When should I start offering solid foods for my baby?

Most experts recommend waiting to offer solid foods until a child:

• Can control his or her head and neck well.
• Can sit with a little support or no support.
• Can move food from a spoon to the back of the throat and swallow.
• Expresses interest in solid foods by:
  • Opening his or her mouth when food is offered.
  • Leaning toward food or reaching for food.
  • Watching you when you eat.

For the first several months of life, your child gets all the nutrition he or she needs by drinking breast milk, formula, or a combination of the two. When your child’s nutritional needs can no longer be met with only breast milk or formula, you should gradually add solid foods to your child’s diet.

Which foods can I start with?

There are many foods that are usually safe to start with. Many parents choose to start with iron-fortified infant cereal. Other common first foods include:

• Pureed bananas.
• Pureed sweet potatoes.
• Applesauce.
• Pureed peas.
• Pureed avocado.
• Pureed squash or pumpkin.

Most children are best able to manage foods that have a consistency similar to breast milk or formula. To make a very thin consistency for infant cereal, fruit puree, or vegetable puree, add breast milk, formula, or water to it. As your child becomes more comfortable with solid foods, you can make the foods thicker.

Which foods should I not offer?

Until your child is older:

• Do not offer whole foods that are easy to choke on, like grapes and popcorn.
• Do not offer foods that have added salt or sugar.
• Do not offer honey. Honey can cause a condition called botulism in children younger than 1 year.
• Do not offer unpasteurized dairy products or fruit juices.
• Do not offer adult, ready-to-eat cereals.

Your health care provider may recommend avoiding other foods if you have a family history of food allergies.

How much solid food should my child have?

Breast milk, formula, or a combination of the two should be your child’s main source of nutrition until your child is 1 year old. Solid foods should only be offered in small amounts to add to (supplement) your child’s diet.

In the beginning, offer your child 1–2 Tbsp of food, one time each day. Gradually offer larger servings, and offer foods more often. Here are some general guidelines:

• If your child is 6–8 months old, you may offer your child 2–3 meals a day.
• If your child is 9–11 months old, you may offer your child 3–4 meals a day.
• If your child is 12–24 months old, you may offer your child 3–4 meals a day plus 1–2 snacks.

Your child’s appetite can vary greatly day to day, so decide about feeding your child based on whether you see signs that he or she is hungry or full. Do not force your child to eat.

How should I offer first foods?

Introduce one new food at a time. Wait at least 3–4 days after you introduce a new food before you introduce a another food. This way, if your child has a reaction to a food, it will be easier for a health care provider to determine if your child has an allergy.

Here are some tips for introducing solid foods:

• Offer food with a spoon. Do not add cereal or solid foods to your child’s bottle.
• Feed your child by sitting face-to-face at eye level. This allows you to interact with and encourage your child.
• Allow your child to take food from the spoon. Do not scrape or dump food into your child’s mouth.
• If your child has a reaction to a food, stop offering that food and contact your health care provider.
• Allow your child to explore new foods with his or her fingers. Expect meals to get messy.
• If your child rejects a food, wait a week or two and introduce that food again. Many times, children need to be offered a new food 10–12 times before they will eat it.

When can I offer table foods?

Table foods—also called finger foods—can be offered once your child can sit up without support and bring objects to his or her mouth. Starting around 8 months old, your child’s ability to use fingers to pinch food is beginning to develop. Many children are able to start eating table foods around this time.

Usually, your child will need to experience different textures and thicknesses of foods before he or she is ready for table foods. Many children progress through textures in the following way:

• 4– 6 months old:
  • Infant cereal.
  • Pureed cooked fruits and vegetables.
• 6– 8 months old:
  • Plain yogurt.
  • Fork-mashed banana or avocado.
  • Lumpy, mashed potatoes.
• 8–12 months old:
  • Cooked, ground turkey.
  • Finely flaked, cooked white fish, like cod.
  • Finely chopped, cooked vegetables.
  • Scrambled eggs.

When offering your child table foods, make sure:

• The food is soft or dissolves easily in the mouth.
• The food is easy to swallow.
• The food is cut into pieces smaller than the nail on your pinkie finger.
• Foods like meat and eggs are cooked thoroughly.

When should I contact a health care provider?

Contact your health care provider if your child has:

• Diarrhea.
• Vomiting.
• Constipation.
• Fussiness.
• A rash.
• Regular gagging when offered solid foods.

When should I call 911?

Call 911 if your child has:

• Swelling of the lips, tongue, or face.
• Wheezing.
• Trouble breathing.
• Loss of consciousness.