I recently had the pleasure of coaching a mom with twin 5 month olds. It only seemed natural to help her decide when and what to feed the twins when they were ready for food.  Before even thinking about what to feed these innocent angels, there ensued a discussion of when to feed them. Here are my points:

Baby Readiness Signs:

• Sits up well
• Controls head and neck well (can signal fullness by turning away)
• Controls tongue well (mastication and movement)
• Tracks spoon with eyes
• Grabs for your food on your lap
• Opens mouth when being fed
• Use adjusted age if they are premature (between 6 and 9 months)

What happens if you wait too long?: After 9 months may refuse textures.After 9-12 months need external iron source

What can happen if you start too early?  Increased risk of choking, allergies, gas, reduces truly beneficial breast milk, increases risk of obesity.

What time of day?

• Pick your baby’s “happy time” to start.
• Consistently use this “meal” as a learning, playing, exploring time
• Allow 1 hour but don’t expect to use the whole hour every day
• Mom’s job for the first month, anyone else’s after that
• After a breast feed (stop slightly earlier than usual so they are not overly full but the “edge” is of their hunger)

When deciding what to serve it helps to remember that these first few months are less about getting the nutrition from the food and more about learning to eat as well as eating habits. That said, I am not a fan of processed baby foods and fall more into the naturopathic and nutritional camp of fruits and vegetables first. The belief being that if we are teaching taste and texture, I want my kid to develop a habit of real and whole foods.  Encouraging a taste for a processed, dehydrated, re-hydrated product just doesn’t make sense to me. My 12 year, hopefully as a result of this approach, prefers collard greens and broccoli to just about anything other than the occasional loaf of fluffy french bread. 

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