Advice pls: Starting on Solids

Hi domesticgoddess,

during a feeding, Do i feed by girl heinz rice cereal first, then puree carrots, or just puree carrots alone? and skip the rice cereal altogether?
 


i'm a mummy,
you can mix the rice cereal w/ the pureed carrots, or feed the carrots alone. there are some babies who don't like the taste of pureed veggies on its own, so usually it will be mixed with the rice cereal to make the taste more palatable for baby. one word of advice - don't feed too much carrots to babies, because the beta-carotene in it can cause bb's skin to turn yellowish/orangy! so i guess it's prob best that you mix the carrots with rice cereal.
 
Hi Lani,
Have you tried broccoli puree? It doesn't taste that good on its own. Tasted it before attempting to give it to my little eating machine. Should I mix it with rice cereal?
 
tang ling,
i've been feeding my dd brocolli since she was 5mths-plus. it's one of those very highly recommended veggie (some even call it a super veggie) cause of its high iron content and high nutrients, so it'd really great if you can get your bb used to eating it. it's not very yummy on its own, so when i 1st introduced it, i mixed 1 cube w/ rice cereal. then after that whenever i feed brocolli i made sure it was mixed w/ one other sweet veggie (eg sweet potato or carrot or corn) and rice cereal. now my dd eats it everyday - i add brocolli, sweet potato, spinach and zuchinni to her chicken/fish porridge. if your bb doesn't like it at 1st (it's normal, my dd was the same too), maybe wait another week and try to introduce it again. don't give up. after a few wks you will notice that your bb doesn't mind eating it after all, esp if it's mixed w. other sweet veggies.
 
Lani,
Thanks a lot! The broccoli puree taste horrible, especially the after-taste, thus I didn't want to give it to my boy and have him reject it completely. I freezed the batch I prepared today. Would try your method. ok, would not give up.
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Q: How do I reheat 1 cube of frozen puree? The amount is so small.

Q: Have you tried peas puree? Do you do it the same way as with broccoli?
 
Hi Lani,
I happened to be feeding my ds wz broccoli past 2 days. Can I ask for your method of preparing it? I chopped the broccoli (the flowery part only) to fine parts, steamed and sieved it (adding a little water). I fed ds wz his Frisocream or Heinz cereal. And he loved it. But actually I'm not sure if it is the right way to prepare broccoli. Pls enlighten me.
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Thanks
 
just to check, is it safe to give bb yoghurt? my dad says no, cos it may cause bacteria in his intestines, and somemore it is cold etc ... but bb seems to love it man!!
 
mummytobe, I would recommend you feed your young infant rice cereal at every meal and any pureed vegetables and fruits as a side dish, just for introducing the food to your baby. Fortified cereals (esp with FM) has more calories and nutrients than just pureed veg or fruits. With exception of bananas,most other veg/fruits which can be fed to young infants are way too low in calories. A whole jar of 128g of pureed carrots provides only 40 calories! So even for very delicious food, like applesauce which most babies love 'cos it is sweet, it is not advisable to feed mainly that without any cereals as a meal. It's like we adults eating only apples for lunch. Hope this helps!
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enya, the bacteria provided by the yogurt is friendly bacteria which helps to "fight" the nasty bacteria in the intestines. So yogurt is very good food for your baby past 6 months.
 
morning gals,

orchid,i just bought friscocream rice cereal,will let him try today.

can i add broccoli wif fisocream rice cereal?
 
hi syen,
i will steam brocoli florets then use hand held processor to puree. your way is also ok.

hi tang ling,
yes, should mix pureed veg with rice cereal. it's like us eating rice with veg. you don't eat brocoli alone right? some foods we think are awful may not be that bad for the bb. my girl loves brocoli. have u tried cauliflower? also quite nice.

peas can steam then pass through a seive to remove the skin of the peas.

i reheat cubes of brocoli or pureed veg using microwave - 30 sec on high.
 
Hi Orchid,
The last time I fed bottled peas puree to bb, he vomitted everything out. Once bitten, twice shy. Just playing safe.
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Tried broccoli mixed in rice cereal and my boy loves it. So much that I have to try it myself - not bad!
Would be trying the cauliflower also, next week.
About the reheating, do you just pop the frozen cubes in the microwave? Or you thaw them to liquid first? Realised that heating the cubes in a sucepan is tricky.
 
enya
It is fine to give yogurt to your baby if he/she is above 6 months old but don't give it straight from the fridge, wait for a while then give. Initially just give 2-3 teaspoon then slowly increase the amount.
 
enya,
once bb is past 6mths can feed yoghurt already, but must be either those baby yoghurt or plain full-fat youghurt. don't feed those meant for children or adults or those low-fat ones.

tang ling,
to reheat frozen veggie can just do it about 30secs in a microwave if you take it straight out of freezer. or you can thaw it in the fridge 1st and when it is semi-thawed (ie semi-liquid), can just pop in microwave around 10-15secs only.

i think those bottled pureed veggies taste quite different from the ones we cook, maybe that's why your bb vomitted. my dd also hates bottled bb food, but will eat pureed veggies i cook.

cauliflower is a great veggie to try too! my dd loved it when we introduced it to her.

syen,
your method of cooking is ok. i usually steam then blend using blender or hand-held blender, but now that my dd can take coarser food, after steaming i just mash with a potato masher then freeze.

corinne,
i'm not sure at what age can introduce bb to brocolli (some bks say 5mths, some say 6mths, some even say 8mths) but i introduced it when my dd was b/w 6-7mths.

zuchinni is a vegetable that looks exactly like cucumber. it's normally in the fridge of the veggie section of the supermarket. when you steam it it tastes and smells very yummy. my dd loves it so that's why i always add it to her porridge. and very easy to prepare also. just remove skin, slice and steam, then i mash.
 
hi ladies,
my gal is approaching 6 months soon. If I were to give her bananas, do I need to steam it and puree? thanks!
 
Hi mummies,
Can I join in, am new in this thread.
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I have been feeding my 5mth baby with Heinz rice cereal mixed with pureed veg or fruits. Can I know when is the best time to introduce porridge? Must it be blended as well?
 
hi tang ling,

ya, the bottled peas taste really gross... yelk. :p the home made ones much nicer. i just use frozen peas to cook. u can also try carrots.

tuffy,
don't need to steam. just mash. but must finish whatever u mash cos it turns dark after awhile. use half banana first.
 
tuffy,
yah, bananas no need to cook or steam one! hehe!

cat tail,
i think porridge can start anytime from 7-8mths, but you willl need to blend/puree before feeding.
 
Lani,
thanks! So many things to try - this is getting interesting, except for the bad start of the bottled peas.
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Orchid,
would try the peas like you mentioned. Already tried carrots - he loved it. Thanks!
 
Hi mummies

this thread is very interesting. can i join in?

Lani,
my gal currently 7 mths plus.. can i introduce Zuchinni aleady?
 
Lani,
Thanks for replying but still got some more queries need to bombard u.
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My gal had started cereals for 2 weeks & I noticed tat she had been reducing her milk intake & asking for more cereals. Is tat normal?
 
jasmine,
7mths can introduce zuchinni already.

tang ling,
practically all babies love pureed peas, because of its sweet taste! so don't give up. i also prepare my own using frozen peas (very easy) and my dd also loves it.

cat tail,
if the reduction in milk intake is gradual, then it is normal. as they get older of course they will need to eat more solids and less milk. but the reduction cannot be too sharp. that's why the advice is always to give babies a full bottle of milk (ie. 6-8oz) 1st thing when they wake up in the morning so that they get most of their milk supply early in the day before eating solids. how old is your bb now? so at least if i know her age i can let you know about how much milk she needs per day.
 
Hi mommies,
How to prepare avocado puree? must i steam the avocado? i am a blur mom when come to preparing food for my girl.

Thanks
 
cat tail,
just saw that your dd is 5mths old. what is her current weight? how much milk does she drink per day now and how much solids do you feed her per day now? actually under the age of 6mths solids are supposed to be 1st tastes only, and milk should be their major source of nutrient. maybe if i get more details about her feeding patterns (milk and solids) i can let you know if her milk intake is suffucient and whether she is taking too much solids or not.
 
lynn,
avocado no need to cook or prepare at all. buy those very ripe avocado, then you just scoop out and mash, and can feed liao. avocado can be frozen but from what i heard it doesn't freeze well at all, so it's best to serve within 2-3 days then throw away.
 
Lani, thanks.

How u prepare avocado? mix with porridge or rice cereal?

My girl is 8 months now. She refuse to drink milk at all. But she is ok with solid food. What should i do? I guess is because teething?? but how come only refuse to drink milk? Pls HELP, i really feel helpless now.
 
lynn,
when teething babies normally won't fully reject milk, at most a little cranky and slight decrease in appetite only...maybe she is sick of the taste of the milk? if so can experiment w/ other brands. or maybe the teat hole is too small, and she finds sucking is very tiring. if so can "upgrade" to bigger teat size. or could be the milk temp is too warm or too cold for her, so gotta readjust.

my advice is you really gotta think of all the possible/probable reasons why she is rejecting the milk.

if all else fails then you will need to feed her foods high in calcium, to make up for the lack of milk consumption. so you may need to supplement her diet with cheese and/or yoghurt.

as for avocado, i never really fed my dd avocado. i guess you can feed it on its own or add to rice cereal.
 
lani - me also wanna 'bombard' u..hehe..my gal is 8 mths now..she is having only 3 milk feed at 9am, 5pm & 9pm at 240ml each feed...12noon she has a bowl of porridge..me very tempted to add another solid but afraid tat would decrease her intake for milk..u can see tat the interval from her porridge to the next milk feed is 5hrs..any advice? she dont like cereal oso..i gave her nestle brown rice cereal..

bb at 8 mths still need milk as the main menu for their meals rite?
 
Hello Lani

My boys are 8 mths now. They have milk 5 times a day. 180 - 210 ml each time. I am giving them brown rice cereal or plain rice cereal with pureed veg or fruits in the mid monring. Is this sufficient?

2 weeks ago, we cook porridge with carrot and blend it to a pureed texture. They took one mouthful and almost choked on it. They couldnt swallow the porridge! We took it as a sign that they were not ready. But now i feel like trying again. Any tips?

They do not have any teeth yet. Any recommendations on what baby biscuits to buy for them? I want them to learn to feed themselves.

Thank you.
 
crystalmum and twinsmummy,
at 8mths old they should be eating more solids already, at least 2 meals a day, and slowly to 3 meals. my dd was already taking 3 meals plus 3 milk feeds at 7mths. at this age about 18-24oz of milk per day is sufficient (ie 3 full bottles).

crystalmum,
your dd's 1st milk feed at 9am - is this immed when she wakes up? i think you definitely need to feed solids for dinner, cause a 5hr gap is too big. what you can do is have milk feed at 9am, 3pm and 9pm, and then lunch is 12pm and dinner 6pm. You can feed the same amount of food for dinner as you feed for lunch. i doubt she will decrease her milk intake too much.

twinsmummy,
what times are their milk feeds and the cereal? maybe once i know the timings i can advice tou further. i think you can replace one of their milk feeds w/ solids, but i need to know the timings to advice. if they choke on porridge then stop and maybe try again another week or so. my dd rejected porridge (even when pureed) from 7mths till 9mths! it was only tis past mth that she finally accepted porridge, and even then we had to introduce gradually (ie mix with cereal then slowly increase porridge amount and decrease cereal amount, until finally it was all porridge). at 8mths maybe 5 milk feeds a day is too much. if you are feeding 1 solid meal now can give milk 4x/day and then once you have 2 solids a day, can give milk 3x/day.

how much cereal do they eat now (ie how many tsp dry cereal?). i can teach you how i slowly added porridge to the cereal if i know the amt you feed.

as for baby biscuits, if they got no teeth then can try Baby Bites, cause they are very soft and will melt in the mouth. If they are teething then can give teething biscuits, but bear in mind teething biscuits are meant to sooth the itchy gums and are not really "eating" biscuits.
 
Hi Lani,
Thanks, pls advise whether she had enough of milk intake. My gal is exactly 5mths old, weight around 7kg & had her 1st 2 tooths when she's 3.5mths!

Normally, she took 5 feeds per day which is around 4-5oz of FM each. However, after I introduce solid, she dun like to drink her milk but wants more cereals! I am aware tat milk is still her main source so I am wondering wat can I do? Should I give in to her demand & give her more cereals?

Her pattern is:
6am - 5oz FM
10:30am - 4oz FM + semi-solid (4 tsp rice cereal + 1 tsp milk)
3pm - 4oz FM
6pm - 4oz FM + semi-solid (1 cube of puree & 2 tsp rice + 1 tsp of milk)
8:30pm - 5oz FM
 
lani - thanks for your advice! my gal wakes up at 6 or 7am plus..but funny..after the last feed at 9pm..she not hungry till 9am the next morning one leh..tats y the first feed is 9am..

i wanted to feed her cereal at noon and porridge in dinner but hor..she dont seem to like cereal..i let her eat nestle brown rice..any others to recommend? but i tot 2 meals porridge a bit boring for her leh..huh..or put different ingredients for the 2 meals hah?
 
crystalmum - I use heinz plain rice cereal. she quite likes it. but then again, she hasn't tasted anything else before lah. not sure if your gal, who is seasoned, will still like it.
 
lilipit,
can start introducing meat (ie chicken at 6mths already). fish ard 7mths, but most asians like to introduce it earlier at ard 6mths too. bb need about 50g of protein a day, so that's approx 2 cubes a day.

cat_tail,
i think her milk intake is a little low. 4-5oz per feeding seems a bit little. try to get her to have minimum of 24oz per day. one way you can do this for now i think is to maybe add 1oz more to her cereal at 10.30am and another 1oz at 6pm. this way you don't actually have to force her to drink more milk, as that can be stressful for her if she doesn't want to drink any more.

it's also ok to increase her solids, but make sure you do this gradually (ie increase by 1/2 tsp rice cereal every 3 days, then once you reach around 4-5tsp rice cereal can add 1 more cube of puree)

btw, is 6am the time she wakes up on her own or do you actually wake her up for a feeding? and how long ago did you start her on solids? btw, if she passes 6mths already i would say 22-24oz of milk intake per day is ok, because that's the stage when they should be trained to eat more solids and slowly decrease their milk intake.

crystalmum,
that's fine, if she's not hungry at 7am then i guess it's ok to feed at 9am. you can definitely feed porridge at lunch and dinner lah. if you think it's boring to feed the same things for both meals then lunch and dinner different ingredients lah! maybe lunch fish porridge w/ sweet potato and spinach, then dinner chicken porridge w/ carrot and brocolli....or something like that lah...then next day change ingredients again. there are soooo many vegetables for you to choose from!

as for cereal, i normally feed that to my dd for b'fast, so maybe you wanna give your dd that when she's ready for b'fast. my dd quite likes baby oatmeal cereal, and the heinz multigrain cereal (red box).
 
hi lani,

need advice. my girl now 6 months 2 weeks. i started her on solids only when she turned 6 months, previously never give her any solids. i started her on cereals and jus started pear this week. she doesn't seem to be taking to cereals well....not taking very much...actually how much is enough?? is it ok to start porride or brown rice so soon after intro to solids? cos i was thinking if she doesn't like cereal maybe can try porridge with carrots or some veg.
also now that she jus started solids how often should i give her solids? these few days i give pear during her second feed at abt 11+ and cereal for 3rd feed at ard 3 - 4+pm. but not very good leh. wat do u think?
 
Hi guru Lani :)o)

My girl will be 5mths this coming thursday. I've started her on heinz rice cereal for about 2.5 weeks already, and just started her on carrot puree last week. She loves eating the cereal plain, and also when i combine with carrot puree!

I was wondering when I should add another session of solids? her current schedule is something like this:-

Her pattern is:
6 or 7am plus - 180ml FM
10 or 11am plus - 160ml FM + semi-solid (4 tsp rice cereal + 20ml FM + 3tsp carrot puree)
3 or 4pm plus - 180ml FM
7 or 8pm plus - 180ml FM

should i intro an extra session of semi solids during the 3/4pm feed or 7/8pm feed? Also, should i feed the same semi solid as the lunch feed, or can i intro a new puree? eg. green peas for lunch feed, and apple puree for dinner feed? pls advise, thanks!
 
Thanks Lani,
Gd idea! How come I din tot of adding the milk into her cereal.
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Normally, she automatic wakes up on her own at 6am, and I will feed her before she dozes off again for another 1-2hrs. As for solid, I started her 3wks ago. Last weekends, I made the EU Yan Seng brown rice & she luv it!
 
hi lani & cat tail,

i read that bbs need abt 17-24 oz. so if your bb can hit abt 17 oz milk is good enough? i think 24 oz maybe for big size caucasian bb? hehe...

i use abt 1-2 oz milk to make up her cereal or porridge.

hi i'm a mummy,

can intro another feed for dinner time. abt 6pm. then milk abt 8-9pm forlast feed. can intro new purees alone (eg. brocoli, peas, cauliflower, pumpkin..) or can combine purees (eg. carrots & peas? even carrots & apple also can).
 
lani - thanks again! must be more creative liao..hehe..

btw..where to get those brown rice? can cook together with the normal rice to give? or does it come in powder form?
 
Hi Lani

Thank you for the prompt reply.

My boys are taking approximately 4 tablespoons of cereal (plain or brown rice) in mid morning. Mixed with 100 - 120 ml water.

Their pattern is as follows;
6 am - Milk
9 am - Cereal
10 am - Milk
2pm - Milk
6pm - Milk
9pm - Milk

Somehow they get hungry one hour after cereal. We wonder is it becos the qty is insufficient or they just have cravings for their milk.

Please teach me how to mix cereal to the porridge. Thanks!
 
Hi mummies,

Tried feeding my bbs cereal for the first time today. They just pushed whatever that went into their mouth out. It was such a messy affair. Don't think they have swallowed any. Does it mean they don't like the cereal or simply need more time to get used to solid food? Should I try everyday? How many times does it take before bb will start to swallow?

I'm using Heinz plain cereal. How much FM shd I mix with 1 tsp of dry cereal? Not sure if I've mixed them too thick. This mummy still very blur...
 
cat_tail,
orchid is right. so long as your bb has gets a minimum of 16/17oz a day (this applies only to babies that are already taking solids) it should be fine. i was thinking of a 5mth old baby that is still not weaned to solids yet.

crystalmum,
i've never fed my bb brown rice cereal before, but you can try the Si Sen brand from NTUC. or the Eu Yan Sang one, or the organic ones (eg Healthy Times) from Brown Rice Paradise @ Tanglin Mall.

i'm amummy,
your current schedule looks very good. it's very similar to my dd's when she 1st started on solids, ie 5-7mths old. if you wanna intro another solid meal, do it at the 7/8pm feeding, ie after the milk (similar to what you're doing for the lunch feeding).

When my dd was 7mths old and well-establised on solids, I decided to finally intro meat to her meals, so i changed her feeding times to something like this:

8am milk, then b'fast
12pm lunch
3pm milk
6pm dinner
9pm milk

like i said, for noe you can stick to your current timing, and intro another solid feeding at the 7/8pm feed, but once you want your bb to have 2 proper solid meals and drop the milk feedings during lunch and dinner, you can schedule it something like this:

6 or 7am plus - milk
11am plus - lunch
2.30pm or 3pm - milk
5.30pm or 6pm - milk
8pm plus - milk

do take note that b/w the morning milk (6am) and lunch (11am plus/12pm) is a VERY long gap, so most babies will need a mid-morning snack probably at ard 9am plus. you can give some fruits or a small bottle of yoghurt for this snack.

and if you think your bb is ready for b'fast, can give b'fast immed after or ard 1 hr after the morning milk.

you don't have to feed the same puree at dinner as you do at lunch (variety is the spice of life!) but if you're intorducing a new food item to your bb, it's advisable to do it at the lunch feeding (as opposed to dinner feeding) cause then you have enuf time to observe and look out for signs of allergy. it's harder to do this if you intro new foods at dinner cause the allergy might set in when your bb is asleep at night.

to the other mummies,
i will answer your qns maybe tomorrow. very sleepy liao, so going to bed now!
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hi there

my pd advised against introducing yoghurt / cheese to babies, until they are 1 year old .... he said may induce allergies in the bb ... sob, and i have so many left at home!!
 
Thanks Orchid & Lani!
I need some advise badly & u 2 made my day~
I think my gal should have hit on the minimum requirement of 16oz per day but I will still add on milk into her solid.
 
Hi Lani,

Thanks so much! was at a loss at what to do, cause the books advise one thing, but they are usually tailored for ang moh babies :eek:)

Intend to start her on other veggies like green peas and sweet potato soon (once she hits 5mths), so will intro them during lunch feed, and continue with carrots or plain cereal during the evening feeds :eek:)
 
hi enya,
you can eat the cheese & yoghurt. good for us too!
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can use yoghurt to make fruit salad. yums...
 
hi orchid

no choice lor, so now me and my mum have to finish all the yoghurt liao .... wasted, bb seems to enjoy the yoghurt so much ... he can finish 1 small tub on his own.

i used a small slow cooker to cook porridge, added fish and chicken and carrots ... bb also likes it! hee hee i also add sweet potato (japanese kind), avocado, pears, apples, brocolli into the brown rice cereal, think he likes it too!

sweet peas - actually can try the one by healthy times, my bb luvs it, and there's a nice smell when u open the jar leh ...
 


Hi Lani,

my dd is about 7 mths and had been taking 1 solid meal a day. Noticed that she still demands for milk after the solid feeding, is this normal? I feed her about half a bowl of cereal w vege etc time.
 

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