Have you been wondering what you can do to prepare your baby for starting solids? In this video I’m
going to talk about the activities you can be doing the weeks leading up to your baby’s
first food introduction. If this is our first time meeting, I’m Dr. Belousov. I’m a board
certified pediatrician, and I equip parents with knowledge, so they can care for their children
with confidence. As exciting as it is to introduce solids to a baby, I find that a lot of parents are
nervous about it. That’s why I put together this Youtube video series to show you how simple and
enjoyable the process can be for both you and your baby. Be on the lookout for more videos
like this released on a weekly basis. Hit the subscribe button and ring the bell so you get
notified when the newest video is released. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World
Health Organization recommend that solids be introduced to babies around six months of age.
In addition to the age recommendation, there are also multiple signs that we look for that indicate
the baby is developmentally ready to safely start taking solids. I have an entire episode that talks
about those signs. If you want to check it out, it’s linked up here. From my clinical
experience and while helping a lot of parents start solids with their babies, I have found
that most babies are developmentally ready to safely start taking solids around 6 months of age.
And babies who were born premature are usually ready to start solids at 6 months adjusted age.
There are multiple dangers associated with starting solids before the baby’s ready.
But I know a lot of parents are anxious to get the process started earlier, especially since they’re
bombarded with messaging pressuring them to start giving their baby solids around 4 months. So
while you’re waiting for your baby to show all the developmental signs of readiness to start solids,
here is a stepwise process you can do with your baby starting as early as 4 months of age
to prepare for that first food introduction. I have noticed that the parents who did these
activities with their baby felt more prepared to start introducing food when the right time came.
They found the process to be less stressful and more enjoyable. The first step is to give your
baby the opportunity to experience being a part of the family mealtime. Sometime between 4 and 5
months of age, start sitting your baby into the high chair and be sure to have it close
to the table where the rest of the family is eating their meal. We want babies to feel that
they are a part of the family meal from the beginning. Many studies have shown positive
benefits of having family meals, where all members of the household gather around the
table to share a meal and talk about their day, without having any electronics on as distractions.
However with our on-the-go style of living, less households are doing family meals.
If that’s the case for you, this is a great time to start, even if it's only several times a week.
Since most 4 month olds are not able to sit upright in the high chair on their own,
but flop over to one side or the other, you can place small rolled towels or blankets
on both sides of the baby if necessary to support her in an upright sitting position.
Initially your baby might only tolerate up to 5 minutes of sitting in the high chair. But with
time and repetition you will be able to increase the duration up to 15 or 20 minutes. There are
several considerations to keep in mind to ensure that your baby has the best sitting posture that
facilitates a safe swallow from the beginning. That means your baby needs to be sitting in an
upright position and have the feet resting flat on a footrest. I have learned from my speech language
pathologist friends that when babies have their feet on a foot rest it stabilizes their core and
facilitates a safe swallow. Therefore it’s ideal to have a high chair that makes it possible for
you to adjust the footrest so the baby’s hips and knees are bent at a 90 degree angle while the feet
are resting flat on the footrest. So what should you do if the high chair that you already have
doesn’t have a foot rest, or has a foot rest that is not adjustable? It’s best to create a foot rest
for your baby using a box or you could even use a pool noodle and attach it to the chair
using velcro or tape. You could also push a chair up against the high chair under your baby’s feet
and stack boxes up until you have your baby’s knees and hips bent at around a 90 degree angle
while the feet are resting flat. But if you haven’t purchased your high chair yet, it’s
best to get one that has an adjustable foot rest that will grow with your child. In addition, it’s
best to have a high chair that doesn’t recline. If the high chair that you have for your baby causes
him to be in a reclined position, you can put a rolled towel or blanket behind your baby’s back
to get him sitting in an upright position. When a baby is eating at a reclined angle, instead of
sitting upright, and has the feet dangling instead of being positioned on a foot rest, it increases
the risk of choking or accidently breathing the food or liquid into the airway or lungs.
In my video titled “Must Haves When Starting Your Baby on Solids” I talk about high chairs that meet
all of these criteria. That video is linked up here if you’d like to check it out. I also have
the links to all the products I recommend in this video in the description below. As your baby gets
comfortable sitting in the high chair during family meal times, start giving your baby the
opportunity to practice having the feeding bowl on the tray. I think that suction bowls like the Tiny
Bowl from ezpz are great. It’s fine if the baby tries to mouth the bowl. At this age putting items
in their mouths is how they become familiar with them. After several days of sitting your baby into
the high chair with the baby bowl, transition to putting a baby spoon on the feeding tray.
Give your baby practice holding and mouthing an empty baby spoon for about 5 minutes a day.
It’s best to have a short-handled spoon for this activity such as the ezpz Tiny Spoon
or the Olababy soft-tip training spoon. If you want to check them out, I have the links in the
description below. Most babies gag themselves if given the long-handle feeding spoons,
so it’s best not to give them one of those. It’s fine if your baby mouths the spoon all over,
including the handle. Babies learn with their mouths and need to explore their mealtime items.
If you’re finding this information helpful, hit the thumbs up button below.
As your baby becomes familiar with having the bowl and spoon on the high chair tray, add a cup to the
routine. Did you know that the first type of cup you should introduce to your baby is an open cup?
The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages babies to start drinking from a cup at 6 months
of age. The best one that I’ve seen on the market is the ezpz Tiny Cup. It was designed by a speech
language pathologist to fit the baby’s mouth and hands. This may be the first time you’re hearing
about the use of an open cup with a baby. There are multiple benefits to teaching a baby to drink
from an open cup rather than using a sippy cup. It allows for the development of muscles in your
baby's mouth and oral motor skills that will help with forming sounds as your baby starts
learning to speak. The problem with using a sippy cup is that the mouthpiece presses down on the
baby’s tongue and pushes it towards the front of the mouth. The baby has to suck to extract
the liquid. However, we want to teach the baby the more mature swallow pattern, which involves
the tongue rising up to touch the front and top of the mouth in order to create a wave-like motion to
bring the liquid back and down for a swallow. It’s not possible to do that when using a sippy cup,
because the mouthpiece is pushing down on the baby’s tongue when they swallow.
I will have a separate episode on how to teach your baby to drink from an open cup.
Once it’s released, it will be linked up here. Finally don’t forget to put the bid on your baby
as you’re giving her the opportunity to sit in the highchair and explore her mealtime items.
I know the silicone bibs that wrap around the baby’s neck are very popular now.
But I find that some babies get frustrated having it weighing down on their necks. I have
other bib recommendations in the description below. Remember the goal is to gradually work
your baby up to sitting in the high chair during family meal times for 15 to 20 minutes and become
familiar with the feeding items. Do a routine that works best for your baby and you at your own pace.
But an example would be to work up to having the baby spend 5 minutes exploring the feeding bowl,
the next 5 minutes exploring the spoon, followed by 5 minutes of exploring the open cup. Then for
the last 5 minutes you can have all the items on the tray at the same time. Rather than waiting
to introduce everything to your baby all at the same time the first day that you give solids,
by doing these activities the weeks or even days leading up to the first food introduction,
will make your baby familiar with the items and less overwhelmed when starting solids.
You will also have the opportunity to become accustomed to the routine of having your baby
be a part of family meals, and it will allow you to pick up on the developmental signs of readiness
to eat solids when they present themselves. Enjoy the process and I’ll see you in the next video.