Baby Basics: Let's Talk About Starting Baby on Solids

We kicked off our Baby Basics program this week and enjoyed great discussions in both sessions on Toronto's East and West ends.  This week we talked about transitioning baby to solid food.

At one session we were joined by Kimberly Davidson, CNP, NNCP, Founder of Green Blossoms and Certified Sprout Right Instructor, who shared some great insight and best practices to try when starting to transition baby to food.

Here are some of the great tips Kimberly shared:

Above all YOU know your baby best, trust your instincts and
talk to your doctor about any specific dietary needs for your
child as you make the move to solids.

When & How to Start Solids:

• Recommended at 6 mos
• Remember that breastmilk/formula will continue to provide the nutrition your baby needs as foods are introduced to their diet.  Breast milk and formula remain the main source of nutrition until age one.
• Did you know?   Even as you decrease feedings and increase food, breast milk becomes more concentrated in key minerals and proteins, ensuring baby gets everything it needs through the transition.

       Milk first, then food

• Offer solids AFTER a feed of breast milk or formula; wait 10-15 min after feeding to introduce food.  That way the food doesn't compete with the milk, and they still get all the nutrients they need.
• Try starting to introduce foods at first after lunchtime feeding.  Then add a suppertime feeding, then a morning feeding.  
• As baby's food intake increases, their milk intake will decrease, this is their way of self-weaning.  Let them be in charge of this unless they are refusing milk.  (Moving away from milk too quickly can leave baby deficient in certain nutrients).

Starter Foods:
VEGETABLES: Carrots, Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash, Parsnips, Green Peas, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Turnip, Green Beans, Beets
FRUITS: Apple, pear, banana, avocado, cherries, prunes, apricots, blueberries, plums

• There are different recommendations about which foods to start with first; many doctors say start with rice cereal and more recently meat, but for years Sprout Right has recommended starting with fruits and vegetables.  
• Whichever foods you start with, offer the same food for 4 or 5 consecutive days before moving on.  That way, if baby does have a reaction, its easier to figure out what caused it.  
• If you suspect a problem, wait a few weeks and try again.  Ditto if they just don't like it, that may change too as they acquire tastes for more foods.

Top Gadget Tip:
Squirt, Baby Food Dispensing Spoon by Boon

Throw in your bag, take anywhere, be prepared tool favourite.













PLUS - here's an awesome tip we learned, if you can squeeze it through the squirt you know you've achieved the right texture/consistency in your puree.  (If you're not using the squirt, it should be able to drip off the spoon)

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For more information on Sprout Right or Kimberly's company Green Blossoms (which also offers a great meals for moms program btw), visit her online at www.greenblossoms.ca

This fall Kimberly is running some great classes that take this discussion to the next level covering baby's full first year of food and hands-on baby food prep.  Check her class schedule here.