Start simple: Try baby cereal mixed with
formula or breast milk. Or begin with pureed food (like carrots, squash,
apples, bananas, peaches, or pears) or semi-liquid iron-fortified cereal (start
with rice which has the lowest content of protein, so as not to impose a heavy
load pf proteins on the kidneys of your baby).
Begin with about 1 teaspoon pureed food or cereal. You need to use
a soft-tipped plastic spoon when you feed your baby, to avoid injuring his
gums. Start with just a small amount of food on the tip of the spoon. Mix
cereal with 4 to 5 teaspoons breast milk or formula and make sure it is not too
thick. Gradually increase to 1 tablespoon of pureed food, or 1 tablespoon of
cereal mixed with breast milk or formula, twice a day. If giving cereal,
gradually thicken the consistency by using less liquid. Expect that your baby
won't eat what you're offering on the first try, so offer it again in a few
days. Some babies need practice keeping food in their mouths and swallowing. And
remember that while it's traditional to start your baby on solids with a
single-grain cereal, there's no medical evidence to show that introducing solid
foods in a particular order will benefit your baby.
Another way to go is by doing the following: first, nurse or bottle-feed your
baby. Then offer her one or two teaspoons of pureed solid food.
Some babies may not like eating off the spoon; the way to go around this is by
letting them smell and taste the food or wait until they warm up to the idea of
eating something solid. Don't add cereal to your baby's bottle or she may not
make the connection that food is to be eaten sitting up and from a spoon.
Feeding frequency:
you and your baby, but not at a time when your baby seems sleepy or fussy. Once
your baby gets used to eating solid food, she'll be ready to accept a few more
tablespoons of food a day. As the amount your baby eats increases, add another
feeding.
Your baby's appetite will vary from one feeding to the next, so do not rely much on
the amount she's eaten to try to assess if she has eaten enough. If your baby
leans back in his chair, turns her head away from food, starts playing with the
spoon, or refuses to open up her mouth for the next bite, she is probably full.
Sometimes a baby will keep her mouth closed because she is still chewing on the
first mouthful, so be sure to allow her time to swallow.
Your baby will require breast milk or formula as these are vital sources of
vitamins, iron, and protein in an easy-to-digest form. Solid food can't replace
all the nutrients that breast milk or formula provides during that first year. The
required amounts by age are:
Breastfeed every 2-4 hours or Formula 650 to 1200 mL
6-8 Months of age:Â
Breastfeed every 3-4 hours or Formula 650 to 1000 mL
Here is a suggested schedule that you can follow:
WEEK 1
Try 1 tablespoon for the first few feedings.
WEEK 2
Continue with feeding small amounts; your baby will still be
getting used to solid foods
WEEK 3
Continue feeding small amounts.
WEEK 4
Baby may be on a wider variety of foods now. Try mixing those
acceptable foods, like rice and carrots, boiled and mashed into a puree, or
banana and apple.
WEEK 5
Offer these foods for 3 or 4 days then move to another food
Remember:
You will probably only manage to have baby eat 1/2 of the
tablespoon sized portion the very first times you begin solids.
Breastfeed your baby or offer formula bottles before solid
foods. Offer solids from 1/2 hour to 1 hour after breast or bottle. Formula
and/or breast milk are more important than solid foods when baby is starting
solids.
Start solids in the morning or mid-afternoon. If your baby has
any type of reaction, either allergic or with tummy troubles, you will have all
day to deal with it.
Starting solids at bedtime runs the risk of disrupting baby's
sleeping schedule as her body learns to digest the new foods.
