Every milestone requires separate needs and to see your child go from having only milk to solids is also a great milestone that your child and you as a new parent have achieved together. The question that occurs is when you should start giving your child semi-solid or solid food to eat. Living in a Pakistani community, it is acceptable to give the child anything to eat, just because when the parent was a baby they used to eat that thing too. This should not be the case when it comes to feeding your baby his first food. When to start giving your baby his first food is completely up to the parents, but ideally they should have their first bite around 6 months onwards. Once your baby start gripping things, you should know your baby is ready for his finger food.
As fortunately Pakistan is blessed with a variety vegetables and fruits, below are some of the early food items you can give your baby that won’t harm them in any way and you can prepare them without any stress at home. It is to be kept in mind that you should give your child atleast 1 week to adjust his tastebuds to given food.
Food for Infants
- Infant rice cereal
- Boiled/steamed/pureed vegetables; peas, carrots, potato, pumpkin
- Fruits; peach, pear, banana
- Yogurt
- Rice/Pasta; mixed with vegetable purees
- Sooji halwa; add milk to make it runny
However, you should avoid giving any hard food that cannot be squished between fingers and can lead to choking. Such food include raw carrots, slices of apple, grapes or honey.