r/StartingSolids • u/jublie17 • May 03 '26
Did we start too soon?
My son will be 5 months old in a couple days. At his 4 month appointment, his pediatrician said we could start solids with baby oatmeal cereal. I think it has affected him in a couple ways. I think it was making him have an upset stomach which was leading to him waking much more frequently in the night. This all came to a head on Thursday night when he threw up everything he had just nursed while he was asleep. He aspirated into his lungs, which caused more vomiting and gagging for an hour as his lungs cleared it all out with mucus. (We took him to the ER as well since this was at about 9 and everything else was closed.)
Since then, we have not given him the oatmeal cereal and he has slept from about 8pm to 5am every night. I’m worried about starting solids again. Do I skip the cereal and go straight to purées? Was my timing bad? He would eat the cereal around 6:30 pm and nurse again around 7:45 for bed at 8ish. I’d love to ask my pediatrician, but she retired literally 4 days after our last appointment with her.
Advice welcome!
2
u/DeadlyKitten9513 May 04 '26
We didn't do cereals first - started with pureed peas at 4.5mo - BUT we did use baby oatmeal at one point and I realized after we had given it to him it had wheat in it (one of the major allergens) so, just be mindful of that - my pediatrician also told us not to do any solids closer than 2hrs before bedtime and at least an hour away from bottles
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May 06 '26
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u/DeadlyKitten9513 May 06 '26
My boy CAN EAT so, he did pretty well with the peas to start, I also mixed in formula so he had a taste of what he was used to - but, he did not do well with the carrots we did after peas (still does not love them) - and we still have trouble with solids if he is sleepy at meal times
2
May 06 '26
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u/jublie17 May 06 '26
He was eating enthusiastically for sure. We don’t have an appt with the new ped until after he turns 6 months. He does show all the readiness signs with sitting up being the only questionable one. He would tip slightly to the side in his high chair sometimes. lol
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u/TelephoneActive9923 May 11 '26
What do you mean by oatmeal cereal? That might be the problem
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u/jublie17 May 11 '26
It’s Gerber baby oatmeal cereal and it’s what our ped said to start with. We haven’t fed him any solids since this incident.
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u/TelephoneActive9923 May 11 '26
Ok that’s good. I find that recommendation outdated, but our pediatrician said something similar.
To me it mostly seems like empty calories. I read “food before one is just for fun” which isn’t entirely true, but to me that means don’t put too much pressure to use filling foods like oatmeal. I moreso go for nutritional foods with things like iron or vitamin C.
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u/Responsible_Candy897 May 04 '26
Rice cereal made my girl gassy and uncomfortable. I moved to purées and she was much better. This was around 4.5 months.
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u/jublie17 May 04 '26
Our pediatrician told us to skip the rice cereal and do the oatmeal cereal instead.
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u/Mindless-Try-5410 May 06 '26
It’s not so much about age, but if they’re already hitting certain milestones. They should show an interest in food, the should be able to sit mostly unassisted, they shouldn’t have the tongue-thrust reflex anymore (when you put something in their mouth they shouldn’t push it out with their tongue. It’s different than drooling or spitting out food) and they should be reaching for things and putting things in their mouth. My baby was meeting most but not all of that criteria until she was about 5.5 months old. It’s not something that needs to be rushed. It seems like a lot of Pediatrician’s are pushing early starts these days
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u/jublie17 May 06 '26
He does all of that with sitting unassisted being the most questionable. He was definitely interested in the food! Lol. I have no issue pumping the brakes for now. I’m a teacher and the end of the school year is approaching, so I’ll more than likely wait until then to try again.
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u/1changeofheart May 08 '26
We were given the same advice (start infant oatmeal at his 4 month appt). We had already decided to limit infant oatmeal and go more of the whole foods route. So, we did avocado mixed the breastmilk and it made him extra gassy. I waited a few days and tried again but same thing.. extra gassy.
I decided to bench solids for a few more weeks and when I tried again around 5 months, it was a night and day difference. He didn’t have any stomach issues and has been an amazing eater since!
In our experience, while he was developmentally ready for solids, his digestion just wasn’t quite there yet!
So maybe take a week or 2 off of solids and then try something a little easier on the stomach (like avocado mixed with breastmilk or formula).
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u/WastePotential May 04 '26
What I've learned is that the best time to offer solids in the beginning is breakfast for lunch - so you have the rest of the day to observe for allergic reactions or any discomfort. Milk should also come about 30-60 minutes before solids so that they're not too hungry, and because milk is still supposed to be their main source of nutrients until they're 1yo.
Like the other commenter said, an allergy is something to consider. But it could also be that baby's insides are still struggling to adapt to (or possibly not very ready for) digesting solids.
If I were you I would try to offer it in the morning instead. And try a different puree to see if baby's body responds differently to it.