When the time comes to introduce solid foods to your infant, mothers can fell a bit overwhelmed by the wealth of information and advice available on the Internet. Mothers can rest assured, there are quite a few truths amid thousands of voices and these truths will make the transition from liquids to solids, for your infant, all the easier.
Infants are ready for an introduction to solid foods between the ages of 4 and 6 months. This age is the same for both bottle and breast fed infants. It is important not to introduce solid foods before the age of 4 months in order to reduce the chance of food allergies.
Mothers will be able to gage when their baby is ready for solid foods, by watching your babies actions and movements during times other than feeding times. When infants have attained enough head control to hold the head steady in an upright position, are able to sit upright with support, have doubled their birth weight and show signs of curiosity when you eat solid foods, they are ready to try a little solid food on their own.
The little bits of food you introduce in the beginning of your infants transition will set the stage for future eating habits. It is important to introduce only one new food every 3 to 5 days. The wait time is important in the discovery process of possible food allergies. If a mother introduces more than one food at a time, there will be no definitive cause for a reaction. The first food to be introduced is most often rice cereal. In the beginning of the eating process, the baby will not want to eat large amounts of solid foods. This is common, do not worry. Eventually your baby will catch on to the eating process and move from rice cereal to vegetable and other foods with ease.
When introducing new foods to an infant, the foods should never have spices or additives, such as butter. A baby needs to taste the food only. Adding other ingredients can lead to over eating and excessive weight gain in later years.
Infants are born with the ability to stop eating when they are full. While this ability may cause parents to feed more than the traditional three times a day, it remains the healthy food choice for infants. Mothers will be able to tell when their infant is full when food is pushed out of the mouth over and over again or the infant turns the head to one side when they view the food.
As soon as the first day after introducing your infant to solid foods, there may be a change in stool appearance. This is a normal change. Stool may appear firm, change color and exhibit a foul smell. Welcome mothers, to the joy of normal poop. If your infant seems to be having trouble passing stool or the stool appears too hard, the cereal the baby is now eating could be causing constipation. Try adding some fruits or vegetables to the daily feeding schedule.
Introducing solid foods to your infant will be a joyous occasion. As a now active part of family meals, your infant will no doubt add laughter and happiness to the dining experience.
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