1 Time those first bites right
"The best time to
feed your baby solids for the first time is when he's feeling
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed—in the morning or right after a nap," says
Karen Ansel R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association
(ADA) in Long Island, New York, and co-author of the upcoming book The
Baby and Toddler Cookbook: Fresh, Homemade Foods for a Healthy Start.
Make sure he's hungry but not starving and older siblings aren't running
wild around him (it's distracting). Turn the TV off and stash your
iPhone. There's no rule about what to give first. It could be brown rice
cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. Bananas and avocados tend to
be easy transitional foods, but you can start with vegetables or even
meat. During the first few feedings, your baby will probably take only a
couple of bites. When he purses his lips, turns or shakes his head or
becomes distracted, he's had enough.
2 Bombard her with variety
After your baby has
gotten used to the act of eating, introduce new foods rapidly, suggests
Dr. Greene. Be creative. Beets are great! Why not try figs? Some experts
recommend feeding the same food for a few days so that if an adverse
reaction should occur it's easier to pinpoint the food that caused it.
Others, including Dr. Greene, recommend introducing new foods every
day—and mixtures as soon as possible. "The idea of single foods just
teaches kids to be pickier eaters," says Dr. Greene. Use familiar foods
to bring in new ones, says chef Geoff Tracy, co-author of Baby Love:
Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler and father of
three in Washington, DC. If your child is digging bananas, mix in
papaya. If he likes apples, blend them with blue-berries. Looking for a
fun way to decide what new foods to try next? Work your way through the
colors of the rainbow (think: guava, pumpkin, corn, broccoli, etc.), and
your baby will get a variety of flavors and nutrients.
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