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Starting Solid Foods: A Beginner's Guide

When babies are ready for solids, first foods and foods to avoid.

Before you use this guide: This is general educational information, not an individual medical assessment. We do not identify a clinician reviewer on this page, so please confirm personal health decisions with your doctor, midwife or paediatrician.

Starting solid foods, also called complementary feeding or weaning, is a big milestone. Most health services, including the WHO, recommend exclusive breast milk or formula for about the first six months, with solids introduced around 6 months while milk continues to be the main drink. Never start before 4 months.

Signs your baby is ready

Look for developmental signs rather than going by age alone. Your baby should be doing all of these:

• Sitting up with support and holding their head steady
• Showing interest in food, reaching for it or opening their mouth when it comes near
• Being able to move food to the back of the mouth and swallow it, rather than pushing it out with the tongue
• Coordinating their eyes, hands and mouth to pick up food and bring it to their mouth

Waking in the night, chewing their fists and wanting extra milk feeds are not reliable signs they are ready for solids, because they are common at many ages and growth spurts.

Where to begin

• Choose a time when your baby is alert and not too hungry or tired. A little milk first can help, but not so much that they are full.
• Offer a small amount once a day to start. A teaspoon or a few finger-sized pieces is plenty.
• Sit your baby upright in a high chair, with their feet supported if possible. Never feed a baby who is lying back or in a car seat.
• Stay with your baby at every meal, and be patient. It is normal to spit, gag or make faces at new tastes.
• Build up gradually to two meals a day, then three over the coming weeks, with milk feeds still given as usual.

Purees, finger foods or both

You can start with smooth purees on a spoon, baby-led weaning with soft finger foods, or a mix of both. All can work well, and what matters is safety and variety. Our guide to baby-led weaning versus purees compares them.

First foods

• Iron-rich foods: well-cooked meat, poultry, fish, eggs, lentils, beans, tofu, and iron-fortified baby cereal. Babies' iron stores start to run down at about 6 months, so offer iron-rich foods often.
• Vegetables and fruits: soft cooked carrot, sweet potato, broccoli, avocado, banana, pear, apple
• Starchy foods: potato, rice, oats, pasta, bread
• Full-fat dairy such as plain yoghurt and cheese is fine from 6 months. Cow's milk is not a drink until 12 months.

Our list of first foods from 6 to 12 months has ideas and textures to try.

Allergens

Current advice is to introduce common allergenic foods, such as egg, peanut, dairy, wheat, soy, fish and sesame, in small amounts from about 6 months, once your baby has started solids, rather than delaying them. Peanut and egg should be offered in a safe form: smooth peanut butter thinned with water or breast milk, never whole nuts, and cooked egg. Keep offering them regularly. If your baby has severe eczema or an existing food allergy, ask your doctor before starting. See our guide to introducing allergenic foods.

Foods and drinks to avoid

• Honey before 12 months, because of a rare risk of infant botulism
• Added salt and sugar, and salty foods such as processed meats and stock cubes
• Whole nuts and whole peanuts, which are a choking hazard under 5 years
• Cow's milk as a main drink before 12 months, though it can be used in cooking
• Raw or lightly cooked eggs, unless they carry the lion mark in the UK, and unpasteurised dairy products
• Shark, swordfish and marlin, because of their mercury content
• Rice drinks and sweetened drinks. Offer sips of water with meals.

Choking and gagging

Gagging is a normal reflex that helps babies learn to move food around their mouths. It looks alarming, but it is noisy and the baby usually clears it themselves. Choking is silent and dangerous, because the airway is blocked. Learn infant first aid before starting solids.

• Avoid whole grapes, cherry tomatoes, blueberries and olives, unless cut lengthways into quarters.
• Avoid hard raw vegetables and fruits, such as raw carrot and apple. Cook or grate them.
• Avoid popcorn, hard sweets and sausages, unless cut in thin strips.
• Never leave your baby alone with food.

What if my baby refuses food?

This is common. Keep calm, avoid pressure, and offer the same food again on different days. It can take 10 to 15 tries before a baby accepts a new taste. Eat with your baby so they can copy you. Offer a variety of colours and textures, and let them explore and get messy.

Milk still matters

Between 6 and 12 months, breast milk or formula provides most of your baby's nutrition. Solids add iron, other nutrients and new skills. Do not drop milk feeds early.

Talk to your doctor if

• Your baby gags or coughs a lot with every food, or has trouble swallowing
• Your baby has a rash, swelling, vomiting or wheeze after a new food. If there is trouble breathing, call emergency services.
• Your baby is not gaining weight
• You have a family history of allergy, or your baby has severe eczema

Where to check current advice

Guidance differs a little between countries, so check the latest advice from your own health service: the NHS in the UK, the HSE in Ireland, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics in the US, the Canadian Paediatric Society in Canada, or the Raising Children Network in Australia.

This content is for general information only and is not medical advice. Every pregnancy and every baby is different. Always talk to your doctor, midwife or paediatrician about your own situation, and seek urgent care if you are worried.