Feeding Solids for the First Time

New parents can be confused about when and how to begin feeding infants solid food. We talked to local pediatrician Dr. Katie Alvord about what advice she'd give parents:

"I recommend that parents start introducing solid foods after 4 months of age. At this age, your baby has likely reached certain developmental milestones that allow for safe feeding.
Those milestones include:

• Sitting in an upright position with good head control
• Opening his or her mouth to take food

The first solid food a child should eat is baby cereal. It should always be prepared in a bowl and given with a spoon. Cereal given through a bottle only increases calories and provides no developmental exercise for your baby.

Babies should begin learning how to move food from the tip of the tongue to the back of the throat to swallow. It seems easy, but babies have only been taking liquid through a bottle or breast up to this point. The consistency of the cereal should be almost as thin as liquid. Parents may thicken it as the baby's comfort level acclimates to the texture.
Breast milk and/or formula should still provide the majority of your baby's nutrition until 12 months. For this reason, make sure you continue to offer 32 oz. of milk a day.

One more important bit of advice: Have fun with it! Watching your baby begin to eat is one of her greatest milestones. Messy, but wonderful!"