Your little one will be able to tell you, not in so many words, but in so many readiness signs, whether she's developmentally up to the challenge.
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Transcript:
Introducing solids! After nearly six months of breast or bottle, you're probably pretty pumped about the prospect of finally breaking out the high chair and using that adorable bib collection for soaking up more than just spit-up and drool. Yes, that momentous, if messy, milestone is just around the corner.
But when should you turn that corner? Let's talk timing. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solids at about six months and certainly not before four months. That's because breast milk or formula alone can and should satisfy a baby's nutritional needs for the first six months of life.
Start your baby on solids too soon, experts say, and it could contribute to obesity, or undermine future eating habits. Start too late, say, waiting until eight or nine months and your older baby may resist learning the new tricks of chewing and swallowing solids.
What's your sweet pea's sweet spot for starting solids? Check with the pediatrician for guidelines and the go-ahead, of course. But also check with your baby. Your little one will be able to tell you, not in so many words, but in so many readiness signs, whether she's developmentally up to the challenge.
First sign to look for: Baby can take a seat at the table, or, at least, the high chair. It's hard to eat slumped over, especially when you're new at the eating game, and it can even be unsafe. So make sure baby has good head control when propped to sit, or even better, that he can hold that head high without props.
Here's another sign to look for: Interest in eating. Is your baby watching every bite you take? Hijacking the fork out of your hand or trying to snatch the bread from your plate? She may be telling you: I want what you're having.
Also look closely, this one will be tougher, to see if your baby is able to make back-and-forth and up-and-down movements with his tongue and is able to open that wide enough to take food from a spoon or fist. Put baby's tongue thrust to the test, by placing a tiny bit of food, thinned out with breast milk or formula for starters, in his mouth. If his tongue keeps pushing the food back out, even after several tries, he's not ready for the solids big time. Try again in a couple of weeks.
As you plan for baby's solids debut, also consider the time of day you'll dig in. If baby's breastfeeding, it might make sense to try solids when milk supply is at its lowest, say late afternoon or early evening. Or maybe baby's mood will matter most, if it's consistently crabby at the end of the day, but sunshine in the morning, begin with breakfast. Make sure the timing's right for you, too. Starting on a workday could be super stressful all around, making a lazy weekend day, when everyone's relaxed and no one's in a hurry, the best time to get started.
And while we're talking time, make sure you'll have plenty of it, and a healthy serving of patience, too. Food is never fast when it comes to babies, you may be surprised at how long it takes to get one little spoonful or finger-full down the hatch. Give baby time also, start with just one meal a day, then move up to two, probably a morning and an evening.
Looks like all eating systems are go? Get out the high chair, grab that bib, and get ready to get busy on those first bites! Here's to the eating adventures ahead!
