Why do babies need solid foods?
As babies get older, they need solid food to get enough nutrients for growth and development. These nutrients include iron and zinc.
For the first 6 months of life, babies use iron stored in their bodies from when they were in the womb. They also get some iron from breastmilk and/or infant formula. But babies’ iron stores go down as they grow. By around 6 months, babies need to start having iron-rich solid food.
Introducing solids is also important for helping babies learn to eat. It gives them experience of new tastes and textures from a range of foods. It develops their teeth and jaws, and it strengthens muscles that they’ll need for language development.
What are the signs your baby is ready for solids?
Your baby might be ready for solids if they:
- have good head and neck control and can sit upright when supported
- show an interest in food – for example, they look at what’s on your plate
- reach out for your food
- open their mouth when you offer them food on a spoon.
Most babies start to show these signs by around 6 months, although this can vary.
It’s recommended not to introduce solids before 4 months. This is because babies younger than 4 months still have immature tummies and bowels, and they can’t chew or swallow well either.
If your baby is nearing 7 months of age and hasn’t started solids, you might like to get some advice from your child and family health nurse or GP.
When are the best times of day to introduce solids?
When you’re first introducing solids, it’s good to offer solids when you and your baby are both happy and relaxed.
This is often after a feed of breastmilk or formula. Babies will still have room in their tummies for a taste of new foods after a feed of breastmilk or formula. If babies are very hungry before a feed, they can get frustrated by trying solids. This is because learning to eat takes time and babies might just want the breastmilk or formula that they know satisfies their hunger.
As time passes, you’ll learn when your baby is hungry or full, not interested or tired.
Signs of hunger
Your baby:
- gets excited when they see you getting their food ready
- leans towards you while they’re sitting in the highchair
- opens their mouth as you’re about to feed them.
Signs your baby isn’t interested in food
Your baby:
- turns their head away
- loses interest or gets distracted
- pushes the spoon away
- clamps their mouth shut.
Your baby’s appetite can vary from day to day.
How much solid food should you offer your baby at first?
When you’re first introducing solids, try offering 1-2 teaspoons of food once a day. At first, your baby might have only a small taste and probably won’t swallow much.
As your baby grows, you can increase the amount according to your baby’s appetite and signs.
By 12 months, your baby should be eating around 3 small meals a day, plus breastmilk or infant formula.
What textures should first foods be?
When your baby is ready for solids, first foods can be pureed or finely mashed to a smooth texture – you can add breastmilk or formula if needed. Your baby can progress to roughly mashed foods, minced foods, and chopped or finger foods. All foods should be soft.
Your baby needs a variety of food textures. This helps your baby learn how to chew, and chewing helps with speech development and self-feeding. It also helps to prevent feeding difficulties as your baby develops. Babies can chew even before they get their first teeth.
By the time your baby is 12 months old, they should be eating family foods. But you might still need to chop some foods into smaller pieces and cook vegetables until they’re soft.
You could start introducing solids by letting your baby try to feed themselves soft, finger-sized family foods. This is called baby-led weaning.
What types of solid food should you offer your baby?
All new foods are exciting for your baby.
The key is to include iron-rich foods in your baby’s first foods. Iron-rich foods include:
- iron-fortified infant cereal
- minced meat, poultry and fish
- cooked tofu and legumes
- mashed, well-cooked egg (not raw or runny).
To these iron-rich foods, you can add other healthy foods like:
- vegetables – for example, cooked potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli or spinach
- fruit – for example, banana, apple, pear, melon or avocado
- grains – for example, oats, bread, roti, naan, rice, noodles and pasta
- dairy foods – for example, full-fat yoghurt and full-fat cheese.
You can introduce any number of new foods at a time and in any order. When you offer your baby a variety of foods, they can try plenty of new tastes and get a range of nutrients.
To prevent choking, always supervise babies and young children while they’re eating solid food. Avoid whole nuts and pumpkin or other large seeds. Also take special care with pieces of meat and check fish for small bones, because these are choking hazards. And if your baby can crawl or walk, make sure they sit down to eat. You can encourage your baby to sit while they’re eating by sitting with them.
Does your baby need breastmilk and infant formula when they start solids?
When you start introducing solids, breastmilk or infant formula should still be the main source of your baby’s nutrition. Over the next few months, your baby will start having more solids and less milk or formula. The rate that this happens varies among babies.
By around 9 months, babies have generally developed enough chewing and swallowing skills to move from having milk before solids to having milk after solids.
Here are signs that your baby is getting enough nutrition from both solids and breastmilk or formula during this time. Your baby:
- has plenty of wet nappies – at least 6-8 wet cloth nappies or 5 very wet disposables in 24 hours
- is alert and mostly happy after and between feeds
- is gaining weight at about the right rate – your child and family health nurse will weigh your baby at your regular check-ups.
From 12 months, solids should be the main source of your baby’s nutrition:
- If your baby is breastfed, you can keep breastfeeding for as long as you and your baby like.
- If your baby has infant formula, they don’t need formula after 12 months.
If solid food replaces breastmilk and/or infant formula too quickly, babies can miss out on important nutrition. If you have any concerns about your baby’s feeds or weight, talk to your midwife, child and family health nurse, lactation consultant or GP.
How do you introduce water?
Once your baby has reached 6 months, you can start to offer your baby cooled, boiled water in a cup at mealtimes and at other times during the day. This is so your baby can practise drinking from a cup, but they still don’t really need fluids other than breastmilk or formula at this age.
Once your baby has reached 12 months, you can offer fresh tap water without boiling it.
What foods and drinks should you avoid while introducing solids?
Foods to avoid
- Honey until 12 months – this is to avoid the risk of infant botulism.
- Raw or runny eggs and foods containing raw eggs like home-made mayonnaise until 12 months – bacteria in raw eggs can be harmful to babies.
- Reduced-fat dairy until 2 years – babies need full-fat dairy for growth.
- Whole nuts, large seeds and similar hard foods until 4 years – these are choking hazards.
Drinks to avoid
- Pasteurised full-fat cow’s milk – your baby can have this as a main drink only after 12 months.
- Dairy alternatives like soy, goat’s, sheep’s, rice, oat, almond and coconut milk – these don’t have all the nutrients that your child needs, so avoid them until 2 years. If you want to use dairy alternatives, talk to your child and family health nurse or GP.
- Unpasteurised milks – avoid these at all ages, because they can contain harmful bacteria.
- Tea, coffee or sugar-sweetened drinks – avoid these at all ages because of their caffeine and sugar content.
- Fruit juice – limit this at all ages. Whole fruits are better because they have fibre and help babies develop chewing and feeding skills.
Home-cooked food without added salt or sugar is good for babies. Processed or packaged foods with high levels of fat, sugar or salt aren’t good for babies and children. These foods include cakes, biscuits, chips and fried foods.
When and how do you introduce allergenic solid foods?
When to introduce allergenic foods
Introducing allergenic foods early can reduce the risk of your child developing food allergy. Allergenic foods are foods that might trigger the immune system to react and produce mild to severe allergic symptoms.
All babies, including babies with a high allergy risk, should try solid foods that might trigger allergies from around 6 months of age. These foods include:
- well-cooked egg
- peanut butter and other nut butters
- wheat from wheat-based breads, roti, naan, cereals, noodles and pasta
- dairy – yoghurt, cheese and cow’s milk (in cooking or to soften cereal but not as a main drink)
- soy products like tofu, soy milk and soy sauce
- fish and shellfish.
How to introduce allergenic foods
It’s best to introduce allergenic foods one at a time. If an allergic reaction occurs, this allows you to recognise it easily and seek medical advice.
Once you’ve introduced an allergenic food that hasn’t caused an allergic reaction, it’s a good idea to include the food regularly in your baby’s diet.
When to get advice about allergenic foods
It’s good to get professional advice if:
- your baby has reacted to an allergenic food
- your baby has severe eczema
- your family has a history of food allergy and you’re concerned about starting solids
- you’re worried about reactions to foods.
You can talk to your GP, child and family health nurse or paediatrician, a dietitian or an allergy and immunology specialist.
Read our tips for introducing solid foods to learn how to get your baby interested in new foods and manage mealtime mess and play.