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Home › Expert Q&A › Supplementation and Solids › Cups and Solid Food Issues › When should I start my baby on solid foods?

Expert Q&A

 

By Ann Calandro
BSN, RNC, IBCLC Lactation Consultant

When should I start my baby on solid foods?

When to start solids is the million-dollar question. Even the experts disagree on exactly the best time. The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend starting solids at 6 months. The American Academy of Pediatrics Breastfeeding Committee recommends exclusive breastfeeding until starting solids at 6 months. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition encourages parents to begin solids between 4 and 6 months. (Many pediatricians have learned the 4- to 6-month rule in medical school.)

All of these medical groups agree that it is wise to wait until Baby is at least 4 months before starting any solid food. There is no nutritional advantage to starting solids sooner. In fact, starting sooner may lead to an increase in allergies and obesity.

Before this age, Baby's intestines lack the enzymes to digest complex proteins and starches. Studies have shown that foods other than breast milk before 4 months increase the likelihood of Mom's milk supply decreasing and Baby having more ear infections and diarrheal illnesses.

If the wisest medical experts on earth can't exactly agree on when the perfect age is to begin solids, how are new parents supposed to know when to start? Fortunately, it's really not so hard. The key is in knowing your baby's developmental cues. These will clue you in to when he is ready to begin foods other than breast milk.

Rather than looking at the calendar – as many pediatricians and experts suggest – the wise parent observes Baby for these readiness cues. Cues may begin at 4 months, 6 months or even later. (Children prone to allergies seem to instinctively understand that they should start solids later.)

Here are a few things to look for when you are trying to assess Baby's development for clues to begin solid foods:

  • Is your healthy baby nursing more and more but doesn't seem to fill up on breast milk alone?
  • Can your baby sit up well?
  • When offered food, does your baby open wide and readily accept the food rather than push it back out with his tongue?
  • Does your baby show an interest in what you are eating?
  • Can your baby pick up small bits of food and propel them toward his mouth?

If your baby is showing these developmental signs, it is probably about time to think about offering solids.

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