Starting Solids
There may not be any need to think about starting solids until your baby is at least 6 months old, even if you are formula feeding. I have met many people, including my mum who couldn't understand why I would deny my poor baby "people" food until that age. It wasn't until she saw how fat and healthy my boys were on just my breast milk that she stopped bothering me about it.
Starting solids too early can actually lead to food intolerances and allergies -showing up even as late as adulthood. A baby's stomach needs to be ready to take in and process foods and the different substances they contain.
Have you noticed how now it seems that just about everyone has an allergy, whether it's hay fever related or food related? I'm starting to wonder if part of that is the result of generations and generations of starting solids too early.
When is the Best Time for Starting Baby on Solid Foods?
Well, on or after 6 months of age is the recommendation from the World Health Organisation. And for most families, until 12 months solid food is generally there to help with baby's oral development play and discovery rather than nutrition.
When your baby is about 6 months old he or she may show signs of being ready for solids.
• Your baby's tongue thrust reflex may disappear, so he or she will stop poking out their tongue.
• Your baby can control his or her head and sit unaided.
• Your baby may be interested in what you are eating.
• Your baby may try and take food from your plate.
How to Start Baby on Solid Foods?
The Traditional Way
The traditional way of starting solids is where you either puree some soft veggies or mix rice cereal with water or breast milk. When families went down this route they would usually start by introducing one meal a day -usually breakfast- after a breastfeed. And increasing it as the weeks go by.
A couple of important things to note here:
• If you want breastfeeding to remain your child's main source of nutrition until 12 months, as recommended by the World Health Organisation, it can help to offer a breastfeed before offering solid food. Breast milk contains more of what your baby needs than fruit, veggies or meat does so while other foods can fill your baby's tummy, the vitamins, fats and minerals in those foods may not be as valuable.
• It can also help to keep your baby on one food for about 3 days. In other words if you are feeding baby banana keep offering only banana for a few days. This will give your baby time to react to the food if he or she is going to.
I've known people who have introduced a few foods within a couple of days. When their baby reacted they had to eliminate everything already introduced because they didn't know which food caused the reaction.
• When starting solids it can help to introduce the softest fruits and vegetables first. So if you start with rice cereal for breakfast, you can move on to pumpkin, broccoli, potato, banana, apple, pear and then move onto harder veggies, like carrots, etc.
If there is a history of food allergies in your or your partners family then it might help to speak to your health professional about whether or not to delay introducing the substance they are allergic to.
As your baby gets better at eating it can help to introduce some texture. For example, rather than pureeing bananas, mash them only slightly so that it's textured. This can help your baby's oral and speech development.
I kept my second baby on pureed foods for way too long. It was just so convenient and I didn't realise that he actually needed to progress texture wise. He was still dribbling at nearly 3 years old. He speaks really well and is doing fine otherwise, but I have been told by a speech specialist that the late introduction of texture in his food may have contributed to his dribbling.
Baby Led Weaning
Baby led weaning is generally where you bypass the pureed, and textured spoon feeding stage that the traditional method of starting solids suggests. Instead your baby's first solid food may be steamed or boiled pumpkin, cut in longish sticks so that they have part to hold and part to chew.
Baby led weaning suggests that you allow your baby to pick up the food without prompting. The idea behind it is that babies will be more likely to continue to enjoy the foods that children normally end up hating if they are allowed to eat them and play with them rather than being force fed.
many mums find that veggies like broccolis, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes are good ones to start with, leaving the carrots and harder veggies for a couple of weeks until they feel their baby is ready for them.
When trying this baby led approach you may feel like most of the food ends up on the floor, but it's all about letting your baby get comfortable with food. To help minimise the mess you can put a plastic sheet or tablecloth on the floor under your baby's chair. If it's clean you can even pick the food up off it and place it back on your baby's plate.
You might find that your baby will play with the food it and swish it around in their mouth. Generally babies are unlikely to choke as they have a strong gag reflex and they naturally poke out their tongue bringing their food to the front of their mouths. And although I used to stress out when my baby gagged, it's not the same as choking.
The whole idea with baby led weaning is that your baby becomes involved in your meal times and gets used to eating the foods you cook. So if you are making a stir fry, you might like to take out some meat and veggies before you add the sauces and salts and let your baby play with and eat it.
If you are letting your baby breastfeed when he or she needs to you might not need to introduce water or any other liquids. You can offer water if you chose, but you can at least feel comfortable in the knowledge that they probably don't need if it all ends up being tipped down the sink.
If your baby spits out the food, throws it on the floor or vomits, it's all ok. It may be his or her way of telling you that they have had enough, so you may not need to feel like you have to keep shoveling food into their mouth. After all they are still taking in your breast milk and that's going to give them all they really need until their first birthday.
Please always remember to consult your health professional to find out information that is relevant to your specific situation.
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