What Foods to Give First

I started my daughter on cereal first. Oatmeal with formula or mixed with apple juice. She still loves oatmeal. I like the idea of veggies though, helps them get a good start.

I know you got a lot of responses here, but the ADA did a study on first foods, and if you start with cereal, then add veggis BEFORE fruits, it cutst the chance of him having Diabetes nearly in half.
I just wanted to throw that in.

my son is 5 months and I just started him on foods as well. I started out the first week with just rice cereal and breastmilk (use formula if you arent breastfeeding). I did only that for about the first week so he could get some practice. My pediatrician said to start veggies before fruits and to start with yellow/orange veggies (carrots, sweet potatoes, squash) before green (peas, beans) and white fruit (bananas, pears) before yellow fruit(peaches) due to the allergy risk. So i did sweet potatoes first, then carrots and I just gave him bananas for the first time today. I mix it with the rice cereal/breastmilk mixture. he loves all of them ! I plan on going to peas next and then maybe peaches or something. I only introduce one thing at a time every 5 days so that if he is allergic to something then I know what it is. Its a blast and very messy! ENJOY!

What a fun time! I loved starting solids with my son. We first started with rice and oatmeal cereals mixed with breastmilk (you could do formula as well) at about 4 months. Then at 5 months I started him on the 1st foods green vegetables since they're a little more bland in flavor. Then we moved onto the other veggies like sweet potatoes and squash. I did all the fruits last so he didn't develop a preference for the sweet things. :o) At about 6 months is when we switched to the 2nd foods. He was also eating 2 solid meals per day at 6 months. Now at 9 months he eats solids 3x daily. Just remember to feed him one food for a few days to make sure he doesn't have an allergy to it. My son is not picky at all...so I got lucky! Hopefully your son will be the same way! It might take him a little while to get used to eating solids, so be patient. This is a fun time...so ENJOY!

I am a SAHM of 3, ages 5, 2, 11mo. My doctor actually told me to start with yellow veggies, then green veggies, then fruit, and meats after they are 7 months old. My son didn't like rice cereal so it wasn't really an option for me cause he wouldn't eat it. He did like the infant oatmeal though. Just make sure when you give him something new give it 3-5 days before you give him the next new food. My doctor said with each food you should watch for allergies. Sometimes my kids tummies weren't ready even if they were old enough. So I would give it a month and then reintroduce it again. If it's an allergy though you probably just want to avoid it. I avoided the dessert baby foods and just used fruit like the dessert. I fed my kids veggies/meats first and then gave them fruit (once they were older). Congratulations on your new little one!

Here's how I introduced foods to my son (now almost 4) and how I do it with all of my daycare babies....I pick a bottle feeding that I am going to start replacing with solids. I usually start with a morning one so I introduce bananas first. (Only because I think veggies for breakfast is a disgusting thing). Anyway-once I introduce a food, I feed them that for one week, watching for a rash, diaper rash, diarrhea & any other type of reaction. Then I introduce the next food. Of course, once something has been introduced, I keep giving them that food as well as the new food I am introducing. So if I give bananas for a week with no reaction, then I'll introduce pears. Then you can rotate, pears, bananas, pears etc. Then the 3rd week, I'll introduce something else. When introducing veggies, I have found that sweet potatoes and squash are the favorites and the easiest to introduce and have them actually like them. Good luck!

I usually start with applesauce, bananas, carrots, then green beans. I don't know why...I just like to start them off with fruits first 'cause I figure they probably taste better!!! :-) My 6 month old, she wasn't NOTHING to do with ANY of it!!!

i started my little girl at about 4 months on rice cereal mixed with diluted apple juice... just to see if she was ready and she was. for a month or so that i did that once a day, and just a little at a time... then once i introduced new foods, i did so once a week and alternated veggies and fruit. now she is almost 9 months and doesnt have a sweet tooth, actually for a while bananas were her favorite, but now she prefers veggies and less sweet stuff... now she has 2 meals a day of solid food and loves it usually... i still try and introduce a new food every week if i can, and she will pretty much try anything. one other thing is that i made most of my food..blended up and frozen in ice cube trays and then put in ziplock bags for easy heating up later - it saves a lot of money... i still use jarred foods when we travel, due to convenience... but anyways, i hope this helps and good luck. :)

You should start with rice cereal and when he resonds well to that you should start with veggies. I started my son on veggies and he loved them. Unfortunatly I just started my daughter on baby foods and I started with bananas. Now I'm having a hard time getting her to eat any veggies. Hope this works and good luck.

Hi C.! :)
I would start him off with the plain Rice Cereal. It will be a texture thing at first for him. Then move on to all the same "colors". Greens, oranges, etc. I don't think there is one kind of food that is better to start with then the other, except I even mixed some of the veggies with the rice for an easier transition. I have always been told to start with veggies before fruits. Fruits are sweeter and kids might not want the veggies after eating fruit. Have fun...it's an enjoyable time!

Mashed foods should only be given in small amounts up to 6 months. Otherwise, they can develop allergies to those foods because their digestive systems can't handle it yet. I suggest some of the baby crackers and mashed up bananas to start. But his main diet should still be milk. Baby foods are so bland that later they hate their veggies because the baby food. I suggest you mash whatever you're eating and give that to him - but mainly fruits and/or vegetables. I would not give him any meat until after 6 months. DEFINITELY no dairy until after 6 months.

So many moms have so many ideas on what you should start them on and for how long, but honestly.....moms all do it different and all children are very healthy. So with that being said I will just tell you what I started my two children on, rice cereal...and then I started adding vegies to the cereal, then fruits, and then graduated to meats. I really..or should I say my kids really like the gerber organics line but when I used it I think it had a different name. The blueberries and banana was yummy, what?...I had to try what I was feeding them. haha I hoped this help...Good luck and don't worry!!

RIce cereal first, then start with the yellow/orange vegetables, not the green vegetables! That's what our doctor and friends and family told us and it worked, as soon as I started giving her green vegetables, she spit them up and her bms changed for the worse. The greens are best left until they have eaten the yellows for at least a month. The yellow veggies are better at first for some reason..carrots, squash, etc...and the baby foods labeled number 1 are smmother in consistency and smaller jars so better for first time solid eaters. Good luck!

I started my son on veggies first and didn't give him the sweet stuff for a few months.... to this day, 8 years later, he is a very good eater... he loves ALL vegetables. Could just be the kid, but I believe it has a lot to do with what they are introduced to in the beginning... even if you introduce something good first, if they don't have enough time to get used to that to the point of craving it, then they won't remember it when the sweets and stuff are introduced.

Hi C.-

Most doctors actually recommend that you start off slowly with something like rice cereal to see how they go and then you can build up from there. It is great to try a variety of foods once you start, just remember that it can take up to a dozen or so time before they like some tastes...so don't give up!

Good luck-
A.

Number 1 Veggies (the greens) are the best baby foods to start with but even before that you should give him some rice cereal. When I first started my son on solids, he started out with just a little bit of rice for a week to 2 weeks and then we introduced peas and green beans. Your sons stomach still has to adjust to the solid foods so it's best to start him out slowly. When ever it seemed like our son got a tummy ache from a baby food, we would mix it with rice (the rice never hurt his tummy) so that his tummy could get use to it a little easier. Plus that introduced the new flavors. You can also add a little bit of rice to his bottles rice now too. It's good at night because it fills his tummy up a little bit more and he might sleep a little longer then usual. Just be careful though because too much rice, bananas and applesauce can make your baby constipated. I found that out the hard way. Baby oatmeal will do just the opposite, so will green beans, peas, peaches and pears.

Once my son was about 6 months old. He was eating oatmeal in the morning with a little bit of #1 baby fruit mixed into it and then either for lunch or dinner or both he was eating #1 veggies by them self of some mixed with rice and then a rice bottle at night and of course a couple regular bottles in between the solid food feedings.

Have fun and dont' forget to take picture. :)

i started my daughter on cereal mixed with veggies at first, cuz she was underweight so i started at 4 months too. but try rice cereal a few times mixed with water first to make sure shes not allergic (my daughter gets diahrrea from rice, can only eat oatmeal). if theres no problem then you can try a new veggie each week. i would do veggies first, my daughter likes both, but she prefers the sweet ones since i started her on like sweet potatoes and stuff. or you could just do veggies now, and do cereal after you've tried all the foods out there. i wouldn't do any combo foods yet (they have some fruit combos)until you've tried everything and are sure none of them upset his tummy. good luck! its funny, when someone else has a child, its like oh yeah thats fine. but suddenly when its yours, you want to make absolutely sure lol. i was sure until it was my own haha.

I breastfed my two kids exclusivly for the first 4-5 months until it was clear they needed more! I was advised by my naturpath not to start with rice cereal because it's heavily processed to help make it more digestable. I started both my kids on sweet potatoes and pumpkin first. They also ate applesauce, apricots, and prunes. I didn't give them any wheat or dairy for the first 18 months.

Don't be afraid to interview and "shop" pediatricians. We went thru 3 before I found one who would listen to me and answer my questions instead of running me thru their office in 10 minutes.

You should definately start with veggies. Usually carrots or other yellow and orange veggies because they have a bit more sweetness to them. Babies who have been on formula are used to the sweet taste, so it makes the transition to solids much easier. After that, you can start on the green veggies and then fruits! When I started my kids on solids, I also mixed the veggies into a bit of cereal mixed with formula. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Hello,
I have two little ones myself and I started soild food when they were 6 months. I hear 4 months is ok too especially if they are acting intresed in food. I started with Earths Best rice cerial and mixed it with breast milk or formula. They had that for a few weeks before I moved on to other foods. The very first next food I gave was Avacado and mashed it up! They loved that and be sure to wait 4 to 5 days before introducing another food just to make sure there is no alrgic reaction. I could go on and on. A great book to get to help you with month by month new foods to try is called Super Baby Food. It is great and helped me a lot. Best wishes to you! E.

Hi C.,
First of all have you given him any solids? I would start with rice cereal for a week if you havent given him any solids then oat cereal for a week then barley. Then start sweet potatoe, for a few days then carrots for a few days, You need to give these foods a few days to make sure there isnt any allergic reaction. What I did with my kids was after I had tried all cereals I gave them cereal at breakfast then a bottle... lunch I offered fruit I started with pears then applesauce then peaches and so on and then a bottle and vegies at dinner. Dont be to surprised if he dosent take much bottle they get filled up with the food My kids never liked the meats so I just gave them cereal, fruit and vegies then the bottle breakfast, lunch abd dinner I always gave them a bottle just before bed and they slept til AM
i HOPE THIS IS GOOD INFO.
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C.,

You need to switch Pediatricians. Period. If your doctor cannot give you a definite answer then you have got problems AND future problems. Good grief, this is a basic for them!

Dr. Carr at Pediatrics of the Northwest is the doctor that is solid in her knowledge. Her office is in L.O., but they don't charge L.O. prices.

I am seriously stunned that your doctor would not know what foods to start first.

I bet if you even gave her a call that she would not charge you for a doctor's visit if you told her that she was recommended over the internet. She is a Texan Mom with solid advice.

###-###-####. Have her or a nurse call you back.

It's always good to start with the oatmeal or rice cereal that comes in the boxes. Try mixing it with formula, water or breastmilk. Then you can move on to jarred baby food.

Congrats on this milestone!

I would start with rice cereal to see how he does. Then you can add veggies and fruit. I started with one kind of veggie (usaully an orange one) for about a week to check for sensitivity and then introduced a fruit. You can continue adding in new fruits and veggies (alternating them) about every week or so. This allows for you to check for food sensitivities.
Hope this helps.