How to Decide When to Feed Your Baby Solid Foods

As a new parent, you will encounter milestones that you will be unfamiliar with and one of those is the correct techniques for feeding your baby solid foods. You will notice rapid changes in your child’s eating patterns. These signs will help you in determining when to introduce solid food into your child feeding routine.

Perhaps your baby will be three or four months old when you begin noticing changes. He may begin waking up more frequently through out the night and eating more formula or breast milk than usual.

Eating nonstop or cluster feeding may also indicate a growth spurt. However, growth spurts often account for increased hunger in him, not necessarily a sign that he is ready for solid foods.

Current recommendations suggest that breast milk or formula be your baby’s main source of nutrition at least until six months of age. Become familiar with the following signs to determine if your son is ready to try solid foods. First, he will hold his head steady and sit with support. Secondly, your child will actually reach for and demonstrate interest in food or open his mouth at the sight of food. Your son should no longer thrust his tongue out during feeding. This will allow him the ability to keep food in his mouth to swallow it. Finally, notice if he turns his head away from food this is an indication that he is full.

You can feed your child baby cereal when he is between four and six months of age. Namely, rice, oatmeal or barely cereals are safe if they are ground. You are able to mix some infant cereal with breast milk or formula in a bowl. Do not use cow’s milk or any other liquid. The proper way to feed the cereal at this age is to hold him in a sitting position or put him in a child’s seat on the floor to avoid chocking. Always use a spoon to feed solid foods to your baby. The first time trying this may be unsuccessful. If your baby refuses half of a very small portion by turning his head away or cries, he is not ready. It is recommended to try again in a week or so after.

When your baby is ready, he will attempt small messy bites. He may even roll the food around in his mouth, experimenting. He is feeling it with his tongue. Part of the learning process is making a mess.

So have fun experimenting with him as well. In the beginning, at this age, your breast milk or infant formula provides all the nutrition your baby requires. Be sure to give him only one new food at a time, however. This will assist with determining if any one food causes an allergic reaction. Yet, at this point, infant cereals are a good choice. Even so, if one of the types of cereals causes a problem for him, he may vomit, break out with a rash, or have diarrhea. If any of these symptoms happens, contact your physician immediately.

At six to eight months, you can introduce pureed fruits to your son - vegetables and strained meats. Each time you introduce a new food, wait for about two to three days before trying another, and again observe for allergic reactions. Between seven and twelve months, your baby may graduate from strained or mashed potatoes to various kinds of finger foods. Also remember, solids do not replace breast milk or formula during that first year.
There is also a regimen that you may follow to make sure your child is getting enough to drink daily. At four to five months, make sure he has thirty ounces of liquid. At five to six months, thirty- five ounces of liquids. Twenty-eight ounces of liquid is required for your son when he is six to seven months. By the time he has reached seven to nine months, he will only require twenty- four and at nine to twelve, he needs only twenty-two ounces of liquid.

As noted, a good rule of thumb is to watch the baby, not the calendar. Subsequently, out of all the milestones you will encounter as a parent, a baby’s readiness to eat solid food is probably the most subtle. But if you remain focused and observe your child, he will offer you plenty of cues.

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