Introducing Solids
It will feel like only yesterday you bought your beautiful new baby home from the hospital and now you are thinking about starting solid! Where did the time go?
When to start solids is a question with many answers and many opinions. This is a guideline only and you should trust your own instincts and ask your medical professional for their opinion.
Every baby is different and while some are happy to start solids at 4 months others are not ready until much later. Trust that your baby will guide you to when he or she is ready.
However healthcare professionals and research shows that breast milk or formula is all baby needs for the first 6 months of life. After this baby requires more nutrition to replenish their depleted iron stores.
What Signs Should You Look For To Show Baby Is Ready?
Baby is generally ready to start solids if he or she can:
• Hold their head up unaided
• Makes chewing motions
• Shows curiosity in what you’re eating
First Stage: First Foods
The best food to start baby on is generally baby rice cereal mixed with the baby’s regular milk into a sloppy mixture.
Rice cereal is a very bland taste and will not over stimulate their tiny tastebuds; it can also be mixed with fruit and vegetables to slowly introduce new tastes.
Second Stage: Puree
The second stage of introducing solid foods to your baby is the puree stage. The best foods to start with are generally soft foods such as sweet potato, potato, carrot, pear and apples. These foods can be cooked and pureed almost to a liquid form. They can be mixed with baby rice cereal or given to baby on their own.
When you first start, the main thing to remember is this stage is all about taste and texture and not about quantity. So don’t be concerned if your baby only has a small amount of food at the beginning. They have a whole new skill to learn and the taste and texture is a very different to that of their milk.
Once your baby is comfortable eating pureed food and is older than 7 months (as a guide) it is time to introduce lumps.
Third Stage: Lumps
The third stage of solids is the lumpy stage. Rather than making the food into an almost liquid state you can simply mash the food with a fork to achieve a more lumpy texture.
When starting on lumpy food, mash the vegetables with a fork and add water to make them smoother. Over time slowly decrease the amount of water you add until you baby is confident eating lumpy food that has just been mashed.
Almost any foods can be mashed into a lumpy texture, you may also wish to introduce meat at this stage. Meat can be cut into tiny pieced or blended in a food processor. Avoid bigger pieces of meat during this stage.
Fourth Stage: Small Pieces and Finger Foods
The fourth stage is where you can move onto small pieces of cut up vegetable and meat fed to your baby on a spoon or finger food such as a broccoli stalk, watermelon, piece of chicken etc.
This stage is generally for babies 10 months plus (as a guide). Your baby should be a confident eater and should be able to handle lumpy foods very well and have good chewing motion.
Note: Do not be alarmed if your baby has no teeth or only front teeth. They are very good chewers and their gums are hard enough to compensate.
Fifth Stage: Regular Meals
The fifth stage of solids is when your baby is eating regular meals and generally eats what you and your family eat. By this stage your baby should be around 11-12 months old (as a guide). They will still need their food cut up for them and they will still need to be spoon fed or given finger food, however they will be confident enough to eat almost anything served to them.
Starting solids can seem like a very daunting and scary stage. Choking is always a big fear for mothers. Always know that babies need to test their gag reflex when first trying solid foods. They are unsure of this new texture and their little mouths have never experienced it before. So babies will gag often at every meal. This does not mean they are choking and in most cases the baby is fine after few seconds.
Starting solids is exciting and once they are eating regular food you will find life gets just a little bit easier!
When to start solids is a question with many answers and many opinions. This is a guideline only and you should trust your own instincts and ask your medical professional for their opinion.
Every baby is different and while some are happy to start solids at 4 months others are not ready until much later. Trust that your baby will guide you to when he or she is ready.
However healthcare professionals and research shows that breast milk or formula is all baby needs for the first 6 months of life. After this baby requires more nutrition to replenish their depleted iron stores.
What Signs Should You Look For To Show Baby Is Ready?
Baby is generally ready to start solids if he or she can:
• Hold their head up unaided
• Makes chewing motions
• Shows curiosity in what you’re eating
First Stage: First Foods
The best food to start baby on is generally baby rice cereal mixed with the baby’s regular milk into a sloppy mixture.
Rice cereal is a very bland taste and will not over stimulate their tiny tastebuds; it can also be mixed with fruit and vegetables to slowly introduce new tastes.
Second Stage: Puree
The second stage of introducing solid foods to your baby is the puree stage. The best foods to start with are generally soft foods such as sweet potato, potato, carrot, pear and apples. These foods can be cooked and pureed almost to a liquid form. They can be mixed with baby rice cereal or given to baby on their own.
When you first start, the main thing to remember is this stage is all about taste and texture and not about quantity. So don’t be concerned if your baby only has a small amount of food at the beginning. They have a whole new skill to learn and the taste and texture is a very different to that of their milk.
Once your baby is comfortable eating pureed food and is older than 7 months (as a guide) it is time to introduce lumps.
Third Stage: Lumps
The third stage of solids is the lumpy stage. Rather than making the food into an almost liquid state you can simply mash the food with a fork to achieve a more lumpy texture.
When starting on lumpy food, mash the vegetables with a fork and add water to make them smoother. Over time slowly decrease the amount of water you add until you baby is confident eating lumpy food that has just been mashed.
Almost any foods can be mashed into a lumpy texture, you may also wish to introduce meat at this stage. Meat can be cut into tiny pieced or blended in a food processor. Avoid bigger pieces of meat during this stage.
Fourth Stage: Small Pieces and Finger Foods
The fourth stage is where you can move onto small pieces of cut up vegetable and meat fed to your baby on a spoon or finger food such as a broccoli stalk, watermelon, piece of chicken etc.
This stage is generally for babies 10 months plus (as a guide). Your baby should be a confident eater and should be able to handle lumpy foods very well and have good chewing motion.
Note: Do not be alarmed if your baby has no teeth or only front teeth. They are very good chewers and their gums are hard enough to compensate.
Fifth Stage: Regular Meals
The fifth stage of solids is when your baby is eating regular meals and generally eats what you and your family eat. By this stage your baby should be around 11-12 months old (as a guide). They will still need their food cut up for them and they will still need to be spoon fed or given finger food, however they will be confident enough to eat almost anything served to them.
Starting solids can seem like a very daunting and scary stage. Choking is always a big fear for mothers. Always know that babies need to test their gag reflex when first trying solid foods. They are unsure of this new texture and their little mouths have never experienced it before. So babies will gag often at every meal. This does not mean they are choking and in most cases the baby is fine after few seconds.
Starting solids is exciting and once they are eating regular food you will find life gets just a little bit easier!
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