Basic Principles of Feeding Solid Foods

Provided by USDA

Introducing Solid Foods: Starting out

• Talk with the parents before introducing solid foods. Only introduce solid foods when babies are developmentally ready for them.
• Coordinate with each baby's parents so that the same new foods and textures are introduced at the same time as at home.
• Do not serve solid foods to a baby younger than 4 months of age without a doctor's written instructions.

How to Feed When Baby is Ready for Solid Foods

• Sit directly in front of the baby to encourage the baby. Offer the spoon. Wait for the baby’s mouth to open before attempting to feed. If babies are not ready to eat from a spoon they are not ready to eat solid foods.
• In feeding solid foods, use a small spoon and place a tiny amount of food between a young baby’s lips. At first much of it may slide out of the mouth, but gradually the baby will learn to move the food to the back of the mouth for swallowing.
• Do not force the baby to finish the serving. Babies are the best judge of how much food they need. Let them decide how much they eat. Feed until the baby indicates fullness by:
• not opening the mouth,
• pulling away from the spoon,
• turning away,
• pushing food or spoon back out of the mouth,
• throwing the food on the floor.
• Be calm and friendly, but not overwhelming. Follow the baby's lead on when to feed, what to feed, and how much to feed.
• Do not put cereal or any other solid food in a bottle or infant feeder. Use a spoon for feeding instead. An infant feeder is a hard plastic container with a spout at one end and a plunger at the other end which is used to push a liquid mixture of solid food into a baby’s mouth. Babies fed food in a bottle or infant feeder are forced to eat the food, can choke, and may not learn to eat foods properly.
• Make the texture of the food appropriate for the baby's stage of development. Providing new textures encourages the baby’s further development.

Feeding Safety

• Test the temperature of foods before feeding them to make sure they are not too hot.
• When feeding solid foods, seat babies in highchairs appropriate for their age and development.
• Fasten the baby into the highchair with safety straps before feeding. Keep the highchair away from a table, counter, wall, or other surface so that the baby cannot push off from it.
• Babies being fed and older babies learning to feed themselves should be closely supervised by an adult seated at the same table or next to the baby’s highchair. Make sure that the baby does not eat while talking, crying, or laughing. Also, the adult can watch for “squirreling” (keeping several pieces of food in the mouth without swallowing) which can cause choking.
• To prevent choking, make sure that babies (and children) are not eating while they are talking, crying, laughing, crawling, walking, running, playing, lying down, or riding in a vehicle.
• Use a small spoon, made of unbreakable material that will not splinter, that easily fits into the mouth (do not use plastic utensils). Place food in a clean small plastic unbreakable bowl or dish with edges that are not sharp.
• Keep hot liquids or foods out of reach of babies and children, not on the edge of a counter or table, or on a tablecloth that could be pulled down. Make sure to not consume hot liquids near babies or children. Babies and children can be burned from hot liquids or foods tipped over.

Watching for Reactions

• Reinforce the introduction of new foods by serving the same foods as the parents are feeding. Wait at least 1 week between introducing new foods to watch for reactions (diarrhea, rashes, vomiting, coughing, wheezing, general irritability, hives, stomach pain).
• If baby seems to be having a severe reaction to a food (e.g., hives, difficulty breathing, or shock), contact the rescue squad or Emergency Medical Service.
• If a baby does not like the taste of a new food at first, you can try offering it again.

Drinking Water

• A baby’s doctor may recommend feeding a small amount of sterile water in a cup when solid foods are introduced. Consult with the baby’s parents about the feeding of water. Sterile water is water that is brought to a very bubbly boil, boiled for 1 to 2 minutes, and then allowed to cool.

Do Not Feed Babies These Foods:

• Cow's Milk — it is not as nutritious and may cause anemia in babies.
  Breastmilk or infant formula are best for the first year of life.
• Hard pieces of raw vegetable or raw fruit — they can cause choking and be difficult to digest.
• Egg white, whole eggs, shellfish (shrimp, lobster, crab, oysters, clams, scallops, crawfish) and chocolate and cocoa. These foods may cause allergic reactions in babies.
• Shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish — these fish may contain high levels of harmful mercury.
• Citrus (e.g., orange, tangerine, grapefruit), pineapple, or tomato juices or foods before 6 months of age. These foods may cause allergic reactions in babies.
• Home-prepared beets, carrots, collard greens, spinach, and turnips before 6 months of age.
• Peanut butter and other nut and seed butters (e.g., soy nut, almond, cashew, or sunflower seed butter) and nuts and seeds. These foods can cause choking and may cause allergic reactions in some babies.
• Commercially prepared baby food desserts or commercial cakes, cookies, candies, and sweet pastries. These foods tend to be high in sugar and may contain less of the key nutrients that babies need.
• Sugar, maple syrup, corn syrup, molasses, glucose, or other syrups added to food or beverages.
• Foods, beverages, or powders containing artificial sweeteners. Babies should not be fed low-calorie foods or drinks.

Never Feed Babies These Foods:

• Honey — Honey and products containing honey, including sources used in cooking or baking (such as in honey graham crackers), should never be fed to babies. Honey is sometimes contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores which may cause a type of illness called infant botulism.
• Raw milk— Raw cow's or goat's milk could be contaminated with harmful substances which can make a baby very sick. Only pasteurized milk products should be used once milk is introduced at 12 months of age.
• Raw or undercooked eggs, meat, poultry, or fish — These foods when raw or undercooked can contain harmful bacteria, parasites, and other harmful substances that can make a baby very sick.
• Home-canned foods — These foods may contain harmful bacteria if improperly canned.