Feeding Solids

At 6 1/2 months Ryder is doing well with solids.  It's actually so much fun...he makes such a mess..lol.  Right now I am consistantly giving him 2 meals a day...morning is cereal and pureed fruit of some sort, and evening is cereal, a vegetable and meat.  He finishes it most of the time, so it seems to be the right amount for him.  He is also drinking about 24 or so oz. of forumula daily.  I am finding an awful lot of contradictary information out there about solids feeding.  My questions are...should I be increasing him to 3 meals a day?  How much formula do I need to make sure he is getting?  And when should I start changing the consistancy?  Some info I have read say's it's ok to start giving him small cut up pieces of things like banana...but I am worried about him choking.  He only has 3 teeth!  He is trying to feed himself with the spoon, and does eat those disolvable crackers on his own...loves them actually.  I am wondering what others have done?  Thanks so much as always!

[tiredbuthappy]

Don't worry about no teeth. By 7-8 months, my little toothless one was eating nearly everything we do, including steak! I just cut it small enough for her to gum. Even now, she'll be 1 this week, she has only her 2 bottom teeth. She only gets about 1 container of baby food a day, the rest is all solids. It's been like this for a few months. However, he does need at least 24 ounces of formula a day.

That being said, don't be surprised if he can't eat finger foods. My first had trouble for the longest time and would gag herself on everything. My second was eating more solid foods at 7 months than my older girl was eating at 14 months. Still, she turned out to be a great eater. You just have to follow their cues and keep trying. Since he can handle the puffs, you might want to try other foods. My little ones did well with cheese and thin sliced deli turkey cut small.

Oh yea... Back to the ounces a day... My second has been a huge eater and eating 3 meals since 7 months. Still, we did not see a noticeable reduction in ounces. For her, food doesn't seem to substitute bottles.

[waitingwithhope]

My baby is also 6.5 months and she is eating cereal & veggies twice a day. I don't usually move on to fruit until 7 months but it is fine if you do it earlier too as you have. I just want to make sure I am introducing fruit last or else she may not want the veggies. I don't think at this stage I ever increased my baby's meals to 3x a day unless you want to just spread out the two meals over 3 (which is fine). Food at this stage is just for texture and for them to get used to it, more than actual nutrition. They should be still getting the bulk of their nutrition from formula or breast milk. At this stage, he should be drinking 3-4 bottles a day (each with 7-8ozs). The idea at this stage is to get them used to actually taking and liking solids (pureed) foods. I think you are doing just fine. If he seems hungrier you can always give him an extra bit as a snack at some point during the day but you're right on track. As far as the meat, you might be a bit too early for that- meat is usually reserved for around 8-9months. The cereals fortified with iron & veggies usually are to start, then onto fruit and then meat is next. Happy feeding! :)

[sania19]

i think you are doing very good ,bcoz it up to your little one if he is doing well with solids than i dont think there is anything to worry about . Good luck hope this feel you better. and also your little one seems very good eating solid . i think to shud change the consistency after a month and see is he comfortable with the change in consistency of food. i think you shud not give him very small peaces give him big peaces so that he can hold in his hand and try to eat small bite .

[AnnieBrooke]

Kids' gum plates are very hard, and they can chew with them.  He should be fine, three teeth or not.  :)

[tiredbuthappy]

Don't worry about no teeth. By 7-8 months, my little toothless one was eating nearly everything we do, including steak! I just cut it small enough for her to gum. Even now, she'll be 1 this week, she has only her 2 bottom teeth. She only gets about 1 container of baby food a day, the rest is all solids. It's been like this for a few months. However, he does need at least 24 ounces of formula a day.

That being said, don't be surprised if he can't eat finger foods. My first had trouble for the longest time and would gag herself on everything. My second was eating more solid foods at 7 months than my older girl was eating at 14 months. Still, she turned out to be a great eater. You just have to follow their cues and keep trying. Since he can handle the puffs, you might want to try other foods. My little ones did well with cheese and thin sliced deli turkey cut small.

Oh yea... Back to the ounces a day... My second has been a huge eater and eating 3 meals since 7 months. Still, we did not see a noticeable reduction in ounces. For her, food doesn't seem to substitute bottles.

[tiredbuthappy]

Don't worry about no teeth. By 7-8 months, my little toothless one was eating nearly everything we do, including steak! I just cut it small enough for her to gum. Even now, she'll be 1 this week, she has only her 2 bottom teeth. She only gets about 1 container of baby food a day, the rest is all solids. It's been like this for a few months. However, he does need at least 24 ounces of formula a day.

That being said, don't be surprised if he can't eat finger foods. My first had trouble for the longest time and would gag herself on everything. My second was eating more solid foods at 7 months than my older girl was eating at 14 months. Still, she turned out to be a great eater. You just have to follow their cues and keep trying. Since he can handle the puffs, you might want to try other foods. My little ones did well with cheese and thin sliced deli turkey cut small.

Oh yea... Back to the ounces a day... My second has been a huge eater and eating 3 meals since 7 months. Still, we did not see a noticeable reduction in ounces. For her, food doesn't seem to substitute bottles.

[Schtroumpfette]

Oh would it be ok if I hijacked this thread?!

My 7-month old is not at all interested in solids.  He just spits them back out or refuses to open his mouth.  My older son took to solids straight away, so it has come as a bit of a shock that this guy is so different!  But I checked online and it appears that for a lot of babies the transition to solids can take a long time and that it only becomes essential around the age of 1.  

However, in the meantime, he is drinking a lot of formula - between five or six 8-oz bottles / 24 hours and from what I read above that seems to be quite a bit above average...?  Is this ok??

[adgal]

Feel free to hijack away..lol.

I am no expert on this as this is my first baby, hence my question.  However, I can tell you that when I initially offered Ryder solids he didn't seem interested.  I found that by offering them at least an hour to two hours after a bottle it worked better.  I am not sure if you are giving him a bottle and solids at around the same time, but I tried that and I guess he just wasn't hungry.  Other then that I am probably not much help, but you might want to try this in a new thread.  These ladies are super helpful!!  Good luck

To everyone else:  Thanks so much for all the info.  Once again I am discovering that every baby is a bit different and so much of this seems trial and error.  As long as I am not endangering him I will try new textures and see how it goes!!  Thanks so much.

[Schtroumpfette]

Thanks for that.  We do generally only think to offer his solids when he's due a bottle, so I'll try offering between feeds as you suggested.

[tiredbuthappy]

You have described my first, which is why it was shocking to me that my second took to solids so quickly. Even by 12 months, she still had a bit of trouble. Some people look towards feeding specialists, but in most cases I feel you just need to wait until the child is ready. You can discuss it with the ped. As for bottles- as long as his weight gain is still following the curve, i wouldn't worry about it. That is a good indicator of if he is getting the right amount of what he needs. With my first, we continued formula for a few months past 12 months to make sure she was getting the nutrition she needed. Once she took to food, there was no stopping her.

Have you tried putting things on his tray to try instead of spoon feeding? Like those dissolving gerber puffs?

I did just think of something... initially, my second refused spooned solids. Then, at 7 months, i decided to put some on a spoon for her (actually a gerber dipping stick), and she immediately picked it up and fed herself. This got her used to the idea, and in no time she was letting us feed her as well. Another option would to be just put a little bowl or even a little smear of something on his tray. Let him explore the texture (i recommend removing all clothes!) and eventually some will end up in his mouth. Keep in mind, this is something entirely foreign to him.

[tatorbug40]

yeah,  I was thinking the same thing as tired-  at 9 months Colt still had no teeth and he was gumming up macdonalds cheeseburgers!!  :O

[Schtroumpfette]

Thanks a lot for all those suggestions.  Funnily enough he will have a go at eating anything and everything inedible that he can lay his hands on (grass, newspapers, me...) and it's only food on a spoon that he seems to be reluctant to put into his mouth, so I like your idea of encouraging him to feed himself - I will definitely give that a go.

[tiredbuthappy]

Also, have you tried different things and consistencies on the spoon? My second never want any kind of plain cereal. Also hated fruits. But she loved the veggies. I could get her to eat cereal mixed with veggies,but only if it was very thick. My first needed it runny to start.