When to transition to baby cereal and/or pureeds Stage one baby foods

This question seems to come up a lot in the feeding world....

Why? Well, my personal thought on this topic... is that back in the 1980's and before...... it was believed that babies should start getting baby cereals as early as possible because doing this would help them to sleep through the night. Thats why today in 2009...when we are asked..."How is he sleeping"...we cringe...because we know when we say..."oh...pretty good, some nights are better than others though"...that we are going to hear..."well, he is up because he is hungry...you need to start giving him baby cereal".

Soooo...whats the answer? When should you start? Were they right in the 80's? Does giving to them earlier help them sleep better?

Most pediatricians recommend the following as a standard of when to introduce baby cereals and pureeds:

* Start rice cereal between 4-6 months of age
NOTE: we say rice cereal because it is the least likely out of oat, wheat, mixed and rice to have an allergic reaction.
NOTE: if your family has food allergies, intolerhances, or seasonal allergies try to wait to introduce the cereal until as close to 6 months as possible.
NOTE: After you introduce the the rice cereal...monitor your baby for any reactions...constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, increase in spitting up, skin rashes, irritability, etc..these could be signs of an allergy or a sign that your baby's tummy isn't ready for solid foods yet...wait two weeks then try again.

So...start rice cereal between 4-6 months of age...CHECK...got it...but...uh...why?

Well...for several reasons. God designed little ones to start taking cereals at this age...how cool is that! Between 4-6 months of age, the infant's "fat pads" (aka their chubby cheeks) start to get less chubby inside their mouths...which gives them more room in their mouth...

Aha! Isn't that awesome! When infants are drinking liquids they need less room in their mouths...but in order to introduce pureeds...they need a little bit more room...so what does God do...he makes that possible by decreasing the fat pads in their cheeks and giving the babies that extra room that they need!

Another reason is that between the ages of 4-6 months babies start being able to sit up more..they are gaining more external stability..they are a little less "floppy" :) Their heads need less support. This gain in stability allows all of their energy to be focused on their mouths..and the fine motor movements needed to eat cereals and/or pureeds... their tongues transition from an "in/out" movement needed in sucking from a bottle to a more complex oral motor movement needed to eat cereals. At the beginning of trialing with the cereal your baby may push the cereal out of their mouths with their tongue (because they are used to doing this movement when they sucked on the bottle)...but as they gain experience in eating the cereal their tongue will stop pushing the food out...and will begin to remain quiet in the oral cavity (aka mouth)...and will wait for the spoon to approach...

NOTE: in order to decrease the forward tongue motion...as you put the spoon in their mouth...put some firm downward pressure on their tongue...this does 2 things...it helps to train their oral muscles to change to the new motion...and it helps increase their upper lip to close over the spoon and help to get the bolus (aka food) off the spoon instead of needing you to scrape it on their gums as you remove the spoon.

Another reason for waiting is that....research has found that delaying introduction of cereals and pureeds until 4-6 months (closer to 6 months is better)...helps to prevent future allergies and intolerhances to foods. Before 4-6 months babies do not have a mature enough digestive system to handle anything but formula or breastmilk...they just aren't ready yet...they need more time. Giving the food too early can hurt the digestive system in your baby.

So thats it...

When should you introduce baby cereal? 4-6 months...but try to wait as close as possible to 6 months...they just aren't ready before that...their tummy isn't ready, their mouth isn't ready and their muscles aren't ready...

NOTE: if your little one was pre-mature..you will need to use their adjusted age in order to determine when to introduce cereals...meaning if they were born 8 weeks early and they are 4 months chronological age...and 2 months adjusted age...then they are too young to start cereals!! Actually, it is recommended that infants that were born premature should wait until their adjusted age is 6 months before they start cereals...because their little systems are even more sensitive....meaning that the above mentioned child would need to be 8 months chronological age and 6 months adjusted before starting cereals!!

** As allows it is recommended that you always check with your pediatrician...if he/she says to wait longer...then wait longer...I just wouldn't introduce them ANY EARLIER THAN 4-6 MONTHS IF AT ALL POSSIBLE!!!!