Starting Solids with Baby
Starting solids with baby is an exciting time for many parents but it can also feel overwhelming and confusing. There is a lot of information out there on starting solids with babies and sometimes there are conflicting messages. Here, I will try to make this milestone less daunting by giving you the practical information you need to get started.
When to start feeding baby solid food
The key to knowing when to start solid foods with your little one, is to look for signs of readiness. Most babies are ready to try real food around 6 months of age. Other babies might be ready a little bit sooner but Health Canada’s Nutrition for healthy term infant guidelines on feeding encourages parents to start complimentary feeding at 6 months of age. A guideline which is also supported by the World Health Organization. Once they start to show you that they are ready to eat, its go time!
Here are some signs that baby is ready for real food!
Can hold up their head without support
Shows interest in food when you are eating
Can sit up straight in a high chair
Opens his / her mouth when food is offered
Can move food from spoon to the back of throat and swallow, meaning their tongue thrust reflux is not as strong
How to start feeding your baby solids
Many parents have questions about which method is best to use when giving solid food to babies, spoon feeding or baby led weaning (BLW). Personally, I used a combination of the two with my kids but either way is good and you should do what works for you and baby. When going the BLW route, you provide baby with larger, soft pieces of food that they are able to hold and feed themselves. Even babies without teeth can use this method as they can break down soft food with their gums. To ensure food is safe for baby, make sure you can easily squish the food between your thumb and forefinger before serving.
Before 6 months of age, babies should be breastfed or formula fed to meet their nutritional requirements for growth and development. Around 6 month of age, baby’s iron stores start to deplete so getting some iron from food is essential. This is also an ideal time to introduce different tastes and textures to help baby accept a diet with lots of variety. Offer baby a variety of textures (pureed, mashed, lumpy, grated, soft finger foods, etc.) staying on pureed foods too long will make it difficult for baby to accept foods with texture later on.
The best foods to start with are those that are high in iron such as the foods listed below:
well cooked beans, lentils or tofu, mashed
well cooked egg, hard boiled and mashed or scrambled and broken into little pieces
well cooked pureed or finely chopped beef, chicken, pork or fish (with bones removed)
Iron fortified infant cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula
Once baby has been introduced to high iron foods, start to introduce other foods, in no particular order. Vegetables, fruit, grains and dairy products (such as yogurt and cheese) can be offered. I recommend holding off on fluid cow’s milk until 9-12 months of age and when baby is eating enough high iron foods. Milk intake can reduce the absorption of iron and in some cases can replace high iron foods in the diet.
Other foods to try with baby:
Vegetables: puree. mashed, chopped or soft cooked vegetables such as sweet potato, squash, avocado, carrot, zucchini, green peas, asparagus, beets, broccoli and cauliflower.
Fruit: banana, apple, pear, peach, apricot, berries, mango, kiwi, melon and plums. Many ripe fruit can be mashed or pureed or offered in pieces without cooking if soft enough, otherwise steam and puree or offer soft cooked.
Grains: oatmeal, oat bran, polenta, pasta, toast strips, quinoa, couscous, brown rice, barley and millet. Choose wholegrain varieties when possible
Dairy: plain yogurt, grated cheese, ricotta, kefir or plain cottage cheese. Choose whole fat varieties as babies need the added fat for optimal growth and development.
How much food should you offer baby
At 6 months of age, most of babies nutrition will still be coming from breastmilk or formula. Solid food should be offered once to twice per day at the start with the goal of reaching 3-5 opportunities for food throughout the day by 9 months.
Offer baby 1 - 2 tsp of food at a time and give more if they ask for it. Babies are great at following internal cues of hunger and fullness, follow their lead. Baby will make it clear that they are done by turning away and / or zipping their mouths up shut. If they still seem interested in having more food, offer another teaspoon. Baby will eat more some days than others. Do not pressure baby to eat, allow them to listen to their internal cues, pressuring little ones to eat, even the littlest ones creates a bad habit that can lead to picky eating later on.
Worried about allergies?
Many parents these days are very concerned that baby will be allergic to some foods. Although food allergies seem very common, the majority of kids do not have a food allergy. The most common foods that cause an allergic reaction include: peanuts and tree nuts, eggs, fish, milk, sesame, shellfish, soy and wheat. Baby is at higher risk of developing a food allergy if a parent or sibling has a food allergy, eczema or asthma. The current recommendations is to offer these highly allergenic foods early on and to continue offering to help prevent the development of an allergy. Research shows that holding off on offering these foods may actually increase the risk of developing an allergy. Should baby show signs of an allergic reaction (hives, rash, itchy skin, difficulty breathing, swollen eyes, lips, face, throat, tongue, fainting, paleness, diarrhea and vomiting) stop offering that food and consult with your doctor.
Other safety concerns
Be sure to avoid choking hazards. Baby is just learning to eat and handle food in their mouth, the risk of choking is highest until 4 years of age. Ensure that all food is soft enough for baby to break down in their mouth, do not offer any food that is hard or round or sticky. Avoid the following foods: raw vegetables and fruit unless grated, grapes, cherry tomatoes or hot dogs unless cut into small pieces, dried fruit, seeds or nuts, hard candy, marshmallows, fish with bones, stringy foods such as celery, popcorn and nut butters spread thickly or from a spoon (thinly spread nut or seed butter or stirred into other foods is fine)
Feel free to include herbs and spices in your baby’s meals to introduce different tastes but avoid adding salt or sugar.
Making your own or buying jarred baby food
Making your own baby food is easy do at home however it may seem overwhelming for some parents. There are a variety of options available at the grocery store just be sure to choose baby food without too many ingredients. Avoid jarred baby food that contains salt, sugar or fillers such as potato starch. The ingredients should be the food itself, for example, if buying a jar of pureed peas, peas should be the first ingredient listed and not many others included.
To make your own purees to serve baby, simply steam meat, fish, vegetables or fruit and either mash or puree with the cooking liquid before serving to baby. If doing the BLW route, cook food until it is soft enough for baby to break down with their gums. Pureed foods can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months (although baby should not be eating only purees by this point, any leftovers can be tossed into soups, stews, casseroles or defrosted and added to muffins).
Starting to feed baby solid foods is an exciting time and can be a lot of fun too (although messy … embrace it!). I hope the information provided here will help to get you started.