Starting Solids by Little Bean Nutrition
Starting solids should be such a wonderful time for both you and your baby, and I’m here to help you ensure that it is! I love working with families to start solids as it is such a key period in a little one’s life, with the ability to set a really wonderful foundation as far as both overall health and their relationship with food.
Current guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO), American Academy of Paediatrics, and the National Health and Medical Research Council (Aus) all recommend exclusive breast or formula feeding until six months of age. Once your little one has met the signs of readiness, it is ok to start solids – this will occur slightly earlier for some, later for others, but typically at around 5.5-6.5 months of age. These signs of readiness are primarily there for safety, to reduce the risk of choking and to ensure your little one’s digestive system is mature enough to be introduced to food.
Signs of Developmental Readiness
The ability to sit with minimal support – This doesn’t mean your little must be able to sit independently, as this may not occur for many children until closer to 9 months of age. However, it does mean that your little one has the ability to sit upright in their highchair, without slumping forward or to the side. This is of paramount importance and significantly reduces the risk of choking.
Good head and neck control – Once again, this is a very important skill for your little one to have, to significantly reduce the risk of choking. Your little one needs to have the ability to hold their head upright for the entirety of the meal. Additionally, this will mean your little one has the ability to turn their head away from food to show they need a break or are finished.
Interest – At the age babies start solids, they are naturally interested in everything, so this is not a primary indicator of readiness. However, it is important that your little one shows interest, to encourage engagement and learning in the process of eating.
Reach and grab – This is a key skill required if you would like to utilise finger foods. When first starting out, your little one may not have the ability to pick food up from the plate/highchair tray, but they do need to have the ability to take food from your hand when offered.
Tongue thrust reflex – This is a protective mechanism present at birth, designed to reduce the risk of choking on foreign objects. It is functionally beneficial for this reflex to be gone, if you would like to feed your baby purees, however, can be beneficial if using finger foods as it helps to develop appropriate movement patterns required to chew. Again, this isn’t a key sign as some babies don’t lose this reflex until closer to 7 months, and we don’t want to unnecessarily delay starting solids, if all other signs are met.
Choosing a Feeding Method
The two main ways to feed your baby solids, is through puree or baby led weaning (BLW). I am a huge advocate for BLW, as it nurtures independence around food from day one, really enables your little one (and you!) to tune into their hunger and fullness cues, encourages variety and provides opportunity for your little one to practice their oral and fine motor skills. However, BLW isn’t for everyone, nor every baby, in which case opting for puree or combination approach, may be beneficial for some families. Overall, the right method of feeding for you and your baby, is the method you are most comfortable with.
If you do choose to start exclusively with purees, I would recommend that you do introduce some finger foods prior to 9 months of age, to ensure your little one is exposed to a variety of textures and flavors, early on, to avoid potential picky eating later on. Additionally, if you opt to take a puree led approach, I would encourage you to be very responsive in doing so. Responsive spoon feeding enables you to really tune into your little one’s hunger and fullness cues, ensuring there is no coercion or accidental forced feeding. You can responsively spoon feed in two ways.
Pre-load spoons with your prepared puree and hand to your baby, enabling them to bring the spoon to their mouth. If you like this idea, I would recommend having a few spoons (ideally three) on the go at once, to avoid a stand-off with your little one in order to get the spoon back!!
An alternate method is to remain in control of the spoon, ensuring you are offering the spoon horizontal to your little one’s mouth, waiting for them to open their mouth. If they turn their head away or show disinterest, you pause and wait for them to be ready…No airplane spoons or noises in sight!
Irrespective of the way in which you choose to feed your baby, I encourage you to, where you can, offer foods you eat on a regular basis to get your little one use to those flavors and eat together. The ultimate goal of introducing your little one to solids, is to at some stage, all be sitting together at the dining table, enjoying the same food, together. I really feel mealtime is a place for connection and enjoyment, and I love when families can do this a few times a week. Eating together also enables you to show your baby how to eat – it teaches them that food is yummy and enjoyable, that it is safe (if caregivers are eating, then this gives your little one the green light that its ok, from an evolutionary perspective), it shows them how to bring food to their mouth and chew, and introduces them to appropriate mealtime behaviours.
When Do I Feed My Baby?
The time of day you feed your little one, is entirely dependent on your family circumstances, and there is no right or wrong. If it suits you, I recommend between the first and second nap of the day, as your little one is likely to be well rested and the most open to learning. Earlier in the day also ensures your little one has ample time to digest throughout the day, minimising disruption to overnight sleep, should your little one have some digestive discomfort. Additionally, this provides adequate time to monitor your little one, when the time comes to introduce allergens.
How Much Do I Feed My Baby?
Much to the frustration of parents, there is no magic portion size when offering food – every baby and child will have a different appetite and this is absolutely normal. I am a firm believer that your child is your greatest guide. It is also really important that you start slow, ensuring that you give your little one adequate time to adjust to digesting food and learning the skill of eating.
Of greatest importance, is that milk feeds remain a very large part of the diet until 12 months of age, initially offering food 30 minutes to an hour after milk. Naturally, as your little one becomes more established on solids, they will reduce their milk intake. However, ideally a reduction in milk intake won’t occur until closer to 9 months of age. At this age, it is likely that you will see a decline in milk intake, seen either through a refusal of a bottle/feed, or reduction in volume/time of each feed. Additionally, at around 9 months of age, it may be appropriate to start to offer food before milk for some meals.
The following is a guide of how much to feed your baby, however, each child will be different.
6 - 7 months: 1 meal a day
7 - 9 months: 2 meals a day
9 months +: 3 meals a day
12 months +: 3 meals + snacks
Your little one will guide you where appetite is concerned, and you will know when to increase their meals. There comes a point (usually around 8-9mo) where eating just "clicks" for them and their appetite will often increase. Until this point, it is really normal, particularly when doing BLW, that you see more exploration and play, than actual eating – exploration, play and mess all assists in eventual acceptance of food. This is why it is really important to be prioritizing iron rich foods and learn how to build a balanced meal.
Building a Balanced Meal
Throughout the third trimester of pregnancy, you may have become iron deficient – this is because your little one was using all your iron, to build up their own stores to see them through the first six months of life. After this point, your little one’s iron stores will start to slowly deplete due to the rapid growth and development that occurs throughout infancy, and childhood. Once your little one hits 7 months of age, their iron requirements become greater than that of an adult male, so it is really important, particularly in breastfed babies, that we are prioritizing iron rich foods.
Iron/Protein
Iron comes in two forms – haem iron from animal sources, and non-haem iron from plant based sources. Both are brilliant and nutrient dense; however, haem iron is far more readily absorbed by the body than non-haem iron, making it a much more effective at maintaining iron stores. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t serve plant based foods, however, significantly greater care and planning is required if you do.
Examples: Liver, Lentils, Beans, Sardines, Tofu, Spirulina, Eggs, Fish, Meat/Poultry, Oats, Iron Fortified Breads and Cereals
Carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are an important component of a meal for anyone, our babies included. Our brain and body use carbohydrates for energy and our babies are expending huge amounts of energy whilst growing and developing. This is particularly important when our babies are utlising solid foods as their primary source of nutrition, after 12 months of age.
Examples: Vegetables (particularly root vegetables), Fruit, Grains, Legumes and Beans.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is essential to ensure optimal absorption of iron, particularly iron that comes from plant sources.
Examples: Broccoli, Capsicum, Tomatoes, Citrus Fruit, Berries, Kiwi Fruit
Healthy Fats
Breast milk (and some formula) is high in fat, however, adding dietary fat to meals will ensure your baby is receiving adequate energy from their meals, particularly when your baby is no longer breast or bottle fed. Omega 3 fats are beneficial to eye and brain development, the creation of hormones and is anti-inflammatory, and must be obtained through the diet as our body can’t make this nutrient.
Examples: Avocado, Olive Oil, Hemp Seeds, Chia Seeds, Salmon, Sardines, Nuts, Avocado and Flaxseed Oil
Seasoning
Baby food doesn't have to be bland, so don't be afraid to add herbs and spices!! Salt is ok to cook with in small amounts, however avoid using added salt, as baby’s tolerance for salt is relatively low.
How to Prepare a Finger Food
Size and Shape
When starting your solids journey, aim for stick shaped foods, roughly two fingers in width, long enough so that your baby can grasp the food, with some food poking out the top and the bottom of their hand
Texture
Aim for food to be firm enough for your baby to hold, but soft enough that it can be easily squashed between baby’s tongue and roof of the mouth
Serving Fruits and Vegetables
Harder fruits and vegetables need to be steamed, roasted or stewed to ensure they become soft (as above). Softer, ripe fruits and vegetables can be served as is.
Small, Round Foods
When serving foods such as grapes and cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise, or wait until your child is older. Foods like blueberries and raspberries can be squished into disc like shapes
Slippery Foods
If your little one is struggling to hold some foods (avocado, mango, banana etc), it can be helpful to roll/coat the food in something for grip. Ideas include: breadcrumbs**, chia seeds, hemp seeds, nut meals**, coconut, nutritional yeast
**allergens
How to prepare a puree
Consistency
When spoon feeding your baby, they use a suck to swallow reflex, meaning they don't chew prior to swallowing. Therefore, serving a chunky puree, can trigger a gag reflex - more so than a finger food. This is not something to be concerned about, rather simply aware. Start by offering a thicker puree (6m+), then a mashed consistency (7m+).
Thinning Purees
Start with small amounts of thinning liquid and add as required, to create the perfect consistency. Ideal liquids include:
Water
Breastmilk or Formula
A Quick Tip
Once you have cooked the food (roasted, steamed, baked), allow to cool before pureeing, to ensure all excess water as evaporated. Pureeing without allowing to cool, may result in particularly watery purees.
Nurturing a Beautiful Relationship with Food
It may surprise you to know that our little one’s are born with an innate ability to perfectly regulate appetite, something many of us as adults, have lost the ability to do, with the constant barrage of diet culture thrown our way. So much doubt can creep in and we question if our little one is eating enough, or too much – are we doing all the right things? Particularly if we are subjected to a well-meaning, but perhaps ill-informed child health nurse or GP, telling us that we must start solids before 6 months, use purees, feed our babies more, drop milk feeds etc. But, it is important to remember that we trusted this innate ability when our little ones were newborns, and there is no reason this should change. Also, as a side note, starting your baby on solids early, or force feeding them puree, will not help them gain weight, nor improve their sleep, despite what you might have been told.
I truly believe that it is our job as parents to really preserve this wonderful ability of our little ones to self-regulate, setting them up to have a beautiful relationship with food and their bodies – plus, it may just help to reduce picky eating in toddlerhood!
So, how do we preserve this ability? Below are my top tips…
Never force feed for your little one – Time and time again, I have seen this backfire on well-intentioned parents who were ill-informed by a health professional, or had immense pressure placed on them about their little one’s lack of weight gain. Force feeding your little one early on, is highly likely to lead to future food refusal and a really distressing relationship with food and mealtimes.
Look out for hunger and fullness cues – This can be a tricky one to master, but below are some of the key signs to look out for. They can be a little trickier to pick up on if puree feeding, but learning your little one’s individual cues will guide you right through your solids journey.
Acting disinterested or distracted
Fussing and/or crying
Dropping food off the tray
Leaning out of the chair
Windshield wiping the tray
Turning head away from the spoon
Refusing to open their mouth
Hitting the spoon away
Remember The Division of Responsibility and respecting fullness cues – It is your role as a parent to determine what, when and where food is served, and it is your little one’s role to determine if and how much they eat. This is super tricky and can be, at times, one of the harder parts of your solids journey. It is really normal for appetite to fluctuate throughout the day, and week. However, I always say to the families I support, that if you are doing your part to offer a balanced, nutritionally sound meal, your job is done.
Be mindful of the language you use around food – Again, this can be a hard, when many of us will have grown up with phrases like “eat your veggies or you’re not getting any dessert” or “you need to have one more bite before you can leave the table” or “chocolate is bad for you, and veggies are good for you”. All of these phrases not only encourage your little one to ignore their hunger and fullness cues, but they also allow that sneaky diet culture to creep on in. We want to avoid the concept that food is good or bad, healthy or unhealthy and restricting certain foods. Now, whilst yes, certain foods do better things for our body than others, and I’m not suggesting we serve chips and ice cream every day, what I am saying is that we need to be mindful of how we frame these concepts around our little ones. You may only serve dessert like foods every now and again, and that’s absolutely ok, but simply avoid making comment on it, and allow your little one to enjoy their experience with that food. Research has also shown that, particularly in older children, restriction of foods will lead to an over consumption of those foods when exposed – have you heard those stories of families restricting sweets because they consider them “bad/unhealthy”, only to have their little one attend a birthday party where these foods are, and eat until the point of being unwell? Well, that is this concept at play.
Whilst it can seem as though there is lots of information to take in, and it might feel a little overwhelming at first, but this is such an exciting time that, when armed with the right information, should have you feeling calm, confident and in control. Enjoy this time with your little one, and good luck!
Hello, I’m Aimee.
Paediatric nutritionist, Paramedic and Mumma, who is passionate about helping busy parents navigate their little one’s solids journey with ease. Through an easy to access online membership and tailored individual consultations, I help parents reduce the overwhelm and uncertainty, providing them with the education and support to confidently nourish their little bean.
I support families throughout their solids journey to confidently navigate:
Starting solids
The transition from puree to finger foods
Increasing interest in solids
Weaning
Picky/Fussy eating
General nutrition education
Through easy to understand, effortless strategies, I help parents feel calm and in control of their child’s solids journey, and give them the peace of mind that they are providing their child with nutritious food, meeting their ever-changing nutrient requirements.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Paramedic Practice (UTAS)
Master of Human Nutrition (Deakin)
Trained in the SOS Approach to Feeding: Picky Eaters vs Problem Feeders
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