Semi solid food for baby

Tips on Semisolid Foods for Babies | Healthy Eating

By Sharon Perkins Updated December 19, 2018

It's hard to eat solid foods before you have teeth, which is one reason why babies start with semisolid foods and work their way up. Semisolid foods contain soft particles that your baby can mash with her gums. Mashed fruits or vegetables, ground meat and cereal are semisolid foods. Introducing your baby to semisolid foods takes patience and a healthy supply of bibs, since most babies initially end up wearing more food than they swallow.

When to Start

Babies don't have the swallowing ability to handle solid foods until they reach 4 to 6 months of age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Signs of readiness include being able to sit up; an interest in food, as evidenced by your baby reaching for your food opening his mouth or smacking his lips when you eat; and the ability to move food from his mouth to the back of his throat for swallowing. If you give your baby a mouthful of food and he pushes it right back out with his tongue -- a reflex known as the tongue-thrust reflex -- he might not be ready yet. On the other hand, most babies make a mess of their food at first; persevere for a few days and then quit if he still doesn't seem to get the concept of swallowing semisolids.

What to Give First

For years, cereal was the first semisolid most babies received. Cereal generally has a bland taste and a consistency that can be adjusted to your baby's swallowing ability by adding more or less milk. However, you don't need to start with cereal; any semisolid food will do. You also don't need to choose strained baby food in jars. Fruits, vegetables and meats that you grind at home are cheaper, often taste better and can be made with the amount of salt and/or sugar you want your baby to have. Avoid home-grown spinach, beets, green beans, squash and carrots, which can contain high nitrate levels. Nitrates can cause anemia in babies. If you give your baby cereal, mix it with formula or breast milk, not whole milk; babies younger than 1 year of age don't digest the proteins in milk well.

Signs of an Allergy

If your baby breaks out in a rash or hives, begins to wheeze or has trouble breathing, develops diarrhea or acts like he has a stomach ache, he might have a food allergy. Allergy symptoms normally appear within a few minutes to two hours after eating an allergenic food. Common food allergens include milk, wheat, soy, nuts, peanuts, eggs, shellfish and fish. These eight foods cause 90 percent of all allergic reactions, according to MayoClinic.com. Notify your baby's doctor if he develops symptoms of food allergy; seek immediate medical attention if he has trouble breathing. Avoid foods that mix several ingredients, such as mixed cereals, until your baby has eaten each of the ingredients separately at least once. A food allergy can develop at any time, though, even if your baby has eaten a food with no problem in the past. Wait five to seven days between introducing new foods into your baby's diet, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia advises. That way, you will have a clearer idea of which food caused the reaction if your baby develops allergy symptoms.

Advancing the Diet

Feed your baby only from a spoon; if you have to put cereal in a bottle or use a dropper or other device to get your baby to eat it, he's not ready for it. If your baby chokes easily on semisolids or still pushes food back after the first few days, wait a few weeks and try again. Let your baby dictate how much he wants to eat at each meal; being a member of the "clean plate club" can result in weight problems. Encourage your baby to try a variety of foods; try not to let your facial expression reveal your own distaste for a certain food; babies are good at reading their parents' expressions.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics: Switching to Solid Foods
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Infant Feeding Guide
Ask Dr. Sears: 6 Reasons To Delay Introducing Solid Food
BabyCenter.com: Food Allergies

Writer Bio

A registered nurse with more than 25 years of experience in oncology, labor/delivery, neonatal intensive care, infertility and ophthalmology, Sharon Perkins has also coauthored and edited numerous health books for the Wiley "Dummies" series. Perkins also has extensive experience working in home health with medically fragile pediatric patients.

Introducing Solid Foods to Infants - 9.358

Print this fact sheet

by L. Bellows, A. Clark, and R. Moore^* (10/13)

Quick Facts…

During the first year of life, breast milk or an iron-fortified formula provides all the nutrients an infant needs for healthy growth and development.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends introducing solid foods along with breast milk or formula, preferably at 6 months of age. Single-ingredient foods should be introduced one at a time at weekly intervals.
Ultimately, an infant’s developmental readiness should determine when to feed solid foods.
Avoid offering your infant sweetened foods since they can promote tooth decay, excess calories, and weight gain.
Never force-feed bottles or food as this may cause a baby to ignore what his or her body says, which can ultimately lead to poor eating habits later in life.

The introduction of semi-solid and solid foods to an infant’s diet can be confusing and complicated for many parents. There is even some disagreement among the leading health authorities regarding when to incorporate new foods and which foods to include. Essentially, the exact order of food introduction does not matter for many babies. The most important factor is which foods to introduce at each age, and the child’s relationship with these foods. During the first 6 months of life, breast milk is capable of supplying all of the nutrition an infant needs and also provides protection against illness. Most experts agree that solid foods should be incorporated around the first 6 months of life, beginning with single-grain cereals followed by fruits, vegetables, and proteins in later months. Ultimately, an infant’s developmental readiness should determine when to introduce semi-solid foods to the diet.

Starting Solid Foods Too Early

There are many misconceptions that come along with the decision to feed an infant solid foods before 6 months of age- a common belief being that feeding solid foods such as cereal will make an infant sleep through the night. In reality however, sleeping through the night is actually associated with mental development, not the fullness of an infant. Feeding an infant solid foods before 6 months may increase the risk of choking, food allergies, gastric discomfort, and becoming overweight or obese later in life.

Waiting Too Long to Start Solid Foods

Introducing solid foods after 9 months may result in an infant who is resistant to trying solid foods, and may have difficulty chewing. Beyond 9 months of age, it is important to incorporate an external source of iron, since an infant’s iron stores will gradually become depleted.

When to Start

The child’s age, appetite, and growth rate are all factors that help determine when to feed solid foods. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), semi-solid foods are a significant change and should not be introduced until 6 months of age. This age usually coincides with the neuromuscular development necessary to eat solid foods. Fruit juice is not recommended until 7 months of age, and should be limited to 4-6 ounces per day. It is important to note that although only 100% fruit juice is acceptable at this age, it is not recommended.

Before feeding solid foods, the baby should be able to:

Swallow and digest semi-solid foods.
Sit up well, an important step in order to be able to stay seated in a high chair to feed.
Maintain neck and head control while seated, a necessity in order to turn his or her head to signal when he is finished eating.
Be able to open his or her mouth and move the tongue and lips well, allowing the movement of food around the mouth.
Demonstrate an interest in food and eating solid foods.

Starting Solid Foods

During the first feeding, many parents find it beneficial to offer semi-solid foods after breast or formula feeding, when the infant may be more likely to experiment with new foods. The sequence of new foods is not critical, but iron-fortified rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula is a good first choice. In the beginning, it may be best to introduce single-ingredient foods one at a time at weekly intervals. This process helps identify any food sensitivities the child might have. Gradually add vegetables, fruits, and meats to the infant’s diet one at a time. Serving mixed foods is not recommended in the beginning.

Important Tips:

Prepare for feeding with a baby spoon (plastic is best), bib, and an infant seat or high chair. Using the baby spoon, place a small amount of food, about 1/2 teaspoon, on the baby’s tongue. Never use a bottle or other feeding device for feeding semi-solid food.
Begin with single-ingredient foods, such as iron-fortified rice cereal. Wait five days between introducing new foods so that any allergies or intolerances to these new foods can be identified.
Feed the baby when he or she is hungry, but do not overfeed. Look for signals that the feeding is finished such as shaking the head.
Make meal time a happy time, usually morning or midday is the best time for offering feeding new foods.
Never force your child to finish bottles or food. This can cause the baby to ignore what his or her body says and may lead to poor eating habits later. Watch for body language cues.
Never leave your child alone while eating.

Foods for the First Year

Breast milk or infant formula—In addition to incorporating new foods, it is also best to supplement a child’s diet with breast milk or infant formula to ensure adequate nutrition. This can be accomplished through the addition of breast milk or formula to solid foods.

During the first year of life infants are not ready for milk products from animals (such as cow or goat milk).

Grain Products—Simple grains such as rice cereal are a good first choice for introducing solid foods to an infant. Grains offer additional iron needed for proper growth and development. Introduce wheat products last, since they are more allergenic.

Fruit—Choose plain, ripe, or pureed fruit such as applesauce, peaches or mashed bananas. Combine the fruit with breast milk or infant formula, and puree. Steer clear of citrus fruits during the first year of life due to their high acidity, and avoid fruit desserts that contain unnecessary sugar. Desserts provide unneeded, excess calories and may lead to overweight and obesity. Fruit juices that are 100% may be introduced at 7 months when the baby learns to drink from a cup. It is important to dilute 100% fruit juice half and half with water or strain the pulp before giving to a baby. Avoid sweet drinks, such as soda, tea, and sports drinks as they can promote tooth decay and lead to unnecessary calories.

Vegetables—Puree vegetables with breast milk or infant formula in a manner similar to fruits. Do not add salt to vegetables as this may cause strain on an infant’s kidneys.

Protein—Puree proteins such as chicken, beef, pork, tofu, or beans with breast milk or infant formula, similar to fruit and vegetable preparation.

See Tables 1 and 2 for more information on introducing foods during the first year.

Foods to Avoid During the First Year

Risk for allergic reaction—nuts and nut products, egg whites, and shellfish.

Choking Risk—celery, grapes, candy, carrots (raw), corn, raisins, cherry tomatoes, nuts, olives, popcorn, peanut butter, sausage, hotdogs, and gum.

Additional foods to avoid—Honey (due to hazardous botulism spores), cow’s milk (harmful to an infant’s kidneys), rare meat, cheese (due to contamination with harmful bacteria), unpasteurized juice, bean sprouts, and alfalfa sprouts.

Table 1. Calendar for feeding your baby for the first year of life.^*

Foods

Birth

12 months

Breast milk or iron-fortified formula

Breast milk or formula

Continue breast milk or iron-fortified formula

Start whole cow’s milk from cup.

Cereals and grain products

Iron-fortified cereals (rice, barley, oats.) Iron-fortified plain infant cereal (no fruit flavor or mixed grains).

Start with rice.

Mixed-grain, iron-fortified cereals. Spiral pasta, teething crackers, rice. Bread and toast strips.

Vegetables

Pureed, single vegetables such as sweet potatoes, or squash.

Cooked vegetables mashed or chopped.

Bite-size, soft, cooked vegetables for finger-feeding.

Fruit & fruit juices

Pureed, single fruits such as bananas, peaches, pears, or apples.

Cooked, canned, or soft fresh fruits, mashed or chopped.

Sliced soft fruit for finger feeding.

Meat, dairy, and other protein foods

Pureed single meats such as chicken, pork, or beef. Pureed tofu, and beans.

Same foods, pureed or mashed beans.

Cottage cheese, soft pasteurized cheese, and yogurt may also be introduced.

Same foods, bite-sized pieces for finger feeding.

Egg and fish

Egg, and boneless fish.

^*SPECIAL NOTE: Some foods may cause choking. Because of this, avoid raw carrots, nuts, seeds, raisins, grapes, popcorn and pieces of hot dogs during baby’s first year.

Table 2. Infant serving sizes based on age.^*

Age

6 months

6-8 months

8-10 months

10-12 months

Serving Size

Mix with 1 teaspoon of pureed cereal, fruit, or vegetable and 4-5 teaspoons of breast milk or formula to begin with.

Increase to 1 tablespoon of pureed cereal, fruit, or vegetable mixed with breast milk or formula, two times a day. Gradually thicken the consistency of the pureed foods.

Feed 3-9 tablespoons of cereal, in 2-3 feedings.

When feeding fruits and vegetables, start with 1 teaspoon, and gradually increase to ¼ to ½ cup in 2-3 feedings.

Dairy: 1/4-1/3 cup, 1/2 ounces of cheese.

Iron-fortified cereal: 1/4-1/2 cup.

Fruit: 1/4-1/2 cup.

Vegetables: 1/4-1/2 cup.

Protein: 1/8-1/4 cup.

Dairy: 1/3 cup, 1/2 ounces of cheese.

Iron-fortified cereal: 1/4-1/2 cup.

Fruit: 1/4-1/2 cup.

Vegetables: 1/4-1/2 cup.

Combo foods (such as macaroni and cheese, or casseroles): 1/8-1/4 cup.

Protein foods: 1/8-1/4 cup.

^*It is important to not feel bound to these serving size guidelines, as they are only estimates. Infants may naturally consume more or less than these amounts.

Summary

Offer new foods when your baby is in a good mood- not too tired and not too hungry.
Serve solids after your baby has had a little breast milk or formula.
Give your baby time to learn to swallow these foods and get used to the new tastes and textures. Be flexible with how your child experiences new foods (touching the food, exploring its texture, etc.).
Do not feed your baby directly from the jar; use a clean dish. Heat only the amount baby will eat, starting with half of a teaspoon, and throw any leftovers away.
Make meal time fun for your infant.
Infants have a natural sense of fullness, it is important never to overfeed or force-feed your infant. Doing so will lead an infant to disregard its sense of fullness, which can lead to eating disorders or obesity later in life.
Never add salt or sugar to foods to make them more appealing for your infant.

Additional Resources

American Academy of Pediatrics: www.healthychildren.org

References

American Academy of Pediatrics: Switching to Solid Foods. 2012. www.healthychildren.org.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Introducing solid foods to toddlers. 2012. www.eatright.org.

Douglas, Ann. Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler: The Ultimate No-Worry Approach for Each Age and Stage. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008.

^*L. Bellows, Colorado State University Extension food and nutrition specialist and assistant professor; A. Clark, University of Northern Colorado associate professor; and R.Moore, graduate student. 12/98. Revised 10/13.

Colorado State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Colorado counties cooperating. Extension programs are available to all without discrimination. No endorsement of products mentioned is intended nor is criticism implied of products not mentioned.

Go to top of this page.

Why is the principle of "finger food" important when introducing complementary foods?

This is my pain, 99% of parents are afraid to give their child something other than mashed food. The situation gets worse and worse every year, because the puree-consistency becomes more and more homogeneous. The introduction of solid food is independent of the presence of teeth. This is a big myth. Parents wait until there is a full mouth of teeth and miss the moment when the child can eat semi-solid food. Solid food should not be introduced to a child at an early age, while he still does not know how to properly sort food in his mouth. We are talking about semi-solid food, the consistency is about boiled carrots. When we offer semi-solid food to parents and children late, this leads to the fact that children do not chew well. A huge layer of children who do not know how to chew is a problem for parents, children chew for hours or just swallow. This is a very difficult process, you have to grab food. Why is it called "finger food"? Because it stimulates food interest. For example, a child sits right before eating. Closer to 8 months, they have a pincer grip, they can grab food, they have to bring it to their mouth, this coordination of movement is not so simple. Next, they must sort the food in their mouth and push it back. For a child who does this for the first time in his life, a very difficult process. We must teach it.

At first, the child will have a food ejection reflex. Mom may think that this is not the right time to introduce semi-solid foods, but this is not the case. In the early stages of introducing complementary foods, we recommend industrially produced food, because it is precisely proven food, without preservatives, nitrates, pesticides. She goes through very strict control, I was at two factories, they conquered me with how strict control is. You can't trust your grandmother's vegetables unless you've tested the water and soil. The first lure still goes industrial. And when we introduce semi-solid foods, we buy industrial meatballs. Food must be labeled as to whether it is suitable for children under three years of age. It is very important to buy a quality product. This should be done at 8-9months, approximately 1.5-2 months after the introduction of complementary foods. Any mother's eyes will pop out of her forehead, there is a fear that the child will choke. He must understand how to chew. Most children cough, this should not stop you, you should avoid dangerous foods. But about 2 months after the first introduction of complementary foods, we offer the child first mashed or mashed food, this does not work for all children, then finger food. Finger food is good, except for training fine motor skills, developing speech with food interest. It is interesting to eat pieces of red carrot laid out in the form of a heart, faces, it is more attractive for a child. Plus, sorting food in the mouth forms language skills, promotes the development of the speech apparatus.

Tags: neonatology , feeding , feeding , lure

We teach the child to solid food

The introduction of adult food is carried out gradually. It is necessary to accustom the child first to one product, then to others. Also, do not immediately take solid food - puree will be enough. If you are not in a hurry, if you are attentive enough to your child, there will be no problems. In this article, we will not talk about the introduction of complementary foods as such, but about the beginning of the use of solid foods. Chewing, swallowing are completely new skills for yesterday's baby. Someone masters them once or twice, other children need more time.

Highlights

The structure of the maxillofacial system of the child is the main problem of all causes with chewing. The baby needs to make unusual efforts for him, carefully chew food.

The correct procedure for parents when introducing complementary foods:
• 4 months - liquid puree is introduced;
• 6 months - can start to use puree with fibers or thick;
• 9 months - soft foods with chunks are fine.

After a year, you can give solid food - an apple, a pear, a cucumber, a piece of boiled chicken, etc. If 6-8 teeth grow earlier, these dates can be shifted. Some parents are guided by complementary feeding calendars, others are waiting for the child to ask for a certain product (usually from the parent's table).

Different types of purees

There are qualitatively different types of products among the presented range of canned food. Manufacturers take into account the child's ability to digest a particular product and the adaptation of the gastrointestinal tract for a particular type of food. The liquid puree is similar in consistency to pancake dough. If you dip a spoon into it, and then take it out, the puree will slowly drain. There is a thick puree - it retains its shape in a spoon, since there is not much liquid in the product. We are talking about the consistency of thick sour cream, but without dietary fiber. Fibrous purees have a similar consistency to thick purees, plus they often contain lumps and fibers.

Very thick puree may be diluted. For these purposes, breast milk, vegetable broth, or a mixture are usually used.

Solid food

When the child is familiar with different types of purees, solid food can be introduced. They do this strictly according to the schedule - ordinary liquid purees are introduced after six months for naturalists, sometimes a little earlier for artificialists. Solid food will come in handy closer to a year old and later. Watch the baby's reaction - not only in terms of well-being, lack of allergies, but also in relation to personal tastes and preferences. Some children refuse certain foods completely - no need to force them.

To grind or not - see for yourself, but whole pieces are usually not given to children under one year old. There are babies who are ready to chew a piece of chicken breast for a long time, but there are not so many of them. If the food is smeared, use a nibbler - it will not have a banana on all the walls and furniture. Shredded food includes a product grated on a medium grater, but not turned into a thick or liquid puree. These include an apple from a blender, meat from a meat grinder, etc.

Soft foods like boiled vermicelli, boiled eggs, steamed rice porridge require chewing, but without much effort. Many parents begin after a year to give their child food from an adult table, this is a good option, the main thing is to cook diet meals. But the transition from formula and breast milk to adult food should be smooth.

Chewing difficulties: how not to choke

There is no universal recipe - you need to chew carefully, calmly, swallow one piece at a time. But this is all in theory - in practice, the parent sees how the child chewed and chewed a piece of food, began to swallow, and he got stuck. Insert your index finger into the mouth and, like a hook, take out food. You need to put your finger in from the side, from the corner of the mouth.

At 2 years of age, the child should be able to chew, swallow and use a spoon normally. Therefore, let your son or daughter eat on their own, despite the potential dirt that they will inevitably breed. Give up the idea of spoon-feeding your child before school and forcing you to eat food, rhymes and other traditional pastimes of our grandmothers.