Introducing Solids Can Be So Easy! Your Guide to Baby’s First Foods

Is your little one ready to try his or her first solid foods? Introducing solids can be really stressful for new parents, but there’s no reason why it needs to be. The trouble is that there have been so many myths and so much conflicting information out there about baby’s first foods that even the most informed mom or dad might not be able to make heads or tails of it. Take, for instance, the fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics was—up until just a few years ago!—both telling parents to breast feed exclusively for the first six months of baby’s life and to introduce solids between four and six months. You can’t possibly introduce solids at four months and exclusively breast feed until six months at the same time. They cancel each other out! It’s enough to make any parent tear out their hair. Happily, though, I’ve got the real scoop on how to introduce solids (it’s way simpler than you think), so you can leave that lovely blowout intact!

First of all, a lot of parents feel nervous about waiting until the “right” time to start offering solids to their babe. If your neighbor waited until five months, or your sister recommended six because it worked with her kids, that doesn’t mean your little darling will be on that same timeline. There’s no exact age that’s right for every child, universally, to start on solids. In fact, every child is on his or her own little schedule. If your baby is between four and six months of age, can hold his or her head up and sit with support, and seems curious about the foods you eat, congrats! It’s almost definitely time to start solids!

Now, down to the rules (I promise they’re a no brainer!) The first rule of starting solids is to make sure that they’re offered as an addition to the breast milk or formula that you’re feeding him or her. Solid foods are not a substitute at this point! As for the second rule of starting solids, you need to know not to give baby honey (or even foods with honey in them) during his or her first year, since ingesting honey at such an early age can cause infant botulism. The third rule? Basically, small samples of anything soft and easy to eat goes—and you don’t even have to go with purees! Bananas and avocados make wonderful first foods, since they’re soft, and you can mash them up before giving them to your little one. Tiny tries of cooked and mashed sweet potatoes are another wonderful first solid to try. The trick to it is that you should only introduce one new food every three to five days to rule out food allergies. And as for food allergies, yes, it’s totally fine to give your wee one a bit of egg, or nut butter to try, unless you have a family history of allergies to any of those foods. In fact, the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology (AAAAI) recently released new guidelines saying that waiting to introduce possible allergens like cow’s milk dairy, eggs, wheat, fish, and nuts could actually make your child more likely to develop an allergy to those foods!

Most of all, have fun introducing all of life’s wonderful flavors to your babe, and know that it may take him or her trying a certain flavor 10 or 12 times before he or she seems to like it. Remember, food is a whole new frontier for your wee one, and it may take a few tries before you can enjoy the sweet taste of success together.