Is Your Baby ready for Solids?
Knowing when to start your baby on solids can be an all-consuming topic for parents of young babies.
Official guidelines state you need to start between 4 and 6 months of age but you also need to be guided by your baby to know when your baby is ready within that huge time bracket.
Your baby will give you clear signs that he or she is ready to start such as;
Reaching out their hand to grab at your food
Their eyes following your food from plate to mouth
Not lasting so well between milk feeds
Maybe waking in the night looking for an extra feed.
It’s important not to start just because it feels everyone in your Mothers Group is doing it. You need to use your mothers’ intuition and if your baby is not interested then simply wait a few more days and try again.
Try not to get yourself stressed or concerned that your baby is falling behind, remember they all come to things in their own time. There is no rush and you can rest assured that it will happen and it doesn’t really matter if its 4 months or 6, just so long as by 6 months you are underway with consistently offering solids.
Research tells us that starting too early can mean your baby’s stomach lining is too immature, and starting later than 6 months can impact your baby’s tolerance to allergy causing foods. Additionally it is important to ensure they have started by 6 months, when their natural iron levels start to deplete and breast milk alone is not enough. Iron fortified foods such as infant rice cereal are a great way for them to get additional iron whilst they are getting started.
What you choose to feed your baby is setting the pattern for their adult life, you will be laying the foundations of their health and eating habits so following routine and ensuring fresh flavoursome food is important.
First attempts can be slow and awkward, all of us develop at different paces so learn to respond to the cues your baby gives you and certainly don’t force or overfeed. Your role is to provide a good variety of food, their role is to decide if and how much they will eat.
Emily is a Melbourne mum of three and a self-professed foodie. She loves cooking for her family and has shared her commonsense approach to the introduction of solids in her recipe book, Food Babies Love. Follow her musings on her blog at www.foodbabieslove.com.au
