Starting solids can be tricky. Most babies start to eat when they’re around 6 months old. But how can you be sure that they’re ready? Find out in this post!
As much as I loved breastfeeding my son Griffin, I was also very excited to get him started on his first solid foods! I had visions of him squealing in delight over homemade pears and squash or banana and avocado mash. Well, reality was a little different… but that’s another story for another day…
I knew six months was around the time that experts recommend starting babies on solid foods, but I wanted him to tell me when he was ready to start eating solids. And so he did!
(Wondering what to feed as a first food? Check here and here for some great ideas.)
Here’s how I knew my baby was ready for starting solids
Here are the 5 Signs Your Baby is Ready for Solid Food
1. Baby is not drooling as much
During the first three months of his life, Griffin was a drooling machine. Now at 6 months, he doesn’t do it as much. This shows me that he’s learned to swallow his salvia. And you know what that means? That means he will be able to swallow food, too.
2. Baby sits up without much assistance
The second thing is baby can sit up well without much assistance. This is really important for them anatomically, to be able to swallow their food well without having that hazard of choking. If baby can sit in a highchair, it means they will be positioned well for food swallowing and digestion.
3. Baby shows interest in food
When Mike and I would eat our morning smoothies, Griffin would be fascinated. In fact, he didn’t just stare at us when we ate in front of him, he burned holes through us with his hungry little eyes. He was so curious about what we were doing with our food.
4. Baby starts to imitate eating behaviors
Griffin started imitating some eating behaviors. He gummed, chewed, and smacked his lips—he was demonstrating very clearly that he was picking up on the eating behaviors we were modeling for him and that he was practicing for the real deal.
5. Baby doesn’t reject food when you try feeding him
The fifth and final thing is that when we finally did give him a little bit of avocado or banana, he embraced it. He swallowed it, he tasted it, and he gummed it, and he didn’t spit it out! Well, most of the time, anyway! But, overall, Griffin generally enjoyed tasting new foods. Sometimes, I had to “work it” to get him to swallow all the way, but he got there and seemed genuinely interested in the process.
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How about you?
That’s what’s working for us, but I know that every mama and every baby is different. For example, our friend started her baby at four months, because he was literally grabbing food from their plates. And another mama on our Facebook page said she waited until two years to start her baby on solid foods—I can’t even wrap my mind around that!
So tell me: When did you begin starting solids and how did you know s/he was ready? Share with us!
