Starting solids | Health Navigator NZ

Starting your baby on solids can be an exciting, fun and interesting time. Your baby will be learning new tastes and textures and you can help them enjoy this by knowing what to introduce when.

When should you start feeding your baby solids?

There is no fixed age at which to start solids, but usually at around 4 to 6 months of age your baby is likely to show signs that they are ready to start solids. These signs include them being able to:

hold their head up well
sit with less help
easily open their mouth when you touch their lip with a spoon or bring food to their mouth
put their hands in their mouth often
make chewing movements.

Some babies may not be ready for solids at 6 months, for example, if your baby was born prematurely. It’s important not to introduce solid food too early. If you do, your baby may not get enough milk and other nutrients they need to grow well and their digestion will not be developed enough to cope with solid foods.

Continue breast milk or infant formula

Up until 8 to 9 months old, give your baby the milk feed first and offer solids as a top up. Use breast milk or formula as their main drink until your baby is 12 months old. Continuing to breastfeed while you introduce solids may help prevent allergic reactions to some foods.

How to introduce solids

Eating solid food is a new experience for your baby. Here are some things to consider when starting solids.

Offer solids when your baby is most relaxed and happy.
Hold your baby while you feed them or sit them in a baby high chair.
Use a small teaspoon and put the food in the middle of their tongue.
Start with small amounts – half to 2 teaspoons at first, then slowly increase the amount until your baby is having about 3 to 4 teaspoons at a meal.Your baby may spit out their first solid foods as they learn to get the food to the back of their mouth to swallow it. Be patient and give them time.
Try one new food every 2 to 4 days. If they don't like the food the first time, wait a few days and try again with a smaller amount.
Throw away any uneaten food left on your baby's plate.

Types of foods to start with

The following are examples of the best solid foods to start feeding your baby. To puree baby's food, use a blender or push food through a fine sieve.

Food	How to prepare
Cereal or rice	Use iron-fortified baby rice or infant cereal. Ensure the cereal you choose is suitable for your baby's age. Prepare the cereal using breastmilk or infant formula as per the instructions on the package. You can also puree plain cooked rice or feed your baby congee.
Vegetables	Cook and puree vegetables. Remove skins on vegetables such as kumara, potato and pumpkin. Legumes such as peas, lentils and chickpeas must be well cooked and pureed.
Fruits	Remove the skins, pips or seeds from fruit. Puree the fruit. Cook to soften if needed.
Meats	You can introduce cooked and pureed chicken, fresh fish, lamb, beef or pork. Do not give salty meat such as corned beef or tinned fish as first foods.

Tips for starting solids

Babies like the plain taste of milk, so first foods also need to be plain. Avoid adding salt, sugar or other sweeteners, soy sauce, cream, butter or margarine to your baby's food.
Avoid giving your baby honey. It may contain bacteria that can make young babies sick.
Homemade food can be frozen in ice cube trays and used in the next 3 to 4 weeks.

From 7 to 8 months

As your baby gets used to eating solids, you can introduce different types and textures of food, such as mashed foods and finger foods. Your baby is likely to show signs that they are ready for these changes if they:

can sit without support
are learning to bite and chew
can pick up and bring food to their mouth
can keep thick puree's in their mouth.

Types of foods

Food	How to prepare
Dairy	You can introduce soft cheese such as cottage cheese, custard and plain yoghurt (without added sugar).
Vegetables and fruits	Introduce mashed well-cooked vegetables and fruit. Mash cooked legumes. Remove stalks and 'stringy bits'from foods like silverbeet, puha and bok choy.
Meats	Continue to puree cooked chicken, fish, lamb beef or pork.
Finger foods	You can offer finger foods in pieces that can be easily picked up by your baby, such as very soft fruit and vegetables (ripe banana, well-cooked pumpkin), toast fingers and thin slices of cheese.

Between 8 and 12 months

You can introduce more lumpy foods. Your baby is likely to show signs that they are ready for these changes if they:

are learning to crawl or can pull themselves up to stand
can bite well and chew soft lumps
are interested in a range of foods and textures
want to try eating by themselves with need some help from you.

Types of foods

Food	How to prepare
Dairy	Add chopped fruit to yoghurt or custard.
Cereal	Offer breakfast cereal such as porridge, wheat biscuits and infant muesli.
Vegetables and fruits	Try mashed vegetables mixed with minced or finely chopped tender cooked meat, chicken, fish, egg or lightly mashed cooked legumes. You can also add chopped up noodles, pasta or whole rice.
Firmer finger foods	Introduce slightly firmer finger foods such as: soft ripe fruit or soft cooked vegetables such as kiwifruit or kumara finely grated raw carrot and apple toast fingers puffed crispbread.