Starting Solids – It is a milestone when your child is ready to eat solids. However, it can be confusing when to start and how to start feeding your little one solid foods. We got some great advice from Julie Laux, the Founder of 101 Before One and the author of Baby Leads the Way: An Evidence Based Guide to Introducing Solid Foods.
What are some of the signs that your baby is ready to start solids?
It is important to make sure your baby is truly ready before introducing solid food. Your baby should be around 6 months old and showing they are developmentally ready for solids. Signs include strong head and neck control, sitting on the floor unassisted without much support. Additionally, signs are reaching and grabbing for toys or teethers and bringing them to their mouth.
Every baby develops on their own time, but typically we see these babies meeting these milestones around 6-7 months old. For babies born prematurely, we may need to wait until baby is 6 months adjusted age to see them meeting all of these signs of readiness. If you have questions about whether your baby is ready, your pediatrician should be able to guide you!
What is the average age for a baby to start solid food?
Top organizations such as the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics have come to the conclusion that the ideal age for starting solids (from both a nutrition and developmental readiness perspective) is around 6 months old. Breastmilk and/or formula remain the baby’s primary source of nutrition from 0-12 months. However, solid foods are considered a necessary complement starting around 6 months old. If baby is not meeting the signs of readiness (as mentioned above) around 6 months old, it is best to work with your pediatrician and even a feeding therapist to develop a plan to safely introduce solids.
It is also important to mention that babies who are at high risk for food allergies (pre-existing egg allergy or severe eczema) should be introduced to peanut-containing food at 4 to 6 months old to reduce the risk of peanut allergy. Speak with your child’s pediatrician about safe introduction at this early age.
Does your baby need teeth to start solids? How many teeth should they have?
It is a common myth that babies need teeth to start solids. In fact, babies actually don’t need any teeth at all to start solids! Babies gums are naturally strong and can mash soft solids easily with no teeth. Rather than waiting until baby has most of their back teeth, which typically does not occur until later in toddlerhood, we recommend starting solids when baby is developmentally ready (around 6 months old and meeting signs of readiness). It is important to serve your baby developmentally-appropriate foods and serving sizes to reduce the risk of choking.
What is the perfect food to start with?
We love to tell parents to start solids with the food they are comfortable serving. Whether you choose to start with purees, mashed foods, or finger foods, babies are actually capable of feeding themselves from day one of starting solids and there are many benefits to letting them do so. So don’t stress about those first few meals! Serve what you are comfortable with and progress from there following your baby’s cues.
Babies have high nutrient needs. It is important to focus on high fat and iron-rich foods. This is because your baby’s natural iron-stores start to deplete around 6 months old. Easy early foods that contain iron include egg omelet strips (top allergen), soft-cooked sweet potato wedges, steamed broccoli, soft-cooked shredded beef or chicken, and long pasta noodles. Sample purees include cooked beef or turkey puree, pureed peas, or pureed sweet potatoes. Iron-fortified cereal, although high in iron, is not necessary for all babies. Try to choose non-rice based infant cereals (such as quinoa or oatmeal). Rice cereals may contain higher amounts of arsenic which may cause health concerns if consumed in excess.
To help baby absorb more of the iron from foods they are eating, you can pair iron-rich foods with vitamin-c rich foods. Examples include ripe mango slices, cooked bell pepper strips with the skin removed, cooked butternut squash or large strawberries. Purees include pureed strawberries, mango, or kiwi.
Lastly, babies need fat in their diet to help support brain development. Try offering ripe avocado spears, fully cooked salmon (top allergen), full-fat yogurt (top allergen), or even sliced or shredded cheese. Adding unsalted butter or olive oil to baby’s meal is an easy way to add extra healthy fat.
When introducing fruits and vegetables, what should be introduced first and why?
There is a myth that babies should be served vegetables first, before serving any fruits. Research does not support this theory, and thus we encourage parents to serve both fruits and vegetables from the start. Both fruits and vegetables have key nutrients and vitamins that babies need to grow and thrive. There is no need to limit them! We recommend adding seasoning and spices such as garlic powder, paprika, or lemon juice to brighten the flavor of vegetables, along with adding fat like unsalted butter or avocado oil to boost the fat content. The goal of starting solids is to introduce a wide variety of foods to baby, and there is no perfect order of foods. Focus on serving a balanced diet of high-iron foods, fruits and vegetables, carbs and starches and healthy fats to meet baby’s nutrient needs.
What is baby led weaning?
Baby led weaning is the style of introducing solids where parents allow their baby to feed themselves. Typically finger foods are served early on, but baby led weaning can also be followed with baby self-feeding purees and mashed foods. BLW also encourages families to sit down and eat together, sharing similar foods with their baby. We love that baby led weaning (or baby led feeding as we call it!) gives babies the chance to learn how to eat and chew early on by watching their parents eat. Rather than taking the time to cook a separate meal for your baby, you can simply share a few safe pieces of food from your meal to share with baby.
Weaning typically refers to the reduction or “weaning” of breastmilk or formula. Your baby’s primary source of nutrition remains breastmilk or formula until the age of 12 months old. This is so even when we are introducing solid food around 6 months old. Babies will naturally wean themselves, increasing solid food intake from 6-12 months to make that transition to having most of their nutrient needs met from solid food at 12 months old. Mothers may continue breastfeeding as long as desired past 12 months of age. However, formula should be weaned at baby’s first birthday. Speak with your pediatrician if you have any concerns about weaning too early or if baby is struggling to make progress with solids.
Should we combine baby-led weaning and purees to begin or introduce slowly?
Yes! We recommend that parents allow their baby to self-feed from day one of starting solids. Serve a variety of textures, including purees, mashed foods, and finger foods from the start.
It is a common misconception that you cannot follow baby-led feeding with purees! Purees are still a texture that baby needs to learn how to eat. Rather than spoon-feeding baby, we encourage parents to pre-load short spoons with puree and hold in front of baby for them to grab and self-feed. You can use a two-spoon approach where baby is holding and eating from one spoon and then you pre-load the next one.
Research
Research shows that babies who are only exposed to smooth purees well past 9 months old tend to experience more feeding challenges. Know that it is totally okay to start with purees. However, it is also important to not get stuck on one texture too long. Quickly move on to mashed and soft finger foods to develop chewing skills during the 6-9-month window. Serve soft finger foods in stick shapes for baby to easily pick up, hold, and bring to mouth. It is OK if baby takes a bite! Babies have many protective reflexes active at 6 months old to help them learn how to chew safely, even without teeth.
At 9 months old, babies develop their pincer grasp which means they can pick up small pieces of food. This is when we make the transition from serving large, stick-shape finger foods, to small, bite-sized pieces to match baby’s development. You may start to see baby increase consumption of finger foods during the 8-10 month old window.
If baby is struggling to get the hang of solids and is not making any progress after a few weeks of trying, be sure to check in with your pediatrician or get a referral to see a feeding therapist. Early intervention can help parents quickly address their child’s feeding challenges.
When should we introduce a second and third new vegetable or fruit?
Waiting 3-5 days in between each new food is actually outdated advice that parents no longer need to follow. The recommendation for waiting several days in between foods. This started decades ago when we did not have a good understanding of food allergies. We now know that 90% of food allergies come from the Top 9 (peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, sesame, fish, shellfish, cow’s milk, and egg). Allergic reactions will happen within minutes to hours of ingesting a food.
We recommend parents speak to their pediatrician to determine if their baby is at a higher risk for food allergies (due to preexisting allergy or severe eczema). Each of the Top 9 allergens should be introduced to your baby on their own individually. This is to check for signs of reaction, but all other low-risk allergen foods can be served together.
Introducing a wide variety of foods when starting solids has many benefits – from reducing the risk of allergies, meeting baby’s high nutrient needs, teaching baby to chew from various textures, and also developing a preference for healthy, whole foods from the start. Waiting too long between each new food reduces diet diversity during a critical window! So be adventurous and serve baby many different foods from 6-12 months.
How do we protect our children from the risk of choking when starting solids?
The baby-led feeding style of introducing solids has actually been professionally researched several times in the past 10 years. The conclusion from two research studies shows that baby-led feeding and serving finger foods to babies does not increase the risk of choking. This helps put parents at ease knowing this is a safe way of introducing solids.
It is important that parents know how to properly serve finger foods to their baby if following this method and also understand the difference between gagging and choking. Gagging is a natural reflex that helps protect against choking. Foods that pass the “squish” test are soft enough for baby to chew with their gums. We go into more detail on how to serve foods inside our book.
All parents, regardless of which approach they take for introducing solids, should take an infant CPR course before they get started.
How do we know what is the perfect portion size for babies starting solids?
Parents are often worried or concerned when their baby has started solids, but they are not consuming that much food. We like to put parents at ease by telling them there is NO perfect portion size! A great place to start is offering baby 1-2 tablespoons or puree or 1-2 finger foods and following their hunger cues. Does baby seem interested and want more food? Offer them more. Does baby seem uninterested and fussy? No need to finish the portion, you can end the meal and try again later.
Responsive feeding is an approach to serving solids that allows baby to honor their own hunger and fullness cues. Parents simply offer meals to baby and let them lead the way! We want meal times to be happy and stress-free for both baby and parent.
Any concerns about baby not being interested or not consuming solids after a few weeks, should be addressed with the child’s pediatrician.
What are some top tips for keeping baby comfortable through the transition of starting solids?
Our goal when starting solids is to build positive experiences during mealtime. We love to get baby comfortable in their highchair around 5 months old. They love watching the family eat and playing with toys and teethers to start building those positive associations. It is preferred not to have baby’s first trial of their highchair also be their first meal!
We also know that babies can get fussy if they are hungry. To keep baby happy at mealtime when just starting out, we recommend providing a full milk feed about 60 minutes before offering solids. This allows baby to come to the table and explore without getting frustrated that they are hungry.
Lastly, we know that babies from 6-12 months may loose their appetite when they are sick or not feeling well. Prioritize milk feeds when baby is sick and offer hydrating, easy to eat solids like fresh fruit, yogurt or purees. Once baby is feeling better you can reintroduce more solids.
Can you tell us more about Baby Leads The Way?
Introducing solid food to babies has changed drastically in the last few years. It has left parents feeling confused and overwhelmed about this very important milestone. As parents ourselves, we too had to navigate this challenging milestone!
To help simplify starting solids for parents and bring everyone up to speed on the latest research and best practices, the team of pediatric experts at 101 before one teamed up with the American Academy of Pediatrics to publish Baby Leads the Way: An Evidence-based guide to introducing solid food.
Inside the 250-page book, parents will learn the 6 steps to starting solids success. This includes how to teach their baby to self-feed, enjoy a wide variety of foods, flavors and textures early on. Readers will also learn to modify everyday family meals for their baby. If you’re ready to give your child the best start with solid foods and set them up for a lifetime of adventurous eating, this book is for you!
*A special thank-you to Julie Laux for her helpful responses*
