Babies go through some of the most exponential growth of their lives within the first few months of their birth.

Pediatricians at local hospitals say physical growth should be matched with a growth in babies’ palates and diets to ensure little ones develop healthy eating habits that can be carried on throughout their lives.

Pamela Schoemer, director of quality, safety and improvement for UPMC Children's Pediatrics, said she encourages parents to be mindful of how they are feeding their babies and how the child reacts to different tastes and textures as they grow into toddlers.

“That first four months of life, everything tastes the same, the same texture, you are just eating to grow,” Schoemer said. “Now when we start solids, we're actually starting to explore what taste buds are. So, we don't necessarily want to just develop their sweet tooths, but we want to start with something that has different tastes.”

Schoemer said she begins meeting with soon-to-be-parents in the months leading up to birth, and she continues advising them as their child grows into an adult.

While she is focused on children’s development as they grow, Schoemer said parents’ decisions and nutritional habits can be influential on their child’s health throughout their lives.

“I tell parents this is the time to look at their own diet because smell is such an important part of taste,” Schoemer said. “If they are never smelling vegetables cooking or fresh fruit, they are not seeing you eat those, they are much less likely to be accepting of them.”

Christania Morganti, a pediatrician with Butler Health System, has been working in pediatric health for 20 years. She said parents’ interest in breastfeeding has waxed and waned over the years, but ultimately it is a decision left up to the parents.

Recently, breastfeeding has grown in popularity among new parents, Morganti said. She said breastfeeding helps correct hormones in a mother, boosts immunization in both mother and child, and can help with bonding as well.

“Every wellness visit we talk about that a lot,” Morganti said. “Breastfeeding is easier on a baby's stomach, and it can help with weight loss in a mother.”

Morganti said often breastfeeding becomes less common when parents have their second child, or even their third, fourth and so on. Feeding a baby formula is completely healthy for a baby as well, and Morganti said parents should mainly focus on their child’s reaction to eating.

“Most babies will eat until they are full. For breasted babies, they unlatch, for bottle babies, they let go,” Morganti said. “If you go with those cues, they will be healthy. If you refuse, they could overeat.”

Schoemer also supports parents to make their own choice between breastfeeding and bottle feeding. Each option comes with challenges, such as some mothers needing a breast pump to help them produce milk and other mothers facing many choices of bottles.

Again, Schoemer said parents should put their own health first because if they are stressed or frustrated with their feeding method, they won’t be able to care for their baby as well.

“We want you to feel good about feeding your baby because there is a lot of emotion at this time as well,” Schoemer said. “I get lots of questions about what is the best bottle, the best amount, but it's about what your baby is going to like. I always tell parents to get a couple of different ones, and you are going to use a small amount initially.”

It is common for a baby to spit up after eating, which Morganti said is a natural and even healthy response. If that spit up is accompanied by other signifiers such as crying or coughing, it could be an issue.

“Most babies — we call them happy spitters — they make a mess and go on,” Morganti said. “If they start having pain with the throw up, crying, arching their back, those are indicators that they are refluxing and having acid with it.”

Solid foods are introduced at the same time that babies begin developing their tastes.

That’s when they can start to get picky.

Schoemer said babies probably will still accept food of any kind until they can start using their hands, at just under a year old. Although their reaction to new foods can be frustrating, Schoemer said it is important parents don’t give up after only the first rejection.

“It really takes the average child about 10 to 12 tries of a food before they really decide if they like it or don't like it,” she said. “You have to keep trying it.”

Morganti agreed that getting a baby accustomed to new foods can be frustrating. She said having a good attitude about new foods can help.

“You have to be creative a little bit, make it a little more fun,” she said.

It may be a good idea to space out samples of food that a baby doesn’t like, according to Morganti. However, if they have a bad reaction, it could be because the baby is allergic to a food.

Just like their little bodies and brains, a baby is still developing its tolerance to food as well.

“If they are really allergic to something they will just throw it up,” she said. “If they don't have that reaction, a hive over the body can be (a sign). They might have some GI upsets, diarrhea, so give yourself some time for every new food. If you give those foods earlier it could reduce symptoms as if they grow older.”

Morganti encourages that parents be cautious when introducing sugar to their baby. Sugar can not only be a source of increased pickiness, but of some health issues as well.

“I find in a lot of toddlers that if I can cut them off of sugary drinks they will have fewer stomach aches,” Morganti said.

As babies become toddlers and are able to partially feed themselves, their growth also starts slowing down slightly.

That’s where the importance of a parent’s good eating habits come in, Schoemer said.

“If you have junk on your plate, guess what they are going to reach for,” she said.

Morganti and Schoemer both said breaking eating habits is much harder once a child grows older, so it’s important for parents to be mindful early of how they are shaping a baby’s relationship to food.

“Food is just very important in our world. We use it for rewards, we use it when we are bored, we use it for comfort, we use it for all of those things,” Schoemer said. “It’s trying to get parents to break their own habits like ‘If you do this, I'll give you a cookie.’”