Is your baby different now from when she was younger?
What can she do now that she couldn’t do before?
What do you like about your baby at this age?
What don’t you like?
Your baby loves you as much as ever and wants you near. But now she is interested in things and in what is going on around her. She loves to look around, even when you feed her. Learning to eat solid foods goes right along with her interest in the outside world. But take your time. Remember that eating solid food is all new to her. At first she doesn’t know what a spoon is, and she doesn’t know what solid food is.
Your jobs are to watch for her signs and to give her chances to learn.
- She shows you when she is ready for solid foods. She can sit up and open her mouth when she sees the spoon coming.
- She will quickly learn to close her lips over the spoon and keep most of the food in her mouth.
- She does better if you let her do her part. Offer the spoon and wait. It is okay if she doesn’t show any interest. Offer the food again another time.
- Some babies learn faster than others. Your baby might love her cereal right away.
- Some babies learn slower than others. Give your baby lots of chances to learn. She will.
- Some babies don’t ever like being fed from the spoon. Keep offering, but take no for an answer. Your baby might not eat solid foods until she can feed herself with her fingers.
