07/17/2026
Starting solids can be daunting!! Here’s a quick tip guide:
Around 6 months of age (not before 4 months).
👀 SIGNS BABY IS READY
Look for ALL three:
- ✔️ Sits up with support and holds head steady
- ✔️ Reaches for food, brings objects to mouth
- ✔️ Swallows food instead of pushing it out with tongue
🥇 GREAT FIRST FOODS
- Iron-rich foods: pureed meats, chicken, fish, broth
- Mashed vegetables: sweet potato, peas, squash, green beans
- Mashed fruits: banana, avocado, pear, peach
- Offer a variety of flavors and textures — including veggies!
💡 Tip: Breast milk or formula is still the main source of nutrition. Solids are a complement, not a replacement.
🥜 DON’T DELAY ALLERGENS
Introduce common allergens early and often (around 6 months):
- Peanut (thinned peanut butter or peanut puffs — never whole nuts)
- Egg
- Dairy (yogurt, cheese — but NO cow’s milk as a drink until 12 months)
- Soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, tree nuts
⚠️ High-risk babies (severe eczema or egg allergy): Talk to your pediatrician about introducing peanut as early as 4–6 months.
🚫 FOODS TO AVOID
- Honey — risk of botulism (no honey until age 1)
- Cow’s milk as a drink (not until 12 months)
- Added sugar
- Fruit juice and sugar-sweetened beverages
⚠️ CHOKING HAZARDS — Cut, Cook, or Skip!
These foods are dangerous in their whole form:
- 🚫 Whole grapes (cut lengthwise into quarters)
- 🚫 Hot dogs (cut lengthwise, then into small pieces)
- 🚫 Whole nuts and seeds
- 🚫 Raw carrots, apples, or celery (cook until soft)
- 🚫 Popcorn, hard candy, chunks of cheese or meat
- 🚫 Globs of nut butter (thin it out or spread thinly)
Do you love introducing solids? Or dread it??
