Starting Solids- Practical Advice

Before i start can I ask that this thread doesn't turn into a starting solids early debate. I have read through all the debates that have been on here lately and i have found these threads very informative. I haven't started solids but i feel like ds may be ready and for this i want some practical advice on how to go about it. Also as DS is full time ff i understand that there may be a nutritional benefit in starting solids early.

So i was wondering when you start solids how much do you give baby. In thinking more in terms of those baby spoons, do you start with 1 or 2 etc. When do you offer the solids? I know you need to give a milk drink first but do you do it straight after, after half an hour etc etc. Will bubs make any funny faces as they get used to the new tastes and textures?? What foods are best to start with i understand rice cereal is the first food suggested but what from there. Do you start with bland potato before moving on to sweet potato etc? How do you know when to start a new meal? I know you start with breakfast but when would you introduce lunch?

Thanks for your advice everyone.

Hi Isabell
This is all based on my own experience, there are a lot of differing opinions about solids and you really need to trust your own instincts!

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When do you offer the solids? I know you need to give a milk drink first but do you do it straight after, after half an hour etc etc.
I started off giving my DS solids around half an hour after his feeds.

Will bubs make any funny faces as they get used to the new tastes and textures??
Yep, absolutely, solids is a whole new world for them!

What foods are best to start with i understand rice cereal is the first food suggested but what from there. Do you start with bland potato before moving on to sweet potato etc?
Rice cereal is usually the starter, but you may find bubs doesn't like it, my DS didn't and I know plenty of other bubs who didn't. Pureed apple or something like that would also be good to start on, and I'm pretty sure to stick to just one thing and not blend them together until you've tried a few different things. Also, give it a few days between introducing new things to make sure bubs doesn't have a reaction to any.

How do you know when to start a new meal? I know you start with breakfast but when would you introduce lunch?
I don't know whether there's any right time, I think you just need to follow your gut instincts on this one.

Also, have you through about baby led solids? There's a great BLS thread that may have a few things worth considering in there!

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I hope I've helped a little :)

Hi Isabell,

I started DD around a similar time due to her also showing signs. we never looked back lol!

i started with some rice cereal and i think i made up enough for about 3 spoons. i made it super dooper runny and with only breastmilk (i figured it would help with the transition). she loved it and downed the whole thing.

you can also give them a try of pureed apples or pears. this is also a suitable 'first foods'. i think i started her on this by the following week. also pumpkin and sweet potato are generally fav foods.

we didnt really having a running order of what 'meal' DD would start on. so decided to try it for 'lunch'. that way i wasnt too sleepy and DD wasn't too hungry iykwim.

HTH

Hi :)

I'd offer solids half hourish after a feed.

Start with rice cereal made up with bm or formula. I was told to move onto jap pumpkin after that because it is a 'sweet' vegie, but bubs hated it ;) I think any vegie is fine. Try as many as possible, to to three days apart so you can monitor they're reaction to it.

I found that my bubs kind of just tasted food for about a month, then actually started eating a spoonful or two (remember, they're tummies are tiny). A month after he started eating properley, I introduced breakfast as well as lunch, then dinner a month later. Giving them solids in the morning/lunchtime will stop them getting belly pains at night (supposedly- I'm not sure how true that is!).


Follow your instinct and have fun with it- it's more fun than anything else at this age. Oh and one last thing- if they dribble the food out without it going into their mouths properley for them to swallow, try leaving it another week or so. they have a tongue reflex action that pushes the tounge out to help with sucking, but it generally dissapears at about 5-6 months.

HTH :)

Hiya

We started solids at 5 months too (seems like so long ago), and I would generally offer them about half hour after her morning feed.
we offered rice cereal first, but quickly moved onto carrot - we decided to introduce veggies first, as babies tend to prefer salty and sweet foods. To begin with, we would try the one thing and give it around 5 days before trying anything else. Once she started eating a decent amount ( I think about 1 icecube worth), we then introduced lunch. Probably after 6 months, we started cutting the number of days between each new food down to about 2 - otherwise it would take forever to get through all the different foods! I was told as well, that it can take about 15 exposures for babies to like the taste - so even if they screw their nose up, try again and again! The other thing I was told (we're taking part in a study on bub's nutrition and went to some info sessions on starting solids) was that once they lose interest eg turn away or bat the spoon away with their hands, thats when you stop feeding them.

Good luck and have the camera ready! Its great fun

My son wasn't too interested at first (even though he was showing signs of it) so I'd make something up only to find he didn't actually want it, so I'd suggest starting with a very small amount of rice cereal. We then went to apple, pear & sweet potato.

My MCHN said you needed to offer it 1/2 an hour after a milk feed.

Just introduce one thing at a time & do it for 3 or 4 days before trying something different. Once I got past rice cereal.... which took two or three weeks I think.... I went on to canned/jar apple, then pear, then sweet potato. Pear is really good if bub gets constipated.