When Should My Baby Start Solids & How Often Should I Give Them?
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Many parents are anxious to be able to share their own regular people-food with their baby. However, it is important to know when your baby should start solids, and how often you should give solid foods to them.
During those first three months of life, formula or breast milk will be all that your baby needs. By around 4 months old, you can begin to introduce solids to your baby. Some health care providers recommend waiting until the age of 6 months, so it is best to check with your health care provider. Some signs that your baby is ready for solids include:
- Baby is able to support her own head
- Baby is interested in food; she watches you eat, stares at your food
- Baby’s tongue-thrusting reflex is gone or has greatly subsided.
Once you’ve got the OK for solids, its time to introduce cereal. You might use a bit of iron-fortified infant rice cereal, and mix it with either formula or with breast milk. Don’t add cereal to the bottle unless your health care provider suggests that you do so. After he’s got the hang of cereal, you can begin to introduce a pureed fruit or vegetable. Always introduce a little at a time, so that you can help identify potential food allergies. Initially, you might want to feed your baby just one solid meal every few days. After your baby starts getting used to solids, you can increase this to where you can give her solid food once a day.
At the age of around 7 months to 1 year, it is time to explore table foods. You might introduce meats or foods with coarser textures that might require more chewing. You can use pre-packaged foods, or you can mash up food that you serve to the whole family. Make sure that the pieces are not too big, so as to reduce the risk of choking. During this phase, you should generally be feeding your baby 2-3 solid meals each day.
Cow’s milk, eggs, honey, and citrus fruits or juices should wait until after your baby’s first birthday. Sometime around your first birthday, she should be able to give up formula altogether. Many women choose to stop breastfeeding at this age as well.
At around 15 to 18 months, your child will begin learning how to pick up foods and get them into their mouths, even eventually using utensils. During this time, you might transition to a cup. Again, it is important to avoid foods that present a choking hazard, and it is important to introduce foods one at a time to rule out allergies.
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