Starting Solids 101

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Starting solids 101

For you & your little one

Signs of readiness

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solids at around 6

months of age when baby displays the below signs.¹ Always check with your

pediatrician, who knows your baby best, before starting solids.

Baby no longer has the reflex that causes her to push out with her tongue. Instead, baby can take food from a spoon and swallow.

Baby can sit with support.

Baby can turn her head toward or away from food.

Baby appears interested in food when other people are eating.

Baby holds her head straight up when sitting.

Baby opens her mouth when offered a spoonful of food.

Baby has doubled her birthweight.

Keep in mind, when starting solids

Iron is important for infants to consume starting at 6 months.

This can come from plant-based foods such as beans, legumes, dark leafy greens, iron-fortified whole grains such as pastas, infant cereals and breads or meats such as chicken, turkey, beef, and fish,

Some foods to avoid that could be a chocking hazard:

Chunks of meat or cheese, hot dogs, sausages, popcorn, seeds, nuts, chunks of peanut butter, whole grapes or cherry tomatoes, hard, gooey or sticky candy, chewing gum, raw vegetables or fruit chunks.

It is not recommended to add sugar or salt to baby’s food.

Breast milk, formula, and solids provide all the naturally occurring sugar and salt your baby needs in a day.

Water can be introduced at 6 months.

Only about 1/2 cup (4 oz) is recommended per day, increasing if needed to up to 1 cup (8 oz) per day as baby gets closer to one year. Offer water in a toddler cup or sippy cup to help create long term healthy habits.

Getting ready

to start solids

These days there are few rules about how to introduce specific

foods. It’s more important to be sure you are giving baby the right

texture she will be able to swallow safely for her stage of

development, and that you are introducing a wide variety of foods -

starting solids is a key time to influence eating habits later in life!²

Consistently exposing your child to a wide variety of healthy, whole

foods is key in expanding your baby’s palate.

Here are some

tips on how!

Focus on introducing lots of vegetables, fruits and

whole grains without worrying so much about the

order of the introduction.

Babies naturally like sweet tastes, so letting your

little one experience the real, sometimes bitter taste

of vegetables will help her accept them.

If she doesn’t like something at first, don’t worry. Keep

offering the food or try preparing it in different ways

(sauteed, steamed, roasted or raw) to learn your little

one’s preferences. It can sometimes take 10 or more

tries for a baby to accept and enjoy new, unfamiliar

foods and flavors, so stick with it!³

Here are some food ideas
to get you started

Start with 1-2 tbsp one to two times per day. Work up to 2-4 tsp two to three times per day.
It’s important to advance texture once your baby is comfortable, Start with thin, pureed
foods. Next, move to lumpy, mashed foods, followed by finely chopped foods.

Iron fortified
infant cereals

Cooked pureed single
fruit such as peaches,
apples, pears, apricots

Mashed raw
banana

Mashed raw
avocado

Cooked pureed single vegetable
such as carrots, peas, green
beans, squash, sweet potato

Cooked pureed
meats, fish, poultry,
legumes, tofu

Thinned peanut or nut butter

Discuss introducing allergenic
foods with your pediatrician

Whole milk yogurt,
no sugar added

Reading baby’s
feeding cues

Watch for baby’s cues to help make feeding time a nice experience for both baby and you!

Waving arms and
legs excitedly when
food is offered

Smiling during
the feeding

Grabbing for the
spoon or food

Cooing, opening
mouth and leaning
towards food

“No more”
signs include

It’s important to let baby lead the way with food. Allow her to decide how much and even whether she wants to eat. Just like you, your baby may be very hungry one day and less hungry the next - these eating patterns are perfectly normal. By being mindful of your baby’s hunger and fullness cues, you’ll both learn together.

Getting sleepy
or fussy

Spitting out
the food

Pushing away
the spoon

Closing mouth or
turning head as the
spoon approaches

Let’s talk about

texture!

Research shows that waiting beyond nine months to progress to lumpier

foods may lead to selective eating and even rejection of alternative food

consistencies, so it’s important to introduce baby to a variety of textures

during this time.4 If you begin feeding your baby purees, be sure to

advance to a lumpier consistency once they become comfortable. When

your baby has mastered thick and lump purees, move on to finger foods

of various consistencies and sizes.

By the end of their first year, your little one will most likely be able to sit at

the family table and feed herself soft finger foods!

Examples of advancing
textures include:

Slivers or finely chopped
pieces of soft cooked meat,
like soup chicken or ground
meat in a broth or mild sauce

Cubes, strings, or
small pieces of cheese

Cooked whole
grains, like barley,
oats, or quinoa

Cooked whole grain
pasta with some butter,
olive oil, parmesan or
ricotta cheese

Whole-grain
toast or waffle
strips

What about

introducing allergens?

There are 8 types of foods that cause around 90% of food allergies.

They are: milk, eggs, peanuts, soy, shellfish, fish, wheat, and tree nuts.5

Current guidelines suggest introducing allergens early and often, and

there is no need to delay.

If your pediatrician agrees, you can incorporate allergenic foods into

your baby’s diet in a texture he can handle when you start solids.

Please consult your pediatrician who knows your baby best before

introducing allergenic foods.

Starting solids:
A checklist review

At around 6 months old, start by offering a few

tablespoons of food 1-3 times a day.

Introduce one single-ingredient new food at a time

allowing 2-3 days to make sure your baby isn’t

allergic or intolerant to these foods.

Advance texture once your baby is comfortable. Start

with thin, pureed foods, then move to lumpy, mashed

foods, followed by finely chopped foods.

First foods

Meal plan inspiration

Breakfast ideas

Quinoa cereal puree

Unsweetened whole milk yogurt

Pureed peaches or soft cooked pears

Lunch Ideas

Apple and acorn squash mash
(Pureed apples and squash mixed)

Pureed peas and carrots

Mashed avocado

Dinner Ideas

Mashed “banacado”
(Banana and avocado mashed together)

Tropical medley
(Mashed papaya and mango)

Garden veggie and fruit combo
(mix mashed/pureed apples, spinach and peas)

Sources

1. American Academy of Pediatrics https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Starting-Solid-Foods.Sources:
2. American Academy of Pediatrics: https://ihcw.aap.org/Documents/Early%20
Feeding/Solid%20Foods/AAP-SolidFoods-2017-08-22-CMYK.pdf
3. American Academy of Pediatrics: https://ihcw.aap.org/Documents/Early%20
Feeding/Solid%20Foods/AAP-Solid-Foods_Print-Fact-Sheet.pdf
4. National Institutes for Health https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19161546/
5. Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/food-allergy/in-depth/food-allergies/art-20045949