Babies 1st Feeding Tips

I just recently started feeding my little guy. It’s been a little hard figuring out how to feed him. I’ve had 2 other children and I still need help. I asked a lot of friends and family and here are a couple of tips that I got from them and things I’ve picked up in my own experience. I hope this helps new mommies out there trying to figure it out too.

Things you need:

Rice Cereal

Formula

Soft tip plastic baby spoon

Bowl

Bib

Chair

Wet rag

Mat for under the chair

Camera

1. Pick a time that works best for you and baby. Is the baby usually happy and easy going in the morning, noon or evening?  This doesn’t have to be the same time everyone else is eating but it can be. I found the best time for us is in the morning or afternoon.

2. Find a good chair and use it. I got a high chair and I really like it. I’ve used booster seats before. The kind you put on your regular chair and those work nice too. I decided  this time I would use a chair all the time. My last child I feed on my lap and I was feeding him that way until he was 3. I learned my lesson. It was hard to teach him to sit in his own chair.

3. Try to always feed your baby at the table. I have learned from my other two boys that it pays to eat at the table. This teaches your baby that we only eat at the table and not in the front room, bedroom or anywhere else in the house.

4. Start with rice cereal first and then start introducing new foods. Introduce one food a week to make sure the baby doesn’t have an allergic reaction. 

5. When your child does well with cereal you can start with solids. I feed my child for at least 2 weeks with rice cereal before starting with green beans. When I started the green beans I gave him a little bit of it and some rice too. Put a little bit of food in a bowl from the container. You don’t want the rest of the food to get germs. If you feed from the container you have to throw away the rest of the food.  

6. Take lots of pictures. I promise you’ll be so happy you did. It’s fun to look back and see the reaction to the food and what the experience was like.  

7. Don’t get discouraged if your child doesn’t seem to like it. It’s ok. It’s new and they have to get use to it. It might take a week before they really start to understand what’s going on and enjoy it.

8. It’s ok if the baby gets messy. I found that feeding my baby naked for the first couple of feedings worked best. I didn’t get an outfit dirty and I just had to wipe him down.

9. This experience is hard but so much fun at the same time. Have fun and learn to not worry so much.  If things get tricky call the doctor and ask them for help or someone who has done this before.

This is just my experiences and preferences. Everyone does this differently. There is no right time to start and no right way to go about feeding your baby. You do what is right for you and what works. Every baby is different. Some like cereal and do well and some don’t like it at all and go straight to veggies or fruit. It’s really up to you.

Have fun and enjoy your baby. It’s just the beginning of a great journey.