Written by Editorial Team
Breast milk and formula satisfy a baby’s initial requirement for essential nutrients. However, after some time, as the baby’s tummy grows, they need actual, solid foods to meet their growing needs. Every kid is unique and has different growth patterns and food needs. When your baby gives indications of being quickly hungry between full milk feeds, shows interest in food, and swallows it when placed on the tongue, the time is right for your baby to progress to solids.
Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended till your baby is about 6 months old. Solid foods can be introduced to a baby after six months while continuing breastmilk. Feeding babies and toddlers solid food is not difficult but requires creativity and patience. You must keep trying every day. Your baby may not accept solids on their very first day.
During the first six months of their life, babies must be exclusively given breastmilk as much as possible (1). Breastmilk is an excellent source of nutrition for babies and has everything a growing baby needs. Once babies are six months old, they can gradually be introduced to solids (2).
But as babies grow, their nutritional needs increase, their digestive system improves, and there is a need for something more than breastmilk and formula milk to meet their growing needs.
In addition, babies get their iron from the stored iron in their bodies for the first six months of their life. After six months, they need iron from food sources (3). Hence introducing solid food to meet these requirements becomes vital.
Eating food is a skill babies slowly need to start getting used to from now. In fact, introducing solids is considered an important milestone for babies and babies will get all the nutrients they need from solids as they cross the all-important six-month mark in their lives (4).
Babies’ gums get strong and they sprout a teeth or two and have the necessary skills to chew and eat.
Most experts and pediatricians recommend introducing solids to babies in their sixth month. Babies experience their first major growth spurt between the 4th and 6th months and need increased feeds to help them meet their nutritional needs. However, the sixth month is an ideal period to introduce solids.
By this point, babies lose the extrusion reflex (4A) that helps them when they suck on a breast or a bottle nipple. They will also be able to push the food back with the tongue. Most babies become ready to take up solid foods by this time.
Breast milk does not contain as much iron as a formula. However, the baby absorbs iron in breast milk more readily than iron in the formula. Hence, it becomes essential to substantiate your baby’s diet with other foods that can help her develop properly.
Ideally, you must introduce solid foods to your baby when the baby’s digestive system has developed. This way, the baby will not be as prone to allergies as the immune system also develops gradually. Every baby displays certain signs indicating that they are ready for solid foods (4B). Recognizing these signals in time and encouraging your little one to have solids will help ease their journey towards eating solid foods and getting used to them.
The below signs will signal that your little one is ready to take on solids:
The day your baby tastes something other than breast or formula milk is a big day. To make your baby accept solids as their food now, feed them with a little bottle or nurse them. After that offer a taste of the new food, starting with a teaspoon or two.
If it is bedtime or the baby is about to nap, many parents offer milk to provide the comfort factor. As with anything new, never introduce solids if your baby is cranky, tired, sick, or throwing tantrums. If the baby rejects the new food, do not worry, try again after a few days.
Here are a few basic guidelines to bear in mind to introducing solid foods to your baby.
The following tips will help mothers, especially new mothers while introducing solids to their babies.
When your baby shifts their head or starts to play with the spoon, and lets out a wail or two when offered food, that means that they are full and do not want to eat anymore. This is when you should stop feeding your little one.
In the context of Indian foods, you have a lot of first foods that you can introduce to your baby. Look out for any signs of allergies to be on the safe side.
Homemade Cerelac is a popular and healthy option. Apart from this, porridge made from sprouted ragi is also excellent for babies. It is extremely easy to digest and provides multiple health benefits.
Stewed and mashed fruit also can be introduced as the first solid food for babies. Always start with a single fruit and slowly introduce fruits one after the other.
You can also slowly introduce your little one to well-cooked grains such as cooked and mashed rice and wheat depending on how quickly your child is accepting and digesting these foods.
Next in line are cooked lentils. You can start with easily digestible dals such as red lentils or masoor dal and slowly progress to the other types. You can supplement solids with liquids such as rice water, dal water, clear broths from boiled vegetables, etc.
Pureed form of solid foods, fed with soft spoons is a general preference. To avoid causing discomfort to the baby’s soft gums, use a very soft spoon or use your finger. Always feed your baby the bottle or nurse them first, and then make them taste a pureed banana, peach, or potato. See that they are able to take the food from the tongue to the back of the mouth.
Your little one is now ready for solids and finger foods. At this point, you can introduce water to your baby. Drinking water helps with digestion and keeps constipation in check. Refrain from adding cereal to your baby’s bottle, as they may not relate to sitting and eating later and this can cause problems.
Once the baby gets used to the solids’ routine, they will move on to more exciting options – mashed, chopped, cut etc., exposing them to various textures of food. Until then, you can try the following:
Start by giving solids to your baby just once a day. You can slowly increase solid feeds to twice a day. By the time your baby is one year old, they must have solids at least three times a day.
A healthy combination of breast or formula milk, iron-fortified baby cereal, pureed fruits and vegetables, and some proteins like lentils, and cottage cheese would be good for the baby. Do not feed your baby honey until he is a year old.
Here are a few things to bear in mind when preparing to introduce solid foods to your baby.
The first thing is that your baby should be able to sit upright before being introduced to solids. The baby should be seated in a comfortable place, preferably in a high chair. The baby can also sit in a bouncy seat if he cannot sit by himself as yet.
There will be cute moments of your baby’s face smeared in food, more on the face than he would have eaten, make sure you capture these loving moments.
Some babies can be allergic to certain foods. Such food allergies may run in families or the baby might have developed it individually. Either way, identifying the foods that your baby is allergic to is an important aspect of introducing solid foods to babies.
Common food allergens for babies include
Diarrhea, vomiting, wheezing, a swollen face, etc are some of the indicators of an allergic reaction. Always maintain a minimum of 3 days gap between introducing two new foods. Use the three days to check for any possible allergic reactions in your baby to the new food.
Older schools of thought believed in avoiding any foods that can be potential allergens to babies. However current research studies suggest and emphasize that the early introduction of allergic foods can help babies develop an immunity towards food allergies (5).
Absolutely. You must nurse or formula-feed your baby till she is a year old at least or till your baby turns two in the case of breastfeeding (6). The intake of milk might come down as your baby starts to taste different flavors and textures. Yet, your little one must continue with breast or formula milk since solid foods alone cannot provide all the nutrients that your baby needs in the first year.
When it comes to feeding solids to babies, patience is the key. The baby may not show a regular consumption pattern or interest. They may not want to eat one day and show interest after three or four days. It is also possible that anything that they ate with interest a few days back will not attract them on the next try.
In the beginning, the quantity of intake might be very low, but slowly it will increase. Once a baby completes the first year and moves towards the second year, their gut will have matured enough to handle solid foods safely.
Solids can be introduced to babies who are six months old. Till babies turn six months old, they should be exclusively breastfed unless advised otherwise by the doctor. At the 6 month mark, your baby’s digestive system is mature enough to start accepting small amounts of solids. Your baby needs nourishment from sources other than breastmilk and/or formula and is capable of chewing basic solids.
You babies can start with homemade cerelac, sprouted ragi porridge, stewed and mashed fruit, cooked and mashed rice and wheat, and cooked lentils. You can also supplement these solids with rice water, dal water, and clear vegetable broths. Avoid feeding honey (5) and animal milk in your baby’s first year.
You will know that your baby is ready for solids once they are able to sit up on their own and show interest in what you or others are eating. They will have gotten rid of their tongue thrust reflex by now and have good head control.
Read Also:
Baby’s First Food Apple Puree
Five Super food You Should Consider For Your Baby
References
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