This is intended to educate and is in no way a substitute
for individualized medical advice. Speak to your child’s doctor for individualized
medical advice.
How do I know if my baby is ready to start solids?
The CPS and AAP, as well as WHO recommend exclusive
breastfeeding for 6 months, and sometimes there is confusion about when to
start solids. This is because the latest research shows starting foods that
cause allergy (allergenic foods) earlier (4-6 months), if there is a family
history of allergies, is likely to reduce the risk of your child developing
food allergies.
Signs of readiness:
- Showing interest – it’s important
your baby is showing signs of interest. Watching you eat, reaching out to try
to eat, opening their mouths, grabbing your food/dishes, are all signs they may
be interested. This along with being able to turn their heads away or show you
they are not interested is also important. The key is, the feeding experience
should be nice for both of you, and these two things – showing interest, and
being able to turn away (or your being in tune with them not being interested
anymore) – can prevent force-feeding that can have longer term implications.
- Able to sit upright and keep their head up
– To protect the airway, you want to ensure your baby is sitting
upright and able to keep their head up on their own. We wouldn’t eat food lying
down due to risk of choking – a baby shouldn’t either.
- Opening their mouths when you approach
with a spoon – it’s important your
baby opens his/her mouth when approached with a spoon, as a sign of showing
interest. If he or she is not doing this, remember, you can try again another
time, but what is key is not to press the issue.
What to
start with?
Start with iron-fortified food, including infant cereal, leafy
green vegetables, lentils, beans, or meats. Fruits can also be introduced at
this time. Once you have introduced various foods and they are tolerated, start
considering introducing allergenic foods. We started with peanut butter – a
small, rice grain sized bit of peanut butter mixed in her organic oatmeal cereal.
Monitor for rash and other signs of allergy. I think a good rule of thumb is to
introduce one allergen for at least three days before moving onto another
allergen, because this way, if there is a reaction, it is easier to discern
what could be causing it.
Once an allergenic food is introduced, keep introducing it
regularly. We try to do this once or twice a week once we have introduced it,
although it sometimes becomes challenging to keep track of and we have often
found ourselves doing so once every couple of weeks. A helpful tool is to
create a weekly and even monthly schedule.
How do I
prepare the food?
If you plan on introducing foods at 4 months, pureed foods
would be best. We introduced infant cereal and pureed foods. By 6 months, we
started baby led weaning, as babies are able to tolerate various textures at
this age. Always check with your child’s doctor. Ideally, you want to introduce
as many textures as possible by 9 months so your baby is likely to keep an open
mind to a greater repertoire of foods.
What are
allergenic foods?
Peanuts, tree
nuts (like almonds), fish, shellfish, soy, wheat, dairy, eggs.
How to
introduce dairy?
Milk is not recommended before at least 9 months of age.
However, given that dairy is a potential allergen, you can introduce yogurt and
cheese.
- Another important thing to remember is a mother can eat allergenic foods during pregnancy and if she chooses to/is able to breastfeed. These are thought to help reduce risk of allergy development in those who have a family history of allergy.