Getting started with solid foods

Start baby on solid food around 6 months

At 6 months most babies are ready for solid food. Some will be ready a little bit earlier and some a little bit later. Solids should never be started before your baby is 4 months old.

There is no rush to start solids before 6 months.

Breast (or formula) provides all the nutrition baby needs until they are 6 months old. At around 6 months they will be able to digest food better and adjust more quickly to new foods, making starting solids go more smoothly. If you introduce solids too late it can affect baby’s growth, their iron stores, oral development or cause baby to dislike solid foods. 

Increased feeds, chewing on their fist and waking up in the night are not always signs baby is ready for solid food. These are normal infant behaviours as they grow and develop.

How will you know when to start? Baby will show you. There are clear signs which baby needs to be showing consistently before starting solids.

Signs baby is ready to start solids

Your baby will give you signs that they are ready to start solids. It’s time to start introducing foods when they are around 6 months and you’ve checked off the points below.

 

Getting started with baby’s very first food

Start with small amounts and work with their appetite

Choose a time both you and baby are happy and relaxed. This can be after a feed of breastmilk (or infant formula). If they don’t seem interested, you can wait about half an hour after the milk feed and try again.

Check food safety: Wash hands, spoon and bowl before preparing food. 

Select the food you’ll provide for the first meal. Iron rich food should amongst the first food provided. Visit which foods for baby for more information.

Check the food texture is suitable; either pureed or a piece(s) of soft food. Finger foods should be soft enough to easily squash between your fingers. Visit progressing food texture safely for more information.

Start with about 1-2 teaspoons of food at first, increasing the amount according to their appetite. Your baby doesn’t need to eat a lot of food when starting out. Visit increasing meals and food variety for more information. 

Use a supportive highchair with strap and a footrest. Baby will find it difficult learning to eat if they are wobbling around, or they aren’t supported or comfortable. 
If using a spoon, bring it to their mouth straight on, stop it at their lips and wait for them to signal they want you to continue (such as leaning forward and opening their mouth). Provide a small piece of soft food with your fingers or 1-2 teaspoons to start with.

Include your baby at family mealtimes so they can learn from you. 

• Don’t put too much food into the baby’s mouth. Let them explore the food on the spoon and finish eating before offering more. Let your baby eat their way. Allow enough time for your baby to explore and eat at their own pace. Like learning any new skill, time and patience is needed. 
• Babies will increase their number of meals to 4-5 times a day by 12 months of age (i.e. 3 main meals and 1-2 mid meals) as well as continuing breastmilk or infant formula. For more information visit ‘Increasing mealtimes and food variety’.

It may take a while for baby get the hang of eating and swallowing. This is normal as they are still learning new skills; for example, moving from a ‘sucking’ motion when drinking milk, to using their tongue and lips to move food around in their mouth before swallowing. 

Avoid dumping or scraping food into your baby’s mouth or playing games to get them to eat. Watch for signals that they want the food. For more information visit How to feed baby

New eaters are learning how much is the right amount for them and they’ll need your patience while they are figuring it out. 

Only clean up baby’s face or lips after the meal and not during feeding. Embrace the mess! Your baby is experiencing new tastes, and smells. 

Constantly wiping their face may cause them to become irritated and feel rushed. We need to do everything to make sure meals are happy, safe environments. 

Look for signs they’re not interested anymore such as turning their head away or closing their mouth when offered. If they are not interested in eating anymore, let them play, smear, drop and squish the food. This is important for baby to learn about new food and feeding. 

5 things baby is learning between 6-12 months. 

Listed below are 5 things baby is learning between six and twelve months. If baby has the opportunity to progress in any of these areas at meals, we are on the right track. Babies will all progress at different rates.

Before now, your baby has only ever had breastmilk (or formula). They are now moving from one food group to five, by introducing foods from the 5 food groups.  They are learning about a whole new world of taste, texture, feel, colour, smell and even temperature. For more information visit Increasing mealtimes and food variety.

Baby is learning to manage different textures. So far baby has only had fluids and now will be learning to eat solid food textures. They will need to learn to chew, manage solid food in the mouth and swallow safely. For more information visit Progressing food texture safely

 

Baby is learning to become independent by picking up foods, coordinating movement to the mouth and using spoons, knives, and forks. The amount of help that you provide with their eating will reduce over time. For more information visit Baby learning to self-feed

The amount baby eats will increase as the split between breastmilk (or formula) and food changes. Remember the amount they eat is always up to them! For more information visit Increasing mealtimes and food variety

The number of meals baby eats increases from no structured meals at 6 months to 5-6 meals at around 11-12 months. For more information visit Increasing mealtimes and food variety

Baby’s learning to eat will progress when we provide the above opportunities 

Food Safety and Hygiene

Before 12 months of age babies are at a higher risk of food poisoning. Unlike adults or older children, a baby’s bacterial defence in their gut is still being established, making food safety all the more important.

Important tips for lowering the risk of food-associated illness

• Always wash your hands before preparing food.
• Use clean equipment to prepare, store and serve food.
• Foods like meat, chicken, fish and eggs should be well cooked.
• If preparing formula, sterilise bottles and other equipment before use.
• Re-heat prepared food thoroughly before cooling it down to give to your baby.
• If food has been out at room temperature for 2 hours or less, put it in the fridge or eat it straight away.
• If food has been out at room temperature for more than 4 hours, throw it out.
• Thaw frozen food in the fridge, not on the bench or at room temperature. Defrost in the microwave if you are going to use it right away.
• Once food has been warmed and offered to your baby, throw out any food left in the bowl/plate.
• To reduce food wastage, only heat small amounts at a time, or amounts your baby is likely to eat in one sitting.

For more information visit The Food Safety Information Council

References