BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Feeding Solid Food => Topic started by: zach07 on November 21, 2007, 18:08:09 pm
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I would like to start my son on Oat Cereal in stead or rice cereal because of he dosent have a bowl movement so often. Now is oat Cereal the same as Oat meal? its just called creal because its for babies?
What else Can I start my son with? They say Pears is good to digest at the beginning and also good for a bowl movement.
Can I give him a Vegetable at 4 months? Or should I wait Till 6 months for that? What kind?
And How would the schedule be of feeding him?
Would I give him cereal for breakfast then fruit right after then BF?
Any advice is helpful.
Thank you.
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Might I ask why you would like to start solids at 4 months? It is widely recommended to wait until 6 months, particularly if you are breastfeeding. There is lots to read over on the FAQs, here: www.index.php?board=94.0
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I dont see any harm starting to feed at 4 months.
My mother feed us bread dipped in water and sugar when we were just weeks old. And we were fine and still healthy today.
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Hello Zach07,
You are of course able to begin introducing solid foods to your lo whenever you wish, however, as a site that supports baby whispering, we try to advocate waiting for your lo to give cues that he is ready for more than milk :)
Also, since Tracy wrote the baby whispering books, there have been developments in research which recommend waiting until babies are 6 months before introducing solid foods - this external website here, gives a good explanation about why it is healthy for babies to wait.
If you are still considering introducing solid foods to you lo now, do have a think about what cues/signs he is showing that he needs more than just milk. This FAQ link can advise you what cues/signs to look for here.
If you still think that your lo is ready to begin having some solid foods, please remember that milk is the best food that he can have, and that solid foods are just to introduce babies to different flavours and textures. They don't actually need solid foods for nutrition until at least 9-10 months, milk has everything they need, so try not to give ds too much solid food.
In an EASY schedule, you want to bf first (that's the Eat part), then offer a very small quantity of solid food as the first part of Activity time, once a day, preferably in the morning. This will ensure that ds gets a full milk feed and only has tastes of the solid food to top-up, and is still hungry for his next bf - it will also ensure that any reactions, or discomfort caused by the solid food happen during waking hours and not in the middle of the night where they might go unnoticed or disturb his sleep.
It is very much about personal choice what foods are introduced when, but again, before 6 months, I would limit the variety you offer, perhaps sticking to 1 or 2 gentle foods only, and ensuring that they are introduced quite separately from each other so that you can be sure which food causes any reactions that occur, from 6 months, the variety can increase a lot - check out this link here
The other thing you might want to consider is baby-led weaning (BLW) which is a self-feeding approach. Again this is a way of introducing solid foods that complements baby whispering, allowing babies to have control over what they eat and when, and is recommended for babies who have been exclusively bf - here's the link here
I hope this gives you enough information to answer your questions? Please post again if you have any more :)
Ax
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OK if you are going to start solids so early, i would be very very wary of finger foods such as bread right now (just you mentioned bread ), they just do not have the head control and tongue control to eat proper finger foods at this age apart from small cubes of very steamed veg etc . I would stick with the purees until six months and to look at the blw thread.... and introduce plain veggies and fruits, be wary of wheat as well.
The reason 6 months is now recommended is obviously due to the increase in allergies, and we know more about this nowadays than my own mother did (started on solids at 3 months I was).
Both my children were started on solids at 4 months (Jack was huge, but I just did it as h.v. told me too) and Abbi had bad reflux so I had to. So as I said, if you want to start I would stick with fruit and veg, as cereal can be very constipating.
Good luck and hope that helps a little
(posted at same time as Freyas mum, wonderful advice there from her)
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Wonderful advice from Allison.
I was just wondering why you wanted to start now, not telling you not to. Just want you to be well informed of the decision, as lots has changed since your mom started feeding you. I also noticed from other posts that you are breastfeeding, so I would advise you to look at this FAQ about exclusive bfing www.index.php?topic=68263.0
Again, I just want you to be able to make a well informed decision. :-*
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In fact, at 3-6 weeks of age, breast-fed babies may only have one stool a week. This is because breast milk leaves very little waste in the intestines to be passed. Again, if the stool, when passed, is not hard, this is completely normal. In general, it is almost impossible for strictly breast-fed babies to become constipated."
stooling patterns
HTH be back with more
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I found this great link. 1 t. a day of flax oil. I have also heard bifidum infantis (probiotics) 1/16 of a teaspoon per day. I am trying these now.
infant constipation
Baby cereals are fortified with Iron, which at 4 months is not a good thing. I have heard it makes constipation worse. I have also heard oat is better for constipation because of the fiber. Baby cereals are precooked, into a porridge and then dried and flaked. They make a much smoother consistency than you could ever make on your own and you can mix them with anything at any temperature. Super convenient. If you get regular oats you will need to put in food processer, either after cooking or before, to make into a flour, and then simmer it for 5-10 min.
I would not start solids, as they usually make constipation worse and any laxative foods are normally not well tolerated. If you do solids, I personally would choose a small amount of black (ripe) banana.