How to add solid food to your baby’s meals

Here are ways to add solid food to your baby’s meal. Solid food means the pieces that your little one can pick up and eat. This step is very important for babies, since it is a milestone towards their independence. It can also help them develop their fine motor skills. Here are the details…

What is the right time to start solids?

Typically, this step begins when your baby is 9-12 months. By this time, you notice that your baby begins to snatch food from your dish when they sit next to you, try to grasp the spoon and eat food. This is time, during which the baby starts to develop motor skills, called “pincer movement”.

Tips for adding solid food to your baby’s meals

– Be willing to have a huge store of patience, because of the mess your baby will cause. You will also need to dedicate enough time every day for your baby to have his meal; your little one will enjoy this new experience. Once your baby is done, you can start cleaning.

– You need to provide your baby with a high dinning chair with a tray to protect the baby from chocking on small pieces of food. 

– Choose safe, anti-broken dishes to withstand high and low temperatures.

– Avoid tempting your baby by feeding the little one with cake, cookies, chips, and French fries in an attempt to make them eat because; babies at this age need foods full of protein, vitamins, and minerals not carbohydrates and fat.

– Cook vegetables well to make them easy for mashing and melting in your baby’s mouth, especially if they haven’t started teething yet. Chop all food into small pieces to avoid choking. 

– Choose colored and soft fruit; peel the fruit completely and remove its seeds, then chop them to very small pieces before serving them to your baby’s dish.

– Stay away from serving foods that are not appropriate for babies under one year. You should avoid peanuts butter, honey, fish and all kinds of seafood because they may increase the risk of developing food allergy.

– Doctors recommend introducing one kind of food to your baby’s meal for two or three days to check if your baby has allergy and how well your baby accepts it.

Suggestions for adding solids to your baby’s food:

– Small cubes of seedless and peeled watermelon and melon.

–  Very small and soft pieces of pasta.

– Small pieces of soft cheese.

– Very small pieces (pea-sized) of well-cooked meat (chicken, lamb, calf, turkey).

– Small pieces of well-cooked vegetables (broccoli, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, peas, sweet potatoes, pumpkins  … etc.).

These are the best steps to add solids to your baby’s meal; all you need to do is to try them and be patient until your little one learns chewing and swallowing, after that, your baby will learn to eat independently.