Baby Nutrition--When To Introduce Solid Foods

Is your baby ready for a taste of cereal or banana? It depends. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests introducing solid foods when your baby is 4 to 6 months old. However, not all babies are ready to eat solid foods at the same time. Rely on your baby rather than a calendar to let you know when it is time. If you introduce solid foods too early, your baby is more likely to have allergic reactions. Babies can’t properly chew and swallow solid foods much before 4 to 6 months of age. And what you can’t see is that your baby’s digestive system must mature some what before it can handle these new foods.

Signs that baby is ready
Before you introduce solid foods, ask yourself these questions:

• Has your baby doubled his birth weight?
• Does baby consume 32 ounces or more of breastmilk or formula each day?
• Can baby sit up with little support and turn his head when he’s full?
• Can baby move a dab of thinned baby cereal to the back of his tongue and swallow it. This is a signal that baby’s extrusion reflex has disappeared and he now has the ability to swallow nonliquid foods.
• Does baby frequently put things in his mouth?
• Is baby interested in trying new tastes and textures?
• Does baby watch with interest as you eat, perhaps even opening his mouth and leaning forward as if to ask for a bite?

If you can answer yes to these questions, baby may be ready to start solid foods. Just remember, until your baby is about a year old, his main source of nutrition should be breastmilk or iron-fortified formula.

source from http://www.verybestbaby.com