Breastmilk is all your
baby needs until at least four months of age. Most babies will
do fine with exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age or longer.
Why start solid foods? Because
there comes a time when breastmilk no longer supplies all your
baby’s nutritional needs. (This does not mean, as some
uninformed people say, that there is no nutritional value in
breastmilk after the baby is six months old.) A full term baby will
start requiring iron from other sources by 6 to 9 months of age. The
calories supplied by breastmilk may become inadequate by 8 to 9
months of age, although some babies can continue to grow well on
breastmilk alone well past a year.
Because
some babies not started on solids by a certain age (9-12 months) may
have great difficulty accepting solid foods.
Because
it is a developmental milestone that your child passes when he starts
solid foods. He is growing up. Usually, he will want to eat solids.
Why stop him?
When to start solid
foods The best time to
start solids is when the baby is showing interest in starting. Some
babies will become very interested in the food on their parents’
plates as early as 4 months of age. By 5 or 6 months of age, most
babies will be reaching and trying to grab food that parents have on
their plates. When the baby is starting to reach for food, this seems
a reasonable time to start giving him some. There really is no reason
to start on a specific date (4 months, or 6 months). Go by the
baby’s cues.
In some cases, it may be better to start food earlier. When a baby
seems to be hungry, or when weight gain is not continuing at the
desired rate, it may be reasonable to start solids as early as 3
months of age. However, it may be possible, with help, to continue
breastfeeding alone and have the baby less hungry and/or growing more
rapidly. But if the techniques used in the clinic do not deal with
the problem, adding solids can help. There is no advantage to giving
artificial baby milk (formula) and there may be some disadvantages.
The baby who is not satisfied completely at the breast may start to
take more and more from the bottle, and end up refusing to take the
breast.
The breastfed baby digests solid foods better and earlier than the
artificially fed baby because breastmilk contains enzymes which help
digest fats, proteins and starch. As well, breastfed babies have had a
wide variety of tastes in their lives, since the flavors of many foods
the mother eats will pass into her milk. Breastfed babies thus accept
solids more readily than artificially fed babies. Breastmilk is
amazing stuff, eh?
How should solids
be introduced? When the baby is
starting to take solids at about 5 or 6 months of age, there is little
difference what he starts with or in what order foods are introduced.
It is prudent to avoid highly spiced or highly allergenic foods at
first (e.g. egg white, strawberries), but if the baby reaches for the
potato on your plate, make sure it is not too hot, and let him have
the potato. There is no need to go in any specific order, and there is
no need for the baby to eat only one food for a certain period of
time. Some exclusively breastfed babies dislike infant cereal when it
is introduced at 5 or 6 months of age. There is no need for concern
and no need to persist if the baby doesn’t want the cereal. There is
nothing magic or necessary about infant cereal. Offer the baby foods
that he is interested in. Allow the baby to enjoy food and do not
worry exactly how much he actually takes at first. Much of it may end
up in his hair and on the floor anyhow. There is no need either that
foods be pureed if the baby is 5 or 6 months of age or older. Simple
mashing with a fork is all that is necessary at first. You also do not
have to be exceedingly careful about how much the baby takes. Why
limit the baby to one teaspoon if he wants more? You do not need to
waste your money on commercial baby foods.
Be relaxed, feed the baby at your mealtimes, and as he becomes a more
accomplished eater of solid foods, offer a greater variety of foods at
any one time.
The best source of iron for the baby 5 or 6 months of age is meat.
Infant cereal has iron, but it is poorly absorbed and may cause the
baby to be constipated.
There is no reason to introduce vegetables before fruit. Breastmilk is
far sweeter than fruit, so there is no reason to believe that the baby
will take vegetables better by delaying the introduction of fruit.
Respect your baby’s likes and dislikes. There is no essential food
(except breastmilk). If your baby does not like a certain food, do not
push it on him. If you think it important for him, wait a few weeks
and offer it again.
At about 8 months of age, babies become somewhat assertive in
displaying their individuality. Your baby may not want you to put a
spoon into his mouth. He very likely will take it out of your hand and
put it into his mouth himself, often upside down, so that the food
falls on his lap. Respect his attempts at self sufficiency and
encourage his learning.
What if I am
starting solids at 3 months? At this age, it
may be prudent to go a little more slowly. Start with infant cereal or
easily mashed foods such as banana. Sometimes a baby will eat better
from your finger than off a spoon. Go a little more slowly with
quantities as well. But as the baby tolerates solids, both quantity
and variety of foods can be increased as the baby desires.
Incidentally, why are you starting solids at 3 months?
Solids or breast
first? There seems to be
considerable worry when a child is starting solids about whether to
give the breast first or give solid food first. If breastfeeding and
the introduction of solid foods both are going well, it probably does
not matter much. Indeed, there is no reason that a baby needs both
breast and solids every time he eats.
This article may be copied and
distributed
without further permission
About the
Author
JACK NEWMAN
graduated from the University of Toronto medical school as a pediatrician in 1970. He
started the first hospital-based breastfeeding clinic in Canada in 1984 at Toronto's
Hospital for Sick Children. He has been a consultant with UNICEF for the Baby Friendly
Hospital Initiative in Africa, and has published articles on the subject of breastfeeding
in Scientific American and several medical journals. Dr. Newman has practiced as a
physician in Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.
About the
Author
