Anyone start with meat?

[heatherandlouis]

our ped also said that's what the latest research says. so, we tried it but DS hated it. Totally my fault - don't do what I did!! I just fed him pureed straight from the jar - GROSS! new mom, clueless. You have to mix it with yummy stuff like sweet potatoes, peas, etc...so it covers up the taste some. Or, I just started buying jars w/ it already mixed in (Earth's best has some yummy sounding ones, like tender beef spinach, mango chicken risotto that DS loves!).

My son loves the Earth's Best gourmet meals with meat in them. His first food was pureed turkey and sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. He loved it and he was 5 1/2 months old.

[MontrealMum]

Our ped also recommended starting with meat first. I thought she was nuts and posted here about it at the time - not just due to this, but for other reasons as well. We eventually switched to another ped It's true that there are studies that say the iron in meat can be beneficial. But my DS didn't test as iron-deficient so I felt fine starting him with cereals, then fruits/veggies. Baby cereal and formula (which I used to make the cereal, did not want to waste BM) are both iron-fortified, though the studies say that naturally occurring iron (such as in meat) is processed by the body more efficiently so take that FWIW.

We did meat around 9-10 mos or so. He HATED it, so I'm really glad that we didn't start with that. Solids would have been even more of a battle than they were. FWIW, I didn't do jarred meats, but made my own purees. The only successful meat was liver and onions mixed with a little plain yogurt.

At nearly 3 yo my DS still doesn't like meat much (neither did I as a young child) so maybe this is just particular to our family. He did take to fruits, some veg., and yogurt and cottage cheese quite quickly and with much happiness (we started these at 10 mos, which is on the early side). Baby cereal was a bust too. Have you ever tasted it? Ick!

[llama8]

We started cereal and fruit/veggies right before my DD turned 4 months and we began meat at 6 months (as per my ped).

I guess you could start with meat, but I have never known anyone to. I'm sure it won't hurt them, but many babies don't like meat, so it may be more helpful to start solids with fruits (which most babies like) so they don't reject solids.

[essnce629]

I guess you could start with meat, but I have never known anyone to. I'm sure it won't hurt them, but many babies don't like meat, so it may be more helpful to start solids with fruits (which most babies like) so they don't reject solids.

If your baby is rejecting solids then there's probably a reason why-- like they're just not developmentally ready yet. The AAP recommends nothing but breastmilk or formula till 6 months and offering solids after that. But even at 6 months lots of babies aren't ready for solids and some still even have a tongue thrust reflex or can't sit up on their own unassisted. I offered DS2 solids at 6 1/2 months old and he had nothing to do with them. So we waited and would offer every 2 weeks or so. It wasn't till 8 months old that he actually started eating solids and at that point he was completely feeding himself regular food. I wouldn't worry about "rejecting solids." All babies are going to start eating real food at some point. And for some babies that isn't till closer to one year old.

[llama8]

If your baby is rejecting solids then there's probably a reason why-- like they're just not developmentally ready yet. The AAP recommends nothing but breastmilk or formula till 6 months and offering solids after that. But even at 6 months lots of babies aren't ready for solids and some still even have a tongue thrust reflex or can't sit up on their own unassisted. I offered DS2 solids at 6 1/2 months old and he had nothing to do with them. So we waited and would offer every 2 weeks or so. It wasn't till 8 months old that he actually started eating solids and at that point he was completely feeding himself regular food. I wouldn't worry about "rejecting solids." All babies are going to start eating real food at some point. And for some babies that isn't till closer to one year old.

My DD never rejected solids, she has loved them since day 1...but it is a chore to get her to eat meat. She doesn't care for it all that much. All I was saying is that it may be better to start with fruit, which babies tend to like more. My DD knows what she likes and doesn't like. She has been much more satisfied since starting solids and she loves the variety of taste. She sat up at 5 months on her own and ate solids like a champ at 4 months (ped advised). She may not have had as great an experience with solids if I started with meat, which she clearly doesn't like as much as the other foods.

To OP:

I would follow the ped's advice, but be prepared for baby's to dislike meat much more than fruit and even veggies. Perhaps start a fruit right after introducing meat so you can mix it and mellow out the meat flavor.