When should I start to introduce solids?

You should look for certain gross motor skills to ensure your baby is ready for solids. I typically like to see a baby being able to sustain an upright seated position unsupported for 10-15 seconds and sustain a seated position with support for 10-15 minutes. Adequate postural control ensures we are supporting safe swallowing. I also like to see babies pushing up through their arms during tummy time. These skills are typically seen around 6 months. These skills align with gut maturation which also supports success when starting solids. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends introducing solids around 6 months.

What do I need to start solids?

You really need a good high chair that supports good posture with a foot support. Ideally your baby is sitting up straight with a 90 degree bend at their hips and a 90 degree bend at their knees and 90 degrees at their ankles. Try to avoid high chairs without a foot support or a chair that reclines at all. I also recommend short, thick utensils that encourage self feeding, and a straw cup. Also be sure you feel confident in your CPR skills.

How do I start?

Before you introduce food, bring the baby to the table and engage them in meal times. Babies learn a lot from watching their parents and older siblings. Having them be a part of meal times before they are even eating is a great way to get them some exposure to meals and solids. When introducing foods, start with one meal a day. Try to start with a time of day that you are also eating so you can model eating. I usually recommend having that same food you give the baby on your plate.

What should I expect?

Embrace the mess! We want our babies exploring and playing with their food and that means mess. I usually encourage stripping a baby down to their diaper or a onesie. Allowing foods to touch our babies bodies allows for a rich sensory experience. Your baby will probably gag occasionally. This is a safety mechanism for your baby. Gagging is not choking so do your best to keep your calm while this is happening. Gagging should get better and start to go away as your baby progresses with solids. Your baby should progress to more frequent meals, and take in larger quantities of food as they get older. All babies progress at different rates with this so try not to stress about it as long as you are noticing progress that is what is important.

How do I know if my baby needs help with solids?

If your baby is experiencing:

Gagging that is not going away
Frequent coughing or choking
Spitting food out frequently
Not progressing with different textures
No interest in bringing food to mouth

See a feeding therapist with infant experience if you're worried about your baby's progress with solids.

What foods should I start with?

I believe you should start with foods you are usually eating in your house and modify it for your baby. For example I love avocados and eat them daily, so for my family starting with a slice of avocado is the perfect food. When it comes to purees, I usually recommend using foods that naturally mash or are eaten in a pureed form. For example, a banana is very easy to mash up. I do not think babies should be eating pureed meats or other foods that we don’t typically puree. Why? Because when starting solids, babies are learning about tastes and textures of foods and mapping that in their brain. I think messing with food compositions is not supporting our babies to accurately learn about foods and textures.

Purees or Baby Led Weaning?

My answer is both, or neither really. You should start with foods that you feel comfortable with. Being calm and present during meal time is important for your baby. If you feel better about starting with just purees, there is nothing wrong with that. You just want to ensure you're not getting “stuck” on purees and not progressing to other textures. I love a combination of pureed, mashed and finger foods when starting. Make sure to use long stick shaped foods that mash easily when first starting with finger foods. This shape of food makes it easy for baby to grasp and feed themselves. As they get older you can progress with smaller pieces of food to help them work on and develop their pincer grasp.

What is my biggest recommendation when it comes to starting solids?

Self feeding! Encourage self feeding right from the start. Even if you are starting with purees, you should be loading their utensil and allowing them to grab and bring it to their mouth. This is important for a few reasons. One reason is safety. It is safer for a baby to put food in their own mouth. The other reason is we want babies to practice and refine their motor skills while eating. Bringing food to their mouth is the foundation for utilizing utensils successfully down the line.

Starting Solids Myths:

You need to start with rice cereal or oatmeal.

Whole foods are better! Babies do not need to ever eat rice cereal or oatmeal. These foods are often difficult to digest and can contain unwanted ingredients.

Starting Solids will help my baby gain weight.

If your baby is not gaining weight appropriately please see a lactation progressional or feeding therapist with infant experience. Starting solids will not help your baby gain weight and could be dangerous if your baby is struggling with their oral motor skills.

Starting Solids will help my baby sleep longer

There are so many factors that impact sleep and having a “belly full of solids” is not really one of them. Sleep may be impacted with starting solids if your baby is sensitive to learning a new skill, or if their digestive system is still figuring out solids.

My baby is so interested in what I am eating, they must be ready for solids.

If your baby is showing a strong interest in solids, that is great! We want to see this for sure but this doesn’t mean they are ready to start solids. Interest is just one part of being ready for solids and having the motor skills to support a safe feeding is far more important.

Starting solids is such a fun and exciting time for new parents. I hope this information can help new parents feel empowered and confident with supporting their baby through this period.

Alessandra is an occupational therapist and certified lactation counselor. She is the owner of Feeding Foundations OT, a private outpatient clinic in Wakefield, MA for infants and young toddlers who need more support with feeding or developmental skills. Alessandra works with families to navigate early feeding challenges and to support families in laying a solid foundation for feeding success long term. Alessandra lives just north of Boston with her husband and two amazing daughters.

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