Starting solids with your little one is a big milestone in and of itself. Whether you are offering purees, table foods or a combination of the two, it can feel like a lot. Before you read on, remember that you are the best parent for your child and ultimately you've got this!
As I have discussed in previous blog posts, babies are safe to eat a modified table food diet once they begin to demonstrate solids readiness signs:
Good head and neck control
Trunk control in sitting
Interest in food and others eating
Reaching for food
Bringing toys, teethers and food to mouth
Of course, not everyone is ready to jump in with offering their baby finger foods right from the start and that's okay. If you need a little time to offer purees for a month or two before feeling comfortable to give your baby finger foods, go ahead and take that time to enjoy the process of feeding your child and gradually offer finger foods when you feel ready.
With that said, there are benefits to beginning to incorporate safe table foods by 8-9 months.
Why is it so important that I introduce table food by 9 months?
Babies are born with a reflex called the phasic bite reflex that is triggered by a stimulus to the gums or teeth on the side of the mouth. This reflex is present at birth and helps babies learn to bite or munch when beginning solids. This reflex typically integrates or disappears around 9 months of age so that baby can begin to develop more mature chewing patterns for breaking down more complex textured foods.
However, if a child has had no opportunities for practicing munching or chewing solid foods before the reflex starts to disappear (around 9 months), then when textured foods are finally introduced, the child tends to rely on the only oral patterns they know - sucking and suckling.
I often see 12 to 18-month old toddlers that come to me for feeding therapy and are stuck in using suck and mash patterns in attempt to break down their food. Using these immature oral patterns with finger foods can cause a child to gag and mismanage food more frequently and may subsequently cause their confidence and willingness to try new foods to decrease as well.
It is also significant to note that developmentally, an infant of 6-11 months will typically be more open and exploratory in their food play and eating than a child who is 12-18 months. Offering variety in texture and flavor early on can have huge benefits to increase acceptance of a larger repertoire of foods later on.
Does is have to be all or nothing?
No, it definitely does not have to be all or nothing. If you are having a lot of anxiety around giving your baby steak or broccoli, you don't have to start out with these foods.
Foods can be broken down into different consistency categories. You have liquids, purees, hard munchable, hard meltable, soft cubes, soft mechanical and regular diet foods.
If you would like to introduce textured foods to your baby but want to start with something that is very low choking risk, then soft cubes and hard meltables are a great place to start.
Soft cubes - foods that are you could easily mash between your index finger and thumb. If you can do it with you fingers, then baby can do the same with their tongue-to-palate. So even if they don't know how to chew yet, they can mash and swallow with ease. You may still see your baby gag with these foods initially with such a novel sensory experience, but there is very low risk that they will actually choke (food entering the airway).
Examples:
Avocado - sliced or cubed
Carrot - steamed/soft cooked
Tofu – cut into strips
Banana - halved or cut into spears
Cottage cheese
Sliced cheese – soft
Butternut squash – soft cooked and cubed
Yams – soft cooked with skin removed
Cooked celery - soft cooked - cut into rainbows
Hard Munchable - foods that are generally hard and have a crunchy quality, but dissolve quickly and easily upon interaction with saliva in the mouth. These foods encourage biting and chewing, but are quickly dissolved and therefore also pose a very low choking risk.
Examples:
Bamba
Veggie straws
Graham crackers (check ingredients - no honey before 1 yr)
Annie’s cheese puffs
Earth’s best teether sticks
Little bellies teether sticks
Gerber teether cookies
Yogurt melts
Freeze dried strawberries or mango
Harvest snaps
Ideally the more often you present opportunities for practice, the better, but if you only have the mental energy to offer table foods 3x per week, that's great! Start small, and build from there:)
As always, remember that you don't have to do this alone and there is help available. If you would like more support for starting solids or help progressing with textured foods, reach out to your local provider trained in pediatric feeding and swallowing.
If you are in the Orange County area and looking for a feeding therapist, I would love to support you. Please feel free to email, text or call to set up a consult.
Brittany Glass, MA, OTR/L, SWC, CLC
Occupational Therapist and Feeding Specialist
Owner of Eat Play Love
(949) 701-1896