“He used to sleep through the night, but now he wakes up to eat again. What can I do?” asks a mom of a thriving 4-month-old. My feeding advice for most babies: When your baby is between 4 and 6 months of age, consider starting solids, like infant cereal and baby food purees. At this age, babies have better head control and a bigger appetite, and they can start to eat more than just liquids.
Before 4 months, babies have a feeding reflex that causes the tongue to automatically push out when something is in the mouth (which makes it hard to eat food). But at 4 months, this tongue-thrusting reflex is mostly gone.
When your baby is ready to start eating solids, introduce only one new food at a time. This way, if your child has an allergic reaction, you will know what food to suspect.
Breast milk or formula is still your baby’s primary source of nutrition. So your baby should still be nursing four or five times a day, or drinking 20-24 ounces of formula or pumped breast milk each day.
Do not begin feeding your baby solids before the four-month mark without advice from your child’s doctor.
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