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Starting Solid Foods

© Jeri Carr

Many parents have ambivalent feelings about starting solid foods. Sure it can be interesting to start something new, but nursing a baby whenever he is hungry makes things so simple. It provides complete nutrition in a liquid, and there is no need to worry that baby is eating something that might make him sick or that he might choke on. Adding solid foods complicates things--and makes things so messy. Plus, it can be hard to know when to first offer your baby solid foods, and what if he doesn't want it?

There is not an exact age at which you must introduce solid foods, but your baby will not be ready until he is at least four months of age, and will more likely be ready closer to six months, or older. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that appropriate solid foods be added to an infant's diet at 4 to 6 months of age, and the AAP "strongly encourages breastfeeding for virtually all infants as the exclusive feeding for the first 6 months of life" (Where We Stand). La Leche League, an authority on breastfeeding, suggests that babies begin solid foods around the middle of the first year.

Since each child will be ready for solids at a different age, it's better to watch for signs of possible readiness rather than start them just because they are a certain age. Signs of possible readiness for solid foods are the ability to sit unsupported, the ability to pick up food and put it in his mouth, loss of the tongue thrust reflex (the food doesn't come right back out of his mouth after you put it in), a genuine interest in watching you eat, attempts to feed himself, and, in breastfed infants, increased frequency of nursing that doesn't subside after four or five days (a baby nurses more frequently when trying to build his mama's milk supply; usually her milk supply will increase to meet his needs by four or five days).

If your child shows all or some of these signs, they do not mean that your child must start solids now. His reaching for your food may be the attempt of a teething child to find something hard to chew on, or maybe he is practicing his hand-eye coordination. He may be nursing more frequently because he is teething, is on the verge of getting sick, or maybe is going through a stressful time and is nursing frequently for comfort.

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