Tip
One trick for lulling your baby into sleep is to sit on the floor beside her crib and to move the beam of a flashlight slowly back and forth on the ceiling. She may watch this until her eyelids close.
If your baby is becoming attached to something, consider buying a duplicate of the attachment object to act as a stand-in in case the other has to be cleaned or gets misplaced. Launder the soiled lovey when your baby’s asleep and replace it before she wakes up. Once it’s washed, it may not have the same feel and familiar aroma, so don’t use perfumed detergent or fabric softeners to help it “pass” your baby’s sniffing inspection.
Most children give up their security objects at about three years of age. Meanwhile, it can come in handy when your baby faces unknown situations, such as when it’s time to nap at Grandma’s or when you’re traveling.
Starting solids
Your baby’s body was designed to thrive solely on breastmilk or formula until the half-year mark, and most babies can thrive on that alone for even the first year. Nearly every major health organization in the world recommends that babies not be given anything but breastmilk or formula for the first 6 months of life, and the American Academy of Pediatrics and numerous other medical societies recommend that babies not start solids until sometime between months 5 and 6. By that time, your baby will be able to regulate her food intake; plus, her intestines will have the natural enzymes needed to digest foods. Starting solids is a big deal for your baby. Some cultures even hold parties to celebrate babies’ first bites of adult food.
Chewing and swallowing requires a whole different set of skills than sucking. When a baby nurses, she thrusts her tongue toward the front of her mouth, then rakes the tip of her tongue backward toward the rear of her throat. A typical nursing pattern is to take 10 to 20 sucks, then to have one big swallow.
Swallowing solids requires exactly the opposite skills: The baby’s tongue has to stay on the bottom of her mouth, then she presses the front half of her tongue into the top of her mouth to force the food to the rear of her mouth for swallowing. So, it’s natural that your baby will push some food out of her mouth at first.
WARNING! No Bottles in Bed
Don’t put your baby to bed with a bottle. Your baby could choke or inhale the milk into her lungs, and the milk pooling around her teeth could cause them to decay.
“My husband and I fight now about who gets to be the first to go and get her out of the crib in the morning. She greets the winner with the most amazing smile! It jump-starts our day.”
Signs of readiness for solids
These signs show that your baby is ready to begin solids:
• Excessive hunger. Breastmilk and bottles don’t seem to be enough.
• Sits up on her own. Your baby has the postural strength to support herself in an upright position.
• Mooching. Your baby shows a lot of interest in what you’re eating.
• No gagging. She doesn’t thrust her tongue forward when food is put into her mouth, and she can get most food down without gagging.
• Tolerates food. If your baby’s not ready, then food may not be digested well and it may cause her some stomach discomfort.
Getting Started
The most typical recommendation for starting solids is to begin with something neutral and inoffensive, such as rice cereal—but there’s no reason at all why baby can’t have the same food as her parents, as long as it doesn’t pose a choking hazard. In fact, some studies suggest rice and other highly processed grain cereals may not be the best choice because they raise a baby’s blood-sugar levels.
Newer thought is that a baby should be introduced to a wide variety of flavors, because that will help her to develop a more varied palate and lead to healthier eating later. Ask your baby’s health-care provider about his or her feeding suggestions.
If you decide to present your baby with a variety of tasty options, try spooning up pea-sized servings of anything you’re having that doesn’t require chewing: mashed peas, mashed white or sweet potatoes, hummus, rice, cottage cheese, or unsweetened applesauce, for example. In fact, you may find that your baby likes the food that you ate while she was in the womb!
On the other hand, if you or your baby’s dad have a family history of allergies, ask your pediatrician about the wisdom of delaying the introduction of certain food products, such as eggs, dairy products, citrus products, tomatoes, shellfish, peanuts, or tree nuts. Some of the signs of an allergic reaction are diarrhea, vomiting, excessive spit-up, skin rashes, clear-running mucus in the nose, wheezing, or swelling around the face. If you suspect your baby is having an allergic reaction, withdraw the offending food group and notify your pediatrician.
“Our rooster baby started crowing at five.We installed blackout shades to trick her into thinking it was still dark outside, and our doctor said to put her down earlier at night. Believe it or not, the more sleep she got at night, the later she slept in the morning.”
There’s really no reason to buy commercial baby food, except for convenience. Foods that stand on grocery store shelves for a long time in glass jars gradually lose some of their nutritional value. Regular (preferably organic) foods mashed up with the back of a fork or puréed in a food mill or processor will do. Then, it will take some skill on your part to get the spoon past her curious hands so the food ends up in her mouth and not running down her bib.
Tip
Feed your baby her first meal at the beginning of the day so you can watch for allergic reactions. Your baby will be more able to cooperate when she isn’t tired, cranky, or too hungry. Try to place her food on the center of her tongue instead of on its tip, to help her learn how to swallow.
Put some food in your baby’s tray and let her experiment with it. Allow her to touch it, smear it, and just have fun with eating. (And be sure to place a washable mat under her high chair!) If she doesn’t like something you’re feeding her, or she’s had enough, she’ll soon learn to turn her head away or clamp her mouth shut.
Note that eating solids at this point in your baby’s development is more for practice than for adding extra nutrition to her diet—most of it will go right through her. So, don’t worry if not much makes it into her mouth or you find entire food bits in her diaper.
WARNING! Baby Coffee Burns
Every year lots of babies are raced to hospitals with second-and third-degree burns on their arms and legs from grabbing and spilling hot cups of coffee or tea while sitting in their parents’ or babysitters’ laps. Don’t drink hot beverages when your baby’s within arm’s reach.