Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Starting Your Baby on Solid Foods: When, What and How?

by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor on December 7th, 2006

Your six-month-old baby has learned how to sit up on his own. He likes to chew on everything in sight, and his tongue-thrust reflex has gone away to the point that it no longer automatically makes him push solids out of his mouth with his tongue. He looks longingly at the food on your plate, and a few times he’s managed to grab some food and tried to put it to his mouth before you stopped him. Those are all signs a baby is ready to start solids: sitting up, readiness to chew (with or without teeth), loss of the tongue-thrust reflex, desire for solids, and the ability to pick up food and bring it to his mouth.

While occasionally a pediatrician may advise parents to start their baby on solid foods sooner, the current conventional recommendation is that solid foods should be introduced sometime around six months of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and the World Health Organization agrees it’s best to delay solid foods for a full six months. One Breastfeeding 1-2-3 reader shared her story of six months of exclusive breastfeeding, and updated with a report on how her son’s first tasting of solid food went!

There are several advantages to waiting until six months of age:
– a more fully-developed digestive system;
– decreased health risks from contaminated foods (particularly in countries without safe water supplies);
– ready acceptance of solids due to the baby’s abilities and interest in food; and
– frankly, it’s easier for the parent too! Solids can be messy and inconvenient and it can be very frustrating trying to feed a baby who isn’t ready for solids.

For the breastfed baby and nursing mother, there are even more advantages to waiting:
– decreased risk of the baby developing allergies and ear infections;
– natural child-spacing through the Lactational Amenorrhea Method of birth control (click on the link to read my opinion on the reliability of that method);
– maintenance of the mother’s milk supply; and
– steady weight loss for the nursing mother.
(Source: The Breastfeeding Answer Book).

So, assuming your baby is showing all of the tell-tale signs of being ready, what should your baby’s first food be? Small bits of ripe banana are just the right consistency and flavor, and banana is nutritious, inexpensive and easy to prepare. I attended a La Leche League meeting on the very topic of first foods, and learned that ripe avocado is another good choice. Baked sweet potato can be broken up into small pieces or mashed and thinned with a bit of breast milk or formula.

Now I can hear all of you out there shouting, “What about baby cereal? Don’t babies need iron-fortified baby cereal? What about vegetables, shouldn’t those come before fruit?” Consult your child’s pediatrician whenever you have questions. Baby cereals are highly processed, and the iron in them is not as readily absorbed as that in breast milk or in fresh whole foods (tip: serve iron-rich foods with those foods rich in vitamin C to boost iron absorption). Furthermore, bananas are less likely to cause allergic reactions. Vegetables are fine first foods also, however, I don’t buy the argument that once a baby tastes sweet fruit he won’t want vegetables. Babies don’t know they aren’t “supposed to” like vegetables–remember, if the breastfeeding mother has been eating a varied diet of flavorful foods (following the general rule of everything in moderation), the baby has enjoyed those flavors in the breast milk too!

The “how” component of starting solid foods is almost as important as the “when” and “what.” Keep in mind that these first solid food feedings are for learning and experimentation. This is a whole new sensory delight for your child! The point is not to force food into your baby’s mouth (that’s simply not nutritionally necessary), it’s to teach him to enjoy food! Make meal times fun and safe by sitting with your child. Allow him to *gasp* play with his food, feeling it, mashing it around and occasionally eating a bit of it! I found both my children enjoyed solid foods much more when they were capable of picking up bits of steamed broccoli or tender bits of shredded meat.

Offer new foods in the morning, a time when the baby is generally happy and receptive to experimenting with food, and a time that allows for you to watch for any allergic reaction in your child throughout the day. However, there is no hard and fast rule. Breastfeeding mothers may wish to offer solids at night instead when their milk supplies are generally lower.

Some experts recommend offering solid food just after you’ve breastfed or given a bottle, but others caution that it’s best to offer solids in between breastfeedings because some solid foods can interfere with absorption of the nutrients in breast milk. Personally I found my children to be most interested in solids when they were hungry but not ravenous–perhaps an hour or two after nursing.

Introduce only one food at a time, waiting four to seven days before introducing another new food so that you can watch for a signs of allergic reaction such as rash, wheezing, stuffed-up nose, fussiness or digestive trouble. Of course this is particularly important if there is a family history of allergies. That brings us to the foods that should be avoided:

– those that are particularly allergenic like cow’s milk, eggs (especially egg whites), peanuts, corn, pork, fish, soy, tomatoes, citrus fruits and some berries (among other foods);
– those that are dangerous like honey, which should not be fed to babies under one year of age due to the risk of botulism, or foods that pose a choking hazard such as whole grapes, nuts, hot dogs, or popcorn; and
– those that are not healthful such as junk foods and foods high in saturated fat or salt.

Renowned pediatrician Dr. Sears offers more information on feeding infants. I found his Family Nutrition Book to be a practical nutrition guide for the whole family. For those interested specifically in infant nutrition and making your own baby food, Super Baby Food is a comprehensive, easy-to-read resource.

Vote in the poll in the side bar to let us know what your baby’s first solid food was, and please leave a comment if you have some tips to share about starting babies on solid foods.

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