The 10 commandments for introducing solids

Baby is not a baby anymore! Well of course he still is, let’s be honest: he probably doesn’t sleep through the night, he barely sits, can hardly grasp objects, and doesn’t even know how to say mama or papa! Nevertheless, we are going forward with a new milestone! One that your floors will simply a-dore (or your dog – by the way if you don’t have one, now would be a good time, a real investment for the future) : introducing solids!

This strange expression only means that your baby will start eating and spitting real food! Other images that come to mind are : the contents of the diapers will change colors, spit-ups will be a little “firmer” (and you will soon be able to call them vomit), intense scrubbing sessions in the tub will be required.

I myself have had the privilege of living this 3 times, each time I’ve copied and pasted the same MO with my French pediatrician’s guidelines. One should know that every doctor will have a slightly different interpretation for introducing baby foods and implementing 4 meals per day (around one year old). I can only stress the importance of having a doctor you trust. If food allergies run in your family special precautions should be taken.

Regarding my experience, I was breastfeeding my kids and adding solid foods to their diet allowed me to keep my head above the water while giving another rythm to my life and our feedings. I was still breastfeeding on demand, but slowly tried to insert the meals into our routine. It was my desire to do so, you can do it differently and even later, as for some, a mother’s milk is like the closest thing to “the Gods’ beverage” and does not require anything else.

The following guidelines and tips can be applied to all babies, all the while keeping in mind that breastfeeding or formula feeding is still the number one food for your child (up until at least 1).

Here are 10 commandments (they tend to sound like Star Wars dialogues) to help you in this new and sometimes challenging time in your baby’s life.

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1 – Start between 4 and 6 months old, you will.

In general, you will start introducing solid foods after baby turns 4 months old. And before he turns 7 months old. It is recommended to wait if there is an allergy background (more like 5/6 months old than 4 months old for instance).

After he turns 6 months old, experts agree that it can be more difficult for baby to accept new foods, and there might be a slightly higher risk of developing food allergies as well.

2 – Try one food at a time, you will.

In the beginning, you want your baby to appreciate the delicate flavor of such and such food. You will cook (or baby food jar) one vegetable at a time. I started with zucchini, which seems like a basic food with a relatively discreet taste.

This vegetable will be presented to your baby for 2 or 3 days in a row, so as to check for a possible allergy pretty easily. If you make your own baby purée, the same preparation can be stored in a refrigerator for 3 days with no problem (ex : make it on the Monday, good to go until at least Wednesday included).

A number of pediatricians advise starting with vegetables first, as fruits and their sweet flavors can make it more difficult for baby to accept vegetables afterwards. Fruits will often be offered as a 4pm snack a few weeks later.

Once baby has tasted a few foods separately, you can start mixing them up. You can purée 2, 3 or even 4 vegetables together. To thicken your purées, you can add a little potato (but be careful as “pure” mashed potatoes are ill advised before baby is 1) up to a quarter of the entire preparation. Being the hyper stressed person I am, knowing this potato situation I did not use it in my purées. I added zucchini to bind my vegetables together, it made them smoother.

How about quantities?

This will depend on your little monster, if he is an ogre or a baby bird. The quantities will gradually increase, as an addition to your milk : 1st day 30ml (1 fl.oz), 2nd day 60ml (2 fl.oz) to 120/150ml (4 to 5 fl.oz) on the 5th day.

3 – Make the most basic meal, you will.

Take advantage of the situation! Baby does not know how to say “yuck”, “what is this thing?”, “that’s disgusting!” or “this needs more salt”.

Purées, and good soups that taste like farms, do not need anything but a few vegetables and water. No salt, no sugar, no fat.

You can wait a long time before ever adding sugar or salt to their meals (I still pretend to add salt when my naive daughters ask for some). Fat, in the form of butter or, even better, oils like olive oil, will be added after 6 months old.

4 – Try again and persevere without getting annoyed, you will.

You too will get to live new adventures in the frustration area.

Maybe you will open a baby food jar that was not unexpensive, or maybe you will have spent a while slaving, lovingly preparing that purée in this costly baby food processor : only to be facing a clear refusal. Baby won’t open his mouth, he will push that little spoon back with his tongue, or spit it out automatically. Even better, he will gag.

You try again. No way. You will try the oh-so-famous airplane strategy thinking it is some sort of magical trap. The airplane only worked with one of my children, the other two were probably smarter and knew that altitude did not change the taste of that purée. You can also try a different spoon. You can give your child a spoon, a plate and a little purée on it so that he thinks he will feed himself. But nothing changes, baby will not accept your offer.

It will only be a matter of time. I would advise you to forget about that vegetable (or fruit, maybe your kid is strange) for a few days or even weeks. There are so many others, you have time, and before he is one year old, as I’ve mentioned before, milk remains his main food. There is no need to worry. You will have plenty of other tries before you win the war.

5 – Wait for certain foods, you will.

In a nutshell, you can try these foods right away :

• vegetables:
  • carrots,
  • green beans,
  • spinach,
  • zucchini (with no seeds and no skin),
  • tender leaves of green salad,
  • chards (green),
  • squash,
  • leeks whites,
  • turnips,
  • scallions,
  • red beets.
• Mashed cooked ripe fruits :
  • apples,
  • pears,
  • apricots,
  • peaches,
  • quinces,
  • prunes,
  • bananas.

You will wait a few weeks or months before :

• juice,
• meat (beef, lamb, chicken whites, turkey, ham – no other cold meats) after 6 months old,
• fish (salmon, cod, whiting, sardine…) after 6 months old,
• dairy products (after 6 months),
• berries (after 8 months),
• egg yolks (after 9 months),
• certain exotic fruits are to be limited during the first year : mangoes, coconuts, papaya, lychee.
• vegetables with a strong taste, or full of fibers or with a higher allergy risk (after 9 months old) : cabbages, celeriac, kohlrabi, greens of leeks, celery, tomatoes, parsley, salsify, cardoon, artichoke, eggplant, peas, fennel, broccoli, bell peppers, sweet potatoe.

You will postpone until a year old, or even later for :

• honey, as there is a botulism risk, after baby turns one,
• kiwis (best after 3 years old),
• egg whites, after one,
• legumes (pulses) when not mixed, and corn after 18 months old,
• any nuts up until 3 years old,
• peanuts and cashews are not recommended until after 6 years old (allergy and choking risk).

Of course, every child, every family has its own way, and its own medical background. I really abided by my pediatrician’s instructions (that I am giving you here) for my two first children.

For my third child, I waited a year for certain foods, but not 3 years in some cases like for kiwi or peanut (I gave her peanut butter cakes, I’ve never given her an actual peanut as my kids tend to gulp down rather than crunch and chew). For my middle child, my first daughter, I was waiting to give her kiwi and realised that her daycare had given it to her ! Luckily, she did not have a reaction to it.

6 – Use the high-pressure washer to clean, you will.

As I was saying earlier : the floor will become a beautiful rainbow of textures and colors, of crushed foods. For the pleasure and delight of your mop, your kärcher (high-pressure washer) or your dog! A dog is a baby’s best friend. Or your baby is a dog’s best friend.

My recommendations :

• put a big towel, or a plastic under your high chair if you are a cleaning maniac (but if you still haven’t understood that you could not be a cleaning obsessed person after you have children, then you have a long way to go),
• cover you baby with a nice big, long and large, bib. Those bibs that go over their head are quite practical, but they tend to distend quickly and then your baby’s neck and collar are a great hiding place for little pieces of food.
• do not dress pretty to eat, that is good for baby and mama or papa. You will get it in the neck (literally).
• push those little sleeves way back,
• and invest in a good bar of soap (Savon de Marseille works wonders, if you know it) to scrub your laundry before washing, and arms/hands/hair/face.

7 – Have the appropriate equiment, you will.

At the beginning, if baby is not sitting properly, he can stay in the baby bouncer (in the “uprightest” position) to eat. The bebePOD works pretty nicely. A high chair is of course perfectly appropriate once baby is no longer a colonless slug.

A good flexible spoon will come in handy. They are soft for fragile little mouths, and the quantities they hold are decent.

A little toy that can be dirtied and washed without losing one’s mind can also be useful and distract baby so as to better stuff him.

8 – Act in case of constipation, you will.

Surely by introducing new foods in baby’s stomach, he will have to learn to digest them. It can go without a glich of course. However if it “hitches” :

• avoid:
  • carrots,
  • quinces,
  • bananas.
• favor:
  • spinach,
  • pears,
  • leeks,
  • prunes,
  • a little bit of fresh juice for breakfast,
  • and water!!

Water with magnesium is good in this situation. However, you should not give your baby a lot of it.

9 – Take and give pleasure, you will.

Mealtime has to be a time of pleasure, not a stressful time with tears and screams. A child will have ups and downs in his relationship with food. What is “acquired” might not be in a few months.

Around 9 months old, your baby will be delighted to pick up a few pieces of food by himself. His fine motricity will be put into good use and will greatly develop with those teeny weeny pieces of finely cut cooked fruits or vegetables. When baby has a couple teeth, is able to sit up straight nicely, you can give him hard things like pieces of bread, or cookies. I gave cheerios (without milk) to my kids around 12 months old, for their greatest enjoyment.

After they turn 2, and for many years after that, your child can become (more) difficult. It is normal, it is part of the process of growing up, the evolution of the annoying person child.

10 – Cook with baby, you will eventually.

It so happens that some children, more precocious or more annoying depending on your mood of the day, are interested in cooking. They like to take part in the behind the scenes of your cuisine. So you can have them “test” it out by: touching food, vegetables, fruits, playing with them maybe. To be able to see how their meal is made can make things easier when they are then presented to them. Of course, it rarely happens at 6 months old, it’s usually around 1, once the child is more skillful and much more interesting.

Your child can also play with the content of your kitchen cupboards, provided there are no dangerous objects (I like to state the obvious). If you have a good noise-reducing headset, you can also give him a couple saucepans and spatulas.

Once these musicians are older, they will ask to cook with you, that’s when you will suffer be able to let them participate. Of course, your patience will have to be at maximum level as it is not always the easiest activity. For that matter, I have a few tips and tricks in another article (Tips for baking with 4 or 6 hands) that you can check out if you insist.

On this note, I hope this new adventure will go smoothly and be remembered fondly. The face your child makes while taking in his first spoonful is funny and precious.

Don’t forget we all went through this at one point. If it’s just a wonderful experience, enjoy (it won’t last, that was the case for me). If not, you will totally be allowed to curse those that will tell you their kids eat well, and properly. Know that it’s like a boomerang, if doesn’t come back in your face right away, it will eventually…