Help me solve this solids debate?

Question

Which is better to start my baby on rice cereal, fruits or veggies?

I have heard all three from lots of different people, websites, nurses and doctors.

Which is easier for babies to digest?

My first inclination would be that fruits and veggies are easier to digest because they are easier for us to digest as adults.

Answer 1

It's totally up to you. My son's doctor had us start with rice cereal but you can skip it if you want.

Just PLEASE only feed your baby ONE kind at a time for 4-5 days before starting another one. That way you can see if your baby has a reaction to it. And it's best to start with Stage 1 because they are single ingredient foods. Stage 2 has mixed things so if your baby has a reaction to something, you won't be sure which one you baby is allergic to.

Almost everything I read says that these foods in the beginning are just "practice" foods so they aren't really getting their nutrition from it so I don't think it will really matter if you skip the cereal. The reason I did the cereal was because I wanted my son to get used to eating from a spoon without having to worry about giving him something he will be allergic to. It's also less filling and since I exclusively breast fed at the time of starting, I didn't want him to fill up on foods and not wanting to nurse.

Either way, it's up to YOU and only you.

Edit: To mommy of Brody, my son eats EVERYTHING I give him too!!!

However, not all babies will be that willing to eat everything they're given. To be sure your baby will like veggies, I was told by his pediatrician to start with them first. This is the order he suggested: green beans, peas, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes. He suggested to stick with all the same colors first before giving a different one (though I'm not sure why?). After giving all those veggies then he suggested to start fruits. Some babies WILL be picky with what they eat so it's best to start with the bland stuff first rather than the sweets first.

Answer 2

Most doctors and most mothers will recommend that you start out with the rice cereal mixed with some formula or breast milk.  You want it to be a fairly thin consistency.  This will help your baby become accustomed to eating from a spoon with less worry about food allergies.  Once you start a baby on fruits and vegetables, you have to watch more closely for reactions.  All of my kids, and every baby I know, started on cereal before anything else.

Answer 3

I agree with most of these answers, But I do remember 1 big thing that I messed up when I started feeding my son who (like his father) is very picky & think that it had to do with the way I started feeding him... I started him with rice cereal, & he DID NOT like it so like the "smart" person I am I gave him FRUIT since I figured they taste better so he'll probably like it... BAD MOVE he then decided that fruit was ALL he wanted & would hardly eat veggies. Now that he's older he'll eat a handful of different veggies, but I think he would have appreciated them more if I had started off with them first (which is advice that I got AFTER I started him on fruit =/)

SO...

My suggestion, Rice cereal, Veggies, THEN fruit

Answer 4

a lot of people start with rice cereal first. it doesn't have nutritional value and can't be proven to fill up babies tummies for longer. but, it is bland so its not so hard on babies stomachs. there is nothing wrong with skipping cereal and going straight to fruits and veggies. its just up to the mother.  

Answer 5

you are going to get all kinds of answers but i never fed my son rice cereal, i tried once and he hated it.  i started at 5 months with fruits and veggies, i started with a little fruit in the morning and a little veggie at night.  my son eats everything!

*remember in many countries they don't have "baby rice cereal" to start a baby eating and babies start out eating whatever adults eat, sometimes meat or fish is a first food!  so i don't think there is any need to begin with rice cereal.

Answer 6

Anyone I've talked to (my daughter's pediatrician and friends/family) said to start her on rice cereal first, which I did.  At her 4 month appointment we got the ok to start her on vegis.  My daughter didn't really like rice cereal though so I put her on oatmeal and she's done fine with that.  Of course she doesn't like it as much anymore since she's been eating yummy vegis!  

Answer 7

The good news is that we don't have to debate this issue at all as most anyway you choose to introduce solids is fine.  Every child and every family is different so you can do what seems right and it will end up the same for all children eventually.  The bottom line is that by around 12 months old most children will have had an introduction to all the food groups and will be likely ready to eat just about everything that the rest of the family eats.  There are pros and cons with whichever food group you begin with.  Rice cereal has long been a first food choice simply because of it's ease to mix in varying thicknesses as well as being a low allergenic food and contains iron.  However, beginning with meat, thinned with breast milk or formula, also contains a good amount of iron.  Some prefer to begin with fruit because of it's sweeter taste and they reason it will help baby eat more.  Others say do veggies first because they are harder to get baby to like.  The truth is that whatever you first offer your baby after a diet of breast milk or formula has the potential to cause digestive disorders.  Their tiny, developing systems can get constipated, develop excess gas, and get tummy cramps whether you begin with cereal, fruits, veggies, or meats.  True food allergies are not that common, but sometimes food sensitivities are.  If this happens when introducing a particular food to your baby it generally works to stop offering that food for a month of so and try again.  If you begin to introduce solids around 6 months it won't really matter what you begin with.  Nutritionally speaking, breast milk and/or formula is going to continue to provide the mainstay of vitamins and nutrients for proper growth and development for the first year of a baby's life.  With my youngest, it worked extremely well for her to be breast fed exculisvely until just before she turned 7 months when she became very interested in everything we were eating.  We began her solid introduction by simply giving her what we were eating off our plates.  We offered her some commercially prepared baby food, but she'd much rather gnaw on a slice of fresh peach then eat pureed peaches from a jar.  Except for some travel times, we basically skipped the baby food all together.  At the time we didn't know this method had a name, but it is called Baby-Led Weaning.  If I had known how well it worked, I would have tried it with my older 3 kids.  My youngest is now 11 and really is an exceptionally healthy eater and very adventuresome as well.  She loves all veggies and some of her favorite foods include mussels, shrimp, fish, and steak.  She even eats sushi, which I'm not a fan of, but the rest of the family loves.  I personally think that because those first few months of learning to eat solids is for supplement, practice, experimenting and eventually all babies will be eating from all the food groups, that it really doesn't matter in which order foods are first introduced.  

Answer 8

It's up to u, really, but I did rice cereal, veggies, fruits

Answer 9

My kids (7m, 3y & 41/2y) all started with rice cereal, then vegetables and about 8 months fruit.  Thought my last daughter hates the plain rice cereal so I bought the latest one available that has fruit mixed in with it and she loves it. She also have 3 meals a day now.  2 cereal (1 morning & night) & vegetables in the middle of the day.    If you are really unsure why not have a look at this website. http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/  It has a lot of helpful stuff that helps with my kids and it may help you to.  Good luck and hope this helps.

Answer 10

We skipped rice cereal altogether with our 2nd child.

I think research is showing that it basically has no nutritional value and that it's better to start with fruit or vegies.

Avocado is thought to be a good first food, my son loved it when he first started out on solids. As far as vegies go, orange ones: pumpkin, sweet potato etc are generally recommended first.

Answer 11

Pretty much everyone says to use rice cereal first, and pretty much everyone does. There is now new research that shows babies digestive systems to not have enough of the correct enzymes to break down grains. Your best bet is to do your research and choose what you feel is right for your baby.

I gave my son rice cereal alone, twice. Then just gave gim veggies and fruits alone, I will however add a little rice cereal with some formula, if the food is overpowering in flavor..like peaches, or if the food is too runny.

EDiT:

someone said that they gave their baby fruit first and then baby disliked veggies, I think that is a personal preference per baby because my son tried 3 fruits in a row when we were starting, and there is not one food that he wont eat! seriously, I never met anyone like him lol

Answer 12

Rice cereal is the easiest for baby to digest.

Adults digest cereal slower because we eat less refined cereal than baby cereal is. It is specially made to digest easier.