No, don't start just yet. Rice has no nutritional value and he needs the nutrition he is getting from formula. How much are you feeding him every day. You can try giving him 6 ounces of formula at this point, depending on his size. More frequent feedings will help as well. He may just need a little more than usual right now because of a growth spurt.

You baby is ready to start eating regular foods when he can use his tongue to move the food to the back of his mouth. This is usually around 4 months or even later for a lot of babies. I usually start giving my babies a start in food around 5 months. I know you are not breastfeeding, but most doctors recommend breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months, and I try to do that....lol. But that means that they can live on just formula or breastmilk exclusively for that lone.

When you do start with food, you need to start out slowly with cereal, even mix a little of his formula in the cereal to give it a familiar taste. You will need to feed him when he is not hungry at first so that he will not become aggravated and upset that the only food available is something he doesn't know how to eat yet. Starting solid foods is a learning process.

After he has the hang of watered down cereal, you can mix some of the first steps jars (or your own pureed) veggies and fruits into the cereal or even give him them plain. He will have his own likes and dislikes, so it might take a while to figure that out. I heard that you should start them out with veggies before fruits because they will always like the sweeter fruits more, but I've had babies that like both.

I hope that's enough info for you for now. If you have any more concerns, please ask.

Oh btw, juice isn't necessary. He will get all the fluids he needs from his formula. The juice will just fill him up temporarily. I don't even give my babies any juice until after a year old when they are eating almost all regular food. Always give your children watered down juice because of the high sugar content being bad for their teeth and health.

My daughter's pediatrician said to start her on vegetables at 3 months. He said not to start on fruits because babies develop "sweet tooths" and are likely to refuse any variety.

Mixing rice cereal isn't going to do anything nutritional for your baby. Yes, it has vitamins and stuff in it, but it really only fills their bellies.

Ask your child's pediatrician when they recommend starting on jar foods/rice cereal.

Unless they want to eat from a spoon, there's no need to give them solids. Like mominashoe said, they can live exclusively on milk alone for the first 6 months. My goal is to breastfeed only for 6 months, then start rice cereal, then veggies. Plans can change, but even if my doc says to start on solids at 3 months, I probably won't listen. IMO, it's MY baby, "I" know what's best, a doctors opinion is only one opinion, and I have more than one opinion telling me not to start solids at 3 months.

I just don't get some doctors and some of their advice... I am seeing posts where the doc says the baby should be rolling over at three months, start eating solid food at three months. I have never ever seen anything earlier than the 4 months for starting solids and rolling over. I hate how they are making moms worried about their babies like that. It's not fair. The baby is ready when the baby is ready, not when the doctor decides.

You GO Girl............you don't need to go back to College when your kids are grown, you already know more than half the people I know! You are so out there! HUGS!

LOL Thanks so much! I'm actually just doing it for the legal certification: after what I already know and the experience I get on here, it's going to be a piece of cake

Does your doctor have a specific reason for starting your baby on solids so early? I'm totally with you on this one. 3 months sounds way too early. 4-6 months is when people usually introduce solids to their babies.

Another thing that I read is that babies developing a sweet tooth by starting on fruit rather than vegetables is an old wives tale. My daughter loved her fruits to start, but she evenually would only eat the lazagna, and my son who I also started out with more fruit settled on likeing mac and cheese....we almost couldn't get him to eat ANYTHING else. So there it is.

Starting babies too early on regular food is also something that may cause them to develop allergies. It just goes to show that all because someone has is a Doctor or has a degree doesn't make them knowlegable. Do some research and ask around, look at ratings.

I gave my son cereal at one month because he was eating to much formula and i am now doing the same with my one month old daughter but she gets brestmilk