Introducing Solids with Baby Food

By March 19, 2015 0 Comment

As a new mom and as a professional, I was honestly disappointed in a lot of the medical field around this subject. They had extremely little knowledge in the area of nutrition & child nutrition. I heard from other moms what type of information they were receiving, and couldn’t believe the lack of science-based information they received as well as the pressure that moms received to either supplement with formula when there was no reason to do so or to start solids before the baby was ready to do so.

Obviously, I’m still new to this whole mommy thing, and I have a lot to learn. But at the same time, I am a Registered, Licensed Dietitian. I have my Bachelor’s in Nutrition and had a minor in Child & Family Studies. I have my Masters in Nutrition with a Specialty in Maternal & Child Nutrition. I worked with moms, babies and children for years. I am a Certified Lactation Specialist. I’m pretty confident in my knowledge when it comes to infant feeding & child nutrition. Read more about Ashley here.

So it is my hopes that I can help other new moms and parents be more confident with their food/nutrition choices with their families, make the best decision for them based on the best information possible. I understand now why so many moms turn to facebook and social media for tips. There’s no perfect way to parent, and every baby and every family is different. Hopefully I can provide you with quality information with the most up to date research you can trust and put to practice with your family.

To download my complete & comrehensive guide to introducing solids, visit here.

Introducing Solids

Waiting until 6 months when their digestive system is mature is best for the long term health of the baby.
Introduce one food at a time, waiting at least 3-5 days before trying a new food. Just incase there are any reactions, you know exactly what caused it.
Babies have tiny tummys, 1-2 teaspoons or tabespoons may be all at first.
Right now, the goal is just to baby exposed to more flavors, textures, play with foods and start to learn how to eat… Introducing foods slowly. Until the age of 1, babies get the majority of their nutrition from either breastmilk or formula.
If babies before 6 months are interested in meal time, try freezing breastmilk or water in ice cube shapes and giving it to them to suck on and play with.
We used these mesh holders for Bella Munchkin 2 Pack Fresh Food Feeder.
You can easily make your own food with a quality blender. I use a vitamix: Vitamix 5300.
Blend cooked, soft foods with breastmilk or formula to pureed consistency.
Great first foods include iron fortified single cereals, avocado, sweet potatoes, squash, cooked carrots, soft vegetables.
Next, soft, pureed fruits. Try doing veggies before fruits. Since fruits are naturally sweeter, we want them to get used to veggies first.
Never put solids in bottles.
Wait as long as possible to introduce juices. In my opinion, you don’t need them to get hooked on sugary beverages this young. Even 100% fruit juice, just give fruit instead. Besides breastmilk or formula, we want babies to eat their calories.
I make my foods, freeze in ice containers, put in labeled zip lock baggies. Remove one or two at a time and let thaw for perfect portions.
Don’t add sugar or salt. Just because it tastes bland to you doesn’t mean baby won’t like it. We don’t need to get them started young adding table salt & sugar to everything.
Just because baby doesn’t like it the first time, don’t not give it again. It can take a child 9-20 times of being exposed to something before developing a taste for it.