My daughter is almost 5 months old, need help introducing solid foods and getting...

[Michelle R]

...her on a schedule? So..my daughter is about to be 5 months old, I have been giving her about a tablespoon of cereal for a couple of weeks now. Tonight I gave her a little bit of baby food(stage1 prunes) She does great with it!! My problem is that I don't know when to give it to her. So do I give her a bottle when she gets up in the morning, then baby food, a bottle the rest of the day??Can I introduce her to veggies for dinner?? I just need some help!!!

 

[Emma's Mom]

At this stage formula is still the most important food for babies but you can gradually introduce veggies if you feel your baby needs it.

I started (with doctors advice) at 4 months and was told to only start with apples, pears, sweet potato and butternut as first foods as this is the easiest for them to digest. Try her on some butternut at night (just a few spoons) but water it down quite a bit or else your daughter may gag due to the texture (personal experience here).

I started giving a bit of cereal in the morning and some veggies at night. As she got older I introduced fruit for lunch (which is her favorite meal now).

By 6 months you can start adding the other first foods to add variety and your can start mixing them as well.

The most important thing however is if there are any food allergies in the family then you should rather hold off on starting on solids. If in doubt call your doctor and ask them for advice.