When You Start Feeding Rice Cereal And Stage 1 Foods, What Was Your Schedule?

This article was written by referring to Yahoo Answers.

Many parents are concerning about their babies. A question has been brought up in a discussion :

Like did you give them rice cereal at morning and night? How many jars of baby food a day did you give them and at what times, do you still give bottles and how many times a day. My doc said shes old enough now to eat rice cereal and then fruits and veggies, but I don’t know the process of how to do it. Please tell me your babys experience, and she is 4 months old.

Here are the comments and suggestions :

1. We started at about 5 1/2 months old with our twins. We did a few spoons of rice cereal mixed with formula at night. We did it about an hour before their last bottle of the day. We did this for a few weeks.
   At 6 months, we added a few spoonfuls (about 1/2 a jar) of veggies to the rice cereal. We started with sweet potatoes, then green beans, squash, peas, carrots . . . alternating our orange and green vegetables. We also stayed with the same vegetable for 3 – 4 days to be sure that there was not an allergic reaction. Our pediatrician actually told us to start with vegetables. Not all kids, but some kids, do not like the vegetables once they have acquired a taste for the sweet fruits.
   After getting through the vegetables and feeling secure that they were not allergic, we added another solid feeding. At noon, which is between their 2nd and 3rd bottle of the day, they have a bit of rice cereal with fruit. We did the same thing with the fruits – tried the same one for 3 – 4 days in a row.
   Some people skip the cereal but our kids like it and it seems to thicken the very watery stage 1 foods.
   Here is their current schedule:
   6:30AM Bottle
   10:00AM Bottle
   Noon – fruit and rice cereal
   2:00PM Bottle
   5:30PM Bottle
   7:30PM – veggies and rice cereal
   8:30PM Bottle and off to bed.
   I would start with one feeding for a while and work your way up to two. We did not discontinue any of their bottles as babies up to a year old should be getting most of their nutrients from either breastmilk or formula.
   Hope this helps!
2. I know that you know that all babies are different and Dr guidelines are well to me just a general outline.
   (My daughter started eating cereal off a spoon at 3 months and at 7 1/2 months she is already on graduates and 3rd.)
   I give her a bottle 4 times a day still. 8oz in the morning when she wakes and right before bed. 6oz thru out the day, and cereal for lunch with a 4 oz bottle and a fruit and veggie. At dinner I let her finish her fruit/veggie (around 5-6) followed with that 8oz around 8pm. She is growing great. And she has fruit juice 2 times a day (3oz)
   I dont do the rice, she does not like it… she seems to like the single grain oatmeal (try if the baby wont take to the rice or mix the cereal with some juice)
   When you do start, wait 4-5 days before introducing new foods, to make sure no allergies. But honestly (Im not gonna say dont listen to the Dr) but I noticed my baby stayed hungry from their guides.
   7 1/2 months old 16lbs.
   *at 5 months I introduced a juice sippy*
   Good luck.
3. I would feed my baby as often as he seemed hungry. I actually made sure that I waited until he was able to hold up his head on his own in order to start giving him cereal and stage 1 baby foods in order to make sure he didn’t choke and as soon as I noticed that he was eating so much food and not having any problem swallowing or digesting it (also making sure you notice any changes in the stool/or pee-pee; just incase some specific thing that I was giving him doesn’t cause diarrhea or he could possibly have an allergy to the food I was giving him.
   My baby is now 8 months old and he should be able to eat stage 3 food, but for whatever reason he doesn’t like the chunks within the baby food, but he loves chunks of actual food and whatever he sees us eating he looks at us and almost pouts and opens his mouth like to say “what about me” I am ready to eat too. Kids will usually give you signs and cues that they are ready or not ready for new food/things and also if something causes them either an allergic reaction or makes them sick too.
   I still give my baby bottles to help him go to sleep, but to mix things up, I put a bit of chocolate or strawberry syrup in his bottle of formula, but as soon as he really started showing interest in food, he really started not wanting the bottle and he prefers drinking from an open cup, not a sippy cup (and I bought the best sippy cup, the flexible plastic easy grip gerber sippy cup that is leak proof, but he still prefers an open cup). As for the fruits, what I did for my son and all of my kids (I have 5 children), I took a semi-ripe banana and scraped the banana off onto a soft baby spoon and put it near his mouth and if he was interested, he would open his mouth and that also usually means that the baby’s body/digestive system is also ready to start softer easier to digest things like baby cereal, fruits and vegetables. The only vegetable that should be avoided until a baby until they are at least 6 months are carrots because of the beta carotene, but other than that everything else is fine when your baby is ready.
   I tried to give my baby, baby cereals and all the fancy ones that have yogurt and fruit and cream and such, but my baby (as many of my other children) just didn’t fancy the taste and I just supplement the grain in other fruits, vegetables and foods.
   Kids don’t come with instructions and all are different and if you pretty much listen to your specific baby’s needs and wants (within reason) then you should be just fine. Usually the foods that have known to cause allergies in babies are milk, some grains, soy in some children, peanuts, fish (other seafood) and eggs, therefore, these such foods should be avoided as long as they can be (grain, soy and milk should be fine, unless a baby is like lactose intolerant, soy intolerant, or grain intolerant and their body will let you know; usually too much (excessive vomiting) or diarrhea way too often which can be dangerous in excess because it can cause severe dehydration.
   Well I hope this helped some,,,
   Good luck to you and your angel.