For the first six months of life, a baby does not need any food or drink other than breastmilk – it is the perfect food! However, around six months of age, babies tend to become curious about solid food. When parents first start introducing solids to a baby, the baby might even start grabbing food and putting it in his mouth \u2013 or might even \u201cself-wean\u201d and start refusing breastmilk altogether!<\/p>\n
Many parents have questions about the balance between breastfeeding and introducing solids. For example, how can you get your baby to try new foods, while still keeping up with breastfeeding for the recommended amount of time?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s great to allow your baby to try new tastes, starting at the age of six months. However, six-month-old babies \u2013 even the most precocious solid food grabbers \u2013 still need breastmilk. The most important thing to remember is that breastmilk is a nutrient dense food and should be the primary source of your baby\u2019s nutrition throughout the entire first year of the child\u2019s life while his body and brain are growing so rapidly.<\/p>\n
Ideally, if you want to introduce solids at six months, this does not mean you should give up on breastfeeding. Instead, you should complement breastfeeding with solid foods \u2013 start feeding your baby some solid foods at six months, but try to keep breastfeeding for a year or longer.<\/p>\n
So, the simple answer is that introducing solids does NOT mean bye bye to breastfeeding at all!<\/p>\n
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about introducing solids, weaning, and whether (or how long) to keep breastfeeding.<\/p>\n
Weaning is the process of switching a baby from milk to solid foods, with the child eventually stopping breastfeeding altogether. It is ideally a slow process and in fact, weaning cold turkey can be harmful to the baby and to the mother. A baby forced to give up breastmilk too suddenly might be confused as to why he is suddenly deprived of milk and may end up with stress related colic, while moms may suffer from breast engorgement or added tension because of the baby\u2019s crying.<\/p>\n
Introducing solids and weaning are two completely different things \u2013 weaning is often related to introducing solids, but it\u2019s possible to do one without the other; you can introduce solids to the baby without weaning the baby.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization suggest that weaning can ideally be started when the baby reaches six months of age. This is when the baby\u2019s digestive system has fully matured enough to process solid foods. So it\u2019s fine to start partially weaning a six-month-old \u2013 but this does not mean that parents should stop breastfeeding altogether at six months. Instead, you can use six months as a milestone to begin introducing some solid foods and then gradually reduce the number of daily breastfeeding sessions over time.<\/p>\n
Another reason to keep breastfeeding is that many solid foods popular with babies, like fruit or cereal, don\u2019t provide enough fat. Breastmilk is full of healthy fats and micronutrients that are important for babies during the first year of life while their brains and bodies are developing so rapidly, so it\u2019s important to keep making breastmilk the central part of your baby\u2019s diet, even if he loves solids too. Also, many babies\u2019 digestive systems are still developing after six months \u2013 so even if the baby loves to eat solids and is excited to try many solid foods, the baby\u2019s body might not fully be ready for an exclusive diet of solid foods.<\/p>\n
There are a few indicators that might show that the baby is ready for solid foods, such as:<\/p>\n
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Especially for parents who have been dedicated to breastfeeding, there might be some apprehension as to whether the child is really \u201cready\u201d for solid foods, or if introducing solids might disrupt the breastfeeding routine. However, there are a few benefits of introducing solids, even while continuing to breastfeed. Solid foods can help the baby get enough iron and Vitamin D, and can expose the baby to new flavours and textures of food. If you\u2019re concerned about which solid foods are \u201cright\u201d for your baby, just follow the baby\u2019s example \u2013 see what the baby likes. Start with mild foods like mashed-up banana or simple rice cereal, and then try more \u201cadventurous\u201d foods depending on what the baby prefers.<\/p>\n
Keep in mind that you should try to avoid abrupt weaning. Don\u2019t expect \u2013 and don\u2019t try to create a situation where \u2013 your baby will give up breastfeeding forever upon their first experiences with solid food. Instead, consider solid foods as a supplement to your ongoing breastfeeding routine.<\/p>\n
One way to avoid confusing your baby and prevent abrupt weaning is to breastfeed your baby first, and then (an hour later) offer solid foods. This way, your baby is still accustomed to taking in breastmilk as the main source of food, and does not get \u201ctrained\u201d to fill up on solids.<\/p>\n
As your baby gets more used to eating solids, you can add small meals or snacks of solid foods between breastfeeding sessions. After one year, if you\u2019re still breastfeeding, you can switch this arrangement and start to use solid foods as the baby\u2019s main nourishment, with breastfeeding as a \u201csnack\u201d between meals throughout the day.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s natural to want to spoon-feed your baby, especially in the early days after introducing solids. However, for the most part, once your baby has gotten used to eating solids, it might be best to let the baby self-feed by reaching out\/grabbing their own food \u2013 even if it is messier!<\/p>\n
Research from the British Medical Journal has suggested that babies who are left alone to self-feed with finger foods are more likely to have healthier body weights as adults. The reason? Spoon-fed babies tend to be fed pureed blends of food that have higher sugar content, leading to a lasting preference for sweet foods that might contribute to being overweight later in life.<\/p>\n
There are a variety of options for nutritional \u201cfirst foods\u201d for babies, such as bananas, pears, applesauce, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocadoes, peaches, or rice and barley cereals. Look for iron rich foods \u2013 many baby cereals are enriched with iron, which is important to supplement the iron in the mother\u2019s breastmilk.<\/p>\n
Try to feed your baby healthy, clean \u201cwhole\u201d foods \u2013 avoid salt, sugar, chocolate, caffeine and chemical additives. Especially if you have any family history of food allergies, it\u2019s important to avoid any common allergens like cow\u2019s milk, corn, wheat or egg whites. You can gradually introduce these foods over time or get allergy testing to see if your baby has any food allergies or sensitivities.<\/p>\n
Other \u201cfirst foods\u201d to definitely avoid are common choking hazards, like grapes, whole berries, popcorn, hot dogs (or chunks of meat), hard foods like apple slices, raw carrots, or dry cereal, or sticky foods like peanut butter. Basically, just use your common sense and keep in mind that baby\u2019s mouths are small and their teeth are still coming in \u2013 so they cannot handle the \u201cheavy duty\u201d foods like cookies or whole nuts or potato chips that grown-ups love to eat.<\/p>\n
Introducing solids is a fun time of life, because you can start to see how your child responds to different flavours and textures of food \u2013 but remember: introducing solids does not mean giving up breastfeeding. Go ahead and keep breastfeeding for as long as the baby wants to feed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the first six months of life, a baby does not need any food or drink other than breastmilk – it is the perfect food! However, around six months of age, babies tend to become curious about solid food. When parents first start introducing solids to a baby, the baby might even start grabbing food […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[55],"yoast_head":"\n