On average, transitioning to solids can happen anywhere between 4-6 months. We decided to start Jase at four months because he seemed like he was ready to have solids in addition to nursing. Our pediatrician recommended that we started with rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. There is little to no nutrition in rice cereal, the point is just to get baby used to eating with a spoon. So we went with the approach suggested.

We were so excited to be starting him on “solids” because it meant another exciting milestone. I mean, I was also sad it meant my little guy was growing up, but I can’t refuse to feed him food just because of that (or can I? Totally kidding!). We made sure the consistency was almost watery, to help prevent choking or gagging on the texture. Our first experience was exciting, for lack of better words. He immediately gagged and threw up everywhere, and then he laughed. I did not think it was so funny at first, but seeing him laugh made it hilarious. What an exciting adventure! I decided to try one more bite to see if he took it better, and he wanted more. I think the texture originally threw him off.

We stuck with rice cereal, once a day when his mood was feeling up to it. We didn’t do it every day. Starting with something new it was really important to make sure he was in a really good mood. I didn’t want to be forcing food down my child’s throat, and I didn’t want him to be fussing the entire time. So we made sure he was always in a good mood before feeding him. We also watched for how he handled spoon feeding. It is important to make sure he is opening his mouth for the food, and not pushing it out with his tongue. If he was doing that, then it meant he wasn’t quite ready. Jase had a very minor tongue pushing, but he still opened his mouth for the spoon, so we just continued to feed him until he got used to it.

After a couple weeks of the rice cereal, we started him on stage one purees. We started with veggies because I wanted him to get used to the taste of vegetables before he experienced the sweetness of fruit. This experience went much better than the rice cereal, he loved it! Of course, there were some funny faces due to the taste, but he wanted more. We stuck with just veggies once a day for probably more than a month. It wasn’t until he was closer to six months before we introduced fruit and began feeding him twice a day. At this time we moved up to stage two foods. Now, within the last month Jase has moved to eating three times a day.

We ended up stopping the rice cereal and any oatmeal, and didn’t introduce it again until he was seven months. It tended to constipate him and upset his stomach so we wanted to wait until his digestive system improved a little more until then. Now he eats it in the morning mixed with fruit and does really well. We have been using Gerber pureed food and he has done really well with it all! Every time we introduced a new food we waited a few days to make sure it settled well with his stomach as well as no allergic reactions. Occasionally, if we are out, we will let him naw on a French fry, cracker, or bread. But outside of that he hasn’t started moving out of puree foods. Most of the more solid foods are suggested not to start until crawling, so we haven’t moved to that milestone just yet.

Typical Schedule at 8 Months:

8am – Wake Up, Nurse
9am – Oatmeal mixed with fruit
12 noon – Wake Up, Nurse
1pm – Fruit or Veggies
4pm – Wake Up, Nurse
5pm – Veggies & sometimes meat (we just started that this month, but he only gets it once or twice a week)
7:30 – Nurse
9:30 pm – Nurse – last nursing/feeding session for the night.

*At four months he just ate at 5pm
*At 5 ½ months he ate at 1pm & 5pm

6 Things to Remember When Starting Solids:

Watch your baby. Every baby reaches different milestones at different times. Some are ready for food at four months, some aren’t. Your baby will let you know when they want more than just breast milk/formula to sustain them. You don’t want to feel rushed or forced to start food because they may develop a bad association with it. Mamas know best!

Give them time to learn to eat with a spoon. It’s a lot more confusing than we think! They will learn not to get that tongue in the way, so don’t worry if they start off by pushing the spoon too much! They will learn!

Start introducing food when baby is in a good mood. It goes a lot better that way for everyone.

Introduce one food at a time. You want to make sure to give time when introducing each new food. You don’t want to just watch for allergies, those happen usually pretty soon after the baby has eaten. But you want to watch for digestion too. Some foods don’t settle well on baby’s tummy. Jase cannot handle blueberries!

Get out the video camera! You want those faces on video, trust me!

Every family is different. When approaching solids whether you start with baby led weaning, homemade baby food, or buy it in a jar it doesn’t matter! You are a great mom no matter what.