Whether you've decided to formula feed your baby from the start, are supplementing
your breast milk with formula, or are switching from breast milk to formula, you're
bound to have questions. Here are answers to some common queries about formula feeding.
When should I introduce solid foods and juice?
The best time to introduce solid
foods is when your baby has developed the skills needed to eat. This usually happens
between the ages of 4 and 6 months. How do you know when your baby is ready?
Babies who are ready to eat solids foods:
- are interested in foods (for example, they may watch others eat, reach for food,
and open their mouths when food approaches)
- hold up their heads well, and sit up with little or no help
- have the oral motor skills needed to eat (meaning that they don't push food of
the mouth but move it to the throat and swallow it)
- usually weigh twice their birth weight, or close to it
Wait until your baby is at least 4 months old and shows these signs of readiness
before introducing solids. Babies who start solid foods before 4 months are at a higher
risk for obesity
and other problems later on. They also aren't coordinated enough to safely swallow
solid foods and may choke on the food or inhale it into their lungs.
When the time is right, start with a single-grain, iron-fortified baby cereal (rice
cereal has traditionally been the first food for babies, but you can start with any
you prefer). Start with 1 or 2 tablespoons of cereal mixed with breast milk, formula,
or water. Another good first option is an iron-rich puréed meat. Feed your
baby with a small baby spoon, and never add cereal to a baby's bottle unless your
doctor recommends it.
At this stage, solids should be fed after a nursing session, not before. That way,
your baby fills up on breast milk, which should be your baby's main source of nutrition
until age 1.
When your baby gets the hang of eating the first food, introduce a variety of other
foods, such as puréed fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, or yogurt. Wait a
few days between introducing new foods to make sure your baby doesn't have an allergic
reaction.
Experts recommend introducing common food allergens to babies when they're 4–6
months old. This includes babies with a family history of food
allergies. In the past, they thought that babies should not get such foods (like
eggs, peanuts,
and fish) until after
the first birthday. But recent studies suggest that waiting that long could make a
baby more likely to develop food allergies.
Offer these foods to your baby as soon as your little one starts eating solids.
Make sure they're served in forms that your baby can easily swallow. You can try a
small amount of peanut butter mixed into fruit purée or yogurt, for example,
or soft scrambled eggs.
Note: There is no benefit to offering fruit
juice, even to older babies. Juice can fill them up and leave little room for
more nutritious foods, promote obesity, cause diarrhea, and even put a baby at an
increased risk for cavities when teeth start coming in.
