When your baby is about four months old you can start looking for signs that they are ready to start trying solid foods. At four months old they will not be displaying all of the signs of being ready to try solids, but there are certain things that you should start looking for.
One sign that it might be time to try solids is that your baby can hold their head up well and sit in a high chair easily. Their birth weight will also be significantly higher; usually twice their birth weight. Babies will start making chewing motions and will also start showing interest in food.
You know that it is time to trying solid foods when your baby can close their mouths around a spoon. They will also be able to move food from the front of their mouths to the back and will no longer be pushing food out with their tongues. Another clue that it is time for some solid food is that they are still hungry after having 8 to 10 bottle feedings a day. Teething is another sign that your baby might be ready to try solid foods.
The first foods you feed your baby are cereals. You begin with iron fortified rice cereal. Make the cereal by mixing one teaspoon of rice cereal with four or five teaspoons of formula. This will be very runny and should be as close as possible to the consistency of plain formula. Gradually thicken the consistency of the cereal until you are using one tablespoon of dry cereal. Do this twice a day.
If your baby is not eating the cereal give him or her a few days and then try again. Once they have mastered rice cereal you can move on to the other types of cereal such as oats and barley. It is very important that you always feed cereal with a spoon and never put cereal in your baby’s bottle.
Healthy eating habits begin when your child is young. It is important that you follow the guidelines for eating. Start with the cereal and move on to other solids after you have gone through the cereals. Never start your baby on fruits or any type of yogurt. If you give baby sweet things before cereals and vegetables you will have a great deal of struggle getting them to like vegetables. You should also feed your baby in the highchair and avoid feeding him or her in front of the television.