As a new parent, introducing your baby to solid food can feel scary. The second you nail down your bottle or breastfeeding schedule, things change again. In my first year of parenthood, I learned that the only certainty in raising small humans is rapid change – this is joyful but also overwhelming. In this blog, I will share tips on how to navigate the introduction of solids, share resources to help guide your family’s unique feeding journey, and food preparation tips to expand your own diet while saving time.
When to get started: Evidence suggests that starting around 6 months is the sweet spot.
- Recommendations for introducing solids have changed over the decades. More recent evidence has suggested that waiting to offer solids until 6 months (and not sooner) can help lower the risk of infant illness, enhance the infant microbiome, and reduce the risk of developing food allergies (1). While delaying introduction of the most common allergenic foods like peanuts and eggs until after 9 months can increase risk of food allergies (2). Additionally, there seems to be an optimal window between the ages of 6-12 months where babies are more likely to be receptive to a variety of tastes and textures. Introducing as many flavors and age-appropriate textures as possible during this time may reduce the risk of selective (“picky”) eating later in childhood (3).
- This is all helpful to keep in mind, but also recognize that your baby’s signs of readiness should drive the appropriate timing for introducing solids. Ask your pediatrician at the 6-month well-child visit to comment on readiness.
How to introduce foods: You have Options
You may think of baby food as jars of pureed sweet potato or iron fortified infant cereal. Spoon feeding your baby pureed foods, whether homemade or from high quality brands like Serenity Kids is fine and probably how your parents fed you. Know that there are other, more modern approaches that may help expose infants to a better variety of textures and flavors before they turn 1. There is no perfect method or correct answer, like all things in parenting. The important thing is to start where you feel comfortable and have fun with the process.
- Baby-led weaning is an approach that focuses on allowing babies to feed themselves with safe finger/handheld foods. Examples of foods offered around 6 months using baby-led weaning include whole florets of lightly steamed broccoli, large cooked carrots cut lengthwise, whole chicken drumsticks, one-half large banana and long pieces of omelet cut into strips.
- Resource: The Solid Starts First Foods® Database is a fantastic reference for families to look up safe ways to serve foods by suggested age. It includes videos of real babies and toddlers eating these foods in various forms. Benefits include building skills in fine motor development, hand-eye coordination, chewing preparation, and encouraging self-regulation (4).
- Be aware: Offering large pieces means the baby may be sucking or gnawing for a while – don’t expect much to be consumed, which is fine! Children should be closely monitored by an adult when offered these large pieces. Gagging and coughing can be normal as the baby navigates new textures and learns to maneuver food around the mouth. To give you some peace of mind and education, I recommend doing an infant CPR course around the time you plan to start solids.
- A combination of purees, soft textures and baby-led weaning is where my family decided to start. We were on a different developmental path, and this felt like a more comfortable place to start.
- Example: Soon after the 6 months, we tried mashed avocado and banana, whole Greek yogurt, oatmeal, and purees handing her the spoon (messy but entertaining). I added finely chopped herbs and spices to purees or mashed foods to introduce her to more flavors. For example, I sprinkled a small amount of cinnamon on smashed bananas and added garlic powder to black bean puree. Closer to 9 months I became more comfortable offering larger pieces of food like a mango pit for her to explore and suck on to help her teething gums! I utilized teething crackers as a “vehicle” for spreads like simple guacamole and hummus. We used Puffs in place of traditional cereal to help her develop fine motor pincher grasp.
- Resource: The play kit company Lovevery has a well-designed and approachable online course which starts with purees and advances to thicker, lumpier textures and largely focuses on offering spoons for self-feeding.
Nutritional Value & Allergens:
- Keep in mind that your baby will still be getting all their nutrition from breastmilk or formula through the first year. Don’t stress out about the serving sizes or meal balance for now. Start with one food experience per day – your baby might be more interested if it’s between liquid feedings. Start with one new food every 2-3 days. If your baby is excited at feeding time, you can try a new food every day.
- For the most common allergenic foods (milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, sesame), offering very small amounts over a window of about 3 days with no other new food exposures can be helpful to assess for any possible reaction. Solid Starts has great tips for planning allergen introductions including offering new foods early in the day so that the baby can be overserved throughout the day.
- Example: I started small with peanut exposure by dipping a baby spoon in peanut butter, removing most of it until a small amount of residue remained, then offering her the spoon to mouth and suck on. Note that peanut butter and other nut or seed butters can be too sticky for babies, especially in large amounts and increase risk of choking. Sticky nut butters can be thinned with water, formula, breastmilk, or blended into purees.
Preparation tips: Opportunity for you to expand your diet too?
- It is not necessary to prepare all separate “meals” for your little one. Consider how you can modify what you’re already making for yourself and set aside some version of the food that can be safely modified for your baby to try.
- Example: When preparing vegetables for your dinner, set aside larger florets of cauliflower to quickly steam, or if making a soup with many ingredients, hold back a small amount of cooked beans or lentils to smash and offer your baby.
- In the first couple months of introducing solids, I recommend keeping track of foods you have tried in your phone notes, a journal, or the Solids Starts app. When you feel stuck, consult the list and brainstorm foods you enjoy or would like to have more often in YOUR diet. Add these to your grocery list.
- Example: I introduced eggs early on because hard-boiled eggs are an easy protein snack for me. I was more motivated to prepare them weekly for myself since my daughter had been enjoying munching on smashed hard-boiled eggs, avocado, olive oil, and a hint of black pepper!
- Your baby might show early interest in specific flavors or textures. It can be helpful to have these favorite options around to start pairing with new foods. Having familiar or “safe” food on the plate can encourage trying something new.
- Example: My daughter LOVES peas, so I keep organic frozen peas, corn, and mixed root vegetables that I thaw in small glass containers in the fridge. Frozen vegetables are lightly cooked before freezing, so they are ready to serve once thawed and don’t necessarily need to be further cooked. If I am putting something new on her plate I will sometimes add peas as the familiar option I know she will eat.
- Be aware: There are some foods and beverages that should not be offered before the age of 1 such as cow’s milk, honey, any added sugar including sugar-sweetened yogurt, ice cream, baked goods, and fruit juice. More considerations outlined by the CDC here.
Introducing solids to your baby can be fun and exploratory for the whole family. If you feel hesitant about this transition and what foods to offer in the 6–12-month timeframe and beyond, our team of functional nutritionists is here to help.
References:
- Differding, M., Benjamin-Neelon, S., Hoyo, C., Østbye, T., & Mueller, N. Timing of complementary feeding is associated with gut microbiota diversity and composition and short chain fatty acid concentrations over the first year of life. BMC Microbiology. 2020; 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-020-01723-9.
- Roberts, G., Bahnson, H., Du Toit, G., O’rourke, C., Sever, M., Brittain, E., Plaut, M., & Lack, G. Defining the window of opportunity and target populations to prevent peanut allergy. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2022; 151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2022.09.042.
- Moding, K., & Stifter, C. Does Temperament Underlie Infant Novel Food Responses?: Continuity of Approach-Withdrawal From 6 to 18 Months.. Child development. 2018; 89 4. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12902.
- Białek-Dratwa, A., Dawid, K., Staśkiewicz-Bartecka, W., Kiciak, A., & Kowalski, O. Baby-Led Weaning vs. Traditional Complementary Feeding—Differences in Feeding Practices Among Polish Children Aged 6–36 Months—A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients. 2025; 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050899.
