Introducing Your Baby to Solids

When it comes to feeding your newborn baby, breast milk is the ideal food. Nature has designed breast milk so that your baby can digest and absorb all the nutrients it needs. If you choose not to breast feed, use an infant formula appropriate for your baby's age.


Breast milk or infant formula contains all the nutrition babies need for around the first six months. Baby is not able to digest or absorb solids before 4 months. Some babies show signs of being ready for solids before 6 months. If you think your baby might be ready for solids earlier it may be helpful to discuss this with your Nurse or a Child Health Provider. Some of the signs your baby is ready for solids are, if they are hungry after breastfeeding, being able to control their tongue to take food from a spoon and swallow it. (before this the tongue will keep pushing the spoon and food out). Holding their head up well and watching you eat (reaching out, opening their mouth when you are eating and putting hands/toys in their mouth).


First foods can include niron-fortified baby rice or infant cereal (check the labels to ensure you have the right food for your child's age). Cooked and puréed vegetables such as sweet potatoe, potato, carrot, pumpkin, marrow and avocado, puréed fruit such as cooked apple, pear, ripe banana, peach and apricot, prepared, canned baby foods (check the labels to ensure you have the right food for your child's age).


Breast milk is the most important food until baby is aged around 9 months. You may find your baby gradually reduces the number of milk feeds they require once they are eating solid foods. Offering the milk feed before solids till after 9 months will ensure that baby is getting enough milk. It is recommended that breast feeding is continued into baby's second year and beyond, even if baby is eating a wide range of other foods. If your baby is formula feeding, they need formula as the main milk drink up to 12 months.


When To Start

Choosing a time when your baby is calm and happy and you have time to enjoy feeding and talking (around lunchtime or early afternoon) will help to make the experience a more relaxed one. Offer a milk feed first and then try offering a teaspoon of smooth, runny, slightly warm food, letting baby taste the food and suck it off the spoon.
Starting with one kind of food, such as puréed pumpkin and introducing something new every 3 - 4 days will give baby the chance to get used to different flavours. If a food is refused you may like to mix a small amount of it with a food they like and gradually increase it until they are used to the taste. If food continues to be refused, wait a few minutes and try it again. It may take more than 10 tries before baby decides it likes a new food taste.


Over time, gradually offer different foods so that your baby gets used to a variety of tastes and increase how much and how often you give solids. Start with a small amount once a day, continuing to increase the amount of food over a succession of days, letting your baby's appetite guides how much they eat. Remember every baby is different and some babies will eat more than others. As baby gets better at chewing and swallowing it is important to offer food with a more lumpy texture, for example mashed instead of pureed foods.
Around 9 months baby can start experimenting with finger food too. Try offering cooked pasta, rice, broccoli, carrot, rusks or a piece of orange or apple wrapped in muslin. It is important that you stay with your baby at all times when it is eating food, in case of choking.


Foods to watch out for
It takes around six months for babies to have fully developed immune systems so it is best to avoid certain foods such as honey, which contains bacteria that may cause a serious illness called infant botulism. Honey can be introduced after six months, fish, and dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt, ice cream and custard. These can be introduced after nine months, but if there is a strong family history of allergies, wait until 12 months before introducing fish and dairy products, allergenic foods, such as peanuts and other nut products. Introduce after three years of age, after 12 months egg white can be introduced, and cow's milk and soy milk offered as drinks, preferably in a cup. Breast feeding continues into the second year and beyond. Low fat milk is not recommended for infants and toddlers.


Foods to avoid
Try to avoid adding sugar, artificial sweeteners or butter to your baby's meals. Babies tastes are not well developed and even if your baby's food tastes bland to you, your baby will probably prefer it that way. Salt can damage a young baby's kidneys and is best left out of baby's diet.
Foods such as whole-grain cereals contain too much fibre for a young digestive system and may make baby feel full, reducing the appetite for other foods whole grain breads and cereals are best delayed until at least 2 years of age.


Fluids
As mentioned above, breast milk is the most important food until baby is aged around 9 months. As milk is reduced you need to introduce water. Water is the best drink to offer babies when they want something other than breast milk or formula. From 6 months, offer water in a cup at meal times. This helps to clean the baby's mouth after food and encourages them to accept water as an alternative to milk. It also helps baby to learn how to use a cup and can help with weaning from the breast or bottle. Drinks containing caffeine, such as tea, coffee or cola drinks can reduce iron absorption and may lead to iron deficiency or anemia. Cordials and fruit juices (especially when offered in bottles or sipper cups) can cause tooth decay, and are not recommended for babies and young children, for older children these are best kept for occasional treats.