Part One on Introducing Solids

“That’s not how we did it”.

Usually a catch-cry we attribute to our folks’ generation. But just the other day at a social event, I was in a conversation with a new Mum and young(ish) friend. The new Mum was talking about her plans to wait until 6 months to introduce solids to her baby and that she would use foods from her family meal. These plans elicited the said comment from her friend, who went on to describe having a baby that was so hungry she had started solids at 4 ½ months. This friend described using rice cereal and puree fruit with gradual change in texture over time.

Both Mums were obviously seekers of information and both were using this to make the best decision for their baby. But the range of information out there can make working out the best way to introduce solids, well, really difficult.

Let me get down to the truth of it, then you can decide the best way for you and your baby.

Fact 1: Breastmilk or formula provides all the nutrients your baby needs for the first six months of life.

This means, you have until six months of age to start introducing solids to your baby, before your baby is starting to be at risk of not getting enough to eat. You do not need to introduce solids earlier than this to make sure your baby is not hungry.

This information forms the crux of current advice and is a worldwide standard. It is more recent interest in allergy prevention that has questions being raised about introducing solids earlier than 6 months.

Fact 2: Before four months a baby’s body doesn’t cope well with solids.

We’re talking kidneys, gut etc. and not just the mouth. So we’re listening to this one!

Fact 3: We do not know for sure how best to prevent allergies in children.

But there are experts out there having a good crack at it. The expert body on food allergy in Australia is ASCIA. ASCIA states that to prevent risk of allergies in children, introduce solids around 6 months of age, but not before 4 months. They have a wonderful website that goes into more detail for you at https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-prevention/ascia-how-to-introduce-solid-foods-to-babies

Fact 4: The advice to start solids when you baby is showing readiness has not wavered.

So this seems to be pretty consistent advice and worth listening to. Signs can be difficult to distinguish from general interest in watching what you are doing, but you are essentially looking for your baby being able to sit upright (with support), reaching out for your food and opening their mouth when you move the food towards it.

If you’ve decided your baby is ready, how to? There are various approaches, and all can work well, providing you are able to include a wide variety of foods. In Part Two of my blog on Introducing Solids – Food Ideas, expect to find more specific information on what food to provide your baby and meal and menu ideas.

As always, please take this blog as general advice. If you have any specific concerns about your baby, please come and see me at Bayside Dietetics or your preferred paediatric dietitian.

Eat Away!

A little girl named Goldilocks went for a walk. She came across three plates of food. The first looked like this:

It didn’t look easy. It didn’t look nice. It made her feel bored and didn’t entice.

You see, Goldilocks is so interested in the world around her that it takes a good-looking meal to draw her to the table and hold her attention.

She moved to the second plate of food:

It looked too soft. It looked too chewy. It looked like hard work and the smell made her gooey.

Goldilocks is still developing her tastebuds and jaw muscles. Sometimes she is not in the mood for something that is hard to chew.

She moved to the third plate of food:

“I can chew that. The smell doesn’t linger. The vegetables I can pick up and dip with my fingers.”

She began to eat. As if by magic, three bears appeared at the house and sat down beside her to eat. The talked about their walk and asked her about her day. Goldilocks chatted away. Then she stopped. She looked at her rice and then looked at them with confusion. Daddy Bear served himself some rice and used a spoon to move it to his mouth. Goldilocks studied him carefully and then tried it herself. You see, role modelling is one of the most important things a parent can do for their child around food. In the same way a child will copy you with how to kick a football, they will use you as a role model on how to eat.

When dinner was over, Goldilocks skipped away, thinking how clever she was to have chosen what she ate for dinner.

But back at the house, peeping through the curtain, Mummy Bear smiled to herself. You see, she had been the one who chose what to put on the plates. She had been the one who was really in charge of what Goldilocks ate. And that makes for a happy ending.

Incredibly I’ve met Goldilocks. More than once she has come into my rooms with her exasperated parents. Food has that effect.

If you know Goldilocks too, perhaps try one of these:

• A self-serve dinner. Include things your child likes so you feel assured they’ll eat too. Putting your child in charge of serving themselves something new is a great way for it to happen.
• Role model eating a variety of foods at a family meal whenever you can.
• Help a really stuck child feel safe with change by making gradual changes with either taste or texture, not both. For example, long spaghetti pasta instead of penne.
• Offer new foods at a time your child is most hungry.
• Balance “sneaking” in vegetables, such as grating them into a sauce, with overt exposure. It’s normal to eat vegetables at dinner and nothing wrong with a child learning that.
• Offer young kids easy to pick up and easy to chew foods such as minced meat, cubed vegetables, sliced fruit, small pieces of pasta.