My babies have all been pretty good eaters.
But my youngest, Amar—he’s always been interested in what the “grown-ups” are eating.
He’s two going on 30.
But I know not all parents are that lucky.
Introducing solid foods can be incredibly frustrating…sometimes frightening.
But it can also be fun and exciting!
One thing I learned from all four of my babies, though—it will be MESSY.
During infancy, from the period of birth to about 12 months of age,
feeding goes from a reflex behavior to a voluntary behavior.
You may not know this—I mean, I sure didn’t—but in order to eat solid food, your baby needs to learn how to move their tongue in a whole new way!
Younger babies swallow by tongue thrusting.
They just dart their tongue in and out to swallow thicker foods and table foods,
you have to kind of push your tongue up against the roof of your mouth to propel the bolus down, you need that skill.
And if you're like me, you’re wondering—what in the world is a BOLUS?!
It’s just a fancy word for a soft, round chunk of food.
Now, transitioning from an all-liquid diet to solids involves A LOT of learning.
So when should we get this learning process going?
The typical age these days is around six months of age.
But what we really want to look at is not necessarily the age of the baby, but development milestones.
So sitting up nice and strong, the ability to hold your head so it's not kind of flopping around.
The ability to reach and grab something.
And then lastly, we love to see babies kind of tracking what the parent is eating.
Are they watching you eat?
Making sure your baby is physically ready and also interested in eating solids is a good place to start.
But how exactly do you get the food inside your baby’s mouth and into their belly?
I mean, I feel like I tried ALL THE THINGS with my babies.
With my firstborn, I was a straight-up 90s Mom, with all the store-bought fancy baby food.
We had pureed peas, butternut squash, sweet potatoes...we had puree EVERYTHING.
Then with the twins, I was the California Mom, feeding them wholesome, organic, fancy brunches at every meal.
(That didn’t last too long, ‘cause, you know…TWINS!)
And then, with Amar…well, he just tells us what he wants to eat.
So, which method is best?
So I love to encourage parents not to feel like they have to choose a certain method.
It doesn't have to be, you know, a purist approach, you don't have to choose one or the other.
What you can do is just start putting a mix of foods on the table,
maybe you're spoon-feeding a little bit, maybe you're letting the baby grab a little bit.
Technically, by the time they’re eating solids, experts say infants can eat from any food group.
But it’s also good to introduce things one new food at a time to keep an eye out for allergic reactions.
So if you're a mom, say back in 2000, your doctor probably would have told you to hold off on introducing allergens entirely until even age three.
Today, it's completely the opposite. We want the early introduction of allergens.
So it can feel a little scary. We want to start slowly.
But it can be something as small as a little schmear of peanut butter on your finger putting on baby's lips;
start there if you're terrified.
Now luckily, none of my boys have food allergies.
I mean, they love to be picky and they sometimes act like they’re allergic to what I cook them.
But it’s not a medical issue.
Allergic reactions don't always happen on the first exposure.
And sometimes not even the first few exposures.
It does need to be a consistent sort of steady introduction.
And listen—your baby’s probably going to gag.
When the child gags while they're learning how to eat, that's normal; they aren't choking.
When babies are very young, the gag reflex is on the tip of the tongue to protect them from choking.
And as they start to have experiences putting things in their mouths,
that gag reflex kind of naturally is desensitized and moved farther back.
I know, I know—seeing and hearing your baby struggle with a piece of food can be really scary.
But it’s important to remain calm—even if you’re freaking out inside.
Infants can get upset when they gag sometimes too.
And then if the parent and the child are both frightened, then they're less and less likely to want to continue trying that food.
Even if your baby takes to eating solids right away, you’ll want to keep the milk and formula flowing.
So you want to continue breastfeeding or bottle feeding at the same pace, the same amount, as you were before.
Just because you're starting solids today does not decrease that amount of milk.
The ideal scenario is that once baby starts ingesting more and consuming more,
they are less hungry for the next bottle or breastfeed and it will sort of organically start to shift.
And then at 12 months of age, that whole paradigm shifts and solids become the primary source of nutrition.
By the age of about 12 months, your child should be eating about what you're eating.
You might have to alter the texture of it.
You might have to add some moisture to some of those things.
But that's kind of the rule of thumb.
I know parents—especially moms—are under A LOT of pressure to get everything right!
As a working mom of four kids, I feel this.
Do what works best for you and your family.
Consult your pediatrician.
And try to enjoy this messy milestone.
Thank you for watching Seeker Baby!
I'm Angel Laketa Moore and I hope you're learning as much about babies as I am.
If there's a baby topic you want us to cover, leave us a comment!
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See you next time!