Introducing Baby to Solids Pt. 1

Hi Everyone! Welcome to what will probably be my first “…to be continued” post! When it comes to introducing solids there is so much to cover and it all happens so fast! I guess that what most parenting related things are like, now that I think of it…

*I am not a medical professional and anything you consider should be discussed with your child’s pediatrician*

Lets start by discussing water…

Does my infant NEED to drink water?

In short, not until they begin solids. Breastmilk or Formula will provide the water content they need. Water can actually fill an infants stomach therefore not allowing them space for their nutrient rich liquids (breastmilk/formula) and can in turn affect their weight gain etc.

Next, lets talk about cereals… rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, barley cereal etc. the first issue with cereals is that they are usually an “early start” solid. with a quick search you will find that, (and I quote from this medical article) it is “recommend that infants not be introduced to solid foods before ∼6 months of age. The early introduction of solid foods is of concern because, developmentally, younger infants (particularly those <4 months of age) are not prepared for solid foods. In addition, researchers have suggested that early introduction of solids may increase the risk of some chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, eczema, and celiac disease.”

That being said, I would wait until 6 months before introducing anything other than breastmilk or formula in order to avoid any of the above longterm issues. I also won’t be giving cereals, since they are of little to no nutritional value depending on which (I do understand reflux babies are a different story altogether and i am not referring to them in this case).

Now, on to the good stuff… what will your baby be eating on his or her “first supper”.. ugh so much to cover! One more thing before we get into the fun stuff, your baby has yet to eat anything so you will also be ruling out allergens. My advice on this is:

1. Do not feed something new during rush hour or at night, if theres any event there could be a reaction, you’ll want to be able to react quickly.

2. Feed each individual food 3 times before combining with another food

… Cont. on Pt. 2 (Purees)