What is the best baby food to introduce first
Do's and Don'ts for Baby's First Foods
Breastfeeding has been shown to improve infant, child and maternal health outcomes and help control healthcare costs, but how long should breastfeeding last and when should parents introduce solid foods?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend exclusive breastfeeding, meaning the infant receives only breast milk, during the first six months of life for optimal nutrition and health benefits.
Once solid foods are introduced, health professionals recommend continuing breastfeeding through 12 months of age and, after that, as desired by mother and baby. Introducing your baby to solid foods is an exciting milestone. When you start introducing children to the world of solid foods, you are helping them shape their relationship with food and establish a healthy eating style. The timing for introducing solid foods will depend on the infant, but it is not recommended before the age of four months or after the age of six months.
Not sure how to get your baby started on solid foods? Consider these helpful tips.
Is Your Baby Ready to Transition?
Each child's readiness for solid food depends on their own rate of development. Signs a baby may be ready to start solid foods include sitting up with minimal support, demonstrating good head control, bringing objects to the mouth or grasping at small objects. Check with your pediatrician before starting solid foods.
Getting Started With Solids
Solid foods may be introduced in any order. However, puréed meats, poultry, beans and iron-fortified cereals are recommended as first foods, especially if your baby has been primarily breastfed, since they provide key nutrients. Only one new single-ingredient food should be introduced at a time.
Softer textures are very important when first introducing foods. Infants usually start with pureed or mashed foods around six months. As infants develop chewing and motor skills, they are able to handle items like soft pieces of fruit and finger foods.
As the child ages, a variety of healthful foods is encouraged.
Weaning From Breastfeeding
When deciding if you should wean your baby to a bottle or a cup, consider their developmental readiness. Between 7 and 8 months, most infants will drink small amounts of liquid from a cup or a glass when someone else holds it. Older babies and toddlers often have the coordination to drink fluids from a cup by themselves.
If your baby is under 12 months of age and you are not continuing to breastfeed, wean from breast milk to iron-fortified infant formula. If your baby is 12 months or older, whole cow’s milk is appropriate.
Food Safety Do’s and Don’ts
Food safety concerns for infants and toddlers include food allergies, choking and risks for foodborne illness. Keep the following safety tips in mind:
Do talk with your pediatrician about the risk of food allergies. Introducing one new food at a time, every several days, allows time to monitor for allergic reactions.
Current evidence does not indicate needing to wait beyond 4 to 6 months before introducing potential allergy-causing foods such as eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts and fish. In fact, introducing peanut-containing foods as early as 4 to 6 months of age may help prevent a peanut allergy. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends introducing potentially allergenic foods when other complementary foods are introduced to an infant’s diet. Parents with concerns about food allergies should discuss how to include these foods with their pediatrician.
Don’t feed your baby solid foods from a bottle. It can be a choking hazard and despite a popular misconception, putting cereal in a baby's bottle won't help with sleeping through the night. Other foods that are considered to be choking hazards are listed below.
Do supervise your child while eating. Infants should be able to sit upright and face forward when you first introduce solid foods. This makes swallowing easier and choking less likely.
Don’t feed directly from the jar of food but instead spoon some food into a separate dish first. Feeding directly from the jar may introduce bacteria from your baby's mouth to the spoon and back into the food, creating a food safety issue.
Don’t feed honey to children under 12 months of age due to the risk of foodborne illness.
Examples of appropriate solid foods listed by age:
6 months:
- Well-cooked and pureed meat, poultry or beans
- Ground, cooked, single-grain cereal or infant cereal with breast milk or formula
- Cooked and pureed vegetables
- Mashed banana or avocado
9 months:
- Well-cooked, minced or finely chopped meat, poultry or beans
- A variety of cooked vegetables cut into small, ½ inch pieces, such as squash and green beans
- Sliced and quartered bananas or small pieces of other soft fruits
12 months:
- Soft, shredded meat, poultry or fish
- Small pieces of cooked vegetables
- Small pieces of soft, easy to chew fruits
- Mixed food dishes the family is eating in appropriately sized pieces
Not recommended for those under 4 years of age due to the risk of choking:
- Popcorn and whole kernel corn
- Nuts and seeds
- Large chunks of meat, poultry and cheese
- Candy, gum drops and jelly beans
- Hard, raw fruits or vegetables such as apples, celery and carrots
- Whole grapes and cherry tomatoes, unless cut into quarters
- Hot dogs, unless cut into strips and age appropriate, bite-size pieces
- Sticky foods, such as peanut butter, which can get stuck in the back of the mouth – peanut butter is okay if spread thinly on bread
For toddlers and preschoolers, chop grapes, meat, poultry, hot dogs and raw vegetables and fruits into small pieces (about ½ inch or smaller).
Nurturing Healthy Relationships with Food
Establishing a positive feeding relationship during infancy can have lifetime benefits. Keep in mind that children are responsible for how much and whether they eat so always wait for your baby to pay attention to each spoonful before you feed them. Don't be afraid to let your baby touch the food in the dish and on the spoon. You wouldn't want to eat something if you didn't know anything about it, would you? In addition, know the cues that your baby is done eating. A common cue babies are full is head turning.
Whatever happens, don't get discouraged and enjoy the experience. With a little patience and creativity, you can make your baby's first solid food eating experience fun for everyone involved!
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The Ultimate Guide to Baby’s First Foods from 4-6 Months Old
If you have a baby between 4 and 6 months old, you’re probably starting to think about what their first foods will be…which means you probably have questions about baby’s first foods, too! Things like: “When should I start?” “Do I need to stick to single-ingredient foods?” and “How do I safely introduce common allergens like peanut butter without freaking out?!” Chances are, you miiiiight be a little overwhelmed at the idea of first foods, too.
I know it’s a lot to think about, but the good news is that you’ve found your way here! And now that you’re here, I can help.
As a mom of two and a pediatric dietitian, I’m writing this post to help you navigate the nerves and the new chapter that is buying, preparing, and serving up baby’s first foods! Whether you’re going for purees, baby-led weaning, or a combination of both, consider this your ultimate guide to what first foods to serve and how to introduce them to your baby safely.
P.S. Don’t forget to save this post! I know it’s one you’ll want to come back to again and again.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Skip right to the first foods info you’re looking for:
- When To Serve Baby Their First Foods
- Safety For Baby’s First Foods
- Purees vs. Baby-Led Weaning: What’s Right For You?
- The Best Foods To Introduce Baby To Between 4 & 6 Months Old
- The Ultimate Baby’s First Foods List
- Best Finger Foods & Baby-Led Weaning First Foods
- The Best Pureed First Foods
- The Best Easy-To-Make First Foods
- The Most Nutritious First Foods
- The Best Vegetarian First Foods
- Foods That Should Be Avoided
- Baby’s First Foods Chart: What, When & How To Serve Common First Foods to 4- to 6-Month-Old Babies
- First Foods For Babies With Allergies
When To Serve Baby Their First Foods
Although some people will serve baby’s first foods earlier, I recommend starting solids closer to the six-month mark.
You want to avoid adding rice cereal or any other food to their bottle, and instead, begin solids when they display the signs of readiness listed below. By waiting to serve baby’s first foods until they’re truly ready, you increase their safety and chances of success as a new eater.
Signs of Eating Readiness
Your baby is ready to start solids if they:
- Can sit upright
- Can sit unsupported
- Have good head and neck control
- Have some practice bringing toys or objects from their hand to their mouth
- Show an interest in food (By reaching for what you’re eating, intently watching as others eat, etc.)
Can I Give My 4-Month-Old Baby Food?
Some pediatricians may okay solids around four months, but again, I generally recommend waiting until closer to six months, and when baby is displaying those signs of readiness.
There are more benefits to waiting than there are to starting earlier. Before six months, babies get everything they need from breastmilk or formula, so starting solids early won’t help them sleep better, grow faster, or, you know, become a professional athlete!
If you want to get your four- or five-month-old baby involved in mealtime, I recommend getting them acquainted with food and eating in these ways:
- Sit them near you while you’re eating
- Give them a silicone spoon to hold (I like NumNum GooTensils, EZPZ Tiny Spoons, and Olababy Training Spoons) and let them practice bringing it to their mouth
- Give them teething toys, like Sophie, or this elephant, to desensitize the gag reflex
FAQ: Do Formula- and Breast-Fed Babies Have Different Nutritional Needs?
Formula and breast milk are both completely nutritionally satisfactory for the first six months of life and beyond.
So when it comes to starting solids, it doesn’t matter whether your baby has been receiving breast milk or formula.
That said, babies who are exclusively breastfed should receive a Vitamin D supplement, as levels in breastmilk are low. Formulas on the other hand are typically fortified with Vitamin D, so formula-fed babies don’t need one. Another thing to consider for a baby’s nutrition is iron. Babies build up an iron reserve from their mothers while in utero, but these stores begin to decline around six months of age for all babies.
Safety For Baby’s First Foods
Safety is a huge concern for parents when starting solids. Whether you start with baby foods, purees, or baby-led weaning, there are certain parameters to follow to make sure baby’s intro to food is safe and successful.
Choking Hazards for 4- to 6-Month-Old Babies
Choking hazards for babies ages four to six months old include any foods that are hard, crunchy, sticky, or chewy, as well those that are dangerous shapes.
Common hazardous foods are:
- Chips
- Popcorn
- Pretzels
- Raw Apple
- Globs of Nut Butter
- Hot Dogs
- Grapes
- Large seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, for example)
- Whole nuts
Many of these foods can be prepared safely to minimize the risk of choking, but they remain a choking hazard if they’re in their “natural” states until children turn four years old.
You can minimize choking risks by making sure your child is seated upright and strapped in a high chair with good trunk support. Foot support on a high chair is also helpful when your baby is starting out because it reinforces their stability, and when they’re more stable, they can chew and swallow more safely!
AAP & CDC Recommendations
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend starting solids around six months of age, but not before four months. Again, some pediatricians may okay solids around four months of age, but I usually recommend waiting until six months to make sure baby is showing the physical signs of readiness I outlined above.
The one exception may be for introducing certain allergens to certain infants, depending on their inherent level of risk. Speak with your pediatrician or allergist to see if they want to start your baby on certain foods early.
Purees vs. Baby-Led Weaning: What’s Right For You?
Before you serve baby their first foods, you’ll need to decide what kinds of foods you want to offer. And while there’s a lot of dialogue and opinions about the “best” way to feed a baby, I want you to know there isn’t one right way to do this. You can start with purees or baby-led weaning, or you can do a combination of both.
Tip: If you take a puree approach, help them learn to self-feed by offering baby preloaded spoons and letting them bring the food to their mouth.
Babies are very intuitive about getting the nutrition they need, so full permission to opt for the feeding style that’s comfortable for you. They’ll be able to get enough to eat either way! If simple textures feel easier and lower-stress for you, start with purees.
If you’re ready to tackle preparing foods in a way that’s safe for baby, go for baby-led weaning. And if you’re on the go a lot or need a caretaker to feed your baby sometimes, maybe a hybrid approach is best. It truly doesn’t matter as long as you’re helping them foster independence in eating, and offering a variety of different foods.
One thing that DOES matter when it comes to feeding your baby is letting them be in charge of how much they eat (while you learn to interpret their hunger and fullness cues). And you can do this whether you’re feeding them purees or finger foods.
Baby Signs Of Hunger:
- Reaching for food
- Moving toward the spoon
- Opening their mouth
- Pointing to food
- Excited at the sight of food
Baby Signs Of Fullness:
- Turning away from food
- Batting spoon away
- Clamping mouth shut
- Playing with/throwing food
- Significantly slowed pace of eating
- No longer showing interest
The Best Foods To Introduce Baby To Between 4 & 6 Months Old
A common question I get is, “What baby foods should I introduce first?” And really, there isn’t one “best” first food.
You do not have to start with only baby cereal or only veggies or fruits. In fact, you shouldn’t! Research shows that introducing babies to a wide variety of foods early on is what’s most beneficial.
That said, my favorite first food is avocado! It’s a wonderful source of healthy fat, and it’s loaded with vitamins and minerals. Fat is essential to the developing brain and central nervous system, so we want to prioritize it within a baby’s first foods and make sure it’s completely unrestricted during their first two years of life.
(We also want to prioritize iron, because it’s a common dietary deficiency, and our babies begin to run out of the iron stores they got in utero by about six months.)
It’s Okay If Baby’s First Foods Have Multiple Ingredients!
You may choose to serve solely single-ingredient foods like avocado or sweet potato, but know that it’s not necessary to do so. It can be really helpful to serve a variety of new foods together, so they get used to different tastes and textures.
Plus, there are nutritional benefits to mixing foods. For example, yogurt—a common first food for babies—can be fortified with mashed fruit, nut butter, or hemp seeds to up the nutritional value. (But if you ever notice a reaction or suspect an allergy to a component of a food combination you’ve been serving, stop serving the suspected allergen and contact your pediatrician.)
PSA: Skip The Baby Cereal
The recommendations from years past telling parents to start with rice-based infant cereals are outdated now. Rice cereals aren’t super nutritious, and we don’t want to rely too much on rice due to potential exposure to arsenic. So instead of cereals, offer new foods in safely-prepared forms. This is way more nutritious, and it exposes them to different flavors, textures, and nutrients which are beneficial for growth and development and can protect them against food allergies and picky eating.
The Ultimate List of Baby Foods
I’m covering allll the best kinds of baby foods separately, so you get all the juicy info and context you need.
Then, I’m combining them all into one big, bad, comprehensive list of the best first foods for baby at the end.
SKIP TO THE LIST
Best Finger Foods & Baby-Led Weaning First Foods
For baby’s first foods, I like to suggest approachable options like avocado, sweet potato, and banana. These can be prepared and served baby-led-weaning-style by cutting them in wedges or crescent shapes that can be gripped with a palmar grasp. Bananas can be served as halves or in thirds-long ways. Just stick to serving items in longer shapes, about the width of two adult fingers, for the first few months of BLW. This way, baby can hold them and bring them to their mouth. Once your baby is a little bit older—usually around 9 months—many foods can be served safely in smaller pieces.
The Best Pureed First Foods
If you’re going the puree route, you can start with many of the same foods. Just mash up the sweet potato, avocado, banana—or whatever else, really!—and serve those as purees.
You may want to thin them some with breastmilk or formula.
But shortly after starting with these foods, I would move on to introducing allergenic foods, because the early and repeated introduction of allergenic foods can be protective against the development of food allergies in babies, specifically for peanuts. Foods like yogurt and peanut butter may be good early options for allergenic introductions and are already in pureed form. Just start with small amounts.
The Best Easy-To-Make First Foods
Foods that are naturally soft are the easiest to prepare for young eaters. Banana, yogurt, apple sauce, and avocado are all great options that are easy to serve with little to no prep. You can also mix creamy nut butter with yogurt and incorporate other mashed fruits, like raspberries and blackberries, to ramp up the nutritional value while keeping prep extremely low.
Don’t feel like you need to shy away from foods that aren’t naturally soft, either! Many other fruits and veggies, like sweet potato, broccoli, and pears, can also be safely served with simple steaming or roasting techniques.
Just make sure to cook these foods until they’re soft enough to be smashed between your fingers, so baby can safely enjoy them, and present them in a shape or style that they can safely navigate. (Soft foods can also be served to them on a pre-loaded spoon if they can’t be eaten by hand, yet.)
Low-Prep First Food Options:
- Banana
- Yogurt (Can mix with mashed berries or nut butter)
- Apple Sauce
- Avocado
- Steamed Veggies (Soft enough to mash between your fingers)
The Most Nutritious First Foods
There are so many great, nutrient-dense choices for baby’s first foods that are safe by six months of age no matter what type of foods you serve. (But it’s true that, if you take a baby-led weaning approach, you’ll probably have more options.) Sardines and salmon (fresh or canned) are both loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, DHA, protein, and tons of vitamins and minerals, which make them highly nutritious first foods! From the plant kingdom, sweet potato and avocado are nutrient-dense foods with a wide variety of vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and magnesium.
The Best Vegetarian First Foods
Vegetarian foods are some of the best first foods for baby! There are tons of wonderful and nutritious fruit and veggie options that suit young eaters, like berries, bananas, avocados, potatoes, broccoli, squash, and many others. Non-produce vegetarian items are great first foods for baby, too. Think tofu strips, eggs (yolk and white), beans, nut butter, and oatmeal.
Just be sure you serve these in safe shapes and forms, and that they’re soft enough to be mashed between your fingers. Always avoid serving things that are hard, sticky, or chewy, and keep in mind that many raw vegetables and fruits are choking hazards (like celery and apple).
Foods That Should Be Avoided
While most foods have a place in most diets, there are some foods to avoid serving your 4- to 6-month-old baby:
Added Sugar
To make sure our babies get the most nutrition possible during this important phase of growth and development, it’s best to avoid added sugar for children under two.
Added sugar doesn’t have much nutritional value, so it’s best to limit it as much as possible and avoid it altogether if possible.
Want to offer baby fun, homemade foods like cookies, bars, and muffins once they are fully established on solids? You still can! Just use the recipes in my No Sugar, Still Sweet cookbook, where everything is sweetened with fruit alone.
Honey
Babies should strictly avoid honey before 12 months of age. Honey can be contaminated with spores of a bacteria called clostridium botulinum. In babies under one, these spores can multiply and produce a dangerous toxin that causes infant botulism.
Related: Honey for Babies & Toddlers
Sodium
Finally, sodium should be limited. For babies ages four to six months, the recommended sodium limit intake for a day is 110 mg, which includes any sodium present in breast milk and/or formula.
Fruit Juice
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no fruit juice before 1 year of age.
Juice offers very few nutritional benefits and therefore isn’t a helpful addition to a baby’s diet.
- Under 1: No Juice
- Age 1-3: 4 Oz Daily Max
- Age 4-6: 4-6 Oz Daily Max
- Age 7-18: 8 Oz Daily Max
The Ultimate Baby’s First Foods List
- Avocado
- Sweet Potato (Mashed or Steamed)
- Broccoli (Steamed or Roasted)
- Pears (Steamed or Roasted)
- Butternut Squash
- Mango
- Banana
- Yogurt*
- Nut Butter* (Mixed-In To Purees or Spread Thin on Toast)
- Oatmeal
- Apple Sauce
- Mashed Raspberries
- Mashed Blueberries
- Mashed Blackberries
- Canned Sardines*
- Canned Salmon*
- Potatoes (Mashed or Steamed)
- Squash (Steamed or Roasted)
- Tofu Strips*
- Baby-Safe Eggs* (Try omelet-style and cut into strips!)
- Beans (Mashed)
*Common Allergens
Baby’s First Foods Chart: What, When & How To Serve Common First Foods to 4- to 6-Month-Old Babies
| BABY’S FIRST FOOD | WHEN TO SERVE | HOW TO SERVE |
| Avocado | 6 Months or Later | Mashed, mixed-in to sauces, and purees, or in wedge shapes baby can grip (BLW). |
| Oatmeal | 6 Months of Later | Prepare with breastmilk or formula. Option to mix in yogurt, nut butter, mashed berries, or mashed banana. |
| Banana | 6 Months or Later | Mashed, mixed into sauces and purees, cut in halves or third-long pieces (BLW). |
| Sweet Potato | 6 Months or Later | Roasted or steamed so they’re soft enough to mash between your fingers. |
| Mango | 6 Months or Later | Cut into wedge-shaped pieces that baby can grip. Or, give baby the pit to work on! |
| Eggs (Common Allergen) | 6 Months or Earlier (If advised by a pediatrician or allergist) | Prepare eggs omelet-style and cut them into strips baby can grip. |
| Yogurt (Common Allergen) | 6 Months or Earlier (If advised by a pediatrician or allergist) | Serve yogurt as-is or mix it into sauces, oatmeals, or purees. |
| Nut Butter (Common Allergen) | 6 Months or Earlier (If advised by a pediatrician or allergist) | Mix nut butters into oatmeal or purees, or spread them thinly over toast. |
| Berries | 6 Months or Later | Mash berries into a thicker, jam-like consistency before serving. Consider mixing mashed berries into other foods. |
| Tofu (Common Allergen) | 6 Months or Earlier (If advised by a pediatrician or allergist) | Cut into thin strips that baby can grasp and fry them up in a pan. Serve cool or warm, not hot. |
| Broccoli | 6 Months or Later | Steamed or roasted so it’s soft enough to mash between your fingers. |
| Apple Sauce | 6 Months or Later | As-is or mixed in to oatmeal, yogurt, or purees. |
| Canned Sardines (Common Allergen) | 6 Months or Later | Whole piece or mashed with other foods. |
| Honey | 1 Year or Later | At 1 year or later, serve mixed-in to yogurt, sauces, or purees, or spread thinly on toast. |
| Fruit Juice | 1 year or Later | At 1 year or later, offer up to 4 oz per day. |
| Sugar | 2 Years or Later | Avoid added sugar before age two, then introduce it gradually and only as-needed. |
First Foods For Babies With Allergies
Food allergies have grown in prevalence over the last 50 years, and it’s now estimated that about 7% of babies have a food allergy! And while that can make choosing a baby’s first foods a little scary, the good news is that up to 80% of kids can grow out of their food allergies. (Especially when those allergies are milk and eggs!)
Important Information on Allergic Reactions & Introducing Allergens
For at least the last decade, parents were told to wait until 12 months or older to introduce the top eight allergens (peanut, tree nuts, eggs, milk, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish) to their babies. Now, things are different. Today, we recommend introducing allergenic foods to your baby when they start solids, which, for most children, is around six months old.
Introducing allergenic foods at this point in your baby’s development can reduce the risk of developing some food allergies—especially allergies to eggs and peanuts.
For Babies With Known Allergies
If your baby is already known to have a food allergy, do not introduce that food. But, if baby has certain risk factors WITHOUT a confirmed allergy (like eczema or a family member with a food allergy), consult the pediatrician. You may be referred to an allergist who will determine the best course of action with an introduction.
Introducing Allergens: What To Watch For
Mild allergic reactions may look like new hives around the mouth or face.
More severe reactions can include:
- Vomiting
- Lip Swelling
- Widespread Hives
- Face Or Tongue Swelling
- Difficulty Breathing
- Changes In Skin Color
- Sudden Lethargy Or Limpness
If you notice any of these severe signs, seek emergency medical help immediately.
Make Starting Solids Simple
I know that getting ready to start serving your baby their first foods is nerve-wracking. But with the right info (which you now have) and prep (which you’re equipped to do), I promise you it can be a great experience. Now that you know all the things about safety, allergic reactions, which foods to serve, and how to serve them, go in with your bases covered and just enjoy the time spent with your little one.
I also know that if you decide to go with solids, you might be a little extra nervous about things like gagging and making all foods baby-safe. And, I get it! These things can be intimidating the first few times. Lucky for you though, you’re not alone! You’ve got me in your corner. I’ve been there before, I’ve helped so many parents navigate through it, and I know you can do it, too.
To help you up your confidence, ditch the unnecessary doubts, and feed them well right from the start, I put together my research-backed Simply Solids guide.
If you’re about to start—or already on—your baby-feeding journey, Simply Solids is a must-have.
START THE CAR! Simply Solids Is Usually $15, But Right Now It’s Free
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Get The Free Guide
Baby’s First Foods
Kacie Barnes, MCN, RDN, LD
Summary of baby first foods 4 to 6 months some ideas in case you want a printer friendly list!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin RecipePrep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Total Time 10 mins
Course Breakfast, Dinner, lunch
Cuisine American
Servings 2 servings
Calories 50 kcal
- Avocado
- Oatmeal
- Banana
- Sweet Potato
- Mango
- Eggs (Common Allergen)
- Yogurt (Common Allergen)
- Nut Butter (Common Allergen)
- Berries
- Tofu (Common Allergen)
- Broccoli
- Apple Sauce
- Canned Sardines (Common Allergen)
Mashed, mixed-in to sauces or purees, or in wedge shapes baby can grip (BLW).
Prepare with breastmilk, formula, canned coconut milk or water. Option to mix in yogurt, nut butter, mashed berries, or mashed banana.
Mashed, mixed into sauces and purees, cut in halves or third-long pieces (BLW).
Roasted or steamed so they’re soft enough to mash between your fingers. Or, serve mashed with a spoon.
Cut into wedge-shaped pieces that baby can grip. Or, give baby the pit to work on!
Serve yogurt as-is or mix it into sauces, oatmeals, or purees.
Mix nut butters into oatmeal or purees, or spread them thinly over toast.
Mash berries into a thicker, jam-like consistency before serving.
Consider mixing mashed berries into other foods.
Cut into thin strips that baby can grasp and fry them up in a pan. Serve cool or warm, not hot.
As-is or mixed in to oatmeal, yogurt, or purees.
Calories: 50kcal
Keyword baby
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
First feeding: rules and tips
Baby cartoon
Six months flew by unnoticed. Now the baby is already stretching its arms into your plate to try your food. So, it's time to introduce your baby to new tastes with the help of complementary foods.
When to introduce complementary foods?
The World Health Organization recommends the introduction of the first complementary foods from 6 months. It is believed that it is at the age of about six months that babies respond best to food other than mother's milk *.
But the Russian pediatric school allows the introduction of complementary foods from 4.5-5 months. Remember that early introduction of complementary foods is permissible only after consultation with a specialist!
First complementary foods combined with mother's milk will provide the baby with useful substances that will help him grow properly. And the timely start of complementary foods is useful for developing the skills of chewing and swallowing thick foods in a child.
Talk to your pediatrician to make an informed decision about your baby's nutrition. And how to introduce complementary foods correctly, you will learn from the diagram below.
Complementary Feeding Rules
- Introduce new foods to your child's diet starting with ½ teaspoon and gradually increase the portion until you reach the required amount for age. And to keep your baby full, supplement him with breastfeeding or infant formula. So the volume of complementary foods will gradually increase, and milk will decrease until it completely disappears.
- New foods should be given to your baby in the morning so you have all day to see how he reacts to them.
- Do not rush to give your baby several new products at once - first let him get used to one, and then add the next one.
- Offer complementary foods first before breastfeeding.
- Do not give your child any new foods if they are sick and during the vaccination period.
Where to start complementary foods?
Pediatricians advise starting complementary foods with porridge or vegetable puree. Which one to choose depends on your baby. Usually, vegetable puree is recommended to start complementary foods if the baby is gaining weight well. If the child is thin, the doctor may advise you to start with porridge. But with fruit, you should not rush. Your baby may like the sweet taste, and after that it will be difficult for him to feed him buckwheat or zucchini.
To reduce the chance of an allergic reaction, start complementary foods with mono-component purees (only zucchini, or cauliflower, or broccoli) and gluten-free (buckwheat, rice, corn) dairy-free cereals.
Below we give an approximate menu for a child up to a year **. To create an individual feeding plan, consult with your doctor.
| Age (months) | What foods should be in the diet by the end of the month | What new products to add |
|---|---|---|
| 5 months | - | Start complementary foods with vegetable purees or dairy-free gluten-free cereals |
| 6 months | If you started solid foods at 5 months:
|
|
| 7 months |
|
|
| 8 months |
|
|
| 9-12 months |
|
|
After 9–12 months, the volumes of products introduced gradually increase. Note, how the baby gains weight, how his appetite changes. But remember, the older the child, the more pronounced individual characteristics - his eating habits may vary.
*In order to provide the baby's body with everything necessary, continue to feed the baby with breast milk after the introduction of complementary foods. The World Health Organization advises to continue breastfeeding for up to two years.
**Based on the National Infant Feeding Program for healthy babies
Baby food: the best foods for babies | Types of products for children
Not all mothers and fathers know what applies to baby food and when they can be offered to the baby. In the practice of doctors, there are many cases when a baby of 3-4 months is already given cow's milk, and vice versa - at the age of 8-9months still do not introduce meat puree into the diet.
According to the WHO, it is recommended that complementary foods be introduced when the baby is 4-6 months old and should be done while breastfeeding continues. Complementary foods are understood to mean all liquid and solid foods that are offered to the baby - with the exception of breast milk itself and infant formula. In the Russian Federation, the introduction of complementary foods from 4-6 months is recommended.
In this article we will look at what kind of baby food is best for babies, what is recommended to use to expand the menu, how to choose and in what order to introduce foods into the diet of a child of the first year of life.
Choose foods for the first feeding
Kashi
Kashi is the best baby food for the first feeding of babies. They are made from cereals, contain a lot of carbohydrates, which give the baby energy for growth and development, and fiber, which contributes to comfortable digestion. This natural and healthy baby food is also a good source of vegetable proteins and fats. All Nestlé® baby cereals are additionally enriched with the Iron+ trace element complex, thanks to which the baby receives iron and other minerals from food.
Dairy-free, gluten-free, hypoallergenic cereals - buckwheat, corn - should become the first cereal-based baby products. Then the baby's diet can be expanded and other cereals can be introduced:
- Dairy cereals from gluten-free cereals - for example, buckwheat porridge with dried apricots, rice porridge with apple.
- Cereals from cereals containing gluten - oatmeal, wheat.
- Porridge from a mixture of cereals - multi-grain porridge with pear and peach, banana and strawberry pieces.
Nestle® Kashi is an easy-to-use dry baby food. Just take the right amount of porridge and dilute it with breast milk or water - it's very easy. You can prepare a very tiny portion, which is important when the baby first meets a new product.
Important!
Complementary foods always start with small portions. If your baby is trying porridge for the first time, offer him no more than one teaspoon. Watch out for reactions; if everything is in order - the next day increase the portion to two teaspoons. With good tolerance, gradually, within 5-7 days, bring the serving volume to the age norm. If, in response to the introduction of porridge, the child develops a rash on the skin, the nature of the stool changes, he becomes restless - do not give this product yet. It will be possible to try again to introduce it into the diet in a month.
Meat
Meat purees occupy a special place among baby foods. They are rich in protein, contain B vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and, most importantly, a lot of well-absorbed heme iron.
By six months, the baby's iron stores are depleted, and a reliable source of this element should appear in his diet.
Meat is introduced into the diet as homogenized baby food. It is recommended to start with mashed light white meat - rabbit or turkey - they have the highest iron content. Then the menu includes more nutrient-dense meats: veal and beef.
Vegetables
Vegetables contain carbohydrates, organic acids, fiber, pectin, various vitamins and minerals. Some of them, such as carrots and pumpkins, literally scream with their orange color about the large amount of beta-carotene, a provitamin from which the body produces vitamin A.
Puree is the ideal consistency for introducing crumbs to vegetables. Therefore, for children aged 4-6 months, all baby food should be homogenized. Pieces of food appear on the menu of the child closer to the year - and then very small.
For the first vegetable weaning, mashed marrows, broccoli, cauliflower are recommended.
Note
There is a rule: one day - one new product. If you introduced mashed broccoli into your child's diet today, do not offer other new dishes yet.
Egg
Egg is not a first food product. Egg yolk can be included in baby food immediately after the first cereals and mashed potatoes, from 7 months. The yolks contain a lot of easily digestible proteins and fats, vitamin A and phosphorus. Choline is especially important - it favorably affects the development of the nervous system.
Fruits
Fruits are not only healthy, but also very tasty, because they contain a lot of natural sugars. They are also rich in vitamins and minerals, organic acids (citric, malic and others), fiber, which contributes to the comfortable functioning of the intestines. Baby fruit products are recommended to be introduced after the first feeding.
It is better to start with fruits traditional for our country - apples or pears.
Some mothers think that natural baby food from fruits can only be prepared at home. Actually it is not. Factory products - the best companies involved in the production of baby food, carefully test raw materials for the absence of heavy metals, traces of fertilizers and other harmful impurities, and are also responsible for the proportions of nutrients declared on the packaging. It is impossible to achieve this at home.
Fruit juices
Fruit juices are one of the popular liquid baby food options. They are similar in vitamin and mineral composition to fruit puree (especially juices with pulp) - they contain potassium, iron, vitamin C and many other useful substances. And, of course, juices are a pleasant delicacy that kids really like and greatly expands the palette of baby food flavors.
Juices are introduced into complementary foods simultaneously with fruit puree and according to the same scheme.
It is advisable to start with simple drinks from one fruit - for example, an apple or a pear, and only then indulge the crumbs with complex cocktails - such as a mixture of apple, grape and rosehip juices.
Fish
Like meat, fish in baby food will become a source of protein, B vitamins and other trace elements. In addition, it contains polyunsaturated fatty acids that are important for growth and development, which the child's body is not able to synthesize on its own in the right amount.
Babies can be offered fish from 8–9 months, replacing meat with it 1–2 times a week. When introducing fish, you need to remember that children have intolerance to this product. If fish feeding has led to allergies or other undesirable consequences, temporarily exclude fish from the diet and be sure to consult a specialist. It will help you choose the right foods for your baby.
Dairy products
Many parents in Russia believe that cow's milk is the best baby food, and this misconception is actively supported by the older generation.
Don't believe it: whole cow's milk does more harm than good to babies and can cause digestive problems. In addition, milk contributes to too rapid weight gain, which in the future increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and other diseases.
Instead of cow's milk, the following types of solid and liquid baby food are recommended for babies under 3 years of age:
- Children's products containing milk in small quantities - such as industrial milk porridges.
- Special for children after one year.
- Fermented milk products - special adapted drinks.
- Low-fat cottage cheese.
Water
In the first months of life, the baby receives the necessary amount of water along with breast milk. However, as an independent product, water appears in the baby's diet almost simultaneously with the first complementary foods. It is used for breeding dry baby food - dairy-free and milk porridges, as well as just for drinking.
The choice of water must be approached responsibly.
Pediatricians recommend buying a baby special bottled water for baby food. It is manufactured in compliance with strict bacteriological standards, does not contain radioactive and harmful chemical impurities, and is characterized by low mineralization. For parents, this water is convenient because it does not need to be boiled - but only if used within a day after opening the package.
Herbal teas
There are many herbal teas now available that are specially formulated for baby food. They contain medicinal herbs and fruits - fennel, mint, anise, chamomile, rose hips, raspberries and others.
Sometimes berries, fruits, natural sugars are added to children's tea - this way the drink becomes more attractive for a little gourmet.
These children's products are a natural pharmacy that provides the baby with a complex of useful substances. However, some active components of herbal drinks can cause allergies, so teas should be introduced into the baby's diet with extreme caution.
