Helpful Guide: Weaning and introducing solids to a baby's diet

Helpful Guide: Weaning and introducing solids to a baby's diet

The introduction of solids foods to a baby’s diet, based on NHS guidelines (Start4Life, n.d.)
  • NHS guidelines are to wait until a baby is 6 months of age to begin introducing solid foods. Up until that age, breast milk or infant milk should be a sole and sufficient source of nutrition for a healthy term infant
  • Waiting until 6 months also gives a baby more time to develop their motor and oral skills to be able to eat solids more effectively
  • This is also a good time for the parents to learn how to do CPR on a baby in the rare circumstance that a baby chokes.
  Signs of readiness
  • Able to stay in a sitting position and hold their head up
  • Have the coordinated motor skills to be able to use their pincer grip to pick up food and feed themselves
  • Extrusion reflex has disappeared - baby is able to swallow the food and does not consistently spit it out
There is no adequate scientific evidence to support the idea that a baby will sleep through the night if they are on solid foods. The sleep habits of an older infant are often developmental.   Which foods to start with
  • Most parents like to begin with pureed fruits and vegetables along with baby cereal. Purees can have a smooth texture at first, and then as the baby gets older, textures can be explored and parents can offer lumpier purees. Chewing aids in oral and speech development (Start4Life, n.d.; Simione, 2018).
  • There are communities of parents who prefer a “baby-led weaning” approach which is when parents offer table food (finger foods, not purees that an adult would spoon feed) and let them feed themselves.
  • Most foods that are low on the allergenic scale can be offered in combination with other similar foods and parents do not need to offer these foods one at a time. However, the top allergenic foods should be offered separately, and one at a time over the course of a few days so that if there is a reaction it can be spotted right away and the cause can be easily isolated to that specific food. Top allergenic foods include:
    • Dairy (cow’s milk should not be introduced as a drink until 12 months + but parents may use dairy milk mixed or cookies into foods)
    • Eggs
    • Gluten
    • Nuts, seeds, and peanuts (peanuts are considered a legume)
    • Soya
    • Shellfish
    • Fish
All dairy should be pasteurised. Eggs, shellfish and fish should not be served raw and should be cooked to a temperature that is safe for consumption. Nuts, seeds, and peanuts should be offered crushed or ground. Cooked food should be cooled down,
  • Current research shows that the earlier these are introduced the lower the risk of developing allergies to these foods. Parents should not delay offering these foods to their children.
  • Including foods in a range of flavours might prevent children from being picky eaters as they get older. Thus, parents shouldn’t focus on sweet options.
  • Parents should choose foods without added salt and sugar
  • A focus on iron rich foods is important as the body’s demand for iron increases after 6 months of age

Appropriate Foods

(6-12 months)

Broccoli, parsnips, peppers, peas, cauliflower, spinach, green beans, courgette, asparagus, kale, carrots, butternut squash, cabbage

Avocado

Bananas, blueberries, kiwi, oranges, apples, raspberries, mango, nectarines, pears, strawberries, pineapple, papaya, melon, peach, plums

Potato, sweet potato, rice, baby rice, pasta, porridge, oats, oatmeal, cornmeal, maize, millet, quinoa, toast, bread, chappatiti, pitta bread

Meats, fish (no bones), eggs, legumes

Pasteurised dairy: full-fat yoghurt and cheese
Foods to avoid: unpasteurised dairy, uncooked meat & fish, honey, salt, sugar, and drinks with artificial sweeteners Portions: All babies are different, there is no specific portion size or guideline for children under 1 year age. However, by 10-12 months of age, most babies should be having least 3 meals a day   Formula and breast milk 7 - 9 months
  • Breastfed babies will adapt their feeds accordingly, they should continue to get their vitamin D supplement (Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, n.d.) .
  • Formula-fed babies will typically consume 600ml of milk a day (Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, n.d.).
10 - 12 month
  • Breastfed babies will adapt their feeds accordingly (and some mothers might also have a drop in supply around this age as well, which is typical), they should continue to get their vitamin D supplement (Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, n.d.).
  • Formula-fed babies will typically consume about 400ml of milk a day. A baby should get vitamin D supplement if drinking less than 500ml of formula a day (Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, n.d.).
  References:
  1. Weaning. (n.d.). Start4Life. Retrieved August 6, 2021, from https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/
  2. Simione, M., Loret, C., le Révérend, B., Richburg, B., del Valle, M., Adler, M., Moser, M., & Green, J. R. (2018). Differing structural properties of foods affect the development of mandibular control and muscle coordination in infants and young children. Physiology & Behavior, 186, 62–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.01.009
  3. NHS 111 Wales. (n.d.). Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust. Retrieved August 6, 2021, from https://111.wales.nhs.uk/filenotfound.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/LiveWell/Pregnancy/Weaningsolidfoods/
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