How should I introduce solids to my baby?
It’s a good idea to wait until your baby's around six months old before offering him solid food.
It’s best to start with iron-rich foods such as iron-fortified cereal, meat, chicken, fish, tofu or legumes. Iron-rich foods are important first foods because the iron stores your baby has had from birth and has gotten from breastmilk or formula have reduced and he needs iron for energy and development.
Your baby will still need his regular breastmilk or formula until he's at least 12-months-old to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs.
Your baby may find these foods most inviting when combined with foods such as:
- cooked carrot, parsnip, potato or sweet potato
- avocado, soft zucchini, peeled cucumber
- banana, cooked apple, ripe pear or mango
- baby cereal such as baby rice, sago, maize, cornmeal or millet
- mild cheese, yoghurt or low-sugar custard
You can mix these with some of your baby's usual milk.
You don't need to introduce foods separately or start them one at a time. There are some foods you should avoid because they're unsafe for your baby, including salt, sugar, raw or soft-boiled egg and honey.
The texture of your baby’s first food is up to you and your baby. Many babies like a smooth puree at first, but it’s important to move to mashed or lumpy foods by the time he's nine months old. Some babies like to hold a soft piece of finger-shaped food and feed themselves. This is called baby led weaning. Let your baby be the guide.
You can offer food to your baby before or after a milk feed, or in the middle of a feed if it works better. Pick a time that's good for both of you. If you've heated the food, stir, cool and test it on the inside of your wrist before giving it to your baby.
It may take your baby a while to get used to the new flavours and experience of eating. Don't be surprised if he rejects the food or spits it out. Just try again later, or the next day. You can make the food taste milder by mixing it with a few teaspoons of your baby's usual milk.
At first, your baby may seem to eat very little. Be relaxed and patient and remember it will probably take time for him to learn how to eat. As he develops more of a side-to-side, grinding motion, add less liquid to his food so the texture is thicker, with chunkier, soft lumps. This allows your baby to work on chewing, or gumming, and swallowing.
You can try your baby with a variety of foods as soon as you like. Many nutritionists suggest a rainbow of foods is a good goal, so check out these ideas and try and include foods that are red, green, yellow, white, orange and blue. Healthy foods from your culture will be the basis of your family meals, so it’s great to get him used to them now.
- Breastmilk or formula milk.
- Iron-fortified cereal and grains. Check packaging for salt and sugar levels, though.
- Vegetables. These can include carrot, potatoes, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, spinach and butternut pumpkin.
- Small amounts of meat, poultry, fish, yoghurt, hard-boiled egg, well-cooked lentils or mild cheese.
- Fruit, including banana, cooked apple, soft pear, melon, cut orange, berries, mango or stone fruits.
- Dairy foods, including yoghurt, mild cheeses, creme fraiche and low-sugar custard.
Your baby's appetite will vary from one feed to the next. Watch out for cues that he's full. If he keeps his mouth shut, turns away, or starts playing with his food, he's probably had enough.
Don’t worry if he hasn’t eaten much in a meal or even in a day. It's the quantity and quality of the food he eats over a whole week that's more important.
At first, your baby may just play with his food. He may grab pieces of food and start to suck on them. Carry on giving your baby breastmilk or formula milk in between mealtimes. As your baby gradually eats more solids, the number of milk feeds will start to decrease.
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