When should
you introduce solids to your baby?
After many
readings I decided to simplify this answer in few words to give you all the information
you need without you having to read pages and pages to get to your desired
answer.
Most of the
pediatricians advise the start of solids when the baby is 5 ½ or 6 months:
- His
digestive system isn’t ready until he reaches 6 months
- By six months
of age the intestines are more mature and able to filter out more of the
offending allergens. This is why it's particularly important to delay solids if
there is a family history of food allergy, and especially to delay the
introduction of foods to which other family members are allergic.
- The tongue and the swallowing mechanisms may
not yet be ready to work together. Prior to four months of age, a baby's
swallowing mechanism is designed to work with sucking, but not with chewing.
How to
start:
- Only
introduce solids at lunchtime to avoid bedtime disturbance, and start between
feedings that way your child won’t be starving and will accept new food easily.
- You should
give your baby one new food at a time and wait 4 days before you introduce a
new one. Meanwhile watch for any allergic reactions like diarrhea, rash or vomiting.
If any of these occurs contact your pediatrician.
- Remember that
your baby may only want a teaspoon at first
- Don’t force
it, if your baby doesn’t want it, try again another day.
*Don’t make
mealtimes a performance, with you turning every spoonful into a fast running
train or driving airplane. Your baby probably won’t eat anymore and in fact may
refuse food just to enjoy the show. When he doesn’t want anymore, just call an
end to the meal. ~Sarah, health visitor~
(Scattergood, Emma. The first-time
parent’s survival guide, ward lock book, UK, 1998)
Good
Foods to start with
(all the following information were taken from the UNICEF booklet a
start 4 life)
From 6 months
First foods: mashed or soft cooked sticks of fruit and vegetables like parsnip,
potato, yam, sweet
potato, carrot, apple or pear, all cooled before eating.
Or try soft peach
or melon, or grabbable bits of soft ripe banana or avocado.
Or baby rice mixed
with your baby’s usual milk.
*My pediatrician
never advise the use of rice cereal or any other processed food.
Next foods: soft cooked meat such as chicken, mashed fish (check very
carefully for any
bones), pasta, noodles, toast, pieces of chapati, lentils, rice
and mashed hard
boiled eggs. Also, full fat dairy products such as yoghurt,
fromage frais or
custard (choose products with no added sugar or less sugar).
Cow’s milk can be
used in cooking or mixed with food from 6 months.
Cups: introduce a cup from around 6 months and offer sips of water with meals.
Using an open cup
or a free-flow cup without a valve will help your baby learn
to sip and is
better for your baby’s teeth.
From 8-9 months
Gradually, in this
time, your baby will move towards eating 3 meals a day.
It will be a
mixture of finger foods, mashed and chopped foods.
From 12 months
Your baby will now
be eating 3 meals a day, chopped if required, plus mum’s
milk or cow’s milk
and healthier snacks like fruit, vegetable sticks or toast and
rice cakes. They
can now drink whole cow’s milk and have full fat dairy products.
Choose full fat
because children under 2 need the extra fat and vitamins in full
fat dairy
products. From 2 years old if they are a good eater and growing well
they can have semi-skimmed milk. From 5
years old, 1% or skimmed milk is ok.
References:
Murkoff,
Eisenberg and Hathaway. “What to expect the first year”, Workman Publishing,
New York.
Scattergood,
Sarah. “The first-time parent’s survival guide”, Ward Lock, UK, 1998
