When can I give my newborn solid food
Summary: STARTING SOLID FOODS: WHEN? WHAT? AND HOW? Solid foods can be a contentious area for parents because their children can send out mixed messages about when they will learn to take solids. It is important to remember that when starting to feed them solids the idea is not to fill them up, but get them used to the texture of solid foods. They will still be partly fed on milk for a while.

There is no set age at which you can give your children solid food, but there are of course general guidelines, as to what children can eat as first solid foods and when.  One of the main reasons that children are given separate foods as in commercially packaged baby foods is that seasoning is not good for children. An introduction to a solid diet should be bland, stewed apple, or other soft fruits without added sugar. It is worth remembering that when you offer a child solid food you are setting them on a lifelong path of nutritional habits.

Until just over a generation ago toddlers had crusts and rusks poked into their mouth and six weeks old and a cereal mush poked into their mouths whether they wanted it or not. Nowadays the children themselves tend to dictate when they are ready for solids, and there are solid nutritional reasons why you should not rush the process.

The first reason is that babies intestines need to mature a little to safely cope with solids and they tend not to do that before the age of between four months and seven months. When the intestines start to mature they secrete a protein immunoglobulin, which acts like a coating with the walls of the intestine, its function is to protect the walls of the intestines from letting in foods that contain potentially harmful allergens. In other words it is a natural way of preventing your child from getting allergic or sensitive reactions to foods. Feeding a child solid at too early an age destroys this vital natural protection.

Infants do not produce this IgA, but there is a lot of it in human milk, which is enough reason why breast milk is healthier for babies. Once a baby produces this naturally there is less likelihood that foods to which the child may be intolerant to may permeate the intestine wall. Waiting until a child is older is especially important when there is a genetic predisposition to allergies, or when both parents are allergic to more than one type of food. It is very important that small toddlers less than six month are not introduced to any food to which another family member is allergic.

The mouth has also to be prepared for solid food there is a thrust mechanism small toddlers have. Until they are about four months the tongue will push forward and project out any food that is unusual and not been fed before, this is an innate reaction to prevent choking. After the age of sixteen weeks this tends to diminish
and it allows the food to be swallowed rather than spat out. It also takes a length of time for the tongue and the swallowing mechanism in the throat to work in harmony. If the throat is not prepared to expect the food it will stay in the mouth where it will as every new mother knows eventually get spat out.

Believe it or not how you hold your baby may be a factor in whether or not it rejects solids. Holding the baby to you in what is recognized by the child as a normal breastfeeding position may lead to an outright rejection of food as the taste and texture is not the same as milk. Babies only develop the ability to sit up in a high chair between the ages of five and seven months.

Another reason that babies reject solids is that they do not like the alien feel of a plastic or metal spoon. The best spoon that you can use when you start solid food is your finger. It may seem gross but it has some distinct advantages as a spoon, it is the correct temperature, and it is soft. You cannot accidentally pack hot food into a child’s mouth and also you are not blowing all over hot spoons of food. Children can reject the texture of spoons even plastic ones because they are too hard. Before babies get their teeth they can suck but not chew and normally teeth do not appear until six or seven months. What also appears at around the age of six months is the natural desire to mimic and babies can start to copy you when you chew food.

In general your baby is ready for food that is solid when he or she reaches out and grabs things regularly. That may be toys or other things the fact that a child will grab a piece of cutlery is not always a clear indication that they are ready for solids. It may be that they are interested in the size or shape of the spoon. Round about six months most toddlers can start a rudimentary communication they may push food away or lean into food. However this can be a hit and miss affair and mixed messages are common. If you are sure of this watch any grandmother feeding a baby playing airplanes with the spoon. Often a more reliable assessment is the fact that your baby appears to be unsatisfied and the intervals between feeding are getting shorter. If in doubt offer, but never force a child to eat solids. It is never a clear cut deadline for a while babies will have milk and solids.