Starting your baby on solids is such a beautiful milestone and so memorable. Introducing your baby to solids is an exciting thing, finding out what they love to eat and how happy they are to try your food.
How do you go about introducing solids to your baby and how do you know they are ready? Don’t worry momma I have you covered keep on reading.
I am going to break it down so that you know when to go about it and understand how to do it.
Introducing baby to solids
As always talk to your pediatrician before starting your baby on solids, starting before you get the go ahead isn’t wise.
Your baby is going to drink breastmilk and formula for the first four to six months.
Starting on solids is a compliment to these and not a replacement until they are a year old.
So how do you know when your baby is ready?
With my 4 month old, I knew he was ready because every time I was eating something he would lean forward to try and eat my food.
Another thing is if they lose the tongue reflex of pushing food out of his or her mouth.
How to know your baby is ready for solids
This is pretty much baby led weaning if your baby is interested in your food and leans forward to try it you know they are ready.
Here are some other important things to know and look for before giving your baby solids.
- Sitting up on own or with support
- Have lost the tongue reflex to push food out of the mouth
- Lean forward to try a food
- Can hold head up
These are all things to look for before trying some solids. Your baby will give you cues to help you know they are ready.
Not every baby is ready around this age, don’t worry they will be when they are ready just give them time.
Every baby is different so this isn’t a set timeline to follow.
starting solid foods
As you start solid foods you need to understand that they don’t have a big stomach and doing a spoonful or two is going to surfice.
You are going to want to start by having a dab of food on your finger for them to try first.
If this goes well then in a few days or a week you can go to a spoonful or two.
It is a slow process so don’t expect them to be eating a bowl full of food for a little while.
If you start on cereal make sure it is more breastmilk or formula and has a very liquid consistency.
It is best to start this way so they don’t choke on it because it’s to thick.
Best foods to start baby on
When introducing food to your baby you may be wondering what foods to start with.
Some people start with rice, oatmeal, barley cereal but you don’t have to, you can start with some other food that I have listed below.
- Mashed avocado
- Puree sweet potatoes
- Smashed banana
- Apples
- Pears
- Green beans
- Squash
Start off with some formula or breastmilk and then give a half spoonful of food and talk your baby through it so they get accustomed to eating.
Babies mimic what they see and if they are into you eating your food then, by all means, try to give them a half spoon of baby food and see how it goes.
Stay with the same food for three to four days to make sure they don’t have an allergy to it and see how they do with it before introducing a new one.
You are going to have to try a food a few times before your baby will like it. Just like toddlers, it takes about twenty times before they will grow accustomed to it and like it.
Your baby may not like the puree texture so try it in different forms until you find what works for your baby.
Introducing baby to solids guide
I have created a chart so that you know the timeline to introduce different foods in the order that your baby is ready for them.
This goes from 4 to 12 months so that you have an idea of how to go about doing this.
Click the picture above to download your free guide!!
Final thoughts on introducing baby to solids
When introducing solids mix it with formula or breastmilk at first and build up the consistency until your baby is used to it.
Some doctors say start with vegetables first as babies tend to naturally like sweet things but give them what they like and work in those vegetables.
Sweet potatoes are always a hit along with butternut squash so including these in their diet is a good start on vegetables and then you can slowly introduce others.
By the time your baby is nine months old, they should be used to a variety of foods, cereal, fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, and fish.
By this age, they will be eating about two snacks a day and three meals a day.
4 ounces of food at each meal and then also formula or breastmilk.
The food you should hold off on until your baby is a year old due to botulism when it comes to honey, and hard to digest things like cows milk. These should be started after a year old.
Seeds and any food that is hard to gum should be avoided along with popcorn and large pieces of tomatoes and grapes.
These should be cut up into tiny pieces to avoid choking and shouldn’t be given until ten months or so or when baby has teeth.
As I said above to follow your babies leading and take it slowly, don’t push the food if they aren’t ready.
Have fun with starting food with your baby and enjoy those beautiful first moments and those cute faces when they taste a food for the first time.
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