247 Chapter 11 Providing for the Infant’s Developmental Needs
Solids are always fed from a
spoon. Solids should not be diluted
with liquid and fed using a bottle
with a large hole in the nipple or
an “infant feeder.” These practices
defeat the purpose of having a baby
learn to use his or her tongue and
throat muscles to chew, swallow,
and breathe. Nonspoon methods
present a risk of choking, too.
For the fi rst spoon feeding, the
baby should be held in the adult’s
lap in an almost upright position.
Later, parents can feed babies from
infant seats or high chairs. Use a
small spoon with a long handle to
make feeding easier. A plastic-coated
baby spoon is better for the baby’s
sensitive gums than a metal spoon.
Place a small amount of food on
the tip of the spoon. A few bites are
enough for the fi rst feedings.
Parents should start these early
feedings at times when the baby
shows signs of hunger, but is not too
hungry. Waiting too long can make
a baby too upset to learn something
new. Parents often try feeding the
baby a few bites of cereal about
halfway through the milk or
formula feeding. They should give
the baby a sip or two of water after
the cereal, but before resuming the
feeding of breast milk or formula.
Thus, the baby’s meal begins and
ends with the familiar taste of breast
milk or formula.
Most doctors recommend
offering the baby new solids early
in the day and no later than early
afternoon. They advise this because
babies are more apt to have colic in
the evening hours. Also, an allergic
reaction following a night feeding
would occur in the wee hours of
the morning rather than during the
early evening.
During the fi rst spoon feedings,
babies often thrust their tongues
forward, pushing the spoon and food
out of their mouths. This is a refl exive
response to having strange objects
in the mouth. This does not mean
the baby does not want the food or
is being stubborn. Thus, parents can
continue to offer a bite or two as long
as their babies continue to cooperate.
Once babies turn their heads or
close their mouths, parents should
stop feeding the solids and resume
feeding from the breast or bottle.
Waiting a day or two before trying
solids again is often best. Frustrated
babies are not good learners. During
the developmental process, parents
must remain calm and pleasant.
Babies should see eating solids as
loving as drinking from the bottle or
breast. Soon the baby will be eating
easily from the spoon.
Self-Feeding
Babies begin self-feeding by
eating fi nger foods. Finger foods
are foods a baby can self-feed using
the fi ngers. Near the end of the fi rst
year, babies often develop the skill
of self-feeding fi nger foods at the
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