FollowWhen to Start Your Baby on Solid Foods
One of the big milestones in your baby’s life is when they are introduced to solid foods. These are first steps to ensuring that your child develops healthy eating habits. Here is a guide on when to start your baby on solid foods. You should start introducing solid foods when they are about six months of age or when they show signs they are ready.
Look for clues they are ready- Your child will give you clues that they are ready to start with solid foods. If they have the ability to sit up with some support and loves to reach and grab for things, they are probably ready to start with solid foods. Also, if they watch you eat or reach for food off of your plate, these are also signs they are ready for solid foods. Watch how your baby reacts when you are eating. For instance, if they copy what you do when you are eating such as opening and closing your mouth to eat, you may want to introduce them to solid foods.
What if you can’t really tell if they are ready- One way you can do to see if they are indeed ready is to try it. If you have a spoonful of food that is heading towards their mouth, they will open their mouth if they are ready or turn their head the other way if they are not. Your goal is to slowly introduce solids to your baby and not fill them up with solids. They will still need milk feedings as part of their diet for several months to come. If you introduce too much food at once, you will end up with nothing but rejection.
How to start the introduction period- You want to start introducing solids with baby cereal. Combine 1 tablespoon of rice cereal with 4 tablespoons of formula or breast milk. You can offer this once or twice a day, gradually lessening the amount of liquid you put in and increasing the amount of cereal you offer your baby. After cereal has been introduced, you can then start with pureed vegetables, fruits and meats. Introduce one at a time and wait three or four days until introducing something else so you know the cause if they develop diarrhea or a rash.
