Baby Weaning Advice - Introducing Solids To Your Baby's Diet

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

There will come a time in the first year of your baby's life, when you will need to introduce her to solid food. Initially milk will provide all the nutrients your baby needs, but there is only so much milk that a baby's stomach can hold and she will get to the point when a liquid feed does not produce enough calories to give her the energy that she now needs to crawl and eventually walk.

It is a natural progression for your baby to move onto solids and even though this is an important step, it should not be rushed, even though modern parents are constantly under pressure to make the change. You should look for the telltale signs that will signify your baby is ready. Your baby will seem to be unsatisfied with the milk you are giving her and may cry until she gets another feed; there is also a calming down of her desire to suck. The whole process of this change usually occurs around four to five months.

The first type of food you should give your baby, has to be fairly bland and semi-liquefied. It is a good idea at this stage to use a blender as home prepared food is a better and more healthy option than bought ready prepared baby meals. Ideal dishes include:

Blended bananas, apples or pears.

Blended potatoes, carrots and cauliflower.

Glutton free rice cereal.

Vegetable soup or lentil soup.

You don't need to sterilise all of the cooking utensils when your baby is starting to eat solids, but obviously you should maintain a high level of hygiene.

To initially start to wean you baby, you should give her two or three small spoonfuls of liquefied food with a normal milk feed. If you have a problem with your baby using a spoon, then you could try putting some food on your finger and introducing it gently to her mouth.

It may be at this stage that it becomes difficult to feed your baby with her sitting on your lap, so it is now that you should purchase a baby chair, which will make life a lot easier.

As soon as your baby accepts one or two different types of solid food, introduce different tastes and textures, as you child begins the journey from sucking to chewing. To satisfy your baby's thirst; plain water or diluted fruit juice is the ideal solution.

For more advice about bringing up your baby, click here