When did you start feeding your baby food instead of formula?

**qtkitty** · 07-24-2008, 05:28 AM

I am really curious about this ... ellen is 4 months old and although she has been eating cereal and odd and end bites of baby food for quite some time.. i am curious about what others have experienced with their children.

Expecially since my boss i slipped up and mentioned that she had had cereal and peas with her formula for dinner the night before.. she had a fit and basically told me i was abusing her because their digestive systems aren't ready for food yet( not the first time she has been like that and she has told be before that i actually was abusing her *rme* talked to my mom about it and she told me to ignore her saying those things )

I think that babies give clear indicators of what they are and aren't ready for although i know a baby can be fed just formula for its first year.. when ellen had been sleeping 6 hours or so during the night and then started getting up and needing fed every 3 hours we started her on cereal in the evenings before bed. About the same time she was already starting to try and snag food from my plate watching my every move as i ate. When she got her first bite of baby food ( green beans ) OMG she gobbled it down and snapped her tounge ( which means MORE ). She hasn't had problems with constipation or gas since we changed her formula to gentle-ease, and on the other side never has had problems with the runs either. She is healthy and growing like a weed and not fat although she has a double chin and a baby six pack *lol* go figure.. has our families froggie body going on already.

Soooooo......When did you start feeding your baby food instead of formula?

**Sonnenwende** · 07-24-2008, 05:47 AM

13 or 14 months. Although she nibbled at real food from 4 months on, there was no serious attempt to actually eat it over formula until she was over a year old. I kind of preferred that because formula is far less messy than real food.

At around 7 months, I put in a special wheat cereal in her bottle in a 1:4 ratio. It did wonders with her reflux. Other than that, I never really attempted to do anything with solids until she told me she was ready to give formula up. At that time, I just switched her to whole milk and we started slowly eating more and more solids. Until about 3-4 months ago, she was still getting most of her calories from whole milk, but now she is definitely eating her share at the table. She is 28 months.

My opinion is that until a baby is 12 months, food is just for play. They still should be getting the lion's share of their nutrition from breastmilk or formula. I wouldn't be prepared to throw either out the window until then regardless of how after food she would have been at the table. YMMV.

**qtkitty** · 07-24-2008, 05:57 AM

Oh my definately i wouldn't have ellen off formula for a long time yet a long long time.. but she does eat cereal and fruit in the mornings with her 6 oz formula which gets her up and going and perky and bright eyed instead of lazidasical(sp)... then at dinner she eats cereal and a veggie with her 6 oz of formula.... between those 2 she gets bottles as well but usually only eats between 6 and 8 oz because there isn't anything holding them down burps make the formula come up a lot easier as she gets full. If that makes any since at all. Over all she is still drinking 28 oz of formula a day with food on top. ... incase anyone is wondering

**Sonnenwende** · 07-24-2008, 06:10 AM

Yeah, as long as she is still getting formula and she seems otherwise ready, I'd keep following her cues. Ultimately, you are the best expert at your own child.

**cmdarlin** · 07-24-2008, 07:46 AM

Mind you, my kids were babies 22 years ago, but I remember starting them on cereal, per the doctor, at two weeks and that helped them sleep better cause they had something in their tummys. I'm wanting to say they were at least four months old when we introduced baby food.

Now my grandson, who is 8 months old, his doctor wants him on nothing but cereal but WIC is telling his mother differently. Jaygen still gets his formula but also getting food too. You know you'd be tired of the liquid diet and want to try what everyone else is eating too. *lol* I think your doing fine. People have been raising babies for years..... one thing is sure, their all different.

Debbie in Missouri

**joyofsix** · 07-24-2008, 08:00 AM

Mine didn't eat until about 8 or 9 months. When they started figuring out how to eat lint I figured it was time to offer it to them. I never did baby food, just gave them what we were having diced up. If your doctor is satisfied I wouldn't worry.

**Michelle** · 07-24-2008, 08:01 AM

4 mos with baby cereal mixed with quite a bit of formula and very slow introduction to foods at 6 mos, I think it was. What does her pediatrician suggest?

**MoonMommy** · 07-24-2008, 08:07 AM

I think we started with cereals around 4 or 5 months and then at 6 months we started a progression through the different foods.

**lisettelovebug** · 07-24-2008, 08:07 AM

If you're really concerned, talk to her doc. But I would just keep giving her cereal as normal, and if you want to add in fruit or veggie baby food I say go for it. Some doctors are even recommending baby food before baby cereal now. Just make sure that you leave a few days in between trying a new flavor, so you can make sure she doesn't have an allergy. Personally my little ones wouldn't eat cereal w/ just formula in it - I ended up putting baby food fruit in it along w/ water. So really they always had at least a little bit of baby food. Also, if she seems to not like a flavor, keep reintroducing it to her. They say that sometimes a baby can take several tries before they like a flavor. I think the more food you can give them the better, especially as they near their 1st bday. Make sure you introduce the cup at 6 months. The more the baby is eating solids and drinking out of a cup the better, because it will make it easier to get rid of the bottle. Getting rid of the bottle at 12 months old should be a goal - this is what docs recommend and I've seen with older babies that they become really attached to the bottle and it's harder to break from the bottle. My oldest 2 had no probs, but ds whose 9 months old may - he really likes his bottle.

**savvymom** · 07-24-2008, 08:18 AM

My dd started cereal at 3-4 mos and baby food at 6 mos. We started introducing the cup and "table food" at 8 mos. She took to all of it well and it was no big deal getting rid of the bottle. I would also suggest talking with your dd pediatrician if you are concerned, but the truth is no one knows your dd better than you do.

**blitzen** · 07-24-2008, 08:19 AM

Both kids were around the same age, about 6 months when they started getting real food. For son #1, he go cereal at first and then fruits, but we didn't have much cereal because he didn't seem to like it. For son #2, I skipped cereal all together and started with real food. He didn't eat baby food either. I just took whatever we were having and pureed it.

**sunshine** · 07-24-2008, 09:25 AM

With my first baby, the doctor had us put him on rice cereal at 2 weeks, due to some health issues he had. . . nothing else till he was 6 months old.

With my second baby -- he had nothing but breast milk/forumla till he was 8 months old; doctor said he could have cereal and fruits at 6 months, but the baby wasn't interested, so we didn't push it.

With my third baby -- she started on cereal and fruits at 6 months, progressed to veggies by 8 months, and was fully table fed by 10 months, but still got only formula for her milk source.

**McD** · 07-24-2008, 09:50 AM

We started Wesley on rice cereal about 4 months old, but we never gave it to him in a bottle. Around 6 months we started incorporating baby foods into it and started giving him finger foods when he got teethers and that wasn't until he was a year old.

**Rosebush3** · 07-24-2008, 10:03 AM

Breast milk exclusively for five to six months with both. Started with rice cereal, thinly made with breastmilk then moved on to the other grain cereals and made thicker. Then to veggies (I was told infants naturally have a sweet tooth and starting on fruits may keep them from liking the milder veggies later on). No strawberries until a year and also no honey until then either. No cow's milk until one year, although my son wouldn't touch it for a good 18 months, he was breastfed until 23 months - he really did not need cow's milk anyhow. And yes I believe cow's milk is made for baby cows not baby humans and it's been proven to cause issues in human babies due to the protien size. It is also what they make formula from, though it's altered in so many ways I can hardly imagine it as nutritious by that point. I have heard of people putting baby cereal in the bottle with the milk and unless your doctor specifically recommends this for a medical reason such as GERD, again you're asking for trouble and it is a choking hazard. Your friend was right about babies digestive systems not being prepared to handle food at an early age, the enzymes aren't all there and ready. I know, many kids survived this and often quite well, still it's taking unnecessary chances with the health of your child so you can get a few more hours of consecutive shut-eye.
I am partially for going with your gut with what your child needs, but it's always best to check with your child's pediatrician before going with anything. Looking at the high and climbing rates of allergies and illnesses among today's children, it just seems best to confer with the professionals and not think somehow our child is a superchild whose digestive system far supercedes that of any other child that age.

**iida** · 07-24-2008, 10:06 AM

Babies do just fine with breastmilk or formula until they are six months old. I would start with potatoes, carrots and such. I would not give cereals or peas for a baby under five months. In most cases their digestive system is not ready for cereals. Peas are also something I would be careful with, because many people are allergic to them.
But if your baby is fine, I don´t think you should be too worried.