When your baby gets through all of the cereals and is showing all of the signs that it is time for more solid foods it may be time to start feeding him or her baby food. Your baby should still be eating several tablespoons of cereal a couple of times per day, but you can start to add in vegetables when they are ready.

You should feed them a new food one at a time and allow at least three days before trying something new. This is important in case there is an allergy so that you will know which food triggered the allergy. You will initially start with one teaspoon of vegetables and increase this to about ¼ to ½ of a cup at two or three feedings every day.
Always start with vegetables and never fruit, because once your baby acquires a sweet tooth they will resist other foods. They have to develop a taste for the vegetables first. Vegetables available are peas, carrots, green beans, squash and sweet potatoes. If your baby does not like a particular vegetable do not give up on it, give them a few days and then try it again.

Once you have them eating all of the vegetables you can start with fruits. Fruit guidelines are the same as vegetables. You should start with a teaspoon and work up to ¼ to ½ of a cup at two or three feedings per day. Now is the time to teach your child good eating habits. You can start teaching them about good nutrition now. Your child will react more to you than they will the taste of a food. If you do not personally like a food, like peas, you have to put that aside. When you feed your child a new food smile and talk positively. This will have a lasting impression on them.

The next set of foods is finger foods. You know your child is ready for these when they can transfer things from one hand to the other. They can also grab objects with their thumb and forefinger, also called the pincer grasp. At this stage they are also putting everything in their mouths. Good finger foods are toasted bagels (cut up), small pieces of banana, teething crackers, low sugar O cereals and well cooked spiral pasta. You can also introduce proteins at this time. Try scrambled eggs, pureed meats, boneless fish, cooked, mashed tofu and mashed beans with soft skins. You can also introduce small amounts of cottage cheese, plain yogurt and soft pasteurized cheeses. Just remember no cow milk until your baby is one year old.

Your baby will need to eat every couple of hours when they are first born. That is about every two hours from when they start a bottle, not when they finish one. At first it may seem like you are always feeding your baby. Do not worry because as they get older they will start eating their meals farther and farther apart.

One word of caution is to always make formula according to the package instructions. Either using too much powder or too little can both hurt your baby. Many people think that adding an extra scoop of powder will help their baby sleep longer at night, but this just is not true and it could make your baby very sick.

Your baby’s digestive tract is still growing and forming so solid foods are off limits for now. There are ways to tell if you baby is getting enough formula to eat. Babies eat when they are hungry and stop eating when they are full. This means that the most important thing you can do is read your baby’s hunger clues when you want to know how much to feed them. They may eat more during the growth spurts that occur at about ten days, three weeks, six weeks, three months and six months. When your baby is not feeling well they may want to eat less.

Babies will cry when they are hungry. You have to resist the urge to respond to every whimper with a bottle, especially if baby has just eaten. Your baby may also be wet, need a burping or just wants to be close to you. Another clue that they are actually hungry is smacking their lips, sucking or putting their hands in their mouths. If your baby is still hungry after a bottle he or she will quickly turn their head around looking for more. If you need to make more formula immediately after the first bottle try only making an ounce or two at a time. If you make too much additional formula you will just end up having to throw it out.