Need advice re: Solids for 6month old

[stacey83]

My DS is now 6 months and for the past 2 weeks i have been feeding him solids.

He has rice cereal in the morning-gulps it down
Fruit puree midday
And now ive been giving him dinner because he seems hungry. So i give him a bowl of veg- ie mash pumpkin and potato

Is this too much food for first starting? Im worried because he is just starting to do solid poo's and its bothering him.

Ive read that you should only give them 2 tablespoons a day for the first month. Should i stick to that and just give him more breastmilk???

Please help, thanks

[Trillian]

I would be inclined to give him less solids and more milk. At first, solids are only about tastes and textures and not as a meal replacement instead of milk. There may be a few issues at first with his bowel movements as there is so much more bulk in the bowel from the solids and this may make them firmer and more difficult to pass. Give his little gut time to adjust to having solids before moving onto larger quantities. There is a sticky thread about starting solids too, I will post the link. ETA - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ad.php?t=14155

[kungfubecca]

My ds is 6 months and has been having solids for about a month. I only give him one meal at tea time, but am considering a second meal soon. I still demand feed and I think it's much better that food is treated as a taste and I nights actually consist of BF, solids and another BF all in a fairly short space of time, and he also wakes again by around 3am for another feed from me. I have offered breakfast after a bf in the morning, but he's not interested yet.

Do you always offer milk before the solids??

[Trillian]

Yes, always offer milk feeds first and then the solids. Once they are a bit older and into a more defined pattern of eating (breakfast, lunch, dinner etc) then you tend to offer the solids first, or inbetween milk feeds. I would always do it with the first milk feed at wake up time, then breakfast, then their next milk feed, whenever that time was etc and that worked well for us.

[Jas]

Hi Stacey,

I think that amount of food is fine if your bub is eating it. Different places say different things about amounts Noah was eating 3times a day from about the 6month mark just as long as your bub has the milk too I think if they want it then let them have it

[stacey83]

Thanks for the advice...

Kungfubecca I do always give him the breastfeed first, i make sure the majority of my milk is gone and than give him the food.

Sherie Thanks for the link, yes his bowel movements are bothering him a lot, the poor thing i have had to help him do his last 3 poo's and thy have been quite firm like hard clay..is that good or bad?

I think i'll just make the portions a bit smaller and if he fusses that he wants more i will give him another breastfeed. And i will also try and give him more water

[Trillian]

More water and BF will help with the hardness of his poos, maybe even give a little more pureed fruit (apple and pear). Some babies will take to it really well and not have any trouble at all, but others need to take it a bit slower. It's not a race to see how quickly they can be having three meals, it's all about taking it at their pace and following their lead. Soon enough they will be eating regular meals. You also don't need to worry about a huge variety of food either - just one or two things are usually more than enough and they don't have to have a 'traditional' diet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. you wont encourage a sweet tooth by giving them more fruit than veges because ATM it is all about introducing new tastes to them. Good luck.