Most babies are ready to start some sort of solid food at 4 months of age. Enjoy the ride, it is fun seeing their little taste buds light up and experimenting with different foods and textures is part of that journey!
Food is truly not intended for nutritional purposes until around 6 – 9 months in age.
Continuing milk is always recommended as the main source of nutrition. Many mamas, take many different approaches from baby led weaning to starting with infant cereal as a great first step. Oatmeal based, rice based, and quinoa based. These variations provide a source of iron, which is essential starting at 6 months. Always an option to mix the cereal with breast milk or formula to experiment with texture.
Various fruit and vegetable purees can increase your baby’s taste buds. Creating purees at home can be time consuming, but so rewarding!
However, if you don’t have the bandwidth I recommend trying the Beech Nut Naturals or Once Upon a Farm. Both brands have no added ingredients, sugars, or artificial flavors. These are the truest form of fruits and veggies for your little.
Pastas, scrambled eggs, finely chopped meats, yogurts and cottage cheese are easy foods. Mum mum crackers and puffs are great for teaching baby to feed themselves and easily dissolve in their mouth.
As your baby begins to eat solids, start to introduce a sippy cup of water at meals. This helps babies correlate drinking other liquids besides milk and introduces them to a cup verses a bottle for drinking.
Introducing allergen foods early (between 4-6 months) has proven to reduce the risk of developing food allergies later in life. Allergen foods include peanut butter, eggs, fish and shellfish. Add those to your list at the grocery store!
Choking is always a risk when it comes to feeding small children, especially babies that are still learning. Never leave your child unattended while they are eating. Make sure you are paying attention to your baby’s tolerance with new foods, textures and sizes of food they can manage.
It will get very messy, but can ultimately be rewarding to see your little begin to feed themselves and enjoy new flavors.
Enjoy!
