there is no allergic reaction to any of them. Just mix it with the cereal. If he's eating well you can begin introducing other food. My friend has a formula fed baby and she began feeding her fruit early as well because she wasn't satisfied with just formula and a little cereal. You could always check with the doctor first but he'll probably say the same. Good luck. Also if he doesn't like the veggie (sweet potatoes, corn and squash are usually their favorites) add a little juice to the mixture. Also be wary of citric acid fruits like oranges, strawberries. There not supposed to have those for a long time because of possible allergies. Good luck.

S.
mother of 9 month old boy

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I started my daughter on cereal at 4 1/2 months. She took to it instantly and had no problem with thick oatmeal. I started her on veggies at 5 months and she had no problems with allergies or upset stomach so I kept her on it. I didn't give her fruit until about 6 months and that is only once a day. She LOVES the DHA ARA granola, oat, bran and the other ones that have a little fruit mixed in with the bran, oat and granola. I began giving her bites of banana at 7 months, only because she is great at chewing, and then started the cheerios and other small finger foods. Now she's 8 months and she eats mostly finger foods, but I still make her eat some baby food (meats and granola) and I've started her on the Stonyfield farm baby yogurt. She doesn't really like it, but she eats it when she see's her brother take bites. Just make sure your still giving the formula/breastmilk (primary food) and using food to suppliment the milk.

All babies are different. My son didn't start baby food and finger foods until a LOT later on. He loved his bottle and thats all he wanted. Dr. Phil always says to "never substitute my judgement for your own" . Talk to your pediatrician and use you best mommy judgement.

Good Luck, J.

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