Many parents begin
offering their babies solid foods by using their (clean and washed) finger as a spoon.
Parents who practice this method move straight to
offering babies solid foods.
Find out when to
offer your baby solid foods as well as when she'll be able to eat finger foods, feed herself, and use a cup.
This can prove to be very dangerous when someone
offers the baby solid foods.
Before you start
offering your baby solid foods, you'll want to think about where those solid foods are going to come from.
Not exact matches
As our
babies move further along in their
solid food introduction, we likely begin to think about
offering healthy «treat» types of
foods: muffins, pancakes, cookies for example.
So, you breastfed all of them exclusively for 1 year (yes, many doctors argue that you should not give any
solids for the entire first year if life), only fed organic
foods after you let them start feeding themselves at 1 year, never
offered baby cereals, don't put anything in plastic, wore your
baby every minute of every day, co-slept or didn't co-sleep, depending on who you asked, don't allow your children to sleep on commercially produced mattresses, don't use any Johnson's products, etc. etc. etc.?
While
solid foods would
offer nutrients as well, they can't
offer all the nutrients that the
baby needs during his first year, nutrients that breast and formula milk can provide.
Your
baby must be able to sit up and hold his or her head up without assistance before you ever try
offering solid foods or even purees.
So long story short, do not
offer more than very small amounts of water (if any at all) to your
baby before starting with
solid foods.
Whether you're preparing to start
offering solids to your
baby, or you're transitioning into finger foods and trying to please a picky toddler, you'll enjoy the recipes and recommendations on this blog, like Carrot, Corn, and Pumpkin Baby Food Puree, Blender Muffins for Baby and Toddler, and Peach + Raspberry Oatmeal for B
baby, or you're transitioning into finger
foods and trying to please a picky toddler, you'll enjoy the recipes and recommendations on this blog, like Carrot, Corn, and Pumpkin
Baby Food Puree, Blender Muffins for Baby and Toddler, and Peach + Raspberry Oatmeal for B
Baby Food Puree, Blender Muffins for
Baby and Toddler, and Peach + Raspberry Oatmeal for B
Baby and Toddler, and Peach + Raspberry Oatmeal for
BabyBaby.
There is no rule that you must breast or formula feed your
baby prior to
offering solid foods, but many parents feel more comfortable doing this.
In the second part of our series on starting
solids, Katja Leccisi answers some of the questions most commonly raised about how to start
offering first
foods to your
baby.
At first,
offer at least two
food varieties; slowly increase the assortment as your
baby is getting used to munching on
solid foods.
If your
baby has started to eat
solid food,
offer water also between meals.
Usually, moms will continue nursing for the first and last meals of the day while
offering solid foods to their
babies throughout the day otherwise.
Be sure you keep your
baby close to you during feeding, even when you're
offering solid foods.
Start
baby's meal with a regular feeding of breastmilk first, and then
offer solid foods.
Breastfeed before
offering baby solids; otherwise,
baby could fill up on the
solid food and not want to nurse at all or as long, which can affect your breastmilk supply and
baby's nutrition.
Start by
offering your
baby's first taste of
solid foods and then waiting at least 4 days before you move on to something else.
While the right
food for your
baby depends on the stage of his or her weaning progress as well as his or her specific tastes, there are a few considerations to keep in mind when you're looking for
solid foods to
offer your child.
Another reason for not giving
solid foods earlier than 4 to 6 months is unintentional overfeeding since younger
babies can not
offer you signals when they are full, such as turning away or showing disinterest.
As I mention in my guide Six Tips to Starting
Solid Food, you can even buy natural applesauce and
offer that to your
baby.
Between six and nine months, your
baby will be learning to eat
solids and you can
offer baby food two to three times a day.
6 - 9 months As your
baby becomes used to swallowing
solid food, a thicker consistency may be
offered.
A healthy
baby offered a variety of
foods will make up for any lack of milk supply by eating more
solids.
First
solid foods offer a great opportunity to get your
baby used to a variety of flavors.
If you will be
offering pears as a
baby food to an infant who starts
solid foods prior to the age of 6 months old, please give pears a gentle steaming.
By contrast,
babies who are
offered solid finger
foods of their own choosing, a method referred to as
baby - led weaning, tend to prefer healthy carbohydrates over sugary
foods.
When your
baby is 4 - 6 months old, you may be told to start
offering solid food, usually single - grain cereal.
Likely when your
baby is ready for
solid foods you might consider
offering small amounts of water (2 ounces or so) in a cup with his meal.
Offer water Once baby starts solids, you can offer a few sips of water or bone broth with
Offer water Once
baby starts
solids, you can
offer a few sips of water or bone broth with
offer a few sips of water or bone broth with
food.
The main differences with my approach are (1) how they got to that point, (2) the size of the
solid foods offered and (3) the exclusion of the most difficult
food textures until
baby is developmentally ready.
If your
baby is eating
solids,
offer foods that start with the letter P — pears, peaches, pumpkin, and, of course, prunes can all help the digestive system.
Introduce
solid foods around 6 months of age Expose
baby to a wide variety of healthy
foods Also
offer a variety of textures
You do, of course, need to observe the usual rules about introducing
solid foods to
baby — preferably after 6 months of age and
offering one new
food at a time, to make it easier to spot allergic reactions or digestive problems.
Before you
offer any
food, you have to make sure your
baby is ready for
solids.
For an older
baby who has started
solids,
offer clear liquids and
foods with high water content like juices, juicy fruits, soups, gels, and frozen - juice desserts (if they've been introduced).
Babies in Mexico are
offered solid foods around three months of age.
By the end of this stage, your
baby may well be enjoying three meals a day, with nutritious snacks in between.His milk intake will have reduced as he has come to rely mainly on
solid foods for his nutritional needs.Milk is still important, though, so continue to
offer it as a healthy alternative to sweet drinks.
Be very cautious
offering very chewy
foods like meats and continue to cut
solid to bite - sized pieces until you've consistently observed your
baby's ability to chew a smaller bite off a larger piece (i.e. giving your
baby a whole cracker to take bites of).
As our
babies begin to take
solid foods, usually the second half of the first year, we have another opportunity to establish good health through the choices we
offer our young
babies and children.
• Eczema (dry, flaking skin - usually starting on the face but may spread) • Fussiness (NOT easily consoled by picking
baby up or
offering the breast) • Spitting up • Very liquid stools, stools with mucus, or infrequent stools (< one per day in a
baby who has NOT started
solid foods) • Respiratory congestion (usually just a stuffy nose, no mucus) • Blood visible in the stool (None of the above symptoms always mean there is a
food sensitivity!
Many parents who use the
baby led weaning approach to introducing
solids tend to be very passionate about its advantages and do not advocate the
offering of
foods from a spoon at all.
When your
baby is old enough to start on
solid foods, make sure you
offer a healthy, balanced diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and greens.
Extra water is not usually necessary for breastfed
babies, but some doctors recommend
offering a little water to formula fed
babies when
solid foods are introduced (learn more about giving
babies water here).
There is also an element of tradition — after all, it was the first
food that many of US received as
babies and
offering baby rice has become established and widely accepted as the «norm» when transitioning infants to
solids.
This section
offers tips about exactly HOW to get started with
baby's first
foods, with advice for the best type of spoon to use, the best time of day to get started and the best type of
food to
offer for that very first taste of
solids!
Offer your
baby a bottle or breast before
offering solid food.
If your
baby is eating
solids, try to
offer foods with high water content to boost hydration.