Baby Basics: Starting Solid Foods

When my mom was a baby I believe she was started on cereal right away. When I was a baby my mom started me on solid foods around 8 weeks of age. When my older children were babies the recommendation was that babies be at least 4 months of age.  Now the recommendation is to delay starting baby on solid foods until he or she is 6 months old.

What this proves is that times change and what used to be acceptable isn’t always the best things for children today.  We parents are always being given new information about babies and how to care for them. I always try to verify anything I read about caring for my children and recommend that all parents do the same.

That being said, here is some information about starting your baby on solid foods mixed with my personal experience.

In October of last year Janna had her first taste of solid foods when she was 5 1/2 months old. I started her on rice cereal just like I did all of my other babies when they were 4 months old.

After rice cereal she tried sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados, and applesauce. I chose those foods because they were supposed to be similar to breast milk and fairly easy to digest.

Janna didn’t eat much at a time and I often felt like she could honestly care less about food. There are times even now that she has turned one year old where I don’t think she really cares whether she eats solid foods or not. I chose not to force her to eat or to give her lots of the baby snacks just to get her to eat something.

My baby girl is quite happy with breast milk as her main source of nutrition. Her iron level was 13.5 (very normal level) and she weighed about 22 pounds when she was checked at 11 months of age. Those two things are a result of little nutrition besides breast milk. I think that is confirmation that breast milk is the perfect food.

When Joshua was a baby he really didn’t care about eating solids either.  I was made to feel like I wasn’t doing things correctly with him because he didn’t eat much, so I tried to get him to eat anything I could. His favorite foods were crackers, toast, and potatoes even though I offered all sorts of fruits and vegetables.

When Joshua turned 4 I finally connected all of the dots and had him tested for food allergies. Once I took him off of all of the foods that he was allergic to, he started showing improved health and behavior. Now that I look back at things I wish I had delayed solids with him until he was closer to one year old. He was drinking lots of breast milk and was gaining plenty of weight. There was no real reason to push him to eat. I should have trusted my instincts instead of worrying that I was depriving him in some way.

I guess my point is to let your baby be your guide when it comes to solid foods.

There are lots of choices of baby food you can purchase at the grocery store. While I think it is expensive and I can save more money making it myself, I don’t have a problem with people buying jarred baby food. If it is a matter of someone feeding their baby jarred foods or giving him or her sweets and pop (Which I have heard of more times than I care to.), then I would choose jarred baby food every time. However, I do think that the jarred dinners and desserts have too many ingredients.

With the exception of Julia, who had to go to babysitters during this age, I have made my own fruit and vegetable purees.   Homemade baby food really is simple to make.

Simply cook the vegetable of your choice in water.  When they are tender, place them in a blender or food processor with a little of the cooking water.  Puree until smooth.  Add more water if necessary.

Freeze the pureed vegetables in ice cube trays and then transfer to a zippered bag.  Each cube is equal to about 1 tablespoon. This is a convenient way to have perfectly portioned food for your baby.  Plus, you will save a ton of money as opposed to buying baby food in a jar.  The sweet potatoes pictured above came straight from our garden.