Starting Baby on Solid Foods

Starting your baby on solid foods is a chance to start your baby’s eating habits off right. Here’s everything you need to know to make the transition from bottle to table a success:

Is My Baby Ready for Solids?

While there’s no one “right” time for starting solid foods (it varies from baby to baby), there are several signs you can look for to determine when your baby is ready to start solids:

Signs Baby is Ready for Solids

• At least four months old

• Has doubled birth weight

• Able to hold head upright

• Able to sit up with help

• Shows interest in food when she sees people eating

• Losing the extrusion reflex—the reflex that causes babies to push food out of the mouth

• Makes chewing motions

• Exhibits an increase in appetite

Baby Food Stages

To prevent allergies and accommodate your baby’s young digestive system, it’s important that foods be introduced at the right time. To make this easy, the American Academy of Pediatrics has created a number of baby food stages, with specific guidelines for each stage. Here’s a breakdown of those stages:

4-6 Months

Cereal

Start with iron-fortified rice cereal. Out of all of the cereal varieties, it’s the least likely to case an allergic reaction, and it’s also one of the easiest foods for your baby to digest. Offer a tablespoon of cereal once a day, and continue with your normal breast or formula feedings.

To increase your chance of success, do the feeding when your baby isn’t fussy or tired and when you aren’t in a rush. As your baby grows more interested in eating and learns how to swallow properly, you can increase the cereal to a few tablespoons and eventually add another feeding.

Note: In the beginning, the cereal should be very thin (only slightly thicker than milk). Once your baby becomes proficient at swallowing, it can become thicker and more oatmeal-like in consistency.

Fruits and Vegetables

After a successful introduction to cereal, fruits and vegetables can be introduced one at a time. Start with a single fruit or vegetable and feed it to your baby for 3-5 days before moving on to another. This will help to pinpoint allergies, should any arise. If you will be buying commercially-produced baby foods, those marked as “stage 1” are usually appropriate for this age. If you will be making your own baby foods, they need to be pureed to a smooth texture.

Juice

A small amount of juice (just a few ounces) can be diluted with water and offered in a cup starting around six month of age.

7-8 Months

Fruits, Vegetables and Cereal

Single ingredient foods are appropriate for this age, as are combinations of foods that you’ve already given to your baby (ex. cereal and fruit mixed together). If you are using commercially-produced baby foods, those marked as “stage 2” are usually appropriate for this age. If you are making your own baby foods, they can now become slightly thicker in consistency.

Juice and Milk

Continue to offer a small amount of diluted juice in a cup. Formula or breast milk can also be offered this way.

9-12 Months

Foods

Baby’s diet will start to resemble yours more and more. At this age, strained and ground meats can be introduced, as can other protein-rich foods like cheese and egg yolks (never egg whites). Many soft table foods and finger foods can also be introduced, including pasta, Cheerios, bananas and green beans. Just make sure whatever you serve is soft and cut into small pieces to avoid choking. If you are using commercially-produced baby foods, those marked as “stage 3” are usually appropriate for this age. If you are making your own baby foods, they can now become more textured and include small chunks.

Juice and Milk

Continue to offer a small amount of juice and gradually increase the amount of milk offered in a cup.

12 Months and Older

By now your baby should be transitioning to table foods and eating more and more of the foods that you eat. Continue to serve foods that are soft and small in size to avoid choking. Also be sure to avoid known allergens such as peanut butter and egg whites.

Milk

Now is the time to introduce whole milk to your child’s diet. If you’ve used formula up until this point, you can begin to switch them over to whole milk. If you’ve been breastfeeding, continue to do so as long as you desire, and then make the switch to milk.

Tips for a Successful Feeding

• Don’t force your baby to eat if she doesn’t seem interested

• Don’t force your baby to eat foods she doesn’t like

• Pay attention to signs that your baby is full (turning her head, pushing the spoon away, etc.)

• Keep feeding times fun and upbeat

-Information based on American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations-