Has your baby been swiping your food at meal times? Well, if they can sit up independently, move their necks, and control their heads, it may be time to see if they want an expanded menu! Experts generally recommend starting at around six months, but a curious, interested baby is key – unless you’re interested in decorating your kitchen in rejected pureed fruits.
Starting solids is a new phase – both for you and your baby – a culinary journey if you will, as you work together to figure out what they like (and don’t like), and for you, it might feel like a big milestone, especially if you’re nursing. Experimenting with new food can feel creative and fun, and most of all, it should be enjoyable for both you and baby.
How to tell if your baby is ready for solids:
- they can control and support their head and neck
- they can sit alone or with support
- if something goes into their mouth, they don’t immediately push it back out with their tongue
- they have developed a ‘pincer’ grip, allowing them to grab small objects
- they have an interest in bringing objects to their mouth
- they try to grab food or toys
- they show interest in food or watching other people eat
How to start solids with your baby:
Now comes the fun part! What will your baby love? What will they dislike? Only time – and many hours slicing, steaming, and stewing fruits and veggies – will tell!
A handy phrase to remember when starting solids is, “food for fun before one!” This means that until baby is one year old, their diet should still consist mostly of human milk or a formula-based diet. Anything extra can be counted as exposure to flavours and textures, and practice in the art of chewing and swallowing but shouldn’t be relied upon as baby’s main source of nutrition. A good rule of thumb is to offer your baby your breast/ chest or bottle before feeding them solid foods.
Most people use one of two methods to introduce solids to their baby: pure/ spoon fed or baby led. You can use these methods separately or together, and as always, you do you. There is no right or wrong way to feed your baby. Puree/spoon fed is pretty self explanatory, food is blended into a smooth texture and you feed your child with a baby spoon. Baby-led (also known as Baby Led Weaning) is where food is placed in front of baby and they help themselves!
Some parents find prepping purees and feeding them more comfortable for them, easier and less messy. There is a large selection of pre-made purees and squeeze pouches available in all supermarkets and drugstores, and squeeze pouches can be held by baby or parent – perfect for travel or while on the move. There are also squeeze pouch stations where parents can make their own at home, but even without this piece of equipment, purees only require a blender/food processor, some ingredients, a container and a spoon! You can create specific purees that include the foods your baby enjoys—just be sure to check for lumps as you feed to eliminate any risk of choking (see below).
Alternatively, some folks prefer to let baby lead the way, preparing food and offering it to them to discover with their hands and mouth. This introduces baby to different textures and helps them identify flavours – a hunk of banana with broccoli might not be something you crave, but for babies trying food for the first time, this might be revolutionary! Baby-led weaning is also thought to help promote independence, fine motor skills, self feeding, and general body awareness. . Once your baby starts to develop more advanced motor skills and dexterity, the mess will decrease but, heads up, messy meal times can continue well into the teenage years!
The overall recommendation? Do what works for you! You can choose puree, baby-led, or both based on what you have available day by day or part of a pre-decided menu. There is no right or wrong, everyone has a different schedule, situation and environment so you should feel free and comfortable to do what you feel is best for you and your baby.
Gagging is normal for babies as they figure out chewing and bite size but some reassurance from you will make it a less scary experience for them. The gagging reflex helps their body to reject pieces of food that are too big/long/hard etc. and prevents choking. As baby gets used to food that is not milk, a gag is a natural reflex. Gagging can happen with both solid food and purees your baby learns how to break food down in their mouth, and can result in vomiting. All of this is natural and normal and is part of the learning process, so staying calm and watching baby closely during gagging is important. You want to either see them spit out the food that made them gag or return to chewing it when it is in their mouth again. Do not try to remove the food with your fingers as that could push the food further in and cause choking. Encourage your baby as they gag and they will become an accomplished gagger with little to no fear!
How to tell if your baby is gagging or choking:
- The first sign is noise.if your baby is coughing or retching their airway is clear and they are gagging. As time goes on, this will feel less worrisome (read: terrifying) for you and shouldn’t faze your baby too much. Their eyes may become red and watery but no intervention from a parent is needed, just close monitoring.
- If they are silent, unable to make noise or breathe and they seem scared or panicked then it is likely their airway is blocked.
- Quickly and carefully remove your baby from their chair and place them face down on your arm, resting it on your thigh for support and give five sharp blows between baby’s shoulder blades.
- If needed, turn your baby on their back with their head lower than their chest. Use two fingers to press down quickly on the centre of the breastbone, just below the nipples, five times.
- Repeat until dislodged.
Preventing choking is a parent’s main worry, so babies should never eat alone. Whether there’s a designated adult watching and helping baby at mealtimes or one parent gets to start their meal early with baby (a treat in a multiple kid family!), constant supervision is important. Avoid any whole berries, raisins, nuts, seeds, popcorn, chunky peanut butter. Anything that is bigger than the size of your baby’s oesophagus – blueberries, we’re talking to you – s should be cut smaller and anything sticky or hard or does not dissolve in saliva quickly should be avoided.
Food should be easy to smush between your thumb and forefinger. Steaming hard fruits and vegetables and cutting them into small pieces is safest, see this post for a guide for size.
Some tips:
- Start with single ingredient foods for 6-8 months as babies start to experience flavourTransition away from smooth purees and towards more advanced flavours and mixed ingredient foods for 9-12 months
- Keep pre-chopped foods around, especially baby’s favourites – this can make for less getting up and down at the table and keep your focus on baby
- An old towel/tea towel/tablecloth to place under your baby’s high chair will improve this whole experience for you as the parent unless your lifelong dream is scraping crusty bits of unidentifiable foods off your floor. If that is a dream of yours, you are in luck, you are going to adore this phase!
- Having something underneath the high chair that you can empty the dropped/ spilled food into the compost and then throw into the washing machine is a game changer! There are so many options for bibs from more coverage to a more structured bib, and high chair accessories to help with this, if you feel inclined, including wipeable mats.
- As your baby becomes more assured of what they like and you figure out what works for you as a family, it may become easy to siphon off some food from your regular meal time. For example, setting aside some cooked carrots cut into skinny lengths or ground beef during cooking (before adding seasoning or sauce) that baby can eat, making mealtimes even smoother!
Risks of feeding baby solids:
There are some foods that babies cannot process or digest until past the age of one, such as honey, cows milk, unpasteurized foods, chocolate, smoked/cured meats and fish, high-mercury fish and added salt and sugar.
The other risk is allergies, so knowing what foods are known allergens and when to introduce them is key. Introducing food allergens needn’t be scary. Begin with a tiny portion of the allergen to reduce the risk of a reaction, then gradually increase the serving size. Always keep an eye on your baby’s health, take note of any new rashes, or symptoms and above all, consult your medical professional, especially if allergies run in your family.
Watching your little one explore new flavours and sensations can be a really fun milestone so do what works best for you. For the most part, these early days of feeding your baby is a time for play, so enjoy the funny faces as they try new things, and be prepared for things to get a bit messy—all the best things in life are.
