hi,
i have a 6 month old daughter.i want to know wat solids i should start and what quantity i got to give.i would prefer if i get a schedule.


Priya diya replied. i fully agree with you. My dr had adviced me the same thing about salt and sugar. i started salt in dal ka paani for my baby from the day i started solid.our indian food contains so many spices and not just salt or sugar.
i don't like the food without salt or sugar, there is no wonder why my baby will avoid tasteless foods.i have some recipe books for infants and toddlers they all contain sugar and salt from 9month onwards.some even contains chillies and onions at 10months.these books are by ped and nutrinist who have N.D and P.H.D with their names.I am still not giving chillies,onion, garlic to my kids.
my belief is that babies need one grain or cereal from the day you start solids. my bil kids did not take cereals for almost 1 year, they still run away when roti or rice is offered. they eat pasta,vegetables and fruit juice in their diet.i see the difference when my bil wife keep staring at my kids well build physical body and their chubby cheeks with fleshy thighs.my kids are younger than his but they are one step ahead in everything compared to her kids. she will never try to offer roti or rice to her kids. she will say that they are not eating and she says its very heavy.my kids also used to do the same thing and they don't like to drink fresh juice. but i made them eat grains,rice and vegetables.they are healthier than my bil kids.
i don't recall the name properly but i think it was hetal who said it very well that kids are born to fuss & its upto mothers to outsmart them.
Priya, give your daughter all our indian food like dal ka paani,rice water,raagi malt, carrots,green peas,green beans,sweet potato, apples,bananas,pear,peaches.
I am sure your baby will grow healthy with these starters.
Padma replied. Thanks for the links.these resources are very well known.i got them in my pregnancy classes.
I am a regular reader of parents of babies board. your post have good information from various websites and most of them are from the Baby Book by dr.william & martha sears.this book is my first hand dr so to say.But if you are indian, there are many tips and tricks that these books and resources are not able to provide.
i have to disagree with you on some points.My ped told me that babies needs to have cereals with iron and zinc.a normal grain is not sufficient to provide iron or zinc. He said Gerber Infant Cereals are the best.i asked him about the brand because i got confused with so many brands in US.He also mentioned that companies like beechnut and earth best are not bad but they are not 100% organic.
i was interested in organic because the baby book and other parenting sites advice that, but this is what he told about organic foods.
1.most of the vegetables when cooked fully or boiled will not contain any fertilizers and are perfectly safe for consumption for babies and infants.2.He also mentioned that babies who are fed organic throughout their childhood years, lack in some important minerals that come from natural fertilizers and natural sources of water and soil. in growing organic foods, these are controlled.He also said that any food grown in controlled environment is not safe in long run. 3.when i told him that i want to start organic,i was adviced to give my baby natural spring water instead of regular or filtered water. 4.Gerber Infant Cereals does not have any sugars in it and are perfectly healthy.he said most infant and toddler cereals have no sugars or the the amt of sugar in it, is appropriate for baby or toddler intake.
He also added that giving atleast 1 grain from the day you start solids in the form of cereals or cooked whole grain is ensures good growth.he also mentioned rice, oats,barley and millet is the safest way to introduce grains to my baby. fruits and vegetables do not provide all important nutrients.so grains are an important diet.our baby book also says that.
5.my ped adviced me to introduce tofu,egg yolks, yogurt after my baby completed 8months.It is better you ask your dr before you advice people from 7 months onwards.
6.he mentioned that if you are giving any food that is genetically engineered or is grown in 100% safe environment there are chances that my baby will not be able to survive or keep good health when he eats normal food that we eat.So he adviced me to give normal food that we eat in our daily life instead of going for organic or 100% natural foods.he also said that this is the reason why most american brought up kids are not able to keep good health at their visit to other developing countries. he mentioned to me about india because i was planning to travel extensively in india with my 11month old.i have visited delhi,remote areas of rajasthan, and bangalore.my baby was never sick and was eating everything that was available.on the other hand,my cousin son was on organic or 100% natural foods and filtered water, he was sick all the time with loose motions or sometimes he will throwup. once he got high fever and was admitted to hospital for 1 day.in 2 months he got so worst that she had to travel back to US.
7.about introducing spices my dr adviced me to start salt,sugar and our indian spices from 10month onwards. he said if i start doing it, my baby will be able to eat all our indian spices by the time he is toddler.
I am not a dr but i read the baby book and other resources from the internet. i always ask my dr about what i read.
i read your post in breastfeeding board also. your post are confusing.you answer prompty and then answer twice or thrice after re-reading the query of the person at the same time. it means you are not able to understand poster query at first time, but you are replying. and in your second post without getting an answer from the poster you reply the same query with differnt opinion. It is very confusing. i read many people comments about the same. so i am not the only one who has observed this.
in many of your post, you are talking about health of baby related to one idea and that is number of wet and soiled diapers.i am reading this second time that babies will not accept solids until 7,8,9 months and longer.It was since then i wanted to write to you.i have to disagree with your soiled diapers too.
my baby was having routine wet and soiled diapers but i felt that his intake of milk and food was decreasing day by day.after trying all otc medicines, i took him to my ped and he was suffering from stomach flu.my dr said he was having this from 1 week.so he was given a shot for that.it has happened to many of my friends too.
I appreciate your giving website information but your analysis is not satisfying.not to me atleast.
Thanks. Rebecca replied. Hi Priya, my dd is 7 months tomorrow and we began solids a few weeks ago. I did a lot of research and here is some of what I found.
1. Start slowly, introduce only 1 food at a time and wait 4 days (giving only that single food) until you introduce another. The reason for this is that if your baby is allergic to a food it may take 4 days to show and if you introduce too many foods at once, it will be difficult to know which food is causing the problem. Plus, babies' little digestive systems can't handle too much at once 2) Your baby may or may not be interested at 6 months. Go slowly. If your baby is not interested don't force, just keep offering from time to time. My lo didn't really show too much interest for the first 2 weeks. We offered some days and not on others. Then last week she lunged for her bowl of rice cereal and that was that. I have read of, and had friends whose, babies don't show interest in solids until 7, 8, 9 months or longer. Don't panic if this happens, just check in with your ped. to make sure that baby is continuing to grow and iron levels are good. On the other hand, your babe may devour solids from the get go. 3) at 6 months babies can take whole grains. If you can, avoid the processed cereals in the store - as they often have sugars and fillers and don't offer the best nutrition for your baby - and either make your own brown rice cereal or, if you are in the US or canada, buy an organic whole grain cereal - Earth's Best makes some good products. Millet and oats are also good. You can also skip cereals and go straight to fruits and veggies, cereals are not a must. 4. Some foods are more allergenic than others and it is recommended that you start these later. Good easy starter foods (suggestions, not law) are: brown rice, millet or oat cereal, papaya, apple sauce (cooked apple), banana, avacado, pumpkin, pears, sweet potato. At 7 months you can introduce tofu, egg yolk (some say to wait until 8 months and don't give egg white until 1 year as it is allergenic), carrots, green beans, peas, potatoes. Foods that have a higher risk (note risk not necessarily cause) of inducing allergies include egg white (mentioned), wheat, peanuts, cow's milk (yogurt is ok because in the transformation from milk to yogurt the protiens in the milk are partially broken down and it is the proteins that cause the most problems. Many resources say avoid giving cows milk to your baby until 1 year) 5. you asked for a schedule. From what I have read, and what I did, one feeding a day for a 6 month old is sufficient. In a feeding you give 1 or 2 food servings with a serving equivalent to 1 table spoon. 6. no need for salt, sugar, or chemicals. Babies don't need salt or sugar at this point and they offer nothing nutritionally and may condition your babe to want them (ie eventually resist foods without them), something you don't want. Also, babies little bodies are likely to be more effected by chemical fertilizers and pesticides that remain in foods than adults. If you can buy organic, do. 7. Perhaps the most important thing I read is to make sure that your baby continues to get breastmilk or formula as his/her primary nutrition. So if you introduce solids it should be in addition to, not instead of, breast milk. Your lo should be taking in between 30-32 ounces of milk per day. Wow, that's a lot. I hope some of it is useful. I found the followign websites useful: www(dot)askdrsears(dot)com. www(dot)kellymom(dot)com and www(dot)lalecheleague(dot)org. Good luck. Rebecca