So how can you tell when your baby is ready to begin eating solid foods? If only we could peer down Baby’s throat to check on the development of his digestive system! Unfortunately, that is something that’s unobservable, so waiting at least six months is playing it safe. But it isn’t just his digestive system that needs to mature first; he has to be developmentally ready for solids as well. Your baby may be six months old or more and still not be ready to begin solids, and that’s okay. All babies develop at individually varying rates, and you can’t compare your baby to others his age. When gauging developmental readiness, it’s important to watch the baby and not the calendar.
Sitting well.
He may not be ready for a high chair just yet, but your baby needs to be able to sit for an extended period of time in order to be able to swallow without choking. While it’s ideal to wait until your baby can sit up by himself, totally unsupported, babies that can sit well with support are okay to begin solids as long as they’re displaying the other developmental cues.
Head control.
It’s no wonder that it takes babies a while to learn to control those wobbly heads. Can you imagine trying to hold up a head that’s a full 1/3 of your body size? It’s important that your baby can control his head well before you try to introduce solids – to avoid a face full of food, at the very least!
Weight gain and a growing appetite.
Generally babies are ready for solids when their weight is double their birth weight, or around fifteen pounds; however, there’s no “magic number” that indicates readiness. Your baby’s appetite will increase. After eight to ten formula or breast milk feedings per day (or if Baby is taking in more than a quart of formula in a day’s time), if your baby still seems hungry or unsatisfied, this is a cue that it’s okay to start solids. Often your baby’s appetite (and, in turn, his weight) will increase in response to things such as growth spurts or teething, so be sure that this isn’t the only cue on which you base your decision to feed him solids. Remember, there are many other factors besides weight to consider when judging Baby’s readiness.
Loss of the “extrusion reflex.”
In order to successfully breast and bottle feed, babies push their tongues outward when something enters their mouth. This is called the extrusion reflex, and its presence means that your baby is able to swallow only liquids. This reflex disappears by the time your baby is about four months old, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s able to eat from a spoon right away. Even after losing the extrusion reflex, babies aren’t quite coordinated enough to move the food from the front to the back of their mouths and swallow it; generally, they don’t develop that type of coordination until the fifth or six month. If you attempt to give your baby a solid food and he repeatedly pushes entire bites out of his mouth with his tongue, he may not be ready. You will know that your baby’s coordination is developing when he begins to make chewing motions when you give him a bite. He might also drool less as he learns to swallow properly. Babies’ ability to move their mouths and tongues tends to develop in sync with their digestive systems, so these are pretty accurate cues.
Eagerness and curiosity.
You may notice that your baby seems exceedingly interested in what you’re eating. Maybe you feel like he’s begging for a taste as his big, bright eyes lock on and follow your fork from plate to mouth. He also may be getting excited at the sight of his own food, kicking his little legs and waving his hands, and opening his mouth wide as a nipple or spoon approaches.