Feed the little guy! Keep nursing of course, but he should be the one deciding if he's ready for "solids". (Poop will start to stink though, so be sure you're ready!)

I think one reason 6 months is usually recommended is to help avoid food allergies and things that are hard to digest. So there are some things not to feed.

A book that is useful (though kinda hippie) is _Super Babyfood_. Forgot the author, but I'm sure it's an easy Google. It has a great deal of useful information on preparation and storing babyfood, what's good to feed at what age, and recipes. It's heavy into organic and uberhealthy stuff and as long as you don't mind reading stuff presented from that angle, it's a good reference.

Every child is different. My sister and SIL started their babies on solids at 4-1/2 months. I started my daughter on solids when she was almost 5 months (pablum was at 2 months). A few weeks later, she had gastointestinal infection. Doc told me to feed her nothing but WATER for 24 hours to rid the infection. That was sooo hard! She kept crying for something to fill her up! Eventually the infection cleared and was told to start her on solids slowly at about 6-1/2 months.

I had problems but most people I know didn't. So IMO, if you think he's ready.... go for it! As far as becoming OBESE, I think as long as you "portion control" his meals, there shouldn't be any problem.

I didn't care for the "jarred" baby foods either. Too gross! I did, however, buy some dessert baby food.

As for recipes, I didn't have any. I used to put some boiled potatoes and cooked carrots in a blender with a little milk. Every now and then, I would add just a little bit of minced cooked onion (I cooked them with the boiled potatoes) to change the flavor and expand her palate a little bit. I would sometimes add some minced roast beef to it too. She loved yogurt and mashed bananas too.

Puree fruits and cooked veggies with your blender.

Feed the little man! LOL
But I was a momma that feed all mine solids early.
I actually fed them all steamed or stir fried broccoli at around 3-4 months old. Just gave them a nice big floret and let them suck on it. Just make sure it's crisp tender.

I even chewed up meat and then gave that to them when they were around 6 months and up. (Like a momma bird.) LOL
No recipes needed...
I usually feed my kids off my plate.

As far as growing a fat kid...
My boys are all shapes and sizes...2 of the three carry excess weight..but are active and healthy. My youngest one is a string bean, and eats the most junk..He's just got a super metabolism.

Times have changed so much!!
When I was a baby, you started cereal at 6 weeks...pablum which was a mixed grain cereal...allergins waiting to happen...
When my kids were babies...6 weeks was still the norm, but my daughter was a colicky babe and the dr recommended rice cereal and formula ( I didn't ahve breast milk to spare!) at about 3 1/2 weeks....and it was magic!....the colic stopped on a dime!!
So then one more generation and the wisdom is nothing but Mom's milk for 6 months....then a very little bit of rice cereal.....and that's what my daughter did with the first of her 4.
#2 got real food a bit soomer as he was big and very hungry. And #3 a bitty baby girl, weighing 6"2' at full term birth ( and who wears a size 1 at 17!!) got cereal about 4 months....and #4 was eating mashed potatoes and turkey gravy at 6 weeks!
Dawn....feed him!! He's hungry...he wants food. Now I wouldn't be feeding him chocolate cake nor raspberry jam not shrimp and oyster chowder....but potatoes and perhaps a little chicken broth can't do him any harm!

Funny...my mother's generation thought they were so "scientific" only feeding the baby by the clock, not letting the baby make demands, regulating the digestive system etc.
Then my generation of mothers came along and it was...on demand, feed as needed, can't spoil a baby they know what they want and will eat as often as they want.
Now we seem to have reverted to the pseudo scientific thoughts on feeding babies.
In short....follow your instincts....he's wanting food! Feed him!
Linda C

Sounds like he's definitely ready for solids. i think you're doing the right thing by gradually starting and seeing what happens. Maybe your doc is a bit on the cautious side, especially if Drake seems to tolerate what you've given him so far. I heard one mom say how her baby had signs of a dairy allergy, then admitted she'd fed him ice cream. Well, no freaking wonder!

Anyway, I'm not sure about the obesity link so much as the link to allergies. My mom started me on solids very early and I developed ulcerative colitis later on in life. I don'tk now how much is heredity, but supposedly by nursing for extended periods it can be helpful to guard against things like that. Who knows. Like Linda said, I would steer clear of the obvious - eggs, shellfish and peanut butter, which I'm sure you already know about. Strawberries and beef can also be allergenic, but that's probably rarer.

I only hesitated giving solids with #2 because she had a dairy allergy. But she's totally fine now and can pretty much eat anything.

Annelisa's last checkup was at four months and they gave the ok to start her on rice cereal then move up to different foods. Our practice seems to be pretty conservative, and we weren't told about the six month rule.

On the other hand I suppose each baby can be different. If I were confident in the pediatrician's expertise, I'd be taking his advice. And if I wasn't, I'd be looking for a new doctor. My point simply being, are you wrong or is the doctor? Sounds like she was being quite adament.

My now 22 year old daughter wanted solids at about 5 months. I tried her on baby cereal but she didn't like it very much and it kept her awake all night. So I gave her our food mashed up, mashed bananas, plain oatmeal (or mixed with bananas or apple sauce). She's a tiny little thing, 5' tall and weighs less than 100lbs.
I think the thing I did most to avoid her having weight problems (I have fought weight all my life) was to encourage her to prefer healthy foods (not use sweets etc as treats) and to be active, play sport etc. I couldn't get her to finish her vegetables by threatening to withhold dessert, because she didn't care about dessert :-) (still doesn't really).

Hi Dawn,
Sounds like Drake is about at the same stage as Hayden is and they are only a few weeks apart. This week I really started Hayden on solids. When Rhiannon was just at 4 months she started eating every things solid. I continued breast feeding until she was 9 months old and she weaned her self. I didn't do it the way I was supposed to with introducing things one time a week, but reajust went full force. The funny thing is that she didn't get teeth until 13 months. Now she eats anything and love fruits and veggies above anything else. Peyton was a different thing altogether, she would only breast feed and didn't want solid until 10 months and breast feed until she was 16 months. Hayden though loves solids, so far we have had butternut squash, pear applesauce, rice cereal, and mashed potatoes, all this week only. None of my kids really liked the rice cereal so just skipped to outmeal, I think it has more flavor. Also Hayden likes to gnaw on grahm crackers. One other difference, is after 3 kids I think I have only bought maybe 4 jars of baby food total. This summer I made zucchini, summersquash, corn, green beans, wax beans, pears, applesauce, peaches, beets, carrots, acorn squash, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin baby food for this winter. I just cooked it down and put it through the blender and froze in ice cube trays. One cube equals one ounce. I will also use one of my 3 baby food mills to grind up food when he gets older. I think exposing babies to real food with out additives is so much better tha commercial baby food. Ask Annie what she knows about gerber baby food. Any help I can be let me know and I would be glad to help. I am lucky that our Dr. is pretty common sense and says if the baby is hungry and wants real food, then by all means, feed them what they want. I have noticed a difference in Hayden sleeping better after solids at night:)

Stacie

forgot to add that I contined breast feeding along with food. Here is a great site iI used for baby food. The great thing is that it progresses to higher levels of feeding

Please excuse my typing, hayden is grtting his morning booby treat:)

Stacie

Here is a link that might be useful: baby food recipes.

Oh, yes, feed the hungry little tyke!! :) My oldest son was the lowest birth weight of all my kids. However, he gained 2 lbs. the first month of his life. (Weird, I know.) He gained another pound the second month. By the time he was 4 months old, he was practically screaming for steak. Okay -- slight exaggeration, lol. But my point is that babies develop at different speeds. It would really have concerned me if my pediatrician had dealt with my second son exactly like he dealt with my first. They were so obviously different, and it wouldn't have worked. There are no 'hard and fast' rules that apply to every baby. Your doctor got in your face?? I'd get back in hers -- and then switch to another practice! Very worrisome...

Making you promise not to feed him and predicting a 5 month olds height and weight...?

You can't reliably predict height and weight until at least 4 years of age. Seems odd.

Anyway, your not a first time mom and you know your baby best. Seems like you are on the right track.

Well, Drake had some supper with us last night - mashed peas and some applesauce, he had carrots for lunch today, and some supper with us tonight, mashed sweet potatoes and mashed green beans. He's loving it. :) I have some rice cereal, but he seems to like fruits and veggies better so far. He still loves to nurse, I have no plans to wean him, he can wean himself when he's ready to. Zane nursed until he was 26 months old. Granted, he was only nursing twice a day at that point, but still, he was nursing.

Zane was such a different baby, and I know one can't compare their children like that. But when he was old enough to start solids, we were between doctors for him. So, I had no "guidance" from a doc and was just following my mommy instincts. I think I did pretty good with Zane. As a 3 year old, he loves veggies and will eat a plate filled with broccoli, lima beans, rice, carrots, etc. If offered apple slices or a cupcake, he'll just about always take the apple slices. (or any fruit / sweet, you get the idea) I started him on solids at about 5 months, as well... and he's a long lean little guy right now.

I guess I was just feeling like I couldn't trust my instincts. I'm going to have a talk with the Doc.

You're doing great. I have 8 kids (who also breastfed), and learned quickly you just have to look for the clues each gives when they're ready for food. (My MIL about fainted when she found out I started my babies on solids without 'permission' from the doctor!) You can tell when they're just aching to get their hands/mouths on 'real' food. BTW, I think rice cereal is overrated. It's less likely to cause an allergic reaction all right, but is also constipating and nothing but simple carbs --the only nutrition is the iron they add to it. They can get that and much more from Cheerios. With my later babies I moved onto oatmeal much quicker, and used fruits and veggies from the start instead of starting them on that wallpaper paste of rice cereal. They seemed to gag less on fruits and veggies, too. I was surprised at how well they did with refried beans at a young age, too...You'd think they'd get gas, but it never seemed to bother.

rhome410 - I just tried grinding up Cheerios and adding milk (seriously!) and while it didn't taste bad it kind of left a hard to clear film of soggy crumbs in my mouth. Not sure a baby would like that. I'm assuming that's what you meant when recommending Cheerios to a 5-month-old?

While I agree about the empty carbs in rice cereal, I disagree about no nutritional value other than iron. There are 11 other vitamins/minerals listed with significant levels. Comparing that to bananas, carrots, squash, and pears (yes, we use that terrible baby food) which each are high in potassium and just one other vitamin, rice cereal seems like a pretty good "part" of the diet to me.

Of course there's the debate of whether any of these fortified vitamins are of benefit, but that would hold true in any cereal.

Who the heck knows.

Sorry...I just meant that they get to Cheerios soon enough. Never tried grinding them up. Very creative of you! Actually, I think they might moosh up enough after a bit in milk (breastmilk or formula, of course...Not actual milk). Sorry also that I neglected the other things added to rice cereal to give it some nutritional value...But I still don't think we're talking about enough of the cereal or the nutrients to be worth the downsides. For my kids I just preferred veggies and fruits (with their own nutritional plusses), and cereals with some fiber and, seemingly, more flavor.

My DS isn't well so I've seen some pretty expensive and qualified gastroenteroligists and to a one, they have pooh poohed the six month guideline. What they say instead is that you need to use the baby's health as your guide. If they are ready for food they'll one, ask for it (you have seen that) and two, after eating it they won't suffer gastrointestinal issues (ie watch for solid food coming out of their poop or severe changes in pooh texture...which means you need to alter what you're offering them). It's about how strong their little body is really. If DS isn't having any issues processing the food (sounds like he isn't) don't worry about it. Do watch for allergies, but otherwise, just work with him on textures and enjoy his learning :)

We're going to a feeding clinic this week because of my son't inability and now lack of desire to eat solid food. He was preemie and had great pain with feeding of all kinds. You don't want to put a child in this position (it's rare so don't worry) so if he was having trouble processing the food you'd want to back off...but since he's not, you're doing exactly the right thing.

There are alternative studies that show early eaters are early talkers. So which study do you want to adopt? He will be fat...and chatty :oP (Or perhaps you could think about those studies...those early fed kids are now the kids growing up on junk food....which caused the obesity? Early feeding....or the crap they are fed?)

I envy you a healthy eating child. Enjoy it...and just a tiny word of advice...don't even discuss it with the doctor if they're that hardlined on the issue. We left the pediatrician who was hard lined on the breast feeding issue (nothing but breast milk for the first year period...an he lectured and lectured....mind you my son weighed 3lbs and was too weak to nurse...but he'd have left him starving from what he told us). Be strong with the ped if she gives you goober. I've more than once told a doctor that a subject is non-negotiable. Believe me..no one is going to turn you into child protective services for feeding your son :o) So if you have to argue with the ped...be firm, and if not, just don't discuss it!

Dawn, When Julian was a baby (he is now 2 and 8 months) our pediatrician had us wait until he was 6 months to feed him solids. A friend of mien just had a baby this summer and she was told, by the same pediatrician, to feed her solids at 4 months. Apparently that is the latest guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, he is a fellow of the AAP.

I think the only solid guidelines/research of holding off on feeding shows an increased risk of type 2 diabetes if you start before 4 months or after 7. However I think Drake has been really clear about what he wants. LOL!!

As for recipes, I often fed my kids what we ate. I even ground up chinese string beans with water in the mini food processor for Julian. That was the first solid food he liked and agreed to eat.

btw, I love your choice of name for him!!

-Robin

I read all this with tongue in cheek-I had 6 children, 3 of each. They all got food besides milk when they acted hungry. Just use your head about what you give them. All
of mine are happy , healthy well adjusted people. I am now having a problem trying to understand my grandaughter who is a vegan-a raw vegan, no less. She has a baby girl who now is 16 months old. Still nursing. I can agree with that. All the child gets to eat is some banana, grapes and maybe cantaloupe. She will just hand her a big grape to chew on, I'm terrified she will choke. The big problem to me is, she looks like a starving child, very fine boned and hardly weighs anything. Are there any vegans out there who can explain why this a healthy lifestyle?

The Wholesome Baby Food site that girlsingardens linked has good information as well as recipes. They have information on which foods are best to start with and why some foods should be started later. Also a balanced explanation about why there is concern about starting solids to early and what to look for to see if your baby is ready. Based on that, our granddaughter started solids at 5 months - she was able to sit up, seemed interested and was pretty quickly able to indicate when she didn't want more.

Some foods are more likely to cause allergic reactions when introduced to early so it is better to wait on them. We have been careful about that because we have a little bit of family history of allergic reactions. Some other foods aren't usual suspects for allergies but are hard to digest so they should also wait until the baby is a bit older - most of the protein foods including beans are there. The other foods you mentioned are all in the list that is okay to introduce under 8 months but refried beans are probably a bit early.

Are you doing a 4-day wait between introducing new foods? That is so you can tell if a food causes a problem and back off. We have been doing the 4-day wait. She is 8 months now and so far hasn't reacted badly to anything though there are a few foods that she doesn't care for - avocado went over like a lead balloon.

I've been making most of the baby food. It is pretty easy. We do use baby food cereal - she isn't very interested in eating it straight, but it is handy to have some around to use as a thickener when the mashed apples, pears or zucchini come out a bit to liquid. One nice aspect of making the food is that we can adjust texture - now that she is 8-months, she seems to prefer feeding herself small chunks instead of being spoon fed.

As far as the obesity thing - it is probably most important to offer healthy foods and not push food when the child doesn't want it. I really doubt that starting at 5 months vs 6 months is going to be the the difference.

Doc may be able to predict likely adult size by looking at you and your husband, but I don't think they can predict by looking at the baby. Our son who was in husky cloths as a boy got skinny in his teens and stayed that way - the one that was skinny went the other way (not fat but he has to watch his weight a bit).

Here is a link that might be useful: Wholesome baby food site

I never fed my son baby food from jars. How hard can it be to roast a butternut squash, scoop it out and puree it in a blender (and then I put it into ice trays which dumped into baggies in the freezer (perfect serving sizes))? Besides, you can choose how much seasoning to add. No sugar or salt for my sweet boy until he was well into his twos. That said, use your own instincts and follow his; doctors have been known to be over-reactive with their strict guidelines. It's so much easier to teach a baby who is interested in eating to eat, interested in using the big potty to be potty trained, etc. They know as well as you what to do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stage 1 foods and recipes (that looked good)

Rob,

I did the same with the butternt squash, also wax beans, beets, carrots, cantalope, pears, applesauce, zucchini and summer squash. It is so easy to do a couple batches at one and then freeze in ice cube trays and when frozen pop them into a ziplock bag. I use rice or oatmeal cereal to use a thickener. For what its worth, each ice cube is equal to one ounce of food.Another thing I used for when we were on the road, we used the individual packs of unsweetened apple sauce. In comparing them to the much more expensive baby food applesauce the ingredients were the same. Hayden had mashed chicken noodle soup for supper last night and ate a third of a cup of it and loved it.

BTW just talked to the doctor and she said to feed him whatever he wants. He also can start having yourgurt so will start on them. She said that since he is getting so big he needs some extra food. She also wants me to keep breast feeding 3-4 times a day at least. It is so funny to watch him eat, he just goes nuts. Today he had a mashed banana with cereal and 3 ounces of pear applesauce. The only problem is the kitchen freezer is full of baggies of frozen ice cubes of food:)

Good luck Dawn, we both need to post some pics of the boys again, I know that they are geting so big.

Stacie

Drake really loved his mashed potatoes with chicken broth for lunch today. I feel like I am doing the right thing, the Dr. can bite my big toe. LOL He seems happier now that he's getting solids, too.

He cut his first two teeth this weekend. DSW wants to feed him steak now. : p (I jest, of course.)

Also, thanks for the compliment on his name. :)

Stacy, I'm uploading some pics right now. :D

I had two babes, both different. My son was very ready for some cereal at 5 months. Loved it, couldn't eat it fast enough. My daughter was next, she wanted no part of solids at 5 months. So I waited. When she was ready, boy was she ready. You're the mom, do what you feel is right. He sounds hungry to me!