Introducing solids to your baby is such a nerve wracking but exciting experience you get to share with your baby! Here are some tips on how and when to introduce solids to your baby.
Some parents prefer to make purees and opt to spoon feed their baby, others opt for baby-led weaning (BLW) which allows the baby to self-feed finger food that is soft and easy to chew with their gums. Some parents might even do a mixture of both. Whatever you choose, choose what you feel the most comfortable with and works for you and your family.
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Signs your baby is ready for solids
- Has good head and neck control
- Can sit upright unassisted for an extended period of time.
- Can grab objects and bring them to his mouth.
- Baby is interested in the food you eat.
- Some babies will stare at the food going from your plate to your mouth and some might even open their mouth and reach for your food.
- His tongue thrust reflex where they push out the food out instead of swallowing it is no longer there.
- This reflex usually goes away by the time your baby turns 6 months old.
Don't stop feeding breast milk or formula
Starting solids is more about learning and experimenting with taste and texture. Breast milk or formula should remain the main source of nutrition for your baby the first year. Solids are meant to be more of complementary nutrients rather than a replacement to breast milk or formula.
If you’re breastfeeding keep in mind that according to the CDC, iron levels in breast milk are not enough for your 6 month old baby since his iron stores start depleting at this point. Iron rich foods or iron supplements will be needed along with the breast milk to meet your baby’s iron intake and avoid iron deficiency anemia.
Always talk to your baby’s pediatrician and discuss any questions you might have and any changes that need to be done.
Items that are helpful when starting solids
Ok! so your baby is ready to embark on this amazing adventure where he will begin to experience flavors and textures they haven’t experience before.
This is an exciting learning time for your little one so expect food to be flying all over the place. If you’re a clean freak, this might not be such a joyous experience for you but seeing their little faces sparkle with enjoyment or disgust when they experience solids makes this process better. Hang in there! As their motor skills define, so will their mess… sometimes.
- High chair
- Bibs
- Long sleeve bibs to minimize your little one getting a bath every time you feed them.
- Silicone bibs are so easy to clean!
- Splat mat to protect your floors.
- Suction plates– Don’t introduce the plate the first time you introduce solids. Allow your baby to focus only on their food the first time. Introduce the plate a week after once you start serving more than one type of solid food.
- Spoons
- For BLW I recommend three kind of spoons; short spoons, easy to grasp spoons, and loop handle spoons.
- For spoon fed babies I recommend heat sensitive spoons.
- Cups & sip cups with straws– expose your little one to open cups and straws early, you’ll be surprised how quick they learn to drink from cups and straws after modeling it to them.
- Cast iron skillet
- Cook as much as you can in this bad boy to introduce more iron into your baby’s food!
- Food processor
- Having one of these allows to chop up food faster, make oat flour, you name it. It will definitely speed up the cooking process as your little one gets more experienced at eating.
Pick a feeding method
When it comes to starting solids there are three main ways to wean your baby:
- Purees
- Baby-led weaning (BLW) or
- A combination of both.
There is no right or wrong choice when it comes to choosing a method so pick a feeding method that you and your baby are comfortable with.
Purees
Purees are the least nerve wrecking method for parents who worry about gagging and chocking, and it is less messy since you are the one who is in control of the spoon. However, at one point they will have to start feeding themselves so expect a mess and a bit of gagging.
Downside?
- I feel that it is time consuming since you have to prepare the food and puree it as you also prepare your family’s food.
- Your baby doesn’t experience different food textures with their mouth or hands which might make your baby more hesitant when you start introducing him to more solid foods that are no longer the same texture as a puree.
- Your baby will not get to experience single food flavors since multiple foods usually get pureed to make a single meal.
- It’s harder to enjoy meals together because you have to feed them.
Baby-Led Weaning (BLW)
BLW is a weaning process that promotes self-feeding where you offer whole size food or “baby-fist” size food to your baby and they control the weaning process allowing them to explore the food, eat what they want, how much they want, and at their own pace.
Since they are the ones picking up the food and exploring the different textures in their mouth, they are more likely to develop skills that are required to eat food such as motor and hand-eye coordination skills to grab and guide food to their mouth.
They also develop oral skills needed to eat and safely ingest food by moving the food around in their mouth to “gum” it (chew it).
It’s helpful to model your baby how to eat so family meals are a great learning lesson every time you all sit down to eat. Family meals are more enjoyable too and you don’t have to prepare something different for your baby, you can just serve what the family is eating with a BLW approach so it’s safe for your baby.
Always make sure the food you will be serving your baby is gummable, this means that is have to be soft enough for your baby to gum it (chew it) to softly ingest.
Rule of thumb:
- If you can easily squeeze it with you thumb and index finger, it’s safe to serve.
- Test the temperature first before serving to your baby.
- Always keep an eye on your baby.
Sounds simple right?
Downside?
- It’s messy! VERY messy! but it has to be messy so they can explore the different textures and practice their motor skills.
- It’s a more nerve-racking approach since babies tend to gag more as they explore textures and chunks of foods they gum because often times parents can’t differentiate between choking, which is dangerous, and gagging, which is normal and it’s part of the process.
- Main differences between choking and gagging:
GAGGING:
- Baby will make loud noises like coughing, sputtering, and gurgling.
- Will usually spit out whatever made them gag.
- Gagging might even make them vomit.
- Face usually turns red.
CHOKING:
- Baby doesn’t make any noise so you will notice they are completely silent.
- Coughing is difficult or they might not even cough at all.
- Difficulty breathing, might have a wheezing sound
- Lips will turn blue.
You might see a lot of gagging or even vomiting when your baby starts to eat solids using the BLW method.
If your baby starts gagging, don’t intervene, remain calm and give some encouragement. Place your hand on his shoulder or his back to help them stay calm.
Babies are learning to eat so they may put more food than they can cope with in their mouth or swallow a big piece and it will trigger their gag reflex which in return protects the baby from choking and brings the food back out.
It’s a very scary experience to see your baby gagging for the first time but I promise you they get better at eating solids. After your baby gags they’ll probably spit the piece or pieces of food out, play with it, pop it right back in and “gum it” more before swallowing again.
There is no evidence that suggest that babies are more likely to choke with BLW compared with spoon-fed babies.
If you see your baby is choking, try to remain calm and act quickly.
How to reduce the risk of your baby choking
- Make sure your baby is physically and developmentally ready.
- Keep your eyes on your baby and always supervise their eating sessions.
- Prepare foods according to his age.
- Make sure his sitting securely on his high chair when he eats and not crawling or walking.
- Avoid the following foods as they increase the risk of choking:
- Any round food such as cherry tomatoes, blueberries, grapes (Make sure to not serve these whole, always cut or smash before introducing them).
- Whole nuts
- Raw hard veggies or fruits
- Chunky nut butters.
- Popcorn
I highly encourage you to take a first aid and CPR class so you know and practice exactly what to do if your baby chokes with food or with other objects to feel more comfortable with this weaning method.
I knew I wanted to introduce Leo to BLW but I was pretty nervous. I had to take CPR classes since I was working in healthcare and having the knowledge of what to do if he ever choked and having this airway clearance device made me feel more comfortable with BLW. If you’re unable to take a class, take a look at this video on what to do when your baby is choking and try practicing this often so you’re prepared if this situation ever arises.
A mixture of both weaning methods
Why not combine both weaning methods? Life gets busy and some days you might have all the time to prepare a plate with food with the perfect size and consistency and make sure he takes his time exploring his food but other days you might be out at your niece’s lacrosse game giving your baby a pre-made puree package.
Introducing both methods allow your baby to learn not only to swallow but also to “chew.”
It also allows you to introduce whole pieces of food when both you and your baby are ready. Let’s face it, BLW introduces a big fear and anxiety thinking our baby could choke but sometimes we under estimate the gumming strength and ability of our little one. If you don’t feel comfortable giving your baby wedges of raw tomato even though every book and website claim they are safe to consume at whatever age your little one is, don’t serve it like that and puree it instead.
There is no right or wrong choice when it comes to choosing a method so pick a feeding method that you and your baby are comfortable with.
I chose to introduce Leo to both weaning methods because I wanted him to experience all the different flavors and textures food has to offer but at the same time I was very nervous about my little baby possibly choking on certain foods so I would puree the foods I didn’t feel he was ready to tackle as a whole. This has worked great so far! Gagging was scary the first few times when I introduced a ripe avocado but he quickly managed how to avoid putting too much in his mouth and gum as much as possible before swallowing.
I love this BLW book, it is informative and it has pictures of how big or small you need to introduce the food according to their age.
This is another great book I recommend to empower you and take the fear out of introducing table food whether you’re starting with the BLW method or graduating from purees to table food. It has recipes you can try and everyone will love.
BLW is recommended for babies 6 months and up but remember that babies develop at their own pace and if you want to introduce BLW but your little one is not ready, don’t worry, they will be at their own time.
Don't rush
Your baby is learning a new set of skills when you introduce him to solids so be patient and make sure to make this a fun experience and don’t rush him.
Start slow and pick a time during the day where you won’t be rushed.
Listen to your baby's cues
Always listen to your baby’s cues when they are full to avoid food aversion or overfeeding.
Signs your baby is full
- He is no longer interested in the food.
- He might turn his head away from the spoon if not self-fed.
- He becomes more fussy and wiggle more.
- He might start to push the food away or toss it to the ground.
- He will not open his mouth and/or grunt in dislike when offered food.
Avoid feeding whole foods after breastfeeding or bottle feeding
Make sure to wait at least an hour after breastfeeding or bottle feeding before introducing solids IF you’re feeding whole foods. Remember that whole foods can make your baby gag and he could end up projectile vomiting everything he has in his tummy.
You can always breastfeed or bottle feed after he’s done eating any time but chances are he will be full. I usually let Leo digest while I clean up the mess and offer him milk before taking a nap or going to bed but I make sure to breastfeed on demand.
Foods to avoid
- Honey
- Avoid until your baby is at least 12 months of age.
- Low fat products
- Babies need the fat for their development.
- Salt
- Your baby’s kidneys are very immature and can’t filter out excess salt effectively and can damage their kidneys!
- Sugar
- Avoid for the first 2 years.
- It not only lacks in nutritional value but excess sugar can lead to high blood pressure, higher risk of obesity, and tooth decay
- Excess sugar puts your baby’s brain in overdrive which leads to hyperactivity and mood swings.
- Cow’s milk
- Avoid introducing until your baby is 12 months of age.
- According to the CDC cow’s milk contains too many proteins and minerals which can be difficult for your baby’s kidneys to process.
- Fruit juice and soft drinks
- These drinks offer no nutritional value and are very high in sugar.
Baby's first foods
Let your baby experience single foods first before you start mixing up the flavors specially when introducing allergen foods. This will also allow you to get an idea of what your baby prefers flavor wise.
If you’re using the BLW method, your baby will most likely make a mess and hardly eat any of the food you present him the first few times.
He will either touch the piece of food and immediately toss it to the ground or grab it and squeeze it in his hand depending on how comfortable he feels with the texture.
Food is more about exploring than it is for nourishing at this point.
If he doesn’t like a specific food at that time, reintroduce it another time.
Introduce veggies first
Fruits are nature’s candy and babies will always prefer sweet foods because so try to introduce vegetables first such as:
- Carrots
- Parsnip
- Peas
- Sweet potato
- Pumpkin
- Corn
- zucchini
After introducing some of these veggies, I recommend introducing some easy to serve foods such as:
- Avocado
- Potato
- Banana
This magnetic list of first foods you can introduce to your baby before he turns one is amazing and allows you to keep track of how many times you’ve introduced a food.
Introduce allergen foods early
The introduction of allergen foods as early as possible and regular exposure to the allergen helps decrease the risk of developing an allergy to that food.
According to the LEAP study, early introduction to peanuts (common food allergen) that was incorporated in baby’s diet at least 3 times a week reduced the risk of developing a peanut allergy.
Common food allergens
- Peanuts
- Tree nuts
- Eggs
- Cow’s milk
- Shellfish
- Wheat
- Soy
- Sesame
Symptoms of an allergic reaction include difficulty breathing or swallowing, rashes, or itchiness. These reactions might appear withing minutes or hours after consuming the food and can range from mild to severe.
Always follow your mommy instinct and if you suspect your baby has or had an allergic reaction, seek medical help immediately.
This page is a great source of information for how to introduce common allergens to babies.
Introduce water
You want to introduce water now that your baby will be exposed to solid foods so your baby doesn’t become constipated.
Water is one of the hardest liquids to learn how to swallow because water is very fluid and difficult to control. Your baby needs to learn to move his oral muscles to quickly swallow so be aware that there will be plenty of spills and some coughing.
Start out by offering 2 oz during each meal and up it to 4 oz as they learn to control the swallowing process.
Spice up your baby's world
If your baby is doing well with the foods and there are no digestive upsets, you can start adding spices to your baby’s food after 8 months of age to expand his taste buds.
If you are a breastfeeding mom your baby has already been exposed to the taste of spices and herbs you have consume since the flavor transfers through breast milk.
Monkey see, monkey do!
Babies learn through listening, observing and practicing or acting out what they see. Whether you’re staring with purees or you’re following the BLW method, have your baby sit at the table with you and your family so he can observe how you pick up that spoon, scoop food, chew, and swallow.
If you’re following the BLW method or transitioning from purees to whole foods, I recommend showing your baby how you eat first before introducing the fist piece of food.
- Don’t say anything when you take the first bite, simply take a piece of food you will be serving your baby and slowly take a bite. Make sure your baby is engaged with you and he is observing you.
- Model how to take a small bite and exaggerate the chewing process.
- Chew with your mouth open first and then close your mouth.
- Narrate your second bite so your baby can start associating the words “bite,” “chew,” “spit,” with the action.
You got this! Happy eating!
