If your baby is over 6 months then you must be planning to start feeding him/her some juices, solid food or cereal. First thing you should take into consideration introducing the food to your baby – is to trust your baby cues (Cues are ways your baby is telling you what he or she wants. Many of these cues are nonverbal but may lead to crying when not attended to) . Do not make your baby eat solid food as per any schedule. Have patience and start feeding the baby slowly. Always notice your baby’s likes and dislike signs such as – she/he may turn the head down/ start crying by seeing the spoon (dislikes) or to grab the spoon and bring to him/her, opens the mouth (likes). Do not force your baby to eat more once the baby is done or has finished eating.
Signs which tells that your baby is ready for solid food:
Following are some vital signs/signals that will help you understand if your baby is really ready for solid food
- Your baby seems hungry even after 8 to 10 breast feeds (milk or 40 oz. of formula in a day).
- Your baby is holding the head well and can sit up alone without much help.
- Your baby is teething and shows chewing motions.
- Your baby shows significant weight gain (it’s vital keep check your baby’s weight every month to ensure growth)
- Your baby shows interest in food (if you are having food in front of your baby that’s when you have to notice this).
- Your baby has outgrown reflex to spit out solid food.
- Your baby can close mouth around a spoon.
- Your baby can refuse food by turning head away from spoon.
Four Day Baby Feeding Rule
Before starting to feed your baby it is advisable to go with the four day feeding rule. The rule is easy to follow and quite simple. It will help you trace any problem foods which can cause allergy or digestive problems to your baby. Four day baby feeding rules says that whenever you introduce a new food to your baby; make sure you continue feeding the same food to baby for at least four days. Do not stop giving feed to the baby, meanwhile you should continue to give other safely introduced food to your baby. Do not introduce two foods at same time as by doing so you will not be able to know which food is causing allergy or digestive problem to the baby.
Medical help in late night is hard to find so it’s best to introduce new food to your baby in the morning or in the lunch time so as in case of allergy or some problem you can easily get a medical help. Moreover this will also prevent any sleepless night caused by allergies or digestive problems your baby may face.
What to feed your baby?
- Breast milk or formula feed
- Pureed food (like sweet potatoes, squash, apples, bananas, peaches, or pears) or semi-liquid iron-fortified cereal
How To Start
- Always start with 1 teaspoon pureed food or cereal and then keep increasing the quantity day by day or the way your baby accepts (keep in mind that your baby’s body will require more food for better growth). Also keep in mind that the baby till this moment was on mother’s breast feed so his/her digestive system will take some time to digest, so be slow.
- In case you have started with cereals already, gradually thicken the consistency by using less liquid.
I hope all these baby feeding tips will help you determine what your baby likes/dislikes and what he/she can digest. Moreover, it’s important to try setup a timetable (baby diet routine) for feeding the baby. If you fed him/her 2PM yesterday then it would be good you feed him same time today.
I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences of starting baby feeding. Please leave me a comment and let me know. Subscribe our RSS to receive latest updates.
