Miriel AI · solid foods, infant feeding, AAP, WHO
When and How to Start Solid Foods
Most babies are ready for solids around 6 months. Here is what readiness looks like, what to offer first, and how textures change.
Most babies are ready to start solid foods around 6 months. The best clue is your baby, not the calendar: look for the readiness signs below.
It’s normal to feel unsure at the start. The first weeks are mostly about getting used to a spoon, and nobody gets every meal right.
Signs your baby is ready
Look for these signs. Most babies show them around 6 months. Check with your pediatrician before starting.
- Holds their head up steadily.
- Sits up in a high chair with a little support.
- Watches you eat, reaches for your food, or opens their mouth when the spoon comes near.
- Moves food to the back of the mouth and swallows it, instead of pushing it straight back out with the tongue.
Teeth are not on the list. Plenty of babies start solids with gums only, and gums do a lot of mashing.
What to offer first
There’s no single right first food. Many families start with a mix of these:
- Iron-rich foods, like iron-fortified baby cereal, soft minced meat, or mashed lentils and beans.
- Single vegetables or fruits, like sweet potato, peas, squash, banana, avocado or pear.
- Foods your family already eats, cooked soft, with no added salt or sugar.
You don’t need a long wait between new foods. When you try a common allergen, like egg or peanut, many families offer it on its own and wait 2–3 days before the next new one. There’s no need to save these foods for later.
How textures change over the first year
| Age | What meals often look like |
|---|---|
| 6 months | Smooth purees and soft mashes, plus soft finger foods if you like |
| 7–8 months | Thicker mashes with soft lumps, plus more finger foods |
| 9–12 months | Chopped, minced or mashed family foods, and more finger foods |
| 12 months | Most family foods, cut small and cooked soft |
Babies move at different speeds. If your baby isn’t ready for lumps yet, stay at the step that works and try again in a few days.
Set up each meal
- Sit your baby upright in a high chair, never lying back or on the move.
- Stay at the table and watch the whole time.
- Offer food soft enough to squash between your finger and thumb.
- Put cereal on a spoon, not in a bottle.
- Keep honey off the menu until after the first birthday.
Some foods are easy to choke on until at least age 4: whole grapes (cut them lengthwise into quarters), whole nuts, popcorn, hot dog rounds, hard raw carrot or apple, hard chunks of cheese or meat, and hard sweets. Many parents also take an infant CPR class before starting solids. It’s worth doing.
Milk stays the main drink
In the first year, solids sit alongside breast milk or formula. They don’t replace it.
Keep milk feeds going as usual and let solids grow slowly around them. A few sips of water from an open cup at meals is a good habit to start now too.
Cow’s milk can go into foods like yogurt and cheese, but save it as a drink until after the first birthday.