I started feeding my baby solid food at four months. We started Xavier on carrots, mostly because I was told that it was difficult to get babies to like vegetables. We didn't wait one week, as suggested. I decided that since both his father and I were not allergic to anything, it meant that he had a greater chance of having the same make-up.
After we began him on carrots, we would give him the baby rice or the baby oatmeal in the morning as a kind of breakfast. I would mix it with his formula, along with water, and he would eat it. He hated it, but it did seem to keep him fuller than when he had just formula or breast milk. Xavier is such a strong eater now that I feel like this introduction to solid foods was the best method for us. Obviously this isn't a formula for everyone, and many mothers would shiver at the thought of giving a four month old formula.
Once we began Xavier on formula, we would give him an eight ounce bottle at night, and that seemed to do the trick for getting him to sleep through the night. His pre-bottle schedule consisted of a midnight, three, and six a.m. feeding. When we had finally gave him the 8 ounces, he would sleep from 11-6, which wasn't great, but we did get more sleep. Obviously this wasn't always true. There were nights when he would wake up, but for the most part, we got more sleep.
Once we started with our baby food, I began to wonder how often I should give him those cute packets. I thought that just one in the morning and one at night was good. When I took Xavier in for his nine month check-up, the doctor told me I should have been feeding him more than that.
My cousin, a pediatrician, told me that each of these little packets only has about 80 calories, so a baby doesn't get a lot of sustenance from them. Between these two professionals, I found that you should give these packets along with formula/milk, but that these packets do not replace a meal. Begin by feeding the solid food, but once the baby loses interest, begin feeding them milk until they are full.
