When Did You Start Your Babies on Baby Food and What Did They Like?

Hi J., I also have boy/girl twins, although mine are 13 months old now. I started the twins on baby food around 5 months, but have given them cereal in their bottles since they were 2 months old. Gotta sleep sometime and with two, you know you do whatever it takes. The twins never really cared for baby food, my son had a hard time eating from a spoon, he always wanted to feed himself. My daughter pretty much ate whatever you put in front of her. So, at around 6 months, I started giving them table food. Whatever was soft and they always wanted to feed themselves, so whatever they could grab and put in their mouths. They preferred feeding themselves to me spoon feeding them. It has been this way all along. They say you should try 3 consecutive times in a row on the same baby food and if they don't like it all 3 times, then move on to the next. I would try all different kinds, veggies once and fruit the next. You will get a feel on what each one likes and dislikes. I will say it is fun feeding two at a time and seeing the reaction on their faces. You will have that feeling and see what they like and don't like. I know with mine they may be twins, but their personalities and likes and dislikes are sooo totally different. I wish you the best of luck. It does get better and easier as they get older. They are definitely blessings and what a joy :)

Hi J.-

Like another Mom wrote... I am not critizing... but my Dr. also rec. waiting until 6 mos to start food. (I have a 5 1/2 mo old) This is someting farily new. As with my 4 year old we started at 4 mos but VERY caustiously b/c of the whole allergy thing. There is really no rush to start feeding them.

Also, another reason to be fairly cautious about the foods is that babies digestive systems are not fully developed and certain foods are rec. at being at different times of their development.

I have been using a great book called MOMMY MADE & DADDY TOO. (got it used on Amazon for 6 bucks!) It has a great chart in the back about what fruits, veggies and grains should be introduced and when. I followed it with my first and will do with the 2nd.

have fun!

The doctors say no food until 6 months. I started mine on food at 4 months. He was fine. I started out with rice cereal (very little chance of allergy) Then we started mixing it with fruit. I just recently started veggies and was afraid he wouldn't like them. He eats like a horse, everything I put in front of him. (he doesn;t like turkey though...weirdo!) Try some apples, they worked well for me as a first food. Maybe your precious daughter just has a sweet tooth.

I started my daughter on sweet potatoes and she loved them..then peas and surprising she like those even bettter. just keep trying she will get the hang of it...

Congrats on the twins! I have twin boys and when I started them on solids @ about 6 or 7 months I gave them mixed fruit w/yogurt and things like that. One of my boys eats anything you throw at him and the other is a little picky. It just takes a little time for them to eat well from the spoon. My boys are 16-months and sometimes they would rather play than eat. Good luck!

i tried to start my daughter on cereal at 5 months but she would not have it...soo..i waited another month and she took to it just fine. it took another month for her to start to like veggies. we still at 8 months do not let her have too much fruit, our doctor said it could mess with her digestion. we began every thing very slow with cereal in the morning then when ready added a veggie in the late afternoon. now we are up to a sort of mini-breakfast-lunch-dinner breakfast is cereal and a half container of fruit, lunch is a veggie, and dinner is a veggie and a half container of meat. good luck, just take your time and dont rush her...she will let you know when she is ready.

My daughter was a picky eater. I would put the veggies on the spoon, but dip the tip into fruit. As long as she was tasting the furit first - she was happy to eat. And since she was eating mostly the veggies, I never worried when someone got all excited because she was "eating fruit" when apparently I should have been force feeding her the veggies.

Hi J.,
Congratulations on the twins! As other people have said, you probably want to start with the cereals like rice cereal for a few weeks before starting baby food. At this point, you're not feeding them for nutrition (that comes in breast milk or formula). You are feeding them to get them to learn how to eat in a way other than suckling. So how much they eat isn't as important. Your daughter may be having a hard time because she's just getting used to eating with a spoon and/or getting used to the consistency of the food. That's why starting with the cereals can be an important first step because it's pretty runny so it's similar to their milk in consistency but also starts them learning how to use the spoon. Some babies take to eating off a spoon with little issue, as it seems your son has. Others have a more difficult time learning how to do it; it doesn't come naturally to them. Also, if your little girl isn't taking to it, maybe she's just not ready.

As for veggies before fruits, I think that's up to you. I started one baby on veggies first, she's a good veggie eater now at 3. My other baby had more fruits to start with, she's a good veggie eater at 19 months. You could try the sweeter veggies first. Our ped recommended starting with the yellow/orange ones, like squash and sweet potatoes. In addition to being a little sweeter, I think they have a consistency that I think new mouths take to easier. And remember that the studies suggest it may take a child 15 times or so of just seeing a food before they will really try it, let alone like it. Since your babies are just supposed to be getting used to using a spoon and the new textures, don't be quick to dismiss a food as unliked. Keep trying with it (which you have to do for a few days since you are only supposed to be doing one food at a time for several days to determine if there are any allergies). And if after the several days, your baby still isn't taking to the food, try something else and go back to the first one in a month or so. She may have changed her mind about the food.

Good luck with it. It's a lot of trial and error so hang in there and just keep trying.

I have a five month old I started him with rice cereal he didnt like it unless i put fruits in it, so then i tried him on applesuace , and squash then sweet potates and banannas he didnt like the sppon at first and he is doing better now

Well I started cereal at 5mths and then proceeded with baby foods at 6mths, my first was green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes. I suggest to continue with veggies first because fruits are sweet and they might not take veggies over fruit, like most people LOL.

Rather than the fruits try her with the sweeter veggies like squash, sweet potatos and peas. The only thing my son didnt like were the cereals by themselves, so I mixed them with whatever fruit of vegie he was eating.

My son was a preemie (2 months premature) and my Dr didn't want him started on solids until 6 months. He started cereal at 5 months (didn't go very well, but I was happy with what he would eat)

Everything I've read about feeding babies say tht generally it can take up to 15 tries for a baby to accept a new food. Your daughter may be one of those babies. Anything you can get into her is considered a serving when they first start out, so don't be too concerned that she isn't eating that much. She is only 4 months, so a 1/2 tablespoon should be considered a victory!

Good Luck!

If she isn't interested, I would just hold off for another week or so. You shouldn't be in any hurry - the APA recommends waiting until 6mths to start solids. Also remember you should be doing cereal for two weeks prior to any other solids.

J.,

My sister and I just had babies a little over three months ago, they are three days apart, and both of our doctors have told us not to start them on anything but breast milk (or formula if you aren't nursing) before they are 6 months old. They say it causes an increased risk of food allergies because their bodies aren't ready to handle it, and it can also increase their risk of asthma and diabetes. I would definitely check with your doctor...maybe the reason she doesn't seem to like the food yet is because she isn't ready for it. I know every baby is different, but I am a firm believe in the longer they are getting breast milk the better off they will be, and my doctor has confirmed this for me. Please understand, I'm not trying to criticize, I just know as a mama that I would not want my child to end up with horrible allergies and then feel responsible because I started them on food too early. Just some thoughts for you, but mainly I would check with my doctor. Good luck!

A.

I think the big milestone is when they are able to sit up or close to it on there own start trying rice cereal by spoon to get them used to the spoon and to introduce solids. then after atleast a couple weeks start baby foods one at a time for 2-3 days at a time. Best to start with vegetables then move to fruit so they don't get used to sweet stuff first I started keyley at about 5 months old because the dr told me to. If you are unsure you should always ask your pediatrician

I have five children, which includes a set of BB twins. The twins are almost four now, the time flies! I started out with rice cereal and some of the flavor cereals. At 5 months is when I started baby food. The spoon thing is normal, but they will quickly catch on as long as you are consistent in using it. I recommend staying with veggies only first. After going through all the veggies then start fruits. I did mix cereal with the green veggies because they are bitter, which helped. Good Luck! Congrats on the twin also, they are so much fun!!

I started my DD on baby food when she was 3 months old. She really loved the Gerber Sweet Potatoes! Her pediatrician said that Sweet Potatoes are great for infants because they're a great source of vitamins - I forget which ones because it has been so long ago (she's 20 months now), but try it. I hope she really likes it.

how many times have you tried each veggie with her? i've read several places, and the dr mentioned, that it can take up to 2 weeks of the food every day to start liking it. it seems like so long but i'm still working with bananas with him! we are doing one veggie then one fruit then one veggie, etc... we've done apple sauce with his rice cereal, then green beans, now bananas. carrots are next.