When can a baby eat baby food?
Generally speaking, baby food is not recommended prior to six months of age. However, most babies become interested in food before that age. Start your baby on rice cereal around 3-4 months of age; keep the consistency more liquid-like to start and gradually thicken as your baby learns to swallow more efficiently. Stage 1 baby foods would be okay at this age also. It is recommended to start a baby on stronger tasting vegetables first, then introduce sweeter tasting fruits. This is so a baby is less likely to reject vegetables. Introduce one food per week to check for allergies. As baby’s teeth come in, introduce soft cheeses, bread or steamed vegetables, all cut into small dice to avoid choking.
My pedi gave me the ok to start at 4 months. Everyone “criticized” me on here when I asked for advice so I quit asking but anyways….I started with a cereal/formula mixture and then tried 1 new food every 4-5 days, in case of any allergies. She still is primarily bottlefed but eats cereal and fruits/veggies about once or twice a day. They usually recommend starting foods at 6 months, but my daughter is in the 90th percentile for height and only 50th for weight (which isn’t horrible, she’s just a “tall” baby since her daddy is 6’2) so they wanted to plump her up a little lol. You’re probably going to get a few negative responses since your baby is so little, but go with what the doctor says and if it seems like he/she isn’t full after an entire bottle, try a little bit of cereal. Good luck.
