Some general guidelines for introducing solid foods are outlined below. As with any feeding decision, it is best to check with your baby’s doctor or nurse for specific recommendations.
- Between 6 and 9 months, consider introducing an iron-fortified infant cereal.
- Between 6 and 9 months, you may start puréed cooked vegetables and puréed cooked fruits.
- Between 6 and 9 months, offer puréed cooked meat, fish, chicken and egg yolk. At 9 to 12 months, mince or dice these foods; you may also offer rice and pasta.
Through all this, your own milk or infant formula continues to be your baby’s most important nutritional source. However, as your baby gets older and begins to eat more and more solid foods, his intake of breast milk or formula should decrease until the majority of his nutrition comes from solid foods.
As babies make the transition to solid foods, it can be tough to ensure they’re getting the nutrition they really need. Research has shown that about half of babies between the ages of 1 and 2 years are not getting the Recommended Dietary Allowance of iron and calcium. When you supplement solid foods with Similac Step 2 or Isomil Step 2 (developed for babies and toddlers nine months to two years), you can help bridge the nutritional gaps and be sure you’re providing a source of complete nutrition for your older baby.
Watch for these developmental signs, which indicate a baby’s readiness to begin eating solid foods. Your baby:
- can sit up with support
- has better control of his head and neck
- can move food safely from the front to the back of her mouth
- shows a desire to eat by leaning forward and opening her mouth, sometimes with a wide-eyed expression
- watches and reaches for the food that you put into your mouth
- can signal “I’m full” by turning away, fussing or arching his back