Expert: Sally Wendkos Olds - 5/22/2007

Question
Hello,

Currently, I have a 1 year old little boy.  He is still primarily breastfed.  I just really started solids recently because he was not interested in them at all before (I tried many many times each month from 6 months on and he wasn't interested at all, he would spit them out at me and cry and hit the spoon out of my hand)  My doctor told me "Food is just for fun until they're one" and that it was not necessary for me to feed my baby solids until one.  He eats about 1-2 meals of solids a day now and breastfeeds the rest of the time (he is very big though, like over 27 lbs. and 1 year old!)  Now that he is 1 can I just go strait to feeding him meats, and a full diet?  How should I approach feeding him solids now?  Also, he will now eat very liquidy solids but nothing with chunks or that is thick.  If I give him a cracker or a piece of steamed broccoli or anything, he will suck on it and spit out the chunks (he has been doing this for about 5 months).  Where do I go from here????  

Answer
Dear Anna,

First, congratulations for giving your son the best start in life by breastfeeding him! Judging from his size, you have nourished him very well!

At this point you should be able to feed him a full diet, including meats. I would suggest giving him solids three times a day instead of the two times daily he is now getting them. Give him only one new food at a time, then wait for two or three days before offering another food. I'll attach an excerpt from my book (see below) about starting solids, but keep in mind that this advice is for a younger baby, and adjust the advice for your one-year-old. The prevailing attitude now is that babies can start to eat solids at about 6 months of age. Don't worry that you didn't start earlier -- you can easily make up for that by offering a full range of foods, supplemented by vitamins that your doctor recommends.

Also, don't worry for now that your little boy does not like food with chunks. He will eventually learn to eat all textures. For the time being, just give him smooth foods that he will eat, even if you have to get commercial baby foods or make your own by putting food in a blender. Every once in a while, try him on something with lumps -- maybe a piece of apple or some other fruit, which most babies like. Also, try giving him foods he can pick up with his fingers, like peas or Cheerios. The important thing is that he get the nutrients he needs.

Best of luck!

Sally

Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters.
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  * Nurse your baby first before you offer her food by spoon. She'll be more open to trying a new experience if she isn't wildly hungry.
  * Pick a time when there are few distractions, and both you and your baby are relaxed.
  * Sit her on your lap, where she will feel secure.
  * Introduce a single-ingredient food first. If your baby develops a rash or any other symptom, you'll be able to identify a possible cause.
  * The first serving should be between one-half teaspoon to a teaspoon of food.
  * Use a spoon -- the kind with a small bowl and a long handle works best. Do not feed solids from a bottle, since that can release too much food at once, causing a baby to choke.
  * Start spoon-feeding by putting a little food into the bowl of the spoon, turning the spoon upside down, and scraping the food on top of the baby's tongue. He will easily propel the food to the back of his mouth where he will swallow it. He'll like it and will want more.
  * Introduce new foods one at a time, over a fairly long period of time: no need to rush in with a cornucopia of new foods.
  * A good first food is iron-fortified rice cereal, mixed with expressed breast milk, water, or formula; after your baby is a year old you can use homogenized milk. Rice is a good starter, since babies are least likely to be allergic to it.
  * A good progression after iron-fortified rice cereal includes other cereals, fruits, vegetables, and meats. Among babies' most enjoyed flavors are those of applesauce, bananas, pears, peas, carrots, and squash.
  * Do not feed your baby directly from a jar of baby food. Take out the amount you plan to feed, and throw away any leftover food. The saliva that goes back into the food can foster the growth of bacteria.
  * Do not heat food in a microwave; it may heat unevenly and make food too hot.
  * Consider these first few feedings of solid foods "practice feeds," just like those first few nursings so many months ago. Your baby now has to learn how to master a completely new set of muscle movements to take the food from a spoon and to swallow it. At first she'll get more food on her face, her bib, and you than she will in her mouth. You'll be surprised, though, at how quickly she'll catch on, and how soon she'll be ready to start eating foods she can pick up with her fingers.
  * Ask your pediatrician which finger foods are safe for your baby. Some, like raw carrot or even zwieback -- can cause choking if they're given to a baby who cannot properly chew and swallow small enough amounts.
  * Avoid, as much as possible, foods that contain added sugar, salt, and starch. You can make your own baby foods (which can be as easy as using a fork to mash a ripe banana or cooked peas). Or you can buy organic baby foods. Jarred foods may be more convenient when you are traveling, or when your table food is not appropriate for your baby.
  * In any case, read the labels, and graduate your child to table food as soon as she is ready. Commercial "stage 3," "junior," or "toddler" foods are unnecesssary, and very costly.