[lavatea]

Aiden is now 6 months old and weighs about 12 pounds (he was a preemie so don't be alarmed at that weight; I'm quite proud of it). He has been exclusively breastfed up until this point. When I took him for his last check-up (it was the "four month" check-up but the clinic couldn't fit him in until he was five months) I had a nurse act shocked that I hadn't started him on cereal yet. She said I definitely needed to start him on the cereal so he could "learn how to eat". I pretty much decided to let this statement go in one ear and out the other because I am trying to delay solids and it seemed ridiculous to me that he had to get busy learning to use a spoon. But now I'm wondering if I'm ready to introduce solids.

So what are the benefits of adding cereal and baby food to his diet at this point? Or what are the benefits of not?

As a side note, I have been pumping on the side to give to Aiden when I am not available. I extended my hospital pump rental until the beginning of March, but our money situation is super tight and I'm contemplating not extending the rental any further. I don't anticipate having much stored up at that point since I am only one bottle ahead right now. I'm away from Aiden while I'm at school but so far it's worked out really well with him either napping while I'm away or only taking one bottle and then I replace that bottle by pumping when I get back from class. I have been thinking that I could settle and be OK with letting him take the occasional formula bottle this way. I think it would be cheaper than renting the pump any more. But if I introduce baby food and cereal, would that be a better alternative than an occasional formula bottle?

[Kristin1981]

I had twins at 32 weeks and they just had their 6 month check up the other day...
I have had them on stage one baby food and cereal since about a week before they turned 5 months...Learning to eat from a spoon is a big thing really...I was talking to a doctor and she said she was trying to train a baby that was 11 months old to eat from a spoon cause the mother never gave the baby food from a spoon just a feeder bottle...It is really a big part of development for a child...
My babies are 15lbs and 14lbs 1oz they were 3lbs 11ozs at birth and 4lbs 7ozs

[pattiewrites]

The current guidelines for solids are a minimum of 6 months old, able to sit unassisted and shows interest in foods. For us, this means grabbing my food off my plate. All four of mine were different. One never touched solids until nearly 10 months. She went straight to table food. My son did as well, at about 8 months. I was worried about my daughter and asked her ped at her 8 month visit. He said not to worry about it, since she was breastfed. He said that bf infants don't NEED food until a year old. They don't need to be fed jars of food at a young age to learn to use a spoon. They will learn. There is a school of thought that says they should self feed, over being spoon fed. This would involve using soft chunks of real food rather than commercial baby foods. I have found that often nurses and sometimes even peds aren't up on the current recommendations. Being surprised that a 5 month old isn't eating seems a bit old fashioned. Just follow your baby's cues and it will all work out.

[twinzplus3]

I always get myself in trouble when I respond to these threads but here goes. . .

The nurse was wrong and wasn't even following AAP guidelines which are 6 mos. You do not need to teach a baby how to eat from a spoon, he will do it on his own when he's ready. . .which will be much later. . .closer to a year old for him probably. It's a developmental skill--and it drives me bonkers when people say you have to 'teach' them how to do it. When you do start, you'll start with a spoon and it'll go from there. I promise.

Rice cereal is essentially empty calories. So no, for him, I wouldn't replace a bottle of formula with rice cereal. It will do very little to help him. If on the other hand you're feeling comfortable feeding him fruits and vegetables, yes, that would probably be better than formula. I would highly recommend starting with something like avocados and then maybe bananas. (or maybe bananas first and then mixing it with avocados). Avocados are super high in calories (which is right up his alley) and have super good for you fats in them. My kids loved the mixture of the two together. HTH

[lavatea]

Thank you! I knew there were a couple of you on here that delayed adding foods and that maybe even skipped jar food altogether. Thanks for responding.

Aiden doesn't sit unassisted yet (think I'll start another post on that) so he doesn't even meet that milestone to be fed with a spoon if I wanted to feed him with one. I was really hoping to skip cereal and jar foods altogether but thought they might be preferable to formula if I was going to supplement with something. I guess I'll wait out the month and reevaluate the situation, but I'm definitely leaning toward the fresh fruit alley. Does it need to be cooked or is it ok raw? I would guess it needs to be a little mushy?

[twinzplus3]

I totally agree with Pattie. . .I just missed what she said before. We skipped jarred foods too and babies grab from our plates etc. Some research is starting to emerge saying that the whole notion of "teaching" or "introducing" solids is bunk and that allowing a baby to decide on his own is a better course of action, actually avoiding all sorts of problems like choking, pickiness and allergies. But now I'm getting off topic. What I will say is that the more we have allowed our kids to explore foods on their own and the less we've felt like we have to introduce or get them on solids. . .the less picky they are and the more they eat anything which is great. Last night we had enchiladas which traditional wisdom says would be too spicy for babies and kids my kids' age. By the way they gobbled you'd have thought we served chocolate cake. Anyhow. . .

You can still start with fresh fruits, veggies etc. if you're replacing his formula with that. A banana for example, can be peeled and scraped with a spoon. Same with a fully ripe avocado. Other foods can be cooked and/or pureed or mashed if need be.

Another thought for you is to keep pumping and just give him a bottle of bm. Your supply is well established and I imagine that if you pumped every morning, you would have enough to supplement with that while you're gone. You can give the rental back and I am willing to bet that you could buy a regular old pump (my personal favorite is advent) and for once a day use it would work just fine. In general, I think the longer you delay solids and the more bm you give. . .the better.

[purelegance]

my baby may be spoiled -- but she refuses jar foods & rice cereal. she'll only eat pureed stuff if it's straight from the food processor. she eats off our plate, little pieces of whatever we have. she didnt have a problem "learning" to eat from a spoon, she just did it. as for the nurse, she was definitely wrong. but in her defense, she probably thought you were FF. at my doctor's office, all the nurses and drs (except for our main dr) make that mistake.