The journey of introducing solid foods to your baby can be both exciting and nerve-racking. As a parent, you may question whether your child receives the nutrition they need. To put you at ease, Dr. MacKenzie Rinaldi, pediatrician with Palouse Pediatrics, answers four common questions and provides key insights to help you determine your baby's readiness for solid foods.
Q: How do I know if my baby is ready to start solids?
A: "There are all kinds of things about feeding your baby on the internet; it can be confusing!" says Dr. Rinaldi. "Should you try baby cereal at 4 months or wait until 1 year or somewhere in between? Most babies are ready for solids at about 6 months, sometimes a little before and sometimes a little after."
"We are looking for three distinct skills to know that baby is ready to try solids."
- Sitting
- Able to sit with good head control with minimal/no assistance (most babies are achieving this milestone right around 6 months, though some are earlier and some are later)
- Interest
- Baby is interested in food! They watch you eat, reaching for your food and following your fork as it goes to your mouth.
- Tongue Thrust
- Baby has integrated the tongue thrust reflex. What does that mean? With breast or bottle feeding, the tongue comes forward to help scoop the milk/formula in. When eating purees/solids, the tongue needs to stay in the mouth! (Can you imagine trying to eat with your tongue pushed forward?) How do you know that baby's tongue thrust reflex is going away? You won't know until you try! So when putting a spoonful of food in a baby's mouth, if they immediately "tongue punt" it and spit it out, they are not ready yet. Stop your solids introduction journey and try again in a few weeks. It is normal for a baby to spit a little bit out as they learn how to eat, but we want their tongue mostly staying in their mouth.
Q: Once I know my baby is ready to try solids, what do I feed them?
A: "Again, the internet has many, many opinions about this. The truth is – whatever you want! (Almost) The only true rules are 1. No honey before age 1; and 2. Be sure to adapt to choking-hazard foods. Make sure to adapt round, hard, or slippery foods (like hot dogs or grapes) by cutting into smaller pieces or smashing (like berries)," Dr. Rinaldi recommends. "A big piece of food is often easier for your young eater to handle until their pincher grasp develops closer to 9 months, so offering large pieces like a whole spear of banana vs. bite-size pieces will be easier for them to pick up and handle initially. A great resource I like to use is Solid Starts – they have an Instagram app and a website with great diagrams of how to cut food the right size for different age babies."
Q: Should I try baby-led weaning or purees?
A: "Both are great ways to start feeding your baby! I myself did a mix of both with my kids," says Dr. Rinaldi. "Early introduction of table food helps your child get used to different textures and can help with picky eating as they get older. So, if you start with purees, I would recommend incorporating table foods within a few months. Baby's primary nutrition will still be breastmilk or formula for the first several months of starting solid foods. Start with offering food one time per day and increase over time to three meals and two snacks. Their milk intake will slowly decrease, and food should be their primary nutrition by about age 1."
Q: How often can I introduce a new food to my baby?
A: Dr. Rinaldi suggests, "You can introduce many new foods at the same time! The old adage of one new food per week is outdated advice."
When it comes right down to it, Dr. Rinaldi says, "Don't overthink it. Keep it simple and feed your baby!" If you have any questions or want to discuss your baby's dietary needs, don't hesitate to get in touch with Palouse Pediatrics to schedule an appointment with your baby's doctor.
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