Often times parents are so excited to introduce food to their babies that they start much too early. I did it. With my first, my family encouraged me to follow in their footsteps and give the baby a taste of all things yummy. I didn’t know how to tell if my baby was ready for solids. At four months old, we let her chomp on rib bones that were mostly cleaned off. We ventured into veggies which we steamed and smashed. She loved all of that. At six months, we were giving her cherries and other sweet fruits. She’s still alive today and a really good eater, so it definitely wasn’t a colossal parenting fail, but her system did give indications that she wasn’t quite ready, I just didn’t know what to look for.
It is considered a good idea to wait until your baby shows all the readiness signs before beginning to introduce solid foods. Both the AAP and WHO state that babies should be exclusively breast or formula fed for at least 6 months, as introductions of food too early has been linked to increased allergies, eczema, and diabetes.
So how do you know if your baby is ready for solids?
Look for signs of readiness.
There is no set time or date a baby is ready for solids. Just because your baby turned 6 months doesn’t make them automatically able to eat a burger. These signs of readiness can help you determine if your baby is ready to try baby led weaning:
- Sitting unassisted
- Holding head up steadily
- Loss of tongue thrust reflex (pushes food out of mouth)
- Able to chew
- Pincer grasp is developing
- Willing to participate
- Reaching for food on your plate
- Mimics the chewing motion of your mouth
Also, look for signs your baby may STILL not be ready
- Generally unpleasant response to the experience
- runny or loose stool after eating
- diaper rashes after eating
- Redness around the mouth after eating
- Extra fussy after food has had time to digest
If your baby is ready to eat, you may wish to give baby led weaning a try. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to teach baby to eat independently.
Co-authored by: Angelina Miller and Lacey Morgan
