When do i start cereal with my baby

It can take time for your child to adjust to new food textures. Your child might cough, gag, or spit up. Some foods are potential choking hazards , so it is important to feed your child foods that are the right texture for his or her development. To help prevent choking, prepare foods that can be easily dissolved with saliva and do not require chewing.

Feed small portions and encourage your baby to eat slowly. Always watch your child while he or she is eating. Learn more about potential choking hazards and how to prevent your child from choking.

Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. Did You Know? Your child needs certain vitamins and minerals to grow healthy and strong.

To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address. In the meantime, enjoy breastfeeding or formula from a bottle until she is ready for solid foods. Looking for more tips on feeding your growing baby? Check out Tips on Beginning Solid Foods. Advice given here is not intended to provide a basis for action in particular circumstances without consideration by a competent professional.

It's hard to know when your baby is ready for cereals and other solid foods. We got a doctor to weigh in on exactly when to start solids. But it may be better to hold off solids. Why Wait? Which Foods to Introduce First After she gets used to rice cereal, you can then introduce oat or barley cereal followed by vegetables, fruit and then finally meat.

Henry Bernstein, M. He also has an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School. But recent studies suggest that waiting that long could make a baby more likely to develop food allergies. Offer these foods to your baby as soon as your little one starts eating solids. Make sure they're served in forms that your baby can easily swallow. Fruit juices are not recommended for babies. Juice offers no health benefits, even to older babies. Juice can fill them up leaving little room for more nutritious foods , promote obesity, cause diarrhea , and even put a baby at risk for cavities when teeth start coming in.

Reviewed by: Madhu Desiraju, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. Other signs that babies are ready to eat solids foods: They're interested in foods. For example, they may watch others eat, reach for food, and open their mouths when food approaches. They have the oral motor skills needed to move food to the throat and swallow it.

They usually weigh twice their birth weight, or close to it.