Usually, mothers start giving their babies some solid food only a few months after birth, while medical research shows that the baby's body is not ready to take solid foods until six months. According to the World Health Organization, mother's milk is the best food for infants for the first six months. After this, babies can be given light foods along with breast milk, but do not take more than six months to start solid food because as the baby gets older, he cannot accept new tastes and solid foods. He may resist learning to chew and swallow solid foods after this age.
When your baby starts eating solid food, it is definitely a milestone and the joy of the parents is just right. But here the question must be raised: what is the right time to give solid food to children?
There are several signs that children start showing that indicate that it is time to give them solid food. But we also start giving solid food to children prematurely considering some changes in children as symptoms.
So before you start giving your babies solid food, you should know about these 3 changes in babies that you can understand as symptoms.
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WEIGHT GAIN
You've probably heard from many people that if a baby's weight doubles its birth weight, it means it's time to give them solid food. But this is not the case as many babies double their weight in just 3 to 4 months and at this age babies are not ready for solid food. Dietary intake has nothing to do with weight gain. The best age to introduce solid food to babies is 6 months.
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GRADUAL WEIGHT GAIN
During the first months after birth, the baby's weight increases rapidly. Later this process slows down due to which the parents get worried and they start thinking that they might be malnourished. So they start giving solid food to their little ones before time. Slow weight gain after 2 to 3 months of age is normal and parents need not worry about it.
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TEETHING
Parents are sometimes advised that if a baby starts teething, it means it is time to introduce solid food. However, teething does not necessarily mean that babies are ready for solid food as some babies start teething early and some late. So teething is also not a real sign.
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When is your baby ready for solid food?
○When your baby turns 6 months old.
○When your child can sit up without support.
○When the tongue-thrust reflex disappears.
○The moment the baby lifts his head up well after sitting down, you know that he is ready to eat solid food.
This is the age when he stops spitting food out of the tongue. So start feeding him cooked rice cereal in small amounts of formula milk. If the baby's tongue pushes food out despite efforts, you should wait longer to introduce solid foods.
Feed your baby when he is happy. Remember that a tired baby has an irritable mood, so he is not very interested in eating. Initially, give the baby a quarter of a teaspoon of food, spoon it to his lips. Hold it and then watch his reaction. If the child opens his mouth to eat more, put the next morsel in his mouth, otherwise it is better not to force it.
At the beginning of the feeding process, the child will only eat the equivalent of a few spoonful's throughout the day. Start by giving him a little formula or breast milk to build up his appetite and prevent him from becoming impatient with his new experience. Only one solid food in the first few days. When the baby is good at it, give the second food, after a few days give the third food. If the baby is stubborn, regurgitating, closing the mouth, spitting up food. Or if he drops it around, it is an indication that his stomach is full.
Around six months of age, the baby gets iron once a day from baby cereal made from different types of rice, barley or oats. It can be mixed with breast milk or formula. Add chicken or mutton, crushed egg yolks, well-cooked beans, lentils and chickpeas, vegetables like peas, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage, broccoli. It is wise to introduce your baby to vegetables before they are accustomed to the taste of sweet fruits.
When the child accepts to eat vegetables as a food, encourage him towards fruits. A well-crushed banana or applesauce would be a good choice for this. Meanwhile, the baby can also be introduced to cereal mixed with fruits. Introduce new foods one by one. Take some time to introduce a new food and watch for adverse reactions such as diarrheas', vomiting or red markings. If so, you can easily know which food your baby is allergic to.
HEALTHY FOODS
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LENTILS
Pulses, wheat, corn, and rice are the cheapest source of protein and vitamins. In other countries, packaged solid baby foods are readily available, but for a six-month-old baby, soft-cooked lentils and rice are recommended. It is very healthy. After two or three days, it can be relished with new vegetables and spices. Apart from this, lentil soup can also be made by adding vegetables or chicken.
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MILK, EGGS AND MEAT
From the age of six months to two years, the child is more likely to be malnourished, so along with mother's milk, foods made from dairy products should also be given to children.
One egg contains six grams of protein, so once a day, boil the egg and grind it finely and feed the yolk to the baby or mix the egg yolk with milk. Sago and porridge can also be prepared and given to the child.
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VEGETABLES
The best soups for small children can be prepared from vegetables and add a spoonful of oil to them to get more energy. Vegetable soups should be mixed with lean meat and poultry for protein.
Vegetables can be boiled well and mixed with butter, pepper and salt to make a paste and can be given to children.
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FRUITS
Squeeze fresh fruit juice and add it to the feeder. Or make whole fruits and feed them with a spoon. There are many ways to feed fruits. Mango pulp can be mixed in porridge, banana, chico, peach can be mixed in custard. Fruits can be finely chopped and lightly cooked and honey added to it.
A small baby's stomach is small and cannot handle a lot of food at a time, so it should be fed little by little.
A baby should always start with small amounts of soft solid food so that the stomach is also relaxed.