At what age do you start to feed a baby with baby food?

Question

I mean the food that comes in jars, Well with my first child 5 years ago the health visitor told me to feed him food from 3 months old, With my second baby 3 years ago they told me the law had changed and baby should not be fed baby food till 6 months old. I just had my 3rd baby 5 weeks ago and i am just wondering when to start feeding him food... I live in England and people say different ages when it comes to feeding baby food.

Answer 1

Of course mummy knows best , but at three months it highly unlikely that your baby will be able to properly digest its food and this could lead to stomach upset and not a very happy little bub. Always only intoduce one food at a time , this is to rule out any possible food allergies and make it easier for their digestion. It would be safer to start at around 4 or 5 months , and even this would only be one 'meal' a day (usually consists of 1/2 teaspoons to start). I would suggest starting on baby rice ceareal , as its bland and quite easily digested, and then after maybe one week you could add a little bit of milk or fruit juice to it to add a little bit of flavour. Then things like pureed vegies (single vegies not mixed) are great, especially if u puree them yourself , but dont feel bad if you cant, the jars are good aswell, just alwys check ingredients and if something sonds scary dont give it to your baby. Dont forget to go slow , as your baby still must learn to 'chew' and swallow , this is very different to how they breath suck and swallow at the same time with bottle and/or breastfeeding. Good luck xoxo

Answer 2

It is best for baby to wait until 6 months.

Unless you have a very hungry baby who is showing all the sign of being ready, because no two babies are alike, so the strict guidlines do not apply for every single baby.

Generally once your baby can sit up well, loss of tongue thrust, doubled birth weight, can turn head if uninterested, SHOWS an interest in food, and is consuming more than 32oz of formula/breastmilk a day.

My son started at 4 months.

Answer 3

Firstly, every baby is different. My son was born weighing a massive 10lb 1oz and was a very hungry baby. By the time he was 3 months his milk wasn't filling him up so I started to wean him. By contrast, my daughter didn't need weaning until around 6 months. You know whats best for your Son so just do what you think is right. If you need to talk it over with someone, Health Visitors are there to help and guide you through things like this.

Answer 4

infant rice cereal, they say no earlier than four mos. of age, veggies and fruit, the recommendation is six months. Wow the bottles say three months? That surprises me. In Canada they always say 6 months +

Answer 5

They recoomend 4 four months for rice cereal..

work your way up after that..

Hope this helps

Answer 6

You just need to follow your motherly instincts. I have 3 children and they were all ready to eat baby food at different times. Usually around 4 months is a good time to try cereal, then after that start with vegetables, then fruits. Always remember to try one food at a time, usually for 3 or 4 days, to make sure they don't have food allergies. I suggest at 4 months try giving your baby some cereal in the mornings, but only like a teaspoon, then work your way up. If your baby is very "healthy" and his/her bottles just aren't filling them up, then you may have to start cereal sooner than you thought. If this is your third baby, you know what you're doing, just follow your baby's cues, he/she will let you know if they need more to eat.

Answer 7

In the U.S. the guidelines are anywhere from 4-6 months. Just go with what works best for your child. Some are ready sooner and some are ready later. Guidelines are just there for guidance and are not set in stone rules.

Answer 8

eww baby food in jars is manky

make your own food and just like make it in tiny little bits for a baby to swallow :)

Answer 9

we started around 3 or 3 1/2 months

Answer 10

Medical advice is now to wait until 6 months. Sometimes babies need solids before that which is why the jars have younger ages on them - but it's much safer to wait until 6 months. There's a significant risk of permanent digestive problems and allergies if you start earlier.

There's no advantage in starting early other than bragging rights for mum - and that's not an issue, right?

Answer 11

Babyfood, whether in jars, in a box (cereal) or home-made is not normally started until after 6 months.  (The stated guidelines in the U.S., and most of the rest of the world say 6 months -- I don't imagine that British babies have different digestive systems, nutritional needs or allergy risks than babies elsewhere.)

Babyfood companies, of course, want to sell their products, so, until someone forces them to do otherwise, they will put the earliest possible 'ages' on their labels -- so people will buy them as early as possible.

As for what 'people say' ... from the posts here, it's pretty clear that MANY  people (and many doctors) are either unfamiliar with the guidelines, or feel that they don't matter, or aren't relevent to THEIR babies.

But medically, early solids are not necessary, and put baby at added risk for a wide range of medical problems.  

(And rice cereal is no 'better' than jarred food. It's no more digestible, no less allergenic, and no more necessary. If a baby IS ready for solids [at whatever age you choose to believe] he can start with rice, or oatmeal, or jarred food, or home-made baby foods.)

Answer 12

Baby food in jars?  I wouldn't ever.  Make something from your own food using a mincer, but without so much salt and sugar.  As for age you can let them try food at a younger age than those in the know say, but it is best to actually feed babies proper food as they start not to be satisfied with just milk and this is usually around 4 months.

Answer 13

The current recommendation is 6 months for solids, but i believe that every mum knows their baby best. I started my son at 5 months because he was always hungry and he took to solids really well.

The jars say 3 months because the companies that manufacture them hope that people will buy them even though the recommendation is 6 months. In Australia, the lowest age ive seen on a jar is 4 months...

Answer 14

the best way to feed a baby is breast feed it till 10months and then make your own food cause the food that comes in jars has been on them shelves for ages as they do not go off unless you open there lids.try going to a store and buying fresh vegetables and fish and take it home and wash them all and chop them then pop them in a foodprocessorr and let it all turn into little cubes.then feed it to the baby they will LOVE it belive me.but you should never put sugar or salt in any of the babies food cause it is very bad for them you can only start doing that once your baby is 1 yrs old.this way your baby will grow up healthily.good luck!! :)

Answer 15

my HV advised me at 4mos to start weaning, and my daughter was great with it. before weaning, she was taking 8oz of aptamil hungry baby milk every 2hrs, through the day and night. she was so much more satisfied.

some people will say 6mos, some will say have the baby self wean. but it never done my daughter any harm at all. she had no allergies, isnt a fussy eater, eats very healthily - lots of fruit and veg and she wont even entertain sweets. after all the food is made for infants of that age. but ive never seen food for a 3mos old, all the food i ever seen was 4mos plus.