Drawing on the wisdom of many, many generations, experience, and the latest scientific knowledge, the Academy of Pediatrics recommends that solid foods be introduced no earlier than four months of age. If a child weighs at least thirteen pounds and has good head control, solid foods can be started as early as three months.
Four months old isn't the magical date to start solid foods; it is fine to start later than that, or in some cases, as early as three months. At about this age, the caloric needs of a baby increase. At this age, most babies need 24 to 32 ounces of breast milk (which is impossible to measure, but babies do an excellent job of getting just the right amount) or formula, plus as much solid food as they want.
The best way to tell the right time to start solid food is when your child seems to be asking for it. He or she is not likely to say, "Mom can I please have solid foods?" It is more likely that when you are eating, they will look at you as if to say, "How come you aren't giving me some of what you are having?" This communication will likely be in the form of fussiness when you are eating. This is a good time to begin solid foods, or you can begin anytime you want using the guidelines stated above.
Here are some recommendations for starting your baby on solid food:
The Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting with rice cereal. We do not recommend putting it in a bottle, but feeding it to a baby from a spoon.
Rice cereal can be purchased in jars, as a dry mix, or you can prepare your own by cooking rice without salt or seasoning and pureeing it in a food processor or blender. If you choose the dry mix, the rice cereal box will have directions for mixing it in the correct proportions with either breast milk or formula for baby's first meal -- which is very diluted.
As the child gets older, the cereal can be mixed into a thicker consistency.
With the rice cereal mixed, place your child in a propped-up position, and move the spoon towards his mouth. The first few days, he will tend to push the cereal right back out with his tongue. This is because babies have a thrust reflex causing their tongue to thrust back out anything that is put in their mouths.
Within several days, your child will begin to get the idea of closing his lips around the spoon and swallowing. Once he does, you can begin to monitor the amount of food he needs. In order to determine this, (which is not a pre-determined amount, but varies from child to child) keep moving the spoon towards his mouth and look for signs that he is losing interest. If he turns his head away, clamps his lips shut, or appears bored, it is time to stop. Otherwise, keep moving the spoon to his mouth as long as he keeps opening it and looking happy.
Children who begin solid foods with rice cereal in their bottles don't learn the instinct of stopping when they are full. This is because deceptively large amounts of calories come in without much increase in volume. As a result, kids that are fed rice cereal in a bottle tend to have excessive weight gain, both as infants and later in life. Other than that, children are very good at regulating their own intake. By starting with a spoon, resting between bites, and stopping when your child is full, you will be laying an excellent foundation for good eating habits throughout his life.
After your child has done well with rice cereal, you can begin feeding him oatmeal and barley. Other solids can be introduced once he has been eating cereal for a week or two and is tolerating it well (as long as he is at least four months old).
Strained vegetables are the next foods to be introduced --mostly peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and carrots. Give your child only one new food at a time. Be sure to wait three to five days before starting another one to determine if he has any reaction to a food, such as a rash, stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea.
If you are going to home prepare vegetables for your child, try to avoid carrots, beets, turnips, or collard greens. In many places these vegetables contain large amounts of nitrates, which can cause anemia in infants. The vegetables used in prepared baby foods do not contain these nitrates.
Children between four and six months of age should be fed solid foods once or twice a day.
The ideal timing for one of the feedings is thirty to sixty minutes before bedtime. This will produce the maximum drowsiness for an excellent night's sleep.
Starting rice cereal before three months of age has never been shown, in any carefully designed study, to reduce crying or to lengthen sleeping.
Starting solids before three months of age can result in problems with food allergies.
