Starting Solids

 Starting solids can be an exciting but  can also be an anxiety provoking time! Check out our self-directed starting solids class
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OR if you want individualized support book with one of our registered dietitians. 

What age should you start solids?
Solids should be started at 6 months of age.
Ways to tell if your little one is ready for solids:

• your child needs to be able to sit upright
• she should interest in food
• should be able to support their head
• extrusion reflex should be gone – 
• If a baby’s tongue thrusts forward and rejects the spoon, the reflex is still present.(The disappearance of the extrusion reflex helps babies start to wean from the breast or bottle. This allows them to start solid foods.)

Feeding Methods
Traditional Purees

• cooked and then blended into a smooth texture
• slowly progression from smooth, to slightly chunky, to larger, chunks, to solids

​Baby-led Weaning

• your child is in control of where food goes in their mouth decreasing risk for choking
• develops their pincher grasper
• develops hand eye co-ordination
• your little one is in control of how much they eat
• fosters independence

Feeling overwhelmed? Not sure where to start? Check out our self-directed starting solids class
​
OR if you want individualized support book with one of our registered dietitians.

Foods to AVOID:

• stringy
• tough
• hard
• chewy foods
• salty
• added sugars

For the first 2 years of life your little one needs high iron and high fat foods.

​High Fat Foods

• Dairy products – cheese, 5% MF or higher yogurt, 3.25%MF cow’s milk
• Avocado, fresh, oil
• Nuts and seeds
• Nut Butter (peanut, almond, hazelnut, walnut)
• Coconut: milk, oil, flesh
• Salmon
• Olive oil

High Iron Foods:

• Red meat (lamb, game, beef, bison, pork)
• Iron fortified cereals
• Tofu
• Eggs
• Beans, lentils, chickpeas
• Molasses
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Liver
• Muscles and oysters
• Swiss Chard/Spinach
• Sardines
• Chia, flax, sesame seeds
• Tuna

​Want more support? Check out our self-directed starting solids class
​
OR if you want individualized support book with one of our registered dietitians.