Working mom starting solids to 5 month old.

viki123 · Oct 31, 2014

Hi Ladies.
I have a 5 months old son who is going to daycare and I am planning to start solids for him next week. I went through different threads on foods and starting solid food. But I have some questions mostly for working moms who send their kids to daycare.
I am not sure is my son is fuzzy eater or not. Some days he takes an oz or 2 oz every 2 hours and some days he is on schedule taking 3-4 oz every 3-4 hours. It drives me crazy as why he behaves like that no consistency in drinking milk. Now days after taking milk he like to have some more like vitamin D, water (I started as he is on antibiotics for ear infection) or medicine etc but rejects milk. I am thinking he is ready of solids something different J
1. I am kind of confused as to give him ready made cereal like earth’s best or homemade rice cereal. If I give him home made rice cereal what kind of rice should I use? Can I cook rice cereal a head of time like night before or first thing in the morning? I am planning on giving him in the evening after we reach home. I can’t cook in the evening as I have other work like bathing, feeding him etc. We reach home by 6:30 and he sleeps by 8:00 or 8:30.
2. Any tips for sending food to daycare when using homemade cereal?
3. The big question I have is how to feed him? I am planning on taking a high chair for him as it will easy for him to explore food and get to use to it as he goes to toddler it would be helpful. But I am not sure if babies like that or not? Is there any other thing I can take for him which would be good for babies like that has toys, min booster seat with toys or so?
4. Any other tips or suggestion for working moms who send their babies to daycare would be help full.
Our schedule:
1. I wake up around 5:30 -6:00, prepare his bottles, make breakfast, pump milk and get ready by 7:30. During this time my husband takes care of my son. He generally wakes up between 6:30 & 7:00.
2. Form 7:30 I take care of him like, changing him, feeding him, and getting ready and by 8:15 we out for office and daycare.
3. We reach home around 6:30. 6:30 to 8:30, he feeds, takes bath & body massage, plays for some time and spleens by 8:30 or 9:00
4. After he sleeps, I pump my milk and do some clean up and hit the bed by 9:30 or 10:00. My husband takes care of reaming work like cleaning bottles, cooking etc in the evening.

ramyaramani · Oct 31, 2014

Answers given below:

viki123 said: ↑

I am not sure is my son is fuzzy eater or not. Some days he takes an oz or 2 oz every 2 hours and some days he is on schedule taking 3-4 oz every 3-4 hours. It drives me crazy as why he behaves like that no consistency in drinking milk. Now days after taking milk he like to have some more like vitamin D, water (I started as he is on antibiotics for ear infection) or medicine etc but rejects milk. I am thinking he is ready of solids something different J He might be preferring the sweet taste of medicines or he might just want variety or he is tired of bottle?

1. I am kind of confused as to give him ready made cereal like earth’s best or homemade rice cereal. If I give him home made rice cereal what kind of rice should I use? Can I cook rice cereal a head of time like night before or first thing in the morning? I am planning on giving him in the evening after we reach home. I can’t cook in the evening as I have other work like bathing, feeding him etc. We reach home by 6:30 and he sleeps by 8:00 or 8:30. If you are planning on preparing home made rice cereal then boiled rice is the way to go. Some people prefer brown but I am worried about arsenic. You can prepare the rice cereal powder and store it. From powder to cereal it is better to prepare it fresh. This takes about 3-4 minutes.

If you have to send cereal to day care then better to get started with store bought cereal.

2. Any tips for sending food to daycare when using homemade cereal? When you prepare home made rice cereal in advance it does tend to dry out and there is definitely a difference in taste.

3. The big question I have is how to feed him? I am planning on taking a high chair for him as it will easy for him to explore food and get to use to it as he goes to toddler it would be helpful. But I am not sure if babies like that or not? Is there any other thing I can take for him which would be good for babies like that has toys, min booster seat with toys or so? A simple high chair with food tray works well. In my opinion it is the easiest to clean..
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viki123 · Oct 31, 2014

Thanks Ramya, I have seen some of my friends kids prefer home made to store bought cereal. I will see what my son dose. He is 5 percentile in weight and I would like to give nutritious food for him to be healthy.

sanjuruby3 · Nov 4, 2014

Hi viki123, I have similar case and I just finished writing similar post myself ,then saw your post.
My baby is 4mon old and I am also planning to start solids.
She is not fussy eater but seems all kids have their own life style...Same as your kid, sometimes she gulps down 3-4 oz fast and sometimes she wont consume more than 2oz. So I think as long as their are growing well per growth chart, it should be okay.

Try to find pattern in their feeds.

What I noticed, morning when she wakes, she eats less...even if she is hungry, world is new to her and she is busy looking around. Then daytime, she wont eat more than 3oz...sometimes not even that.
later in the night in her sleep she can easily consume 4oz.

Ped told to reduce her diet in the night, so she is hungrier in daytime and consumes more daytime.
Also ped told she can now sleep 8hrs straight.

For solids, talk to Ped first. My ped did not say much ...And nurse said , you can wait for 6months if you want but I am planning to start end of this month.

Usually criteria is:
-sit upright with support ( high chair is very useful)
-double the birth weight
-kid is hungry most of the times.

viki123 · Nov 4, 2014

Hi sanjuruby3,
I tried to see a pattern in him but it varies a lot. He changes his pattern every week or so. Only thing consistent he has is for his night time sleep. He sleeps for 10 hours but wakes up for his milk and go back to sleep without fuzz. I tried to wean him at night by giving pacifier or other thing but did not help. He will not go to deep sleep unless he has milk, I also think he is thirsty as he drinks only 1 oz at night, I tried to dream feed no use, if he is done he is done, he will not open his mouth if we force feed he will spit it. Also his weight gain is really less; 7 percentile in his weight. He has some or the other health issue, last week he had cold and Ear infection as was on antibiotics, now he is getting rashes due to antibiotics use.
Our ped said we can start rice, oaths then Barley during his 4[SUP]th[/SUP] month visit but I wanted to wait till he completes 5 months. Since Sunday he seemed really hungry and feeding every 2 hours. I think he is ready, planning to start solids this Thursday.
I know high chair is useful, but now a days he is not staying at one place, he wants to grab everything , look around and play, So I bought a booster seat with toys for now (this what they are using at his DayCare for infants), and plan on buying high chair after 1 year or so when is ready to eat on his own.

chocolate · Nov 5, 2014

OP, Store bought rice cereal is good becoz they are made for babies and no hassles like making ourselves and worrying whether it will spoil when the baby actually eats it.Try the Gerber brand. Our baby has his first feeding as milk +cereal. I started with 1 spoon and now at 2 as he particularly didn't like it to increase it. Have you tried giving Threptin biscuits. Its indian biscuits for babies and excellent source of protein and vitamins. Very suitable for babies to be giving in early mornings.Good Luck.

sanjuruby3 · Nov 5, 2014

viki123- did you talk to your ped about low weight gain and feeding supplements or solids?
About what chocolate said -
My friend also gave rice cereals to her baby and said even if its store bought, it wont hurt. It has proteins they need. Also some more friend gave gerber stuff to her baby.
My ped also recommended that.
But when its my time to feed solids, I will try natural foods first. Give 1 type of solids for a week and wait for any allergies.
Applesauce, avocado..

Daal pani can also given, but peds here do not recommend any amount of salt.

I would like to hear what kind of foods you tried.

viki123 · Nov 5, 2014

Hi Chocolate,
I am fine with store bought cereal, but i would also like to give him home like ragi malt, rice and Dal malt that made for babies. some of my friends babies are preferring home made/fresh fruits&veggies to store bought. Besides that we can introduce some spices like jeera, turmeric or ghee if are giving home made food. These spices are good for tummies and baby health. I haven't started any solids yet. Ped said rice, oats or Barley till 6th month & can discuss about other during 6th month visit.

LuvLadoo35 · Nov 6, 2014

You can start by introducing fruits /veggie to him. Wash , cut and boil the fruit/veggie of your choice . After it cools down just blend it to a fine paste /puree consistency. Good ones to start with would be Carrots,apple,pears . No need to add any sugar/salt.
Eventually you can mix and match like 2 fruits , carrots + beets + peas.
Try one at a time and see how he reacts. You can pack 2 snack boxes of the same for the day care. Over the weekend you can wash rice + moong dal , dry it by spreading it on a clean cloth. Dry roast the dal, rice , jeera . Blend it to a coarse to fine powder and store this. TO cook this , add some ghee and water , now add some dal+ rice powder and let it boil well. Then cook for few more minutes till the raw smell goes away. You can feed this liquid paste for dinner.

I highly recommend the high chair. Its a good investment.

viki123 · Nov 6, 2014

Sanjuruby3,
My Ped is not worried too much about low weight. He said as long as his growth is study and active not to worry too much but try to feed him more. But my son doesn't open his mouth or moves the bottle away with his hand if he is done.
I am okay with store bought cereal but not the fruits and veggies from Jar. I am planning on making them during weekend or daily.

I will let you know how it goes, once i have started.