After your baby has been eating rice cereal for a week or two, it’s safe to feed him other infant cereals – such as oatmeal – in order to introduce a little bit of variety into his diet. According to Sandra Bartholmey, Ph.D., Manager of Nutrition Research for the Gerber Company, “Infant cereals provide needed iron in a food that is well accepted and well tolerated by most babies, and some contain vitamin C to help iron absorption. Additional B vitamins are also added to infant cereals as well as small amounts of calcium and phosphorus, minerals essential for bone growth and development.”
Start your baby with one cereal feeding per day, then work up to two. At first, you still want Baby’s diet to be made up predominantly of formula or breast milk. If your baby does well with cereal, you can begin to slowly broaden his culinary horizons.
Opinions vary on what food is the best to introduce after cereal. Some experts claim that green vegetables such as peas should be introduced first – their reason being that if you offer fruits first, Baby will develop such a strong preference for sweet tastes that he’ll have trouble accepting vegetables later on. Other experts say that it doesn’t really matter which order you introduce fruits and veggies in, that babies either like them or don’t like them regardless. Either way, if you’re using jarred baby foods, pay attention to the label. Start with the ones that say “First Foods” or “Perfect for Beginners” or something along those lines; those are single fruits and vegetables, pureed completely smooth, with nothing else added (except for some water, if necessary). Mixed fruits and veggie combinations are usually geared toward older babies and may contain little chunks. Don’t introduce meats just yet, as babies’ digestive systems won’t be able to process them until later.
It’s fine to introduce different foods to vary Baby’s diet, but always give it at least four days to ensure that the food doesn’t cause digestive or allergy problems. If you give your baby squash, for example, give him only squash at his solid-food feeding for the next three days, gradually increasing the amount. If he seems to have sensitivity to the food at all (a rash, upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation, etc.) discontinue giving it to him. If after four days there have been no adverse reactions to a food, it’s okay to introduce a new one.