When to Start Baby Food?

Congrats on the little guy! I am no doctor, but I do have 2 kids of my own, ages 4 1/2 and 2. Both of my kids started baby food early for the same reason, they seemed hungry all the time. My daughter, Sydney (4) also had acid reflux and we were giving her cereal in her formula as well and she started baby food at 14 weeks, starting with a few bites of fruit every once in awhile when she seemed hungry. Nothing regular for several weeks until her stomach got used to something different. My son, Connor (2) started baby food at 12 weeks and we did the same thing, a little at a time so his stomach could get used to it. A friend told me when we started him to start him with a veggie as his first food or he won't like veggies when he gets older. We started with fruit and he LOVES his veggies!! Every kid is different.
Best is to check with your pediatrician to be for sure because everyone is different and he/she may have a different idea to try first...but we started our kids early and they did great with it and it kept them satisfied at the time. Good luck! ~T.

I started my son at 4 months b/c the doctor told me at that appointment that he should start to eat the solids. (he's only 7 months now and starting to eat some table food)... Mix the cereal with some milk and spoon feed him, make it a little thick.. He should eat two ounces mixed with milk/juice or even baby food. If you do start him on baby food be careful to make sure he says on the same type of food for 3-5 days at a time to make sure he doesn't have any allergies. Good luck! He may spit it out a little at first but keep trying he will learn how to swallow it right... he'll sleep longer too!!! Oh and buy stock in bibs!! They will be your best friend!! (if you don't have some already)

The Academy of American Pediatrics suggests only breast until 6 months of age. My son is 5 months old and is breast feed. His doctor suggested at 4 months to start with just ceral and then veggies, and then fruits. I have found the babycenter.com website helpful and you can read what their suggestions are...most of them are: 4-6 months old, can hold head up, doubled body weight....and there are others. You said your son has acid reflux and I read in the Dr. Sears Sleeping baby book that babies with GERD like to eat often, mayble less, but more often, the sucking produces salvia and it is more soothing to the throat. So maybe he is not hungry but just wanted to soothe his burning throat. But you should research and talk to his doctor before feeding him baby food.

I started my son on plain rice cereal when he was 3 months because my breast milk was not filling him up. He would want to eat every half hour, so we mixed his cereal with breast milk and he started feeding every three or four hours like he was supposed to and he slept all night!

Always ask your doctor first since Jordan has acid reflux. If he/she says it's cool, start off with single grain, plain rice cereal (no fruit and oatmeal). He'll spit out most of the food because his tongue has to get used to using the muscles to keep the food in. Then start with green foods (green beans, peas, etc.), then with orange food (carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.) and then fruits.

Hope this helps!

Hi J.,

Definitely do not start regular baby food until your baby is 6 months old. That is how babies develop food allergies. You can keep with the cereal and try that. When you do start baby food stick with veggies first and only introduce 1 veggie at a time for a week to make sure they tolerate it well.

My name is A. and I am a mother of five. I have started all my kids on cereal just like you have with Jordon. You must also remember not every child stomach works the same. Your child is almost four months old a couple of weeks will not hurt him. My advice is if you decide to start babyfood try the babyfood early in the day incase it would give him bellycramps that way by the time night time comes he should be over it. If babyfood cramps to much increase the baby cereal in his bottle and try the babyfood in another couple weeks.

Hi J.

I was told that when you felt your child was ready for baby food then to give it to them. My sons doctor told me to start with veggies first then fruits but you have to give him the same food for at least three days to make sure that he isn't allergic to it. My son also had acid reflux but he couldn't use cereal he had to have oatmeal and once he was off of formula he hasn't had acid reflux. Hope this helps you.

My understanding is that the big thing about starting baby food early is the increased chance of developing food allergies. A baby's tummy and digestive system is still developing at this age. That being said, I always started my babies off around 14-15 weeks with carrots or sweet potatoes, and feed only one food at a time, so you can makee sure that if he has an adverse reaction, you know which food it is. They generally recommend that you introduce a new food per week. Sometimes it is difficult to get them to take to a new food, so try mixing it with a little cereal. Keep introducing it, and after a while, usually, they will accept the new taste. Good luck!

I wanna say they told me to wait until 6 months but I started veggies first and I prob. did it at about five months maybe five and half months. And it does take a little bit for them to get used to swallowing. So bear with him. he will not get it at first. I have twins and with acid reflux they would still spit up a lot after they ate. It really didn't quit until about nine months but every baby is different. I hope I have been some help to you. If you ask me if you wanna try him on baby food now, I would do it but don;t force it just give it a little try but always vegetables before fruit. Oh and keep giving the same veg. for several days so if there is any allergy you will know what not to feed. Keep with the same food for about a week before you move along.