If you want to know the scientific answer to when you baby can start eating solid foods, then The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that most babies start eating solid foods between 4 and 6 months. Keep in mind that breast milk or formula is still in their diet and solid foods do not act as a replacement.
As a mother of six, I know first hand that life doesn’t follow a standard rule book and sometimes it is nice to look for telltale signs that your baby is ready. I have put together a list of some of the signs you can look for:
- Lost their food reflux. This is pretty easy to tell…when you feed you baby a jar of food, do they immediately take their tongue and push out every last drop of it? Then they are not quite ready.
- Sits up right. If you’re baby is sitting on it’s bottom then it may be time to hand them a solid snack or to take a spot next to them on the floor and try spooning some delicious veggies or fruit into their mouth. My go to snack isCheerios® or crackers
- Holds head up. Does your baby still need you to support its head? If not then they’re most likely showing signs that they are ready for solid foods.
- Shows interest in “real food”. I remember when my son was 5 months old and my daughters ordered hamburgers and French fries from McDonald’s. Every time they would take a bite of their French fries, my son would cry and grab for it. My three year old tuned to him and said “here you go.” Well he devoured that French fry in less than 30 seconds.
What types of solid foods should I start with?
I know you’re not going to like this, but there isn’t any particular order of preference when it comes to this. And don’t be surprised when you baby shows likes and dislikes. Also when it comes to introducing foods, just give two to three days in between new foods so that if a rash or stomach issue comes up then you can tell which foods are causing the sensitivity.
When can I move from pureed foods to finger foods?
As soon as you have mastered the pureed food varieties, you can move to finger foods. My youngest loved bananas and toast.
Parenting is stressful and moving over to solid foods is a big milestone, but don’t rush into it. After all, children don’t come with manuals and when they start showing signs that they can handle real food, let them!