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After an exclusive milk diet, it is finally time to start introducing your little one to the wonderful and exciting world of food.  The second six months of a baby’s life is not about removing milk as a main source of nutrition but about gradually adding new flavours and textures.  As well as ensuring that their iron and zinc levels keep topped up through the addition of new foods.

It can be an exciting times for new parents that are keen to introduce their darlings to new culinary delights, however the journey to food for a baby is slow, and it will take months before your baby is able to eat three solid meals a day.

Despite what you may or not of have heard, it is best not to introduce solids to your baby before they around six months of age.  And never under any circumstances give solids to a baby under the age of four months, as it can cause damage to your baby’s underdeveloped digestive system. And no, not even to get them to sleep through the night (this is a myth, anyway).

Whilst you may be biting at the bit to get started each baby is different and there are a few things that you need to check before you try to introduce food to your baby.

Your baby is ready if:

Your baby can sit up (alone or propped);

Your baby can has sufficient head control and can keep their head upright and in a stable position, so that they can swallow safely;

Your baby’s natural tongue extrusion reflex has begun to disappear (see below);

Your baby seems to be interested in trying new things; and

You are not aware of any serious allergies or illnesses that may affect your baby starting food (if so talk to your Doctor first, particularly if you have a family history of food allergies).

Baby’s Tongue Extrusion Reflex

To check if your baby’s extrusion reflux has begun to disappear, put a small amount of rice cereal on a spoon and put it in your baby’s mouth.  If your baby’s first reaction to anything being placed in their mouth is for their tongue to try to push it out in a forward and outgoing motion, then your baby may not be ready, and you will need to try again in a few weeks.  
If however, your baby lets you put something in their mouth, and their tongue stays in their mouth, even though the food may dribble out (it will take practice to learn how to swallow) then it may be time to start introducing solids.

Solids.... Getting Started

Your baby feeding essentials

Plastic bowls, the ones that come with two internal sections are good to start with;

Plastic baby spoon, make sure it is soft and flexible with a long handle and soft edges;

Bibs, and lots of them;

A highchair, though you can start by sitting your baby on your lap;

Plastic mat or towel to protect the floor from spills;

Paper towels or wipes, feeding is messy;

Fork, blender or hand mix master for blending and pureeing baby’s food;

Small sterile containers to freeze or store leftovers – ice cube trays and small salad dressing tubs are great (decor make some great little containers);

Black marker pen to mark date opened on tinned or jarred baby food; and

Patience and a sense of humour.

Food Safety for your baby

As your baby’s digestive system is still maturing you need to be aware of proper food hygiene. So:

Always wash your hands before preparing or serving babies food;

Always wipe down all surfaces such as highchair and placemats (use antiseptic wipes if you are out and using a shop highchair);

Make sure all of your baby’s eating utensils are clean;

Only dish out what your baby might eat, once the spoon has gone into the food and into your baby’s mouth, any left-over’s will need to be thrown away due to bacteria.  They cannot be put away for later, even if it is just a few hours;

Tinned or jarred baby food only last 48 hours after opening, so mark the jar to ensure your babies food is always fresh;

Freeze home-made baby food asap, do not leave out on the bench to cool; and

Never leave your baby unattended whilst eating due to the possibility of choking.

Babies and Food Allergies

Around one in 15 babies will show an intolerance or allergic reaction to some foods when they start eating solids, so it is important to start slow and watch up for any reactions, particularly if you have a family history of food allergies.

The most common forms of allergic reactions include hives, or swelling around the mouth, and/or a red rash, vomiting or diarrhoea. Reactions may also be shown in a milder form, such as wheezing or a runny nose.  

If your child shows any signs of a reaction to food, see your Doctor immediately, particularly if they seem faint or have trouble breathing.  See our article on food allergies for more information.

Baby’s First Foods

Your baby will need to start on pureed foods.  They should only have one food type or flavour at a time, and once they have had this food for a while and tolerated it well, you can start combing flavours.

You can start by making your own pureed foods, however the best thing to start your baby is on is a commercial rice cereal such as Farex, which is safe, bland and well tolerated by most babies, as well as being enriched with essential iron and vitamins.  

After a few weeks, and once you are sure your baby has gotten the hang of eating cereal, you can then start introducing pureed fruit and vegetables.  Again you can make your own, or buy shop made commercial foods.  

For me - Personally when your baby is only having one or two teaspoons of a food, I found buying commercial food, much easier and time efficient.  I would open a jar, and separate it into four of five containers and freeze what I wasn’t using that day.

Once my baby started to eat more, I moved to combing commercial foods with home-made foods.  The range of shop bought food is fantastic these days offering loads of variety, no preservatives or artificial colours as well as an abundance of organic options, so don’t feel you have to be super-mum by making home-made organic meals three times a day. (No, we don’t all do that!)

The ideal first foods for a baby include rice cereal, pureed fruit such as apple or pear, and pureed vegetables such as potato, pumpkin, squash, parsnip, carrot or peas.  You can try steaming, boiling or micro-waving foods and then pureeing them with a little boiled water or expressed breast milk.
 
Whilst your baby is only having small serves of food, a hand held mix master can ensure there is less food wasted then when using a conventional blender. Remember to freeze any leftovers in small containers or ice cube trays. And mark the containers with a date and contents.  (All puree looks the same after a while).

Once your baby has been eating their first foods for a while, and has showed no sign of allergy, you can start blending foods.  For example, rice cereal with pureed fruit, yoghurt with pureed fruit, mixed vegetables or lean pureed meat such as chicken or beef mixed in with potato or other vegetables.  

Once your baby reaches the age of nine months you can start moving your baby up to more lumpier and mashed food, as well as some small finger foods like rice crackers, and soft cheese. (But, more on that later).

Just remember, that it takes time for your baby to become accustomed to eating solids, so be patient and let your baby get there in their own time.  And keep your camera handy as baby learning to eat, does provide some great ‘Kodak moments’.  Keep reading for eating plans for five months and beyond.

First Foods Eating Plan – Babies 5 to 6 months

Your baby will start out with one meal a day, and work their way up to three meals a day over a period of around 6 – 8 weeks.  

Most people start out with adding the first meal at dinner time, then introducing breakfast, and finally lunch.  Over time, your baby will also have small snacks or milk drinks between their main meals, but first things first.

Meal One

Start with one to two teaspoons of rice cereal, mixed with 15 – 30 mls of expressed breast-milk, formula or cooled boiled water.  Increase cereal by one teaspoon every day until you reach a total of 2 tablespoons. (Add extra or less milk or water as needed – you want a smooth and slightly runny texture, but not too thick or liquidy).

Note: Breast-milk will send the cereal runny after about five minutes so add a bit of extra cereal if needed.  And remember no cow’s milk in baby’s cereal before 8 – 9 months.

Measurements

Teaspoon = 5 mls or 5 grams
Tablespoon = 20 mls or 20 grams (4 teaspoons)

Food Plan

Day 1 – 1 teaspoon of rice cereal (5 grams) with 15 mls of milk or water
Day 2 - 1 teaspoon of rice cereal (5 grams) with 15 mls of milk or water
Day 3 – 2 teaspoons of rice cereal (10 grams) with 30 mls of milk or water
Day 4 – 2 teaspoons of rice cereal (10 grams) with 30 mls of milk or water

** If your baby seems constipated add a teaspoon of pureed apple of pear to their cereal

Day 5 – 3 teaspoons of rice cereal (15 grams) with 45 mls of milk or water
Day 6 – 3 teaspoons of rice cereal (15 grams) with 45 mls of milk or water
Day 7 – 4 teaspoons of rice cereal (20 grams) with 60 mls of milk or water
Day 8 – 4 teaspoons of rice cereal (20 grams) with 60 mls of milk or water

** If your baby seems to be handling their cereal well it is time to add a teaspoon of pureed apple of pear to their cereal, though you can keep them on just cereal for now too if you like, there is no hurry.  If you are adding fruit then there is no need to add more cereal, just swap the extra teaspoon of cereal for fruit instead.

Day 9   – 5 teaspoons of rice cereal (25 grams) with up to 75 mls of milk or water
Day 10 – 5 teaspoons of rice cereal (25 grams) with up to 75 mls of milk or water
Day 11 – 6 teaspoons of rice cereal (30 grams) with up to 85 mls of milk or water
Day 12 – 6 teaspoons of rice cereal (30 grams) with up to 85 mls of milk or water
Day 13 – 7 teaspoons of rice cereal (35 grams) with up to 90 mls of milk or water
Day 14 – 7 teaspoons of rice cereal (35 grams) with up to 90 mls of milk or water
Day 15 – 8 teaspoons of rice cereal (40 grams) with up to 100 mls of milk or water

Days 16 – 28 – continue with 8 teaspoons/2 tablespoons of rice cereal/fruit (40 grams) with up to 100 mls of breast-milk or water.  Alternate with yoghurt, plain fruit or vegetables as you like.

Meal Two

Once your baby has been eating 40mls of cereal or other food well each day, it is time to move up to 2 meals a day.

You can try offering your baby 40mls of food at both breakfast and dinner, or you can start their second meal out at say 15 – 20mls and building it up over a couple of weeks, until it also reaches 40mls.

Meal Three

Once your baby has been on two meals a day, for around 2 – 3 weeks, you can finally introduce their third meal, which is in most cases, is lunch.  Again, you can try at 40ml first up, or slowly build up from around 15 – 20mls.

A couple of weeks on

After around 2 weeks at three meals a day, you can try slowly increasing your baby meals from 40mls at each meal up to a total of around 60mls (or half a small baby jar 120g).  Again just do it at around 5ml or 5 grams a day.  Of course if your baby seems hungrier or not as hungry, adjust their food intake accordingly.  

Remember baby’s appetite’s can fluctuate, and they are the best judge of their own hunger, so please don’t force feed them.  If your baby is not gaining weight, seems to lose interest in food, or seems to be always hungry, then check with your Doctor.

Sample Menu for Babies 5 – 6 Months

Early           6.00 – 7.00 am    Breastfeed or Milk Drink

Mid Morn     10.00 am            Rice Cereal with Fruit plus Milk Drink

Afternoon    1.30 pm              Vegetables plus Milk Drink

Evening       5.30 pm             Yoghurt and Fruit plus Milk Drink

Night           8.30 pm             Milk Drink (optional)

** Water anytime

Moving On - Eating for Babies 7 - 12 months

Once your baby has been eating solid foods for a while, you can begin swapping their puree’ for food that is lumpier and thicker in consistency.  You can also begin to slowly introduce some finger foods to encourage them to eat by themselves.  Just remember to chop the food up into small and manageable pieces, watch out for pips and seeds. And never leave them unsupervised when eating.

As your baby moves closer to the one year mark, they will begin to eat more and more foods, and will start eating a lot more like their mum and dad.  Older babies can eat most foods, but just remember to take it slowly, always watch out for allergic reactions and keep their serving sizes small, until they learn to chew and swallow properly.

Also to decrease the chance of an allergic reaction, hold out on the introduction of nuts and strawberries until your baby is much, much older.

Sample Menu for Babies 7 - 12 Months

Early          6.00 – 7.00 am     Breastfeed or Milk Drink – 180 – 210 mls

Breakfast    8.00 am              Cereal, fruit, yoghurt, or eggs and toast plus water

Morn Tea   10.00 – 11.00 am   Finger food e.g. bread, cheese, fruit plus water

Lunch        12.30 pm              Vegetables and Meat plus Milk Drink

Snack        2.00 – 4.00 pm      Finger Food plus water

Dinner       5.00 – 6.00 pm      Yoghurt and Fruit or Meat and Veggies, Pasta or Commercial
                                         Baby Food plus Milk Drink

Bed time    7.00 - 8.30 pm       Milk Drink (optional)

* Water anytime

** If your baby usually wakes between 7.00 and 8.00am just offer them breakfast followed by a milk drink as soon as they wake up.  There is no need to wake your baby any earlier.

Drinks for Babies

Young babies only need milk and water at this stage to keep them hydrated.

Your baby will need at least 600mls of milk every day until 18 months of age, where this amount can be dropped to around 350ml per day.

You should let your baby drink water whenever they want to.  Try introducing a sipper cup around 6 months of age.

Avoid soft drinks, and if you really want to offer them juice, then keep it simple with a low acid juice like pear or apple.  In the beginning mix the ratio at 9 parts water to 1 part juice and slowly build this up to a 50/50 mix as your baby reaches their first year. Please avoid giving your baby pure fruit juice, particularly Orange Juice due to the acidity.  And for dental health, try to give them a mouthful or two of water after any fruit drink.

For information about ‘fussy’ eaters or feeding your baby in their second year, please visit our page on ‘feeding a toddler’.

Mmmmmm

All about Introducing Solids to your Baby