Nutrition and healthy eating

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• November 8, 2011 8:23 a.m.

  Hello Julie, great question. Some children are more sensitive to changes in their diet and constipation may result. Trial a slower transition from formula to whole milk. Prepare the formula as directed and combine with whole milk. Consider starting at a 3/4-1/4 ratio or a 1:1 ratio and see how your baby does. Every few days, decrease the formula and increase the whole milk. Water is okay at this age but doesn't provide any calories or nutrients so be cautious that she does not fill up on water and miss nutrients. Continue with her transition to solid foods, gradually increasing variety and textures to round out her diet. If you are worried about her intake being adequate or concerned about growth, check in with her physician and a dietitian. Best wishes.

  - Katherine, your blog host

• November 6, 2011 1:50 a.m.

  I just switch my one year old to whole milk and she became really consipated with in three days. Should I go back to the formula? Or just give more water?

  - Julie

• August 4, 2011 2:00 p.m.

  The developmental process coordinates with the introduction of foods. For example, pincher grasp reflex and introducing appropriate finger foods. Please remember that once you introduce a "trigger" for a baby with early introduction to foods, you can not reverse the damage. Even healthcare providers need direction -- my son was extremely lactose intolerant and I did not pick up on it. He also had undiagnosed asthma. Sleep deprivation, even though I was blessed to be a stay-at-home mom, took its toll. There really is some truth that the first child is a "practice child". Good luck to all the new moms!! PS The Michigan Department of Community of Health had a really useful handout paralleling development with food introduction I use to use with moms and it really made things simple.

  - amanda, registered dietitian and MOM ;-)

• May 2, 2011 11:52 a.m.

  I'm a grandma, and our 8 month old girl displays all the signs of wanting to eat solid foods, but when she gets the food into her mouth, she gags and spits it out, then just wants her bottle?

  - Deborah

• August 29, 2010 11:14 p.m.

  i have a friend who has a 2 month old lil girl and my friend gives her baby KARO syrup in EVERY bottle of MILK she gives her baby. She also Gives her baby rice cereal twoce a day with KARO syrup in it. She also has a 3 yr old little boy whose teeth rotted out of his mouth and had to have all the top ones pulled by age 2. She doesnt wanna spend the extra money on her babys formula. I need some adivce about how to tell her she's moving too fast. What are some harmful risks that go with feeding her baby like this? Would this have made her 3 yr olds teeth rot out? The family says bad teeth are genetic but I'm not so sure...

  - Erica

• July 27, 2010 11:02 a.m.

  I have a 7-month-old daughter who is crawling, pulling to stand, everything... She is my fourth child, but my first to refuse baby food. She gags on baby cereal, even when it's mixed with breast milk, and also can't stand jarred babyfood- plain or with cereal mixed in... She loves finger foods such as broken up cheerios, stars, and teething biscuits. What should I do to feed her nutritious foods? She doesn't have any teeth yet, and I'm at a loss for how to get her started on solids. I know she is ready and I think that she would sleep better at night if her tummy were full of something more than breast milk during the day... I would love any ideas that are out there! Thanks

  - Ellen

• July 24, 2010 9:29 a.m.

  i have a little one that will be one next week. i was wondering how and when others have switched their little ones to whole milk, and when you completely stopped giving formula and a bottle. as a first time mom i find that other mom tips have been more helpful than anything else so i really appreciate the feed back. Thanks!

  - erin

• May 23, 2010 10:11 a.m.

  I have a 3 year old daughter and a 6 week old son. I started my daughter on rice cereal at about 4 weeks with a bottle feeder, something that is hard to find in stores but with a little effort can be found. Anyways i started her on solids because every bit of formula she ate would come right back up. We tried different formulas but none of them worked any better, so my pediatric doctor suggested I give her a little rice cereal mixed with the formula. She did great after that. I introduced milk to her in a sippy cup at around 8 months, still feeding formula with all other feedings except one. At around 9 months she decided she did not want the formula any longer. She was not having trouble with the whole milk, so we took her off the formula. She is a healthy 3 year old that should be in kindergarden now. My son who was born in April of this year has not liked formula from day one and since I could not get him to latch onto the breast, i have also started him on the rice cereal so that he will eat something. He has not had any problems digesting it and has only gone from 7 pounds even to 10 pounds even since he was born. My point to all of this information is that every child is different and doctors do not always know everything. Some babies just need food earlier than others.

  - mommy of two

• April 25, 2010 12:48 a.m.

  I have a 6 month old baby and he's primarily breastfed (I work full time at a hospital and they provide a breastpumping room for nursing moms), but recently I started experimenting with different foods. He was always grabbing my plate and analyzing what I was doing with my own food, which was really cute lol. I started with rice cereal, but he found it quite nasty and pushed the spoon away, clamped his mouth shut, and turned his head aside (yeah ask yourself if you wanna eat that runny gruel...I'm sure I'd do the same thing). So I went to the store one day looking for jarred baby food and thought of the stuff I've been eating while breastfeeding him...sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans...everything really. I'm holding off on the sweet fruits for right now:-) The selection was an instant hit with him! I add just a teeny bit of rice cereal to the runny veggies and he loves it just fine. After "dinner" he gets a bath and breastfeeds. So far I've only done one solids feeding a day. I probably will start liquefying soups, stews and other things by 8 months (a food processor like the "magic bullet" is your friend!), but I'm in no rush because I love breastfeeding him and it's all he needs right now.

  - Tess

• October 27, 2009 1:08 p.m.

  Monica, hopefully your pediatrician has already pointed out to you the frequency of vitamin D deficiency in premature babies, and has also advised you of the importance of substantial vitamin D supplementation for the nursing mother as well as her baby.

  - Russ

• October 7, 2009 8:48 a.m.

  Monica, This is an excellent question and your thinking with starting solids somewhere between her actual and adjusted age is on track. Her developmental readiness for solids should be your 1st cue that she is ready. Is she sitting up independently or with some support? Are her neck muscles strong enough to hold her head up and does she watch you eat and drink? In other words, if she is on your lap or at the kitchen table with you, is she interested in the meal you are eating? If and when she does that, she is likely ready for solids. If her developmental readiness is after the 6 month mark, talk to your doctor about the need for additional iron, if she is not already on a multivitamin with iron supplement.

  - Katherine, your blog host

• September 25, 2009 2:59 p.m.

  My daughter is 5 1/2 months old actual, and 3 months old adjusted (she was born at 29 weeks, 4 days). She is doing great and her weight is at the 50% mark for her adjusted age, and is 5% for her actual age, and her Ped is pleased. But should when should we feed her solids? (she only gets pumped breastmilk now). Yes, developmentally she is 3 months, but her gut and the enzymes in it have been breaking down breastmilk for well over 5 months. We were going to split the difference and feed her solids at 7+ months actual, 5 months adjusted, but I don't want to feed her solids too late either. Any RD's out there that would like to comment? It would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

  - Monica

• July 16, 2009 10:35 a.m.

  my baby is 2 months old she was 3 1/2 weeks early and weighed 7lbs 9oz. she was growing quickly and i couldn't keep up with feeding her. she was taking a 6oz bottle then 2-3 hrs later another. i am a firm believer that if a child is hungry feed them. however, she was having major intestinal issues with so much formula. so i spoke with her dr and he said start her on sindle grain cereal. she went for her 2 month check up weighed 13lbs 13 oz grew 3 inches and was in the 76th percentile. he was very happy with her, so every child is different.

  - Jamie

• July 8, 2009 1:54 p.m.

  My daughter is 11 mo old and she has an aversion to solid food. Even a slightly coarse spoonful induces a gag reflex and she ends up throwing it all up. She also resists drinking milk. She has been gaining weight okay, but still on the petite side. Any advice??

  - Kaveri

• July 2, 2009 4:44 a.m.

  Confused - Nurse your baby for as long as you want. When people tell you to stop remind them that the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least two years. If it is working for you and your family why stop? I am going to nurse my son until he is at least 18 months old, hopefully we will make it to two years.

  - Cat

• June 25, 2009 1:19 p.m.

  i am still breast feeding and my son is 16 months everyone says i should stop. Should i stop? they say he is to big now. He eats really good he loves pasta and cherrois. nOt to big on milk from a gallon. I work full time and have a husban, 11-and a 22 year old. and take care of a 3 story home , run my kids to practice or wher ever they need to go. I do not feel it gets in my way.

  - confused

• June 24, 2009 11:06 p.m.

  Great advice, now I wish someone would relay this information to my mother and mother-in-law. They are putting pressure on me to start feeding my 2 month old solids so she doesn't get "too skinny". She's been breastfeeding and growing in the 50th percentile and my pediatrician is fine with her growth rate(we've only had one visit so far!)

  - Toni

• June 21, 2009 11:55 p.m.

  Thank you soo much for this article! Everything I needed to know, My now 3 year old was given rice cereal at about 1 week and now has meny allergies to food...At the time I did not know any better. I now have a 5 month old and wanted to know exactly what you explained. Thank you ! P.S Hanna well said!

  - Amber

• February 13, 2009 6:44 a.m.

  My daughter is nearing the end of her 6th month. I feed her breast milk, cereal, veggies and fruit. Expressing milk at work is a pain so that is why I only work 20 hours a week. This way I only disapear for about 15-20 minutes to express milk. I was hoping to start ramping my hours back up. At the meal that we feed her meat (I was considering lunch time), do we need to also feed her breast milk. If not, I'll increase my work time and leave her with my parents for lunch. If I do still need to give her milk when she eats meat, then I think I'll continue to only work 20 hours a week.

  - Ann P.

• January 24, 2009 10:10 a.m.

  I think it's more important to follow your babys' cues then other peoples' advice... when your baby is ready for solids, she wil let you know. Every baby is different and every mother is different.

  - m

• December 4, 2008 3:52 a.m.

  I started feeding my son solids at 6months and am still breastfeeding him at 9months. for solids he gets mostly vegitables and some fruits. Im confused about feeding meats b/c of the protein and his kidneys being able to process the complex amimal proteins. one of the reasons to delay cows milk is due to the proteins. why is it ok to give meat and not cows milk?

  - Stacy

• November 17, 2008 8:13 a.m.

  I saw a talk show recently that said childhood food allergies might be caused (at least in some cases) by the early introduction of certain foods. For example, one guest's child had severe peanut allergies, and the parents said they had first given the child peanut butter at the age of 6 months. Would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this.

  - Janet

• November 16, 2008 10:04 p.m.

  I am currently a mother of a 2 year old and a 5 month old. They both started rice cereal first, after 5 1/2 months. I believe that if your child is 'yelling' at you when you are eating it is a good indication that you should try cereals. However, milk (breast or bottle) should be their main staple of food for the first year. Everything else is just for introduction purposes.

  - Joni

• November 15, 2008 11:10 a.m.

  I work in the infant room at a child care center. This article's suggestions are very similar to the state nutrition program that I have to follow, with the exception of introducing meats at 6 months. (We have to wait until 8 months.) I have read several articles relating to the introduction of cereals before 4 mo. and after 6 mo. and developing type 2 diabetes as an adult. Because I work with low income parents and children,(who have to really stretch their food dollar), I stress this part.

  - Julie

• November 14, 2008 10:51 a.m.

  Thanks for this article! I agree whole-heartedly. Interesting about introducing meat before fruit/vegetables. Definitely makes sense though. I surely will not be introducing any foods before 4 months and not likely before 6 months either. The health of my baby is more valuable to me than simple convenience or more sleep for myself...Sure, many babies turn out "fine" w/foods introduced early. Keep in mind, "formula" in the 50s and earlier was home-made and was simply cow's milk, Karo syrup and water...Now just because those children turned out "fine" does not mean it was a healthy practice...Same with introducing foods early.

  - Hannah - Fellow RD and new mom.