1. Start when child is developmentally ready. Till then offer only bm /fm.
Criteria for solid readiness:
Child can sit with support and hold head steady
- Has lost tongue thrust: does not push out food
2. Most health authorities (eg WHO, NHS) recommend waiting till the completion of 6 months (180 days) before starting solids.
3. Some signs that can be mistaken for a child being ready for solid foods:
- chewing fists
- waking in the night when they have previously slept through
- wanting extra milk feeds
4. Till 1 year bm/fm is the main source of nutrition and solids are complimentary
5. Child should be seated in upright position for feeding - Can be in your lap or booster chair or high chair. Lying down or in inclined position increase the risk of choking and not recommended #twupright 6. At 6 months, start with one meal.
- Increase meals slowly to offer 2-3 meals by 8m.
- By 1 year, child should be offered 3 meals + 1 or 2 snacks
7. Offer solids around 30-45 min after breastfeeding or 1-1.5 hours after formula feed. A very hungry child expects feed and might reject solids. This ensures that BM/FF feeds are not dropped in favour of solids. #twresponsivefeeding 8. Infant food should be rich in micronutrients like iron and zinc. Also include fat which is required for brain development. #twiron 9. Can start with steamed veggies, porridges, grains, lentils. Also check #twvegfirstweaning. 10. Food should be thick enough to not fall off the spoon #twsolidconsistency. Runny food lacks enough calories and additionally risks displacing the much more nutritious BM/FF. 11. Pureeing is not mandatory. Though babies do not have teeth, their gums are strong enough to bite. It's fine to start with lightly mashed food or textured food. #twnoteeth 12. There is no need to add BM or formula to food. We recommend keeping food and feeds separate.
14. Allow baby to touch and explore the food being fed from day 1. It could be a preloaded spoon of puree or finger food.
15. Babies are not habituated to eating added salt/sugar unless exposed, so do not worry about food being tasteless or bland. Use other spices to compensate. All spices apart from salt/sugar can be used, please use discretion with chilly and such. Avoid poppy seeds or nutmeg in large amounts #twspicelist 16. Do not always offer alternatives to food, but provide one safe option if child seems to be picky about food #twdor 17. Don't give animal milk as a drink, but using dairy products in food is fine in limitations #twdairy #twiron 19. Common allergens
- dairy (milk products)
- egg
- soya
- nuts
- some seafood
20. Latest allergy recommendations suggest introducing all allergens early (by 8m) . Delaying allergens worsens allergies. Offering the same food for 3 days (or 5 days) is not required as per the latest recommendations. Be slow and careful with known allergens, otherwise new food can be offered everyday. Offer new food in the early part of the day to check reactions #twnuts #twallergies 21. It's not recommended to give:
- Honey
- Any form of sugar (sugar, jaggery, palm sugar, palm jaggery) #twnosugar - Liquid foods (juices, soups, dal water, rice water, runny purees and porridges) – they displace bm and can cause malnutrition risk #twsolidconsistency 22. Baby decides the quantity. Look for subtle signs of rejection like turning head, pursing lips #twresponsivefeeding 24. Limit water intake to few sips after meals. Can be offered with spoon, straw cup or open cup. Hard/soft spout cups are not recommended for prolonged use #twhydration #twcups
