How Many Months It Takes a Baby to Start Eating Solid Food
How to Introduce Solid Foods to Your Baby
Starting solids is an of import aspect of your baby's development, but knowing when they're prepare and how to do it can exist catchy.
Credit... Molly Matalon for The New York Times
This guide was originally published on Aug. 22, 2019 in NYT Parenting.
I should take been confident well-nigh introducing solid foods to my baby, but even with a Ph.D. in diet, I was anxious about this stage of my starting time babe's life. How would I know that she was gear up to eat solids? Which foods should I give her? What if she choked or had an allergic reaction?
In the end, reading the scientific literature helped me feel prepared. And, as so frequently happens in parenting, I found that a little experience went a long way. By the fourth dimension my second child was ready for solids, I looked forward to watching him explore his first foods.
To give you the information you need to experience similarly at ease, I reviewed the science and talked with a pediatrician, a pediatric dietitian and an allergist to create a unproblematic program for starting solids with your infant.
Make up one's mind when to offer your babe'south offset bites.
Starting solids is an important aspect of your baby's development — not only considering information technology provides her with the nutrients she needs, but because it helps her learn about different tastes and textures, and exercise essential motor skills required for eating.
"It sets the basis for a lot of stuff after, from the manner you feed your kid, how you interact and support him or her around eating, to food preferences, to self-regulation," said Jill Castle, R.D.N., a pediatric dietitian in private do in New Canaan, Conn.
While expert health organizations hold that breast milk or formula (or a combination) should be the foundation of your babe's nutrition through their commencement twelvemonth, they differ on when they recommend introducing solids into the mix. The Globe Health Arrangement, for case, has advised introducing solid foods at 6 months, while the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology recommends starting solids between 4 and 6 months. Either way, it's a good thought for them to first no later than half dozen months, since that'due south when breast milk lone no longer meets growing babies' nutritional needs. And starting before iv months is ill-advised, since their digestive systems aren't yet mature enough to handle solid foods, and at that place'south even some evidence that doing so might enhance their risk of obesity.
Just all three experts I interviewed for this guide emphasized that the almost important indicator is whether your babe is developmentally ready: Tin she sit upwardly, with or without back up, and hold her caput upwards? Can she open her rima oris to accept a bite of nutrient, shut her lips around the nutrient and and then eat at least some of it? Does she express interest in eating?
"When you're eating and they're kind of grabbing at your plate and staring you down – that's the all-time sign," said Dr. Dina DiMaggio, M.D., a pediatrician at Pediatric Assembly of NYC and a clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics at NYU Langone Medical Middle.
Some babies will brandish readiness at four months, and some not until six months or even a bit later. "Every kid is unlike," said Castle, who cautioned against pressuring your baby to eat, which can backfire and make her less willing to swallow or try new foods.
"The bottom line is you want to go on the interaction around nutrient and feeding very positive and nurturing and really follow the baby'due south lead as opposed to some set of time principles," Castle said.
Start with purees or finger foods.
Traditionally, pediatricians have recommended starting with thin fruit or vegetable purees or baby cereals, and then gradually advancing in texture to soft finger foods, like pliable pieces of fruit, cooked vegetables, scrambled eggs or tender chunks of meat or fish over the form of a few months.
Merely interest in "babe-led weaning," in which babies skip the purees and start feeding themselves solid foods directly from the family unit table, is growing. Some proponents believe that this approach encourages more adventurous eating, as well as an improved sensation of fullness cues which may even decrease the hazard of obesity.
But those benefits are nonetheless up for debate. A recent clinical trial of 206 mothers in New Zealand, for case, found that babies who started solids around 6 months with the "infant-led" approach were similar to those who started with purees in terms of weight, appetite regulation, and calorie- and nutrient intake at 12 or 24 months. Those in the infant-led weaning grouping did seem to enjoy their food more at 12 and 24 months and were less fussy about food at 12 months (simply not 24 months) compared with the group that started with purees.
The trial as well assessed the risk of choking, which is a common business organisation about baby-led weaning. At half-dozen months, the infant-led weaning group experienced more gagging than those who were fed purees, but were not more probable to asphyxiate. (Gagging is a normal reflex, while choking — which means that a piece of food is blocking the airway — is much more serious.)
The parents in this report were given advice about how to prepare safe babe-led weaning foods, and without that, choking might take been more common. And then if you use this arroyo, your baby'south commencement foods should exist reasonably soft, like banana, slices of ripe pear or sticks of toast with nut butter or hummus spread on top; and served in pieces that babies can grasp and manipulate. Whichever approach you apply, always monitor your baby for signs of choking and know how to reply if you lot spot them. Because baby-led weaning requires more advanced motor skills than the puree approach, you'll need to wait until effectually 6 months to try information technology.
If you determine to start with spoon feeding your child purees, let your baby control the pace of feeding and determine when she wants another bite and when she'due south full. "It's very tempting if there's two bites left in the jar to brand certain that your child eats those last two bites," said Castle. "That's overfeeding." If your baby is signaling that she'due south done past closing her oral cavity, turning her head away or fussing, respect those cues and cease the repast on a happy notation.
Dr. DiMaggio added that there's no ane right approach to starting solids, and that you tin can endeavor offer a mix of purees and finger foods. Do what works best for your family.
For first foods, (almost) annihilation goes.
At that place's nothing magical about your infant'south first food. Dr. DiMaggio's proffer? "Open your fridge and see what you have and make life piece of cake."
An atomic number 26-fortified infant cereal, like oatmeal, mixed with a lilliputian chest milk or formula, is a popular first nutrient. (Endeavour to limit rice-based baby cereals and foods, though, since those take been found to contain high levels of heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic.) Pureed or mashed fruits or vegetables can work just too, and if you're doing infant-led weaning, yous might start with something similar avocado or cooked carrots.
Introduce new foods i at a fourth dimension, so that if your infant has an allergic reaction, you lot'll know the culprit. Hold off on introducing mutual allergens such as peanuts and tree nuts, dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, sesame, shellfish and fish until your infant has tried a few other foods first, said Dr. David Fleischer, G.D., a pediatric allergist at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. Pediatricians have traditionally recommended waiting 3 to five days between introducing new foods, simply that's non necessary; what'southward important is working toward a varied diet, Fleischer said.
Castle said she sometimes sees parents become into a heat of feeding just fruits, vegetables and grains, but variety is key. Getting your infant used to eating beefiness, poultry and other types of meat early on on tin can be helpful, said Castle, considering they tend to become pickier about meat later on. Meat also provides healthful nutrients, such equally protein, fat, zinc and iron. (Atomic number 26 is peculiarly vital for breastfed babies, because after nearly half-dozen months, they need more atomic number 26 than breast milk tin provide.)
If y'all're vegetarian, fortified babe cereals can provide iron and zinc. Castle also recommended including a variety of fat sources (nut butters, avocado, eggs, and veggies cooked with olive oil, for case) and working in sources of calcium and vitamin D, such as yogurt, cheese, fish and milk.
There are simply a few foods that are off limits: unpasteurized or undercooked foods (because of the hazard of foodborne illness) and honey if your baby is under 12 months (beloved can potentially contain Clostridium botulinum spores, which can multiply in a baby'due south immature digestive arrangement, raising the take a chance for infant botulism). You lot'll also want to wait until your infant is 12 months old before using whole milk as their primary source of milk. For younger babies, whole milk is not equally nutritious as — and harder to digest than — infant formula or breast milk.
Dr. DiMaggio advised using salt and sugar sparingly when preparing nutrient for your baby, so that your child doesn't get used to eating foods that are college in those ingredients. Also much common salt, for instance, can raise the risk of high claret pressure afterward; and sugar can increase the risk of cavities and heart disease. Simply don't be agape to add together herbs and spices to brand the flavor more interesting.
Offer allergenic foods early and frequently.
Scientists have learned a lot near food allergies in contempo years, and that'southward changed the recommendations for introducing allergenic foods like peanuts and tree nuts, dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, sesame, shellfish and fish. Betwixt 2000 and 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that if your child was at high risk for allergies, y'all should delay introducing such foods until they were 2 or 3. In 2008, they said at that place was no reason to wait that long, but didn't offer a specific recommendation on when to offer these foods.
Now, newer enquiry on peanut allergies in particular has suggested that introducing peanuts as early on as 4 to 6 months in loftier-risk babies may actually be best for reducing their risk of developing peanut allergies; and that there may be a similar window of opportunity for other allergenic foods.
That led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to issue the following recommendations in 2017, which were re-affirmed past the A.A.P. in 2019:
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If your babe has severe eczema or an egg allergy — meaning she's at heightened risk of developing a food allergy — you should innovate peanut products betwixt 4 and 6 months (though check with your pediatrician before doing this).
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If your baby has mild-to-moderate eczema, she should start eating such foods around 6 months.
If your baby is considered depression-risk for food allergies, significant she doesn't have eczema or an existing food allergy, you can start trying peanut products along with other solids whenever yous prefer.
There isn't enough evidence to recommend a specific time frame for introducing other mutual allergens — such equally dairy, eggs or wheat — simply there as well isn't evidence that delaying their introduction beyond 4 to 6 months is beneficial either, according to the A.A.P.
Dr. Fleischer's recommendation? "Endeavour to get all those major allergens in earlier a year of age if you tin can," and "if they like it, let them swallow it oftentimes" for continued exposure, he said.
For more tips on how to introduce allergenic foods, see our guide to food allergies.
Recognize the signs of an allergic reaction.
When introducing new foods, it'south best to do so in the morning or daytime so that you tin can monitor your infant for a reaction. It'due south also a good idea to go along liquid Benadryl on hand (and to know your child's dose) in case you need the drug fast, Dr. DiMaggio said.
Babies tend to have milder allergic reactions to foods than older kids, and symptoms like rash, hives around the confront or airsickness (which aren't life-threatening) are nigh mutual. Severe reactions — which tin can involve symptoms like wheezing or problem breathing — are uncommon in babies, but not unheard of, Dr. Fleischer said. Don't hesitate to telephone call 911 or go to an emergency room if you're concerned.
If you think your kid had an allergic reaction, stop feeding the food in question and make an appointment with your child'southward doc, who may refer y'all to an allergist for further testing. Skin contact with acidic fruits or vegetables tin can also cause skin redness, which is not an allergic reaction but is often mistaken as one by parents.
When to Worry
If your baby is much older than 6 months and is struggling to eat solid foods, isn't progressing beyond purees past 8 or nine months or is falling off the growth curve, discuss it with your pediatrician.
[Read more almost the milestones your infant should attain at certain ages .]
Alice Callahan is a health and science journalist, a mom of two and the author of "The Scientific discipline of Mom: A Research-Based Guide to Your Baby'due south Starting time Yr."
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/article/solid-foods-baby.html
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