6 Steps for Starting Your Baby on Solid Foods
And before you know it, your baby’s diet grows from just one food to….. so many!
Thinking about the next chapter of your little eater’s life can be…. a lot. What should I feed them? Ok, what else should I feed them? How do I know they won’t choke? How do I know they’re eating enough? How do I know they’re not eating too much? And on, and on, and on.
But, fortunately, many of the common fears and myths about starting babies on solids are just untrue, or designed to make you think you need to buy special foods and tools to raise a healthy eater. For the most part, your baby can eat *most* of what the rest of the family eats, provided it’s a safe size and texture. You can make your own baby food easily, with no special ‘baby food maker’. And babies are excellent at regulating their own appetites, meaning they will (for the most part) stop eating when they are full.
Here are the top tips to start your baby on solid foods with ease and confidence.
Check out my book, ‘Make-Ahead Baby Food Cookbook’ for even more tips and recipes to make solid foods easy and fun!
1. Wait for baby to be ready
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that most babies begin the introduction of solid foods around 4-6 months of age. Prior to 4 months of age, your baby’s digestive system is not mature enough to handle solid foods, and introducing solid foods before 4 months of age may put your baby at higher risk for developing food allergies.
Besides age, there are other signs that your baby will show that indicate they may be ready for solid foods:
good head control
can sit upright while supported
loss of tongue thrust
desire to eat solid foods
You should always talk to your pediatrician before introducing solid foods, and discuss any concerns you have around your baby’s weight, allergies, or other medical concerns.
2. Practice good food safety
Babies and young children have immune systems that are still developing, so they are more prone to foodborne infections. You can help keep your baby free from these types of infections by practicing good food safety. Learn more about food safety for your baby here.
Principles of good food safety include:
Clean - wash your hands and baby’s hands prior to preparing food. Clean all surfaces used to prepare food (cutting boards, knives, bowls, etc) often.
Separate - keep raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs separate from foods that are ready to eat. Do not reuse any utensils, cutting boards or other cooking tools after they have come into contact with raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs.
Cook - cook meat, poultry, fish and eggs thoroughly. Do not serve raw or undercooked meat, poultry, fish or eggs to your baby.
Chill - store any leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours of being cooked.
Store - homemade baby foods can be safely stored in the refrigerator for 1 day, or in the freezer for 1-2 months.
Reheat - reheat foods from the refrigerator or freezer until they are thoroughly heated, then let stand until they are cool enough to eat.
Unpasteurized foods - never serve your baby unpasteurized (“raw”) milk or juice.
Choking hazards: while your baby is learning how to chew and swallow solid foods, they are at risk for choking. Avoid foods that are choking hazards for 6-12 month olds, such as:
whole corn kernels (cooked or raw)
uncut cherry or grape tomatoes
pieces or raw hard fruit or vegetables
whole pieces of canned fruit
uncut berries, cherries, grapes, or melon balls
uncooked dry fruit such as raisins
whole or chopped nuts, and nut butters (nut butters can be thinned with water, breast milk, or formula, or spread thinly on a cracker. Do not serve large globs of nut butters.)
tough or large chunks of meat
hot dogs, sausages
fish with bones
large chunks of cheese, including string cheese
cookies, granola bars
chips, pretzels, similar snack foods
whole kernels of cooked rice and other grains
hard candy, jelly beans, marshmallows, chewing gum
Always supervise your baby while they are eating, and I highly recommend that all caregivers should complete an infant and child CPR class that covers choking.
3. Be a responsive feeder
Babies are surprisingly excellent at regulating their own appetite. They tell us when they are hungry. They eat to fulfill their hunger. And they stop eating when they are full. They are the ultimate intuitive eaters. Our job as parents and caregivers is to provide food and a nurturing environment to eat, and let babies listen to their bodies to decide how much to eat of each item we offer.
Responsive involves observing and responding to your baby’s hunger and fullness cues to determine when they want more to eat, and when they are done eating.
Hunger cues are signs that your baby is hungry, and wants more food, which include:
reaching or pointing to food
gets excited when food is offered
opens their mouth to accept more food
may sign for ‘more’ food
Fullness cues are signs that your baby is satisfied and done eating, which include:
slows their pace of eating
plays with food, throws food
turns head away from food, pushes food away
clenches mouth shut
may shake their head ‘no’
Responsive feeding means you offer food when baby is hungry, and complete the meal when baby is full. Don’t try and get baby to finish their plate of food, or take more bites when they are full. Even if it looks to you that baby has not eaten enough, it’s important to remember that every meal is different. Your baby may eat a lot for breakfast and very little for lunch or dinner. Or your baby may eat very little on Monday and Tuesday and eat a lot on Wednesday. Look at your baby’s overall pattern of eating for a week, and most of the time you’ll find that, on average, they are eating enough.
If you have any concerns about your baby’s appetite or how much they eating, do not hesitate to talk to your pediatrician or a pediatric registered dietitian.
A meal for my daughter at 10 months old: broccoli, leftover pasta with alfredo sauce, blueberries, tomatoes, and leftover chicken
4. Offer a wide variety of foods
Are you struggling to think about what to feed your baby? For the most part*, your baby can eat exactly what the rest of the family eats.
*Foods that you should avoid are:
honey (raw or cooked) if baby is under 1 year old
choking hazards
foods that are unsafe (like undercooked meat, poultry, fish or eggs)
foods that baby is allergic to
excess salt and sugar
Other than those, babies can enjoy all the same foods that you do!
The more different kinds of food you expose your baby to, the more likely they are to be adventurous eaters when they get older. Most kids will go through some periods of picky eating, but you may be able to lessen the blow by getting them used to lots of different flavors from a young age.
One of the most wonderful gifts you can give your baby is to cook them foods from your family’s background. Let your baby try your mother’s or grandmother’s famous recipes. Expose them to the foods of your culture. Show them that food is exciting and flavorful and fun. We already teach babies about colors, and animals and shapes. Let’s not forget to teach them about flavors too!
Purée ice cubes of peas, butternut squash, and green beans
5. DIY puréed baby food
There are lots of baby food jars and pouches available at the grocery store. The quality has definitely gotten better over the years, but there’s still nothing like fresh, homemade baby food. Store bought food may contain preservatives, such as an acid like lemon juice, which isn’t bad for your baby, but it can affect the flavor of the food. Plus, store bought baby food is expensive, and can cost $1-2 per meal. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but compared to the cost of homemade baby food, it’s expensive!
Check out another article on making your own homemade baby food. It’s easy, inexpensive, and quick.
Some key tips to remember:
Use a blender, immersion (stick) blender, or food processor to make baby purées
Add water, breastmilk, or formula if you need to make the purée a thinner texture.
Freeze your purées in ice cube trays, they are the perfect 2 tablespoon serving sizes. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer Ziploc bag and label. This will keep in your freezer for 1-2 months. Then simply defrost and heat as many cubes as you need. Mixing and matching fruits and veggies is easy and quick.
You won’t need as much purées as you think. Many babies are only eating puréed foods for 2 or 3 months before transitioning to more solid textures and finger foods. When my daughter was starting on purées, I only had to make 7 or 8 ice cube trays of food, and that lasted until she was moving on to more solid textures.
Cooked baby cereals (oatmeal, rice, mixed grain cereals) also freeze wonderfully in ice cube trays!
Embrace the mess!
6. Keep mealtime fun, calm, and positive
Above all else, remember, you are doing great, even if your kid doesn’t eat kale, açaí, and quinoa!
Mealtime is about more than eating, it’s about your baby learning to use all their senses to explore the world of food.
Talk to your baby about the food you are eating, let your baby touch and smell the food. Embrace the mess!
And most importantly, have fun!