Aoife Hearne: What is the best way to start my colicky baby on solid foods?

lifestyle shot of cute baby girl eating veggies and looking at camera.

It’s great to hear that your little one has got your liquid gold as a nutritional start in life. Breastmilk is a live substance tailor-made for your baby. 

It’s packed with 300 nutrients that will help your baby stay healthy and reduce the risk of infections early in life and other diseases throughout life.

Introducing solids is a milestone for young children and comes with a mixture of excitement and anxiety for parents. I’m glad to hear that you’re waiting until your daughter is six months old before starting. Parents are bombarded with mixed messages on this topic, but the evidence suggests that waiting until halfway through the first year of life is best for the baby. With that said, readiness to start with solids can occur at different stages.

Signs that your baby is ready for solid food include:

• Ability to sit up with support;
• Ability to control head movements;
• Can swallow food instead of spitting it out;
• Co-ordination between hands, eyes, and mouth;
• Desire for more frequent milk feedings.

There are two primary methods for introducing solids. The traditional method progresses from purees to lumpy food and eventually solid foods. The other, which is popular, is baby-led feeding. This method bypasses spoon-feeding and allows the baby to hold finger foods and self-feed exclusively from the beginning. A combination of the two is likely what works best.

Introducing solids to my children was my least favourite part of early parenting. I was so used to being able to get out and about with my baby and my boobs (an built-in feeding system) that having to think about what food to bring with me was a pain at the start. However, the new stage eventually became the new norm.

For infants from six to 12 months, the majority of their energy requirements continue to come from milk —either breast milk or stage-1 infant formula.

Be aware that infants are not ready for cow’s milk as a primary source until they are 12 months old.

A gradual process of reducing how much your baby feeds, along with an increase in solid foods, will become apparent over time. All foods can be introduced from six months, except for those that pose a choking hazard and also honey. It is normal to start with only small amounts of solid food. The volume will gradually increase as your daughter becomes more familiar with these new tastes and textures.

Keep in mind that the long-term goal is for your daughter to be eating family foods at regular meal times by the age of 12 months.

My advice is to find an approach that works for your family and stick with it. You will find excellent, registered dietitians on social media, offering practical advice and evidence-based support for parents during what can be a stressful time. For example, check out @solidstart and @weaning.ie

If you have a question for dietitian Aoife Hearne, please send it to [e-mail]