Babies have an uncanny way of letting you know exactly how they feel about food — wincing at even the tiniest bite, keeping their lips on total lockdown, and eventually hurling spoonfuls across the room. But a new study shows that when infants are exposed to certain fruits and vegetables repeatedly they're more likely to not only eat them, but to actually want to eat them.

Looking at a group of 45 4- to 8-month-olds in Philadelphia, the researchers found that babies ate more green beans when they were fed these veggies over and over again, regardless of whether they had a developed a taste for sweeter peaches, too. And breastfed babies, whose moms ate lots of peaches, ate more of the fruit than the formula-fed babies.

As with pregnancy (when babies can taste various flavors in the amniotic fluid), when you're breastfeeding your infant can experience some of the flavors of the foods you're eating through your breast milk. But for breastfed babies to take a real liking to certain fruits and veggies, their nursing mothers have to eat them regularly, says the study. And once they're weaned, babies need to get repeated feedings of the same foods in order to establish a real preference for them.

The researchers also caution parents not to automatically pull the spoon away when babies look disgusted with the food du jour. All of that grimacing and scrunching up their little noses is just a natural reaction to new textures and flavors and not necessarily a sign they don't like something. Instead of relying on those disapproving facial expressions, say the researchers, watch more for how willing your baby is to continue eating.

What This Means to You

If you eat a well-balanced diet rich in all sorts of wholesome foods while you're nursing, your little one will likely learn to enjoy those foods long before even being able to personally gulp them down. You're helping your baby get used to — and develop a taste for — nutritious foods, too. But if you eat a diet of mostly junk food while breastfeeding, your baby also may have a hankering for less healthy foods.

Whether you're breastfeeding or formula feeding you can start introducing solids at around 6 months. Although in the past many parents started giving their babies solids at 4 months, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends waiting until 6 months. Why? Because feeding solids earlier can increase your baby's chances of developing food allergies. But it's a good idea to talk to your doctor before starting solids at any age.

Whenever you do decide to give baby the first bites, here are some quick tips to get started:

• Begin with a small amount of iron-fortified rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula.
• Use an infant spoon — do not put cereal in your baby's bottle unless your doctor says otherwise.
• Try again in about a week if your baby is pushing a lot of food out with the tongue — your little one might not be ready for solids just yet.
• Wait until your baby successfully eats cereal from the spoon before trying other solids.
• Introduce one new finely pureed fruit or vegetable at a time. And wait about a week to watch for allergic reactions before introducing another.
• Don't start mixing foods (like pears and peaches, or carrots and peas) until you've given one of each for at least a week.
• Wait until:
  • 6 months to give juice and then limit it to no more than 4 total ounces (120 ml) a day
  • around 9 months to serve pureed meats; coarser, chunkier foods; and finger foods
  • 1 year to introduce eggs, cow's milk, citrus fruits or juices, and honey
  • 2 years to give peanuts, tree nuts, or seafood (longer if allergies run in your family)
• Continue giving your baby formula or breast milk, which should remain a major part of your infant's diet until that first birthday.

Above all, be patient and offer a wide variety of foods — established favorites and new choices — even if your infant responds with a frown or even a gag. Babies often seem to prefer fruits and sweeter vegetables (like carrots and sweet potatoes), but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still keep offering other vegetables, too.

It may take 10 to 15 tries before your baby warms up to certain foods. But before you know it, heaping helpings of pureed peas and prunes could become a welcome meal for your once finicky little diner.

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: December 2007

Source: "Early Determinants of Fruit and Vegetable Acceptance," Pediatrics, December 2007.