Now that your baby is taking solids, how do you go about feeding your baby? How do you actually get the food from the plate to your little angel’s mouth? Here are a few tips:
- Always sit directly in front of the baby so that your baby can see you. Eye contact is very important, babies eat better when you interact and respond with them. Also, feed the baby with positive verbal encouragement, terms like ‘well done!’ etc.
- Offer food from the spoon. Wait for the baby’s mouth to open before attempting to feed. If you notice that your baby is not opening their mouth then they may not be ready to start on solids yet.
- Use a small spoon and place a tiny amount of food between the baby’s lips. Initially, you may find that much of the food seems to slide out but gradually your little one will learn to move the food to the back of the mouth to allow for swallowing.
- Follow the principles of ‘baby-led feeding’, allow baby to determine how much food she needs, do not force your baby to finish the serving. When satisfied, your baby may:
1. Close the mouth
2. Pull away from the spoon
3. Turn away from you
4. Spit out the food
5. Start to cry
- Do not put porridge, cereals or any other solid food in a bottle rather always use a spoon. Feeding using a bottle may lead to choking. Furthermore, your baby may not learn how to eat food properly.
