In your child’s first year, the calories he or she gains from liquids
(breast milk or formula) are of primary importance. During the second
half of the first year, a gradual transition occurs. Though your baby may
still drink as much at twelve months as at six months, he or she will need
more and more calories from solids.
Generally, you should start adding solids to your baby’s diet at
between four and six months depending on the baby’s weight gain and
sleep patterns. Your pediatrician will advise you. The first food to add to
your baby’s meals is rice cereal. Later, you will add other single-grain
cereals. Specific information about adding solids to your baby’s diet are
discussed in On Becoming Babywise II.
Teething
When a tooth begins to break through the gum, a baby experiences the
condition commonly referred to as teething. Like jaundice, teething isn’t
a disease; it’s a condition of growth. Your baby’s first teeth will push
through at between six and eight months of age. By six months, one baby
out of three has one tooth, and by nine months, the typical baby has three
teeth. The natural process of teething should not interfere with breast-
feeding, since the sucking is done by the tongue and palate, not by the
gums.
Irritability, fussiness, increased salivation, and a slightly raised
temperature sometimes accompany new teeth. As uncomfortable as these
symptoms may be, teething is not a catchall excuse for chronic poor
behavior or a drastic change in your baby’s routine.
Weaning Your Baby
Weaning, by today’s definition, is the process by which parents offer
food supplements in place of, or in addition to, mother’s milk. That
process begins the moment parents offer a bottle of formula or when their
baby first tastes cereal. From that moment on, weaning is generally a
gradual process.