At approximately four to six months of age، pediatricians begin recommending that your baby start eating solids. Solids are not exactly solid food، but more so solid vegetables and fruit that are pureed with water so that babies can begin learning to swallow، as well as get more calories in their diets. The very first step to take when starting solids with your baby is to introduce cereal for infants.
Cereal for infants comes in a few different forms. First is rice cereal، which is the least likely to be an allergen so is often the first recommended. The second type of cereal for infants is oatmeal، which also provides a low likelihood of being an allergen. Others provide mixes of oatmeal and rice، as well as mixes of oatmeal OR rice with things like bananas. As stated before، pediatricians usually recommend starting solids with strictly oatmeal or rice cereal for a few weeks and then introducing foods one at a time.
To introduce cereal for infants to your child you will need to mix powder or flakes with water، expressed breast milk or formula. It is usually recommended to start with mixing formula or breast milk so that the first taste is somewhat familiar and there will be less likelihood of refusal by your child. In general، you will want to start by mixing one quarter cup of cereal with a few tablespoons of water، or until it is almost a liquid consistency. Keep in mind that this is the first time your baby will be swallowing something other than pure liquid، so it will need to be very runny until he or she gets used to the idea. Gradually you can begin mixing more cereal for infants with less water so that the consistency is lumpier.
After your child has been introduced to cereal for infants and shows no signs of allergy such as rash or fussiness، you can move onto first step foods. First step foods are simply one fruit or vegetable mixed with water and pureed. You can either purchase these from your grocery store prepackaged or can make your own at home. Again، the consistency is pretty thin، but you can mix in some cereal for infants to make it thicker. The general rule of thumb is to start with one type of food for a few days، check for any signs of allergies، and then move onto another type of food. Once this is completed and your child cuts some teeth، you can scrap the baby food and begin actual solid food.
