Moving on to Solid Foods

It's hard to believe, but my little Boo is already on solid foods! You've heard me say before that every baby is different, and in our family, that couldn't be more true than when it comes to solid foods. My doctor recommends starting solid food at around 4 months of age. He recommends we start with cereal and move on to purees later (more on that later). Jack turned 4 months old in October of 2007, so I bought some cereal, washed the spoons and bowls I'd gotten as shower gifts, and tried to feed him. Below is a photo of the result:

HE WASN'T READY.

Not, by any means, that my doctor was wrong. Jack wasn't ready for solid foods at 4 months. And he wasn't ready at 5 months. He was a full 6 months old before he could keep down solid foods of any kind. Before that, any time I tried to feed him cereal--or even those little "puff" things--he projectile vomited. His little system wasn't ready and I wasn't going to make myself and him sick by forcing something on him that he wasn't ready for--so we waited.

Bailey has been a different girl all together. She took to solid foods like a duck to water right at 4 months. From her very first feeding, she followed the spoon with her mouth and had no trouble swallowing like Jack did. I always knew she was brilliant.

I started Boo out on baby oatmeal from the Gerber Company. Jack never really cared for the rice cereal even after he was able to swallow it. My friend Christy recommended the oatmeal and both my kids have loved it. I like to use cereals from the Gerber Company because it has the iron and DHA/ARA supplements that my doctor recommends. Most formula feed babies never need an iron supplement, but cereal is a good place to add an iron supplement to your baby's diet if you need to. There are also iron drops out there, but that's another story for another blog.