Introducing Solid Foods

Foods good for baby		Foods not good for baby
- Breast milk		- Cow's milk
- Formula		- Solid food

4-6 MONTHS
Baby's main food will continue to be breast milk or formula.

Early experiences with food may have an impact on later eating habits. Learning to accept a variety of flavors and textures is important. Research shows that flavors from the food mother has eaten appear in her milk. A baby exposed early to a flavor that appears in it's mother's milk will probably continue to enjoy that flavor when it appears in food. One study suggests that breastfed infants are more likely to try new flavors later in life. However, parents should be careful not to impose their taste preferences on the baby.

INTRODUCING SOLID FOODS
For several decades parents were told to introduce solid foods early. In some cases babies were started on cereals as early as three weeks after birth. The current recommendation is to wait until the baby is 4 to 6 months old. Here are some reasons why waiting is advised:

• Until the age of three months, babies have a natural reflex to push outward with the tongue. This is useful in sucking but prevents a baby from moving solid foods from the front of the mouth backward for swallowing. Around age 4 to 6 months, babies gain control of the head and can sit upright more easily. Both of these developmental milestones show that a
  baby is ready to eat from a spoon.
• A baby does not need the nutrients in solid foods before age 4 to 6 months. By this time the baby will have doubled its birth weight and will be becoming hungrier. The baby will need more food.
• Some pediatricians and nutritionists believe that early introduction of solid foods teaches a baby to overeat. It is easy for parents to urge babies to eat more than they really want; most babies do not know how to resist.
  

HOW TO INTRODUCE SOLID FOODS

1. Go slowly. One or two spoonfuls will be enough.

2. Introduce only one new food at a time. Give the baby a few days to get used to it before adding another. This approach will make it easier to identify problem foods if allergies are present.

3. Start with rice cereals. Some pediatricians recommend iron-fortified infant rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula as a first solid food. This gives your baby a good source of iron, as well as a good distribution of calories between carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Rice is less likely to cause allergic reactions than other grains.

4. Touch is still important. Your baby may need reassuring when you first introduce solid foods. Hold your baby to let him know that this new experience is all right.

MICROWAVE HEATING
Care must be taken when using a microwave oven to heat baby food. Microwaves can heat a food unevenly, forming hot-spots. One spoonful of the food may be cold, yet the next spoonful could burn the baby's mouth. Babies accept room temperature and cold food, so warming is not really necessary. Most health and child care professionals recommend against using a microwave oven to warm baby food. If you do warm in a microwave oven, use extreme caution, and stir the food well before feeding baby to ensure the food is at an even temperature.

6-9 MONTHS
ADDING SOLID FOODS
Here is a general guide for adding solid foods:

Cereals: 4-6 months
Vegetables: 7 months
Fruits: 8 months
Meats: 10 months
Cheese and Yogurt: 10-12 months
Egg yolks: 10 months

Vegetables and fruits follow cereals at around 7 months. These provide vitamins A and C. If your baby starts to show some signs of chewing, you may want to give her some mashed vegetables or thick cereal to work on to improve chewing skills.

An 8- to 9-month baby will have one or two teeth and can probably handle lumpy foods. If you have not begun to do so, begin now to offer the baby foods prepared for the family. Go easy. Start with easy-to-mash foods such as cooked potato or carrot, banana, or canned fruits.

If any nutrient is going to be in short supply, it is iron. Many pediatricians recognize this problem and recommend iron supplements. Iron-fortified cereals are especially good sources of iron.

Infants do not need added sugar or salt. Babies have a strong sense of taste and do not need the flavor enhancers favored by adults.

FINGER FOODS
Once your baby begins to be able to take hold of things, you may offer finger foods that will help develop coordination. (At this stage, a finger food is anything soft that holds together long enough for baby to get it from plate to mouth.) This may be very messy at first, but as baby's skills develop, the mess decreases.

TEETHING
Rusks make a good finger food when baby starts teething. You can make a hard teething bread by baking any bread in a very low (150-200 degrees F) oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Also, cold fruit mixtures (pureed canned or soft fruit) are very refreshing to baby's gums during teething.

SOME THINGS TO WATCH
Honey is not recommended for infants under the age of 12 months. Honey may carry botulism spores. The digestive system of children and adults can destroy these harmful spores but a baby cannot. The spores may remain active in the stomach and produce their deadly toxin. Even baking may not destroy the spores that occur in honey. Not all honey contains botulism spores, but because babies do not need honey, there is no reason to take the risk.

Beets and spinach have high concentrations of naturally-occurring nitrates that can reduce the ability of the baby's hemoglobin to transport oxygen. These foods should be used in moderation or not at all until the baby reaches his first birthday.

MILK FOR THE OLDER BABY
Until the age of six months, babies need either breast milk or commercial formula as their main source of nutrients even though babies will begin to eat other foods. Babies and parents who are satisfied with breast milk or commercial formula may continue to use either one until 12 months. The use of breast milk or commercial formula until 12 months is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Cow's milk should not be used until after 12 months.

10-12 MONTHS
ADDING MEAT, EGGS, AND CHEESE
By 10 months your baby is probably eating and enjoying a variety of cereals, vegetables, and fruits. Now it is time to introduce meats. Although meat is a good source of protein, most babies get plenty of protein from milk. The most important contribution meat can make to a baby's diet is iron.

Around 10 to 12 months, eggs can be added to the diet. Although egg yolks can be added to the diet around 10 months, egg whites or whole eggs should not be given to your baby until the end of the first year. This is because egg whites often cause allergic reactions if introduced too early.

Cheese and yogurt in small amounts may be added to the diet now.

MORE FINGER FOODS
Babies are now ready for more finger foods. Good choices are banana slices, dry toast, ready-to-eat unsweetened cereals, crackers, meatballs, and small cubes of cheese.

To protect your baby from the danger of choking, offer only foods that are soft or will soften in the mouth. Avoid raw carrots (unless they are grated), nuts, popcorn, unpeeled apples, and other hard foods.

EATING ROUTINE
By this age, a baby's eating behavior will have settled down into a fairly predictable routine. The baby will still need to eat more frequently than other family members, with mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and evening snacks as well as regular meals.

DRINKING FROM A CUP
At around 10 months the baby may begin to drink from a cup with an adult helping to hold the cup. Around 12 months of age most babies can handle a cup alone. Milk, water, and juice may all be given in a cup instead of a bottle. Do not expect the baby to take much liquid from the cup at first. Offer just 1 or 2 ounces (1/8 cup), and gradually increase the amount.

Some babies are ready to give up nursing or the bottle around this age. Many will want to continue to nurse or have a bottle for a few more months.

WEANING
Babies are generally weaned by the end of the first year. As a baby learns to drink more milk from the cup, bottles or breast feedings can be discontinued gradually.

A baby who continues to drink large amounts of milk may not be eating enough solid foods to meet his or her increasing nutritional needs. By the age of 1 year a baby should be eating a variety of foods and drinking only about 2 cups of milk a day.

SOME THINGS TO WATCH
RAW EGGS AND RAW MILK are not appropriate for babies. These foods may be
sources of infections that can be dangerous to infants.

NO-NO FOODS for babies include desserts, carbonated beverages, caffeine-containing beverages, and candy. They provide calories with few nutrients. If they take the place of nutritious foods and beverages, they can be harmful. Powered soft drink mixes sweetened with sugar or NutraSweet(TM) are not good for babies. NutraSweet(TM) is considered safe in moderate amounts for children and adults, but safety for babies is not yet fully established. Besides, babies need calories for growth and development.

HOW TO FIGHT OVERWEIGHT
One reason many physicians and parents give for feeding lowfat milk to infants is to protect them from the problems of overweight. There is no convincing evidence that overweight babies become overweight adults. Remember, babies under the age of 12 months should not even be drinking
cow's milk.

Babies need whole milk. Lowfat milk does not have enough calories to permit babies to grow and develop to their best potential. Also, skim milk contains proportions of minerals and protein that will put extra strain on the baby's kidneys. This also means that the baby may be at risk of
dehydration. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends whole milk until the age of 2.

Studies at the University of Iowa Hospitals showed that babies on skim milk did not gain weight as well as those on whole milk. The babies on skim milk drank a larger volume of milk (trying to get enough calories), but apparently their small stomachs just didn't permit them to get enough. The investigators speculated that the babies on skim milk might have been learning to overeat, too.

Most pediatricians and nutritionists believe that body fat is important to the health of an infant. It is not unusual for a baby to become ill and refuse to eat for a couple of days; fat stores provide calories for body maintenance and infection-fighting. Babies can lose a lot of weight rapidly

Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Schafer, E., & Fradgley, N.K. (1995). *Feeding your baby (Pm 862)*. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Extension.