When to start solid foods
When and how do I start my baby on solid foods?
a lot of parents want to know when they
should introduce solid foods and when
it's time how do you go about doing it
this is an excellent question and most
babies are ready for solids between four
and six months of life but the American
Academy of Pediatrics recommends
exclusively breastfeeding your baby
until six months of life sometimes
babies are ready before that point but
if you have any questions about it talk
with your pediatrician and they'll be
able to help you make a decision about
whether or not it's time generally
speaking there are a few guidelines to
go by your baby needs to be able to hold
their own head up they need to wait at
least 13 pounds or so or have doubled
their birth weight and for most babies
this happens around four months of age
they also need to be able to get excited
about food coming their way and move it
from the tip of their tongue to the back
of their mouth and swallow it and
remember that it's a new taste it's an
entirely new texture all a baby is
handled up to that point is liquid
breast milk and or formula and so it can
be a little horn to them and the first
time they may kind of make a funny face
or spit it out that's different than
having the ability to actually swallow
it so the first time you introduce foods
once you decide they're ready for it
just start with one spoonful just a tiny
little bit and bring it towards your
baby and make fun positive expressions
and like moon noises and move it to
their mouth see how they do with it if
they move it to the back of their throat
and swallow it easily then you can try a
little bit more you might also think
about thinning it out slightly with
express breast milk or formula this will
give it a more familiar taste and a more
familiar texture but if your baby isn't
doing well with it they're not excited
about it especially if they're screaming
then just stop what you're doing and
give it a little while before you try it
again like I said you want to start with
just a small teaspoon full and if the
baby is welcome to it then you can try a
little bit more and what you're
gradually working up to is one meal per
day that about four ounces of prepare
and pureed baby food and once a baby
gets one meal down during the day then
you move on to the next and the next and
so between about eight
twelve months of age babies are
well-established on solid foods and
eating them for breakfast lunch and
dinner and snacks in the morning in
afternoon you want their schedule to
more closely mimic ours and it's also
good to eat together sit down and feed
your baby and eat to have them sit up
use a spoon eat at the appropriate time
and this will help to establish good
eating routines for them later in life
so again that the key is remembering
that it will be gradual start out small
and slow and then slowly add in meals
and amounts now you also need to
remember that a baby's primary form of
nutrition and hydration is going to be
breast milk and or formula until they're
well established on solid foods and so
there are varying opinions on this some
say to feed the baby solid food and then
follow it up with either a bottle or a
nursing session others say to give the
baby the nursing session or bottle first
then followed up with solid foods but if
a parent is noticing that the babies too
full after drinking and won't eat then
you can reverse it and see if that helps
the baby eat more solid food because by
the time they're a year of age solid
foods are very much a part of part of
their nutrition and well-being now as
for what foods to start with many
parents start with traditional single
grain cereal like rice cereal but you
don't have to start here and in fact
rice cereal could be constipating and so
can bananas and so if you notice that
your baby's really plugged up after
introducing solid foods and you started
with rice cereal that might be why and
you can try other foods that are higher
in fiber and not so constipating so you
know there's also debate on do we give
the baby fruits or vegetables first
because fruits will taste better but
then will they have a sweet tooth for
the rest of their life and there's no
scientific information to show that if a
baby has fruits first that they won't
eat vegetables as they get older so
really you can choose any stage one food
to give your baby that's pureed and see
how they do with it as a baby gets older
vegetables and meat are especially
important to their nutritional
well-being and so there are prepared
baby foods that have meat and then that
you can consider and then of course also
vegetables
now it's important to wait two to three
days before introducing any new food as
well because you want to watch for signs
of allergy
this can include upset stomach diarrhea
vomiting rashes even difficulty
breathing so if you notice any of these
things
stop giving your baby that food and call
your pediatrician a lot of parents want
to make their own baby food and there
are just a few things to keep in mind if
you're considering this if you want to
make peas corn or sweet potatoes at home
those are great options but vegetables
like spinach beets carrots squash they
can all have really high levels of
nitrates in them and that can contribute
to anemia so commercially prepared
vegetables are generally safer unless
it's peas corn or sweet potatoes now as
babies get older like between eight and
twelve months of age they might start to
get excited about food that's on your
plate and want that too and they can
actually start eating bite-sized pieces
of steamed softened vegetables cut up or
diced chicken cheese yogurt eggs like
smashed egg or scrambled egg there's
lots of different things you can start
giving them once they're well
established on the pureed solids and
eating those for breakfast lunch dinner
and snacks in the morning and afternoon
if you have any questions about your
baby's well-being talk with your
pediatrician and based on their
knowledge of your baby's growth and
overall health they'll be able to give
you tailored information and advice
about what's best for them if you have
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