Introducing solids at 6 months
Official advice is that milk is sufficient for your baby for the first six months, but you may find friends and relatives pressure you to start weaning your baby earlier.
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You should, however, resist all such pressure for the following reasons: first, breast milk (or its formula equivalent) is the only food that your baby needs in the early months. Second, the introduction of solids to too young a baby can lessen the desire to suck. In the case of breast-fed babies this decreases the amount taken from the breasts, which respond by producing less milk.
Either way, your baby will end up having an unsatisfactory diet for his needs. Third, until your baby is at least six months old his digestive tract is incapable of digesting and absorbing complex foods. If you introduce solids before this time not only will they pass through largely undigested, but you will be putting an increased strain on his immature kidneys.
When to introduce solids
In the early months milk provides all the calories required to make your baby grow. The more he grows, the more milk he'll need to drink. But your baby's stomach can only hold a certain amount of milk at each feed, and he will eventually reach a point when he's drinking to full capacity at each feed, but still won't have enough calories to keep going.
This is the point at which you'll have to introduce solids, and you'll recognize the sign when your baby starts to demand more milk and appears very unsatisfied after each feed. He may suddenly start wanting a sixth feed, having been quite content on five for the previous couple of months, or he may wake at night after previously sleeping through.
In many babies this happens at around six months and it's also an ideal time to start solids because it generally coincides with a tapering off of your baby's intense desire to suck.
What solids foods to give baby
Up until the sixth month your baby will have had a diet of milk. It is therefore only sensible to start with bland, semi-liquid, foods with a smooth, creamy consistency: unsweetened purées of fruit (bananas, dessert apples, ripe pears and peaches) and vegetables (potatoes, carrots and cauliflower), and gluten-free rice cereal are ideal.
Although specially manufactured “first foods” are available, it's better to make up your own. Apart from being cheaper, you'll know exactly what is in the food and that it has no additional sugar, salt, or preservatives.
Solid food safety
By the time your baby is ready for weaning you don't have to sterilize all cooking utensils meticulously - but you must follow the general principles of good hygiene. Wash your hands before preparing the baby's food and before feeding, make sure that all the utensils are clean and that any made-up food is kept in the refrigerator. Purées of fruit and vegetables can be kept for two days in the refrigerator or frozen in individual portions in ice-cube trays.
Giving the first solids
Start off by giving your baby one or two teaspoons of food along with a normal milk feed; the one around midday is ideal because your baby will be quite alert and not ravenously hungry. Your baby, although ready for the calories that solids provide, will be hungry for what he knows is satisfying - milk - so feed from one breast first, or give half the usual bottle. As he gets more used to solids he may want to be given them before he takes the milk.
Having decided which feed to start the solids on, prepare the small amount that you'll need and then settle in your normal position to feed the baby. When you've given him half of the milk feed, sit your baby on your lap then, using a small spoon, scoop up some food and place it gently between his lips so that he can suck the food off. Be very careful not to push the spoon in too far or he may gag on the unexpected food on the back of his tongue.
He's bound to be messy at first, maybe pushing more food out than he manages to take in. If so, gently scrape the excess off the baby's face and place the spoon on to his lips as before. Your baby will signal that he's had enough by turning away from the spoon with lips shut, maybe even crying. Never force your baby to take any more food than he wants. When he's taken the solid food you can give the rest of the milk feed.
Tips for feeding solids to your baby
- Give your baby only one new food at a time and then wait for several days to see if it suits.
- Use dry infant cereals that you have to make up rather than ready-mixed cereals; they contain more iron and are more nutritious for your baby.
- Only give cereal once a day.
- If he doesn't like taking food from a spoon, try dipping a clean fingertip into the food and let him suck it off.
- If you find it awkward to feed the baby on your lap, put him in a baby seat on the floor.
- Keep plenty of kitchen paper nearby to mop up any mess.
- Even early solids can stain clothes, especially banana, so put a small cloth bib on your baby.
New Babycare
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley
Text copyright © 2009 Miriam Stoppard
Posted 30.06.2010
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