How to Introduce Baby to Solid Foods

Does your baby cry when he/she sees the spoon? Does fussiness ruin feeding times? This how to fixes those problems with tips and tricks to introduce your baby to solid first foods.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• first foods or finely pureed, unseasoned food
• baby spoon
• small bowl
• infant formula
• baby cereal (any kind will do, preferably rice for fussy eaters)

1. Since birth, your child has been drinking breast milk or formula. Add a small amount of either to the bowl of pureed food. (Three parts food to one part formula/breast milk)

2. Heat bowl to same temperature as you usually would with the bottle. The key to this transition to make it exactly that, a transition.

3. Start with small bites, and ignore the faces. It's common to wince when introduced to new textures and flavors, you might see with the familiar taste of formula/breast milk, your baby will be more apt to eat.

4. Slowly transition the formula/breast milk out of the food and substitute it with cereal. Most babies that have problems with starting foods will tolerate rice cereal a lot more favorably than barley, mixed grain, ect. Remember, keep the bites small and the temperature even with the bottle and have fun watching your little one grow.

Tips & Warnings

• If time after time, food is spit out, try prunes. It's amazing how babies love the sweet and tangy flavor.
• Every baby eats at different times, mine started at 3 months. Pick up on their cues and enjoy the adventure!
• There are spoons that change colors when the food is too hot, its good if you use a microwave to heat up food.
• Keep plenty of napkins and baby wipes around!

[Mitestarossa]

on 3/27/2009 Excellent article about introducing solid foods to babies.