How to know when your baby is ready to start solids?
Becoming a parent is also learning to detect all the crucial stages in the evolution of your baby: their first drinks, their first words, their first steps… But also the big step of the transition from milk to solids.
We all know babies don’t evolve at the same pace. Nevertheless, we can still say they are taking the same steps in their own way. Several pediatric specialists have studied these to guide parents in the process of the evolution of their little one. We have heard a lot about the six-month rule. This rule, stating that a baby would not be ready to introduce solids before that age. However, this rule has become more flexible over time.
Each baby evolves at its own pace and what is true for one will not necessarily be true for the other. It is actually between 4 and 6 months that the baby’s digestive and renal systems become sufficiently mature to move past the milk stage. Your baby’s intestines begin to get stronger and the risk of allergies are lower at this stage of their evolution.
Now that you are aware, all you have to do is watch how your baby behaves when he or she is in that age group. Babies learn very quickly how to be understood. There are signs that do not deceive, and if your baby shows the following signs, it indicates that he feels ready to take the next step:
- Having good head control
- Being able to sit up without support
- He is beginning to follow food with his eyes and gets agitated when seeing food
- Increased milk feeding frequency
- He is capable of bringing objects to his mouth and chewing
- He is able to repel objects he doesn’t want anymore, that indicates he will be able to push back a spoon if he is no longer hungry
Has your baby communicated these signals? If so you can try starting with beginner purees. Beginner purees are often composed of single ingredients in order for them to not be too complex to digest. It is also a great method to have your baby to discover different ingredients one by one.
Despite these tips, are you still unsure whether you can start solid foods or are the signs your baby demonstrating not obvious enough to decipher? Do not worry, you can gently try to giving puree without overemphasizing and spacing out the tests. If there are any signs that your baby is ready, alternately there are also signs that he is not. When you give him puree, if he leans back, turns his head, refuses to open his mouth or any other gesture of rejection, it’ll be best to patiently wait until he is ready, it is his method to help you understand that he is not yet ready.
