Starting on Solid Food

Starting on Solid Food
by Rachel Goodchild

The do’s and don’ts of introducing baby to new fare

When should you start your baby on solids? It really depends on the individual child but it should be sometime between four and six months. At six months, he will have depleted the store of iron he was born with.
Some medical personnel will insist you wait until the six-month mark but you know your own baby better.

If he is getting hungry between feeds, chewing on his fingers and generally feeling very out of sorts, he is ready!

Your baby needs to start with plain food so don’t go adding sugar, honey or salt to his meal. You should always start with baby rice as it is the least likely to spark an allergic reaction.

The best time to introduce solids is after the mid-morning feed. You only start with very small quantities. Your child won’t suddenly eat a bowl of rice.

The first time, he may only have one spoon and that is completely normal. If he appears to gag on the rice, he may not yet be ready, so wait a couple of days before trying again.

Assuming your child tolerates the plain rice, try adding some pureed fruit or vegetables. You need to introduce one new solid at a time so that if there is a reaction, you will know what is the cause.

Your baby will still only be eating spoonfuls at each meal so why not save yourself some time. Puree the fruit and freeze in ice cube trays. For each meal, you only need to defrost as much as your little one will eat.

Just make sure that you use it within 24 hours and never reheat leftovers for a baby. They are very susceptible to food poisoning.

The trick is to gradually expand the foods you introduce. As he gets a little older, you can educate his palate to the delights of lentils and chicken.

You will still need to puree everything as he cannot yet cope with solids. At around seven months of age, you will be able to mash up his food instead as his mouth should have developed sufficiently to cope with small lumps.

During this time, milk is still his main food source so don’t be worried if it appears your infant is not "eating" enough.

Try introducing some finger foods when he is seven to eight months and sitting upright comfortably.

Lightly cooked vegetables such as carrot and courgette fingers are good. You can give him some humus as a dip. He will be delighted getting messy but may actually eat some as well!

It is also useful to introduce some carbohydrates at this stage as well.

Please don’t hover over your baby with the cleaning cloth. He needs to learn how to feed himself and the sooner you accept the mess, the better for both of you. You can get plastic coverings for the floor to make cleaning up easier.Or if it is warm enough, you could feed your baby while he is wearing just his nappy as he will be easier to clean.

He will soon learn good table manners but for now let him have fun as he learns about this whole new world.

In the middle of weaning your child, he will probably start teething. Some babies may have their first tooh as young as three months old. Often babies will feel pain, may have a fever, bleeding gums, red cheeks and generally be out of form. Sometimes they will also get nappy rash.

If he appears to be in pain, try rubbing some gel on his gums to help numb the pain. Or put his teething ring in the fridge as the cold helps to numb the pain. If your baby is old enough, try giving him a piece of hard cold fruit to nibble on.

This will be a very busy time for you and baby as you both discover this new world together. Enjoy it as it will be over before you know it.


Source: theSun, Tue, 15 Dec 2009