Your baby is the center of your attention. He/she is now five months old, and you are thinking if you should feed him/her solid food. For survival right after the birth, your baby received everything he/she needed. Breast milk is enough for the first four to six months. Now, you have to give him/her solid foods as he/she starts showing symptoms for growth.

In this article, you will learn when to feed your baby solid foods along with some essential tips.

1.     Right time to start feeding solid foods:

Observe the physical and behavioral changes of your baby in order to understand about the timing. Notice the following symptoms in your child:

·        Control over the head and shoulder and ability to sit with a little assistance.

·        Enthusiasm towards foods and gaze upon the plate while getting fed.

·        Demand to eat what you eat.

·        Opening mouth with your approach to give foods.

These symptoms starts showing up in your child within the first six months of his/her birth.

Advice: If it is seven months, and your child is not showing the symptoms, see the doctor.

2.     Proper meal time:

The most appropriate time to give solid foods to your baby is when both of you are in a cheerful mood. After breastfeeding, children may become interested in solid foods.

Learn these 3 symptoms to know whether or not your baby is hungry enough to eat solid foods.

·        Demonstration of much interest when approached with foods

·        Attempt to be in your laps or draw close to you while you are sitting on a chair

·        Approach towards you with mouth wide open

Following 4 tips will let you understand whether or not your baby is hungry enough to eat solid foods.

·        Sitting idle with mouth closed

·        Less interest in eating at one time than the beginning

·        Turning mouth from foods

·        Attempt to remove spoon when drawn close to mouth

Advice: When you start feeding the child solid foods, start by 1-2 spoonfuls and then increase gradually according to his/her interest.

3.     How to feed:

At the outset, give your baby mashed items or foods sliced into small pieces. With time and changes in your child’s tastes, he/she will get accustomed to solid foods, which will help form jaws and speak quickly along with overall wellbeing.

Advice: You need to spend much time and have patience to make your child habituated with this new kind of foods. Feed your baby at another time if he/she does not want at one time.

4.     Which foods to give:

You can give your baby any kind of solid food, but you need not cook special items. You can bring variations by giving the baby the following foods:

·        Vegetables: cooked potatoes, carrots, bean sprouts, etc.

·        Fruits: bananas, apple, water melon, etc.

·        Baked bread, mashed items, cooked eggs, fish, minced meat, pasta, etc.

·        Any kind of dairy products

Try to give him/her foods that make him/her feel interested in them.

Advice: Continue to breastfeed your child up to two years, and in the meantime, introduce the child to different types of solid foods.

5.     Allergy issues if available:

If any of your family members has allergy, you child may inherit it. If the baby suffers from allergic reaction after taking food, you can have him/her allergy tested in accordance with doctor’s suggestion.

Advice: Your family might have history of allergy associated with certain foods. However, it does not necessarily indicate you cannot feed your baby those items. First, check to see whether your baby can eat them or not.

6.     How to start:

The way to get a child started with solid foods varies from family to family and child to child. You can try the following tips:

At the time of feeding:

·        When both of you are in a relaxed mood

·        Mashed or sliced items in small pieces

·        Using a spoon or hand

·        The baby placed on a high chair

·        Lack of interest for now meaning that the baby is done with eating for now

How to make your child interested:

·        Bring in variations in foods

·        Feed what he/she likes most

·        Hand him/her a spoon while feeding

·        Speak to the child about the color, name and cooking procedure of the foods being fed

·        Give attention to your child’s interest

Advice: Feeding solid foods does not only mean giving food to your baby. It also indicates the best timing for practicing to listen to your baby and making firm relation with him/her.

After your child is 12 months old, he/she can eat any healthy foods, but do not allow him/her to eat fried items like chips, biscuits, cakes or any item prepared outside home.

Final advice:

Do not feed the child foods like uncooked carrots that are too solid for him/her to eat. Instead, you can slice them. Also, avoid giving whole nut, small fish or meat bone.

Contact our call center free of charge to consult doctors at SuperMom for any children and maternity affairs from 9am to 5pm from Sunday-Thursday (except Government holidays). Call our toll free number 08000-888-000.