Introducing Your Baby to Solid Foods

If you're a parent wondering when you should start introducing your baby to solids, you're not alone. Many parents ask this question and are confused by guides that go by your baby's age. Starting solids at 6 months may seem just right for some parents, too early for others, and too late for many more.

The reason why is because every baby develops at a different pace. Some babies may be ready for solids earlier than others and some may be ready for them later. It's up to parents to learn how to read their baby's developmental cues so they can introduce solids at just the right time.

When your baby is able to mostly sit up with some assistance, holds his or her head up with no assistance, and doesn't simply spit out any food placed in his or her mouth your baby is ready to start on rice cereal. Once a day is fine to start out and once a week has passed with no signs of allergic reactions you can move on to feeding your baby oatmeal. Always leave a week between the introductions of new foods so that food allergies can be found out easily. Once your baby has tried all the cereals, you can move on to single ingredient vegetable and fruit purees.

One of the hardest things to figure out is when to start feeding your baby non-pureed solids. The best time to start with this is once your baby is making chewing motions with his or her mouth when eating, is able to sit up unassisted, and shows the ability to pick up small items with his or her hands. This is when you can introduce small, quickly dissolvable finger foods such as bananas and Cheerios. Keep a close eye on your baby when he or she is eating finger foods as even the most talented chewers can accidentally choke.

Once your baby starts crawling and becomes adept at self feeding you can introduce more solid finger foods. Examples of these include pieces of fruit and mashed table foods. By the time your baby starts trying to self feed with the spoon, he or she is ready for table foods head on.

If you just pay attention, your baby will basically let you know when she or he is ready to take their food on to the next level. With the knowledge of how to read his or her developmental cues, you will always be able to meet his or her nutritional needs at exactly the right time.