An Introduction to Solid Foods 

By: Rachel Verdoliva, Registered Dietician

“When should I start solid foods?”

While it’s a seemingly simple question, parents can hear a wide variety of answers. Here is a short guide for introducing your baby to solid foods.

How do I know when my child is ready?

Around 6 months your child will develop the skills to be able to eat, swallow, and absorb pureed foods. This is based on research of how the gastrointestinal tract of infants develops and what’s best for their short term and long term health. Organizations who support this are: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, World Health Organization, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, and the list goes on.

Health Benefits of Waiting to Start Foods Until Around 6 Months of Age 

• Your baby will be physiologically able to swallow and chew pureed foods without the fear of choking.
• Your baby will be better protected from illness. The greatest immunity benefits come from exclusive breastfeeding. This is because exclusive breastfeeding promotes the development of “good” bacteria within the gut.
• Your babies gut will have the time it needs to mature. Your baby is building its digestive system as it grows. Before 6 months your babies gut is “open” and allows for the passing of pathogens and macromolecules directly into the bloodstream. This is beneficial when its just breast milk, but can be harmful when other foods and bacteria are introduced. Introducing foods early can also cause spit up, upset stomach, gas, diarrhea, and constipation.

Signs to look for around 6 months 

• Your baby can sit up well without support
• Your baby has interest in foods
• Your baby brings hands and toys to their mouth for exploration
• Your baby no longer has a protrusion reflex

Protrusion Reflex: also known as the tongue-thrust reflex, your babies innate choking reflex, is when your baby pushes the tongue out as anything comes into the mouth or pushes on the tongue

How to start foods (6-8 months)

• Small spoon and bowl (never put food in the bottle)
• Start small, 1-2 tablespoons at a time (the stomachs is only the size of an egg)
• Introduction of new foods every 1-2 days 
  • It’s recommended to start a variety of foods from 6 months on to reduce the risk of allergies.
  • Acidic foods like, berries, tomatoes, citrus fruits, and some vegetables may cause a rash around the mouth or buttocks that goes away relatively quickly. This is a common irritation from the acidity.
• Texture to start should be pureed
  • Gradual introduction to textures increases neck and swallowing strength from 6-8 months to reduce the risk of choking
  • Gradually transition over two months from pureed -> mashed -> lumpy -> soft finger foods
• Foods to start are pureed meats, beans, vegetables, fruits, baby cereals, whole milk yogurt (click the link to visit my favorite handouts and books from Nutrition Matters for more quality information) 
  • If you are fully breastfeeding having cereal, meats, and beans are important because they are the only food sources your baby will have that include a quality source of iron.
  • Most people start with cereal as a first food but the order of first foods doesn’t necessarily matter. I do usually recommend vegetables before fruits because your baby’s taste buds will be primed and ready for anything sweet.

Feeding From 8-12 Months 

• Remember, breast milk and formula should still be the main source of nutrition until age 1 to support healthy brain and central nervous system development. Your baby should have 24-32 ounces a day or breastfeed every 4-5 hours.
• Your baby may still have pureed foods but soft, chopped up table foods with established mealtimes should now become the main routine.
• If you haven’t already, introduce the sippy cup and cup. I recommend 360 cups as they have a lip on the cup, which supports the strengthening of the cheek muscles needed to speak, and are better for your child’s teeth. They are also relatively spill proof, which is good for parents too!
• Introduce finger foods (crackers, bread, cereal, cooked pasta)
• No added honey – this food that may cause food borne illness in your baby
• Yogurt melts and infant puffs are non-essential foods. They are relatively new on the market and should not replace whole foods as they provide little nutritional benefit and no variety in texture.
• Skip the salt, juice, water, whole milk, cookies or goodies (they just aren’t needed at this age)
• Avoid hard foods or round foods that your child may choke on

 

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Rachel Verdoliva works as a Registered Dietitian in Oswego County.  She studied Biochemistry and Public Health at The College of Saint Rose and she received her Masters in Nutrition Science at Syracuse University.  She currently works as a RD with young families and is the author of the blog, Nutrition2Kitchen.com .

 

 

 

 

As a self-employed International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), a very common question my clients ask is when they should introduce a bottle.

In the US, the majority of nursing parents are returning to work soon after baby is born. Understandably, early on these families are thinking about how their baby will take a bottle during that transition. For those breastfeeding parents who are not returning to work, often at some point they will be away from their babies as well. For nursing parents that never are separated from their babies, they can continue to breastfeed without ever using a bottle.

In most circumstances, I now often encourage families to practice with bottles around 3-4 weeks. This is a much earlier recommendation than I used to suggest. As I started to work with older babies who were struggling to take a bottle, I saw good results with starting earlier and regularly offering small bottles even if there was minimal separation early in baby’s life.

In a study from Kearney & Cronenwett (1991), they found that babies at 1 month generally took a bottle easily (around 70%), and only 4% refused. But by 2 months, 12% refused bottles and at 3-6 months 13% refused.  As you can see, many babies are just fine starting a bottle at older ages. But I have seen good results with babies starting younger, once nursing is established and consistently taking small amounts in bottles in order to hopefully avoid a higher chance of bottle refusal. Usually this means around 1/2 ounce or so about two times a week. Often this allows the nursing parent to not miss an entire feeding when practicing with the bottle, and pumping/self-expressing about 1 ounce a week is not typically too disruptive.

Waiting until 3-4 weeks allows for supply to be established, though some babies do need to take a bottle much earlier. Regardless of the time frame or reason, there are 3 important things to keep in mind while bottle feeding:

-Paced Bottle Feeding is essential for all babies who get a bottle — including an occasional bottle, exclusive bottles, and bottles with breastmilk or formula.

Kellymom has lots of information on Paced Bottle Feeding: https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/feeding-tools/bottle-feeding/

-The flow rate and shape of the nipple is important.

The book, Balancing Bottle and Breast is a great resource:  http://www.breastandbottlefeeding.com/parents/

-If your baby will not take bottle, sometimes offering in a different way can help.

La Leche League has great tips on bottle refusal: https://www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/bottles/

If your baby struggles with a bottle (for example: leaking, choking, not sucking well) or will not take a bottle, contact an IBCLC near you for support. IBCLCs are feeding specialists and often have experience with many parts of feeding besides nursing. I assist with bottle feeding babies of all ages in the Central New York area. For more information or support with bottle feeding your baby, visit my website at www.syracuselactation.com or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/syracselactation/ .

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Jen has been a birth and postpartum doula (DTI) since 2013 and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) since 2014. After years of both doula and lactation work, she is exclusively transitioning full time into private practice in-home breastfeeding consults.

Jen brings years of experience and depth of knowledge on breastfeeding topics from prenatal preparation to extended nursing. She has seen a wide range of breastfeeding issues and is prepared to help you meet your goals. Contact her today to find out more about her in-home consults and classes.

Jen Deshaies (315) 263-7558 Email jen@syracuselactation.com

As a mom of two little ones (23 mos. and 3.5 yo), my husband and I are always looking for new ideas for purposeful play.  Specifically ideas that are beneficial and fun but involve LITTLE to NO PREP! We decided to put together a July calendar for your family! All of these ideas can be differentiated for the age of your tot, can be made simpler or more challenging. Please feel free to share the link to our calendar with your loved ones. Please also consider sending us a picture of your tiny human loving an activity! Maybe you tried something different and we would love to hear about it! Tag us on Facebook or Instagram (@play2learntot)! Email play2learntt@gmail.com if you have any questions! Happy Summer!

Do you love to be snug,curled up, cozy? So does your LO!
Utilize the Laundry Basket!

1) Self Regulation: In the classroom, my students loved having their own personal space to curl up in a “Reading Boat” aka laundry basket!  At home we toss in a soft blanket or throw pillow too! Setting up a quiet, cozy corner not only promotes a love for independent reading, but also teaches young children how to self soothe, calm down, focus, or “take a break,” in an effort to regulate their emotions.  Certainly a pop up tent (like the one we have at P2L) can serve just as well!
2) Motor Benefits: Encourage your LO to push or pull the basket! Maybe a younger sibling, maybe a load of books from their bookshelf; pushing and pulling is great motor work!

3) Pretend Play: In the 3rd photo, the children were pretending to be Santa and practicing two hands working together to hold the reins/ ring the bells as the little reindeer pushed the sleigh! Sleigh, race car, boat…

4. Sensory Play: Add ball pit balls and let your little one dig and burrow through the balls in the basket! Toss, catch, sort by color!
Looking for other ideas for pursposeful play at home? Follow us https://www.instagram.com/play2learntot/

So if you are like me, you start thinking about all the sweet things you want to fill their baskets with two months in advance and then you BLINK and Easter is about two weeks away and you still have an empty basket!!!

Today I’m sharing a few of my favorite things for birthday or holiday gift ideas!

1. Do A Dot Art! Markers 6-Pack Rainbow– washable, great for hand eye coordination, fine motor, creativity
2. The Learning Journey My First Match It, Things I Eat(we have and love the food version) Great for fine motor, critical thinking and language
3. Fat Brain Toys Kids Spinagain Toy– this toy promotes a lot of teamwork and sharing in our household, colorful, cause and effect
4. Giant Foam Building Blocks, Building Toy for Girls and Boys, Ideal Blocks/Construction Toys for Toddlers, 50pc, Waterproof,Safe, Non-Toxic.– easy to clean, throw in the tub, build in your family room, must have!
5. Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set, 4 Pk– we often use these at Tot Time in our sensory bins
6. Melissa & Doug Water Wow! -the fat water pen is easy to grasp for little ones, great for car, plane, church, restaurant
7. Squigz Starter Set, 24 Pc: Our Mini Movers have been LOVING these! Stick to the floor, wall, mirrors, fine motor fun!
8. Kidicut Safety Scissors– I love the visual of keeping the bunny’s tail up in the air as he hops along and your tot chops the paper
9. Elmer’s Disappearing Purple Glue Sticks 3pk– go on purple so the tot can see where he/she applied glue, fit well in their hands
10. Easter Bunny (Baby Touch and Feel)– is one of our favorites! Great for tactile exploration!
11. Play-Doh Numbers, Letters, N’ Fun, Playdoh scissors, Playdoh press- build fine motor skills while engaging in sensory play.

 

 

 

 

*I provided affiliate links through Amazon, If you purchase items using the links provided you will not only be purchasing gifts for your loved ones, but also adding to our Family Fun Fund. TIA!