In families with a history of food allergies, in hoped to minimize food reactions, it is also important to wait until the baby is 6 months
before starting solid foods.
While the recommended age
for starting solid foods is generally 6 months of age, many babies start solids between 4 and 6 months of age.
As a feeding therapist, I often hear many questions from new parents who are worried
about starting solid food with their babies.
We
just started solid foods with our 6 month old and this high chair comes with an additional padding for the seat, making her seem to fit better.
After that date, we will keep good wholesome foods on hand that can be her starter foods when she is expressing a deep interest
in starting solid food.
We bought this for our daughter when she was
starting solid foods around 6 months and have been using it 3 - 5 times a day for nearly a year.
This is due to the differing ages that babies
start solid foods as well as the fact that all babies are not the same.
Current recommendations now suggest that an
infant start solid foods or complementary feedings, in addition to formula or breastmilk feedings, at a more developmentally appropriate six months of age.
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.
A great tip
for starting solid food is to get your baby familiar with being seated in the high chair in the weeks before you actually start solids.
The «rules» of exactly when and how to
start solid foods as part of your baby's feeding schedule has changed a lot over the years though.
There is a persistent myth about infant gut development that comes up in nearly every online discussion
of starting solid foods.
When your little
one starts solid foods for the first time, the texture and composition of his stools changes.
In fact, the World Health Organisation (along with the NHS and the American Institute for Paediatrics) advise that babies do
not start solid food until six months.
The overlap between
starting solid foods while still breast - feeding teaches the immune system that food is safe and prevents food allergies, the researchers theorized.