What do you need to know when starting to introduce solids?

Weaning is a new stage of baby development. Mother should learn carefully before training baby to solids, from how to start, how to feed children to baby weaning equipment. It is important to practice solids for your baby to understand your baby's needs.

Many parents are working hard to train their baby to eat properly and fully with nutrients. However, do you know how to effectively wean your baby and still help him enjoy the new food? Let aFamilyToday Health find the answer.

How should mom start feeding baby solids?

After the first 6 months of life, mothers can start to practice solids for babies. Because babies are born with a tongue-pushing reflex, babies will push their tongue against a spoon or anything else that comes into the mouth, including food. Most of these reflexes will go away by the time your baby is 4–5 months old, so you should wait until the reflex is gone before starting to introduce solids. Please consult your pediatrician at the fourth month exam to see when your baby should start solids.

Mom can start solids at any time of the day, as long as it suits the baby. To reduce the risk of food choking , let your baby sit upright when starting solids. If the baby cries or turns away when the mother tries to feed the baby, don't force the baby. You can return to breastfeed or bottle feed for a week or two, then try again.

An easy way for your baby to practice solids is to first feed your baby with some breastmilk, then switch to half a teaspoon of very small food and finally with more breast milk. This will create the link between the satisfaction of breastfeeding and the new experience of spoon-feeding.

Which tools should mothers use when feeding the baby?

There are many baby food snacks. Mom should use spoon when feeding baby to minimize esophageal reflux . In addition, mothers need to practice babies to get used to the process of sitting upright to eat, eat with a spoon, rest between meals and stop when the baby is full. This will help lay the foundation for good eating habits in your baby's life in the future.

Adult scoops may be too large to use at this time. Mothers can feed babies with small teaspoons or plastic scoops to avoid injuries during the feeding process. You should begin to feed your baby with a half teaspoon of food and talk with your baby throughout the feeding. Your baby probably won't know what to do with the first meals. Babies may be confused, wrinkled their nose, trick food around their mouth or don't want to eat. This is a very understandable response because the baby has yet to adapt to the new way of eating and foods.

As your baby's diet begins to vary and your baby begins to eat more often on his own, talk with your nutritionist to find out what is best for your baby.

The method of giving baby snacks is easy

Traditional weaning (feeding method)

In this method, mothers use a spoon to put pureed and crushed food into the baby's mouth. Gradually change the food to thicker and firmer foods until your baby becomes interested in adult food. Traditional weaning is a popular method due to its simplicity and convenience. Parents can feed their babies all the foods they want and know about the time when the baby is progressing.

However, according to a study by Medical Daily , traditional weaning by feeding the baby with a spoon can cause obesity and fussy eating in the future. During the weaning phase, the baby's main source of nutrition is still breast milk. Feeding your baby a lot of food makes it easier for them to become obese and difficult to absorb nutrients from breast milk.

In addition, your baby will have difficulty recognizing the taste of each food when the food is pureed and mixed. Parents will find it difficult to know what is the taste, food that their child likes or what can cause allergies for the baby.

Infants younger than 6 months old are not able to self-feed. Consult with your doctor and medical experts before starting to wean your baby. Before your baby is six months old, you should avoid giving your baby certain foods to avoid the risk of choking.

The method for the baby to eat by himself

Contrary to the above method, letting your baby eat by himself is when you give your baby a moderate amount of food and let the baby eat by himself. With this method, you should prepare food so that your baby can easily hold and pick it up. In this way, the later weaning process will become a true joy to discover the combination of food and fun for your baby. In order for your baby to feed on their own, he or she will tend to easily participate in family meals early and use a variety of foods on the family dining table.

The method of weaning your baby on her own is good if:

You are not afraid of mess, for sure everything will be very messy

The object that babies use to feed themselves will be spoon or hand pick

You do not like giving your baby powder

You love the idea of ​​letting your baby explore his or her own food and you're ready to let your baby play before / during / after he or she eats.

You are comfortable with this. Allowing your baby to eat the foods he chooses on his own means that he will eat longer than when you feed him, and sometimes even less.

Weaning method with chewing bag and squeeze bottle

Chew bags for babies to eat more and more are more and more parents choosing. With chewing bags, parents give raw foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and softened fish are put into a bag with lots of food drainage holes, and then let your baby chew. As for squeezers, parents give liquid foods such as porridge or flour.

The advantage of this method is that the food in the chew bag is not spilled. The flexible bag will not hurt the baby's tongue and gums, mothers will no longer have to worry about choking problems in the baby. Moreover, the bag is also easily washed with soap or boiled in boiling water.

Depending on your baby's situation as well as your psychology, you will choose the best weaning method for your baby. If you still have questions or concerns about this issue, please consult your doctor or pediatric nutritionist for advice and prompt answers.

If you do not know how to make a snack menu for your baby, please refer to the article " Along with the Japanese weaning menu for each month of age " okay. Wish you and your baby have memorable moments.