How do you know to start baby on cereal/babyfood



My DH is in a hurry for me to decide to give LO cereal, as he truly believes Aidan is not getting enough "too eat" on just formula He trips out more than I do about this as I believe that the pediatrician is right when she says not to start on baby cereal until 4 months old. My LO is turning 3 months old this week.
Can someone please tell me how to know when to start baby on cereal? And then how to know when to start actual baby food? How do you go about giving LO baby cereal for the first time and go about giving LO baby food for the first time? Thanks

Are you in the US? I know they often recommend giving solids at 4 months over there. But in the UK we are told not to start solids until 6 months. 4 months is the very minimum age for certain, exceptional babies that may need solids before 6m, but for the vast majority of babies it is better to wait until 6 months.

From the reading I've done, it seem that the most reliable signs that your baby is ready to start exploring solids include being able to sit unsupported, developing a 'pincer grip' (picking things up with thumb and forefinger) and being able to reach out and grab things and bring them to their mouth accurately. This is because these developments tend to coincide with the baby's internal, digestive readiness for the solids.

Sorry I can't help about how to give the cereal or when to start baby food as I 'm doing BLW, so hopefully someone else will be able to help

you will know when lo is ready hun, you will get little signs, also milk will not be enough anymore - certainly be careful not to do it before lo is ready just to please your dh, seems a bit strange he wants to rush it

For me ( I started weaning at 17 weeks) I looked for signs that he was no longer satisfied on milk or no/slow weight gain, or screaming for more after each feed. To be perfectly honest he was fine for the first few weeks of weaning then he decided that he wouldn't accept a spoon anymore and I've had to follow the BLW route, so looking back in some ways I wished I had waited a few more weeks and done BLW from the start - he only really started eating at about 7 months. So if your baby seems perfectly happy on milk then I would just stick with that for a while longer.
To answer your question about starting to feed, I just offered a small amount of baby rice mixed with formula (or breastmilk if you are breastfeeding), make it really runny and offer it on a spoon - if LO just spits it all back out then they are not ready (try again in a few weeks), then slowly increase the amount. You want to make sure that milk is the main source of nutrition, the baby rice and veg is just extra. Most people offer the baby food a few weeks after introducing the baby rice, just make sure that it is gluten free since their digestive system can't handle that at a young age. I'm no expert (and early weaning is a controversial topic!) but I'm just telling you what I did, if you want my opinion then I would wait unless its been recommended to start weaning early by HV or doc. Hope that helps.

Thanks ladies, I think DH is just ready for him to grow a little older so he can do more stuff with him, I think men are kinda bored by babies :doh: I think he just wants to be able to interact more the way you do when you feed babies with a spoon.
Anyway, I had always heard that you should put about a teaspoon of rice cereal-in a bottle- and give it to LO that way as LO may be "too young for a spoon" Should I just go ahead and feed him a little with a spoon? It seems odd, since I have always heard to put it in a bottle. Thanks!

i put a little rice cereal (about a tablespoon) in my sons bottle when he was nearly 4 months old...and started spoon feeding him rice cereal at 4 months, and then veggies at 5 months, fruits at 6 (I've heard that if you introduce fruit first, they'll never eat the veggies haha


also cereal in the bottle is NOT recommended but my mother insisted and it didn't hurt him a bit so I didn't mind it

dont know where the advice to add baby rice to a bottle comes from but it is totally wrong - that is one of the most dangerous things you could do

if lo really does need some rice then the best way is from a spoon x