How Should I Introduce Solids To My Baby's Diet?

[Bee]

she is just over 4 months now. I am going to wait until closer to 5 months to start solids but just trying to research it all in advance. Questions are:
1.) Should I skip cereal and start with Stage 1 Foods?
2.) If I want to keep breast milk as her main supply of nutrition and diet how do I keep the baby food from effecting her nursing? I mean should I always nurse her first and then offer baby food? Or will she continue to nurse well still?
3.) Is Gerber stage 1 baby food really that bad? I mean why do so many people talk about MAKING your OWN baby food? What's wrong with gerber? thank you!!

 

[Kara P]

I taught my girls how to sit up and swallow in their highchairs by using bananas pureed breast milk. After this, I introduced cooked/steamed pureed broccoli and carrots. Next were the sweet potatoes which they loved! I started around six months and only introduced one new food per week for a few months.

I never used baby cereal and my girls were just fine without it. Your child will continue to nurse (I kept nursing after introducing solids) but as they become a better eater, they may nurse less frequently. It is all part of the natural weaning process, but by no means should end your nursing relationship. You can feed your baby solids and continue until they are toddlers if you really wanted to. I never used the jarred baby food, but I don't see anything wrong with it, however, I think it is better to use your own fresh fruits and vegetables. I got a wonderful Puree for around $60 that helped me tremendously. Ultimately, it is your choice, and the jarred food should serve you just as well.

Good luck, introducing solids can be fun... we have lots of funny mess pictures from this stage.

 

[Stephanie]

well i think she will nurse still no matter. just out of thirst .. what i did was with the cereal you need to add water or milk so i added my breastmilk so she got that also a solid.. i stuck to the jar's they are perfectly fine. but i also made what i could like smash a banana and stuff like that its really easy to make ur own baby food actually but jars are easier on the go. and last longer.

really you can do it either way you want.. maybe you still breastfeed then offer her solids as a snack.

 

[mayad01]

Yes, you should start with rice cereal first. You can also mix that with breast milk. Only start with a little at first.

You could start introducing Stage 1 foods. But only ONE kind at a time, and just a little bit. This way u can see if she is going to have an allergic reaction to the foods. If you start a whole bunch at once you won't know which one caused the reaction. Normally babies don't react to the Stage 1 Veggies. When you start to introduce fruit, Strawberries and Blueberries are usually the ones that will cause a reaction if any at all.

She will probably continue nursing well for you. Most babies still want to drink a lot when you start introducing solids. Probably because they really don't get a whole lot of them all at once in the beginning. But, there will be a point when your milk will not be as satisfying to her as food will. And then she will want to eat more and nurse less. Which is just part of her development.

A lot of people like making their own baby food because it's not full of perservatives. I don't find there is anything wrong with jarred baby food, but it can get costly. And in the beginning you will waste a lot because you're only supposed to refrigerate it for about 48 hours then you have to throw it out. But, yes, most don't like jarred foods because of perservatives. But, there is also the option of buying organic baby food if you wanted to avoid that.