Your baby’s introduction to solid foods, sometimes called complementary foods or weaning, should begin when your baby is about 6 months old.
At first, how much your baby eats is less important than getting him used to the idea of food.
He will still get most of his energy and nutrients from breast milk or first baby formula.
Giving your baby a variety of foods, along with breastmilk or formula, starting at 6 months of age will help him eat healthier throughout his life.
Gradually, you can increase the amount and variety of foods your baby eats until he can eat the same foods as the rest of the family, but in smaller portions.
If your baby was born prematurely, ask your pediatrician or family doctor for advice on when to start complementary foods.
Why wait until 6 months of age to introduce solid foods?
It is recommended that you wait until about 6 months before introducing complementary foods because:
Breast milk or the first baby formula provides the energy and nutrients your baby needs until he or she is about 6 months old (except for vitamin D in some cases).
if you are breastfeeding, feeding only breast milk until about 6 months helps protect your baby from diseases and infections.
Waiting until about 6 months gives your baby time to develop to be able to fully handle solid foods, including solid foods made into mashed potatoes, porridges, and baby rice added to milk
Your baby will be able to eat more on his or her own
Your baby will get better at pulling food to his mouth, chewing and swallowing, which may mean he can move more quickly to different tastes and textures (for example, mashed potatoes, chunks and food eaten with his hands).
Signs that your baby is ready for solid foods
There are 3 clear signs that, when they appear together around 6 months of age, show that your baby is ready for his or her first complementary feeding along with breast milk or formula. They will be able to:
Stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
Coordinate their eyes, hands, and mouth so they can look at, take, and put food in their mouth
Swallow food (rather than spit it back out)
The following behaviors can be mistaken by parents as signs that their child is ready for solid food:
Chewing his or her fists
Waking up at night (more often than usual)
Wanting extra milk feedings
These are all normal behaviors for babies and are not necessarily signs that they are hungry or ready to start eating solid foods.
Starting solids will not make your baby sleep through the night. Sometimes a little extra milk can help until they are ready for solid food.

How do I give solid foods?
In the beginning, your baby will only need a small amount of food before his regular milk feedings.
Don’t worry about how much he eats. The most important thing is to get him used to new tastes and textures and to learn how to move the solid food around in his mouth and swallow it.
They will still get most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or baby formula.
There are foods that should not be given to your baby. For example, do not add sugar or salt (including broth cubes and gravy) to your baby’s food or cooking water.
Babies should not eat salty foods because it is bad for their kidneys, and sugar can cause tooth decay.
Tips to help your baby get a good start on eating solid foods:
Eating is a whole new skill. Some children learn to accept new foods and textures faster than others. Keep trying and encourage and praise your child.
Allocate enough time, especially at first.
Be at your child’s pace and let him show you when he is hungry or full. Stop when your child shows signs that he has had enough. This may be a tight closing of the mouth or turning the head away. If you are using a spoon, wait until your child opens his mouth before offering food. Do not force your child to eat. Wait until the next time if he is not interested this time.
Be patient and keep offering a variety of foods, even ones he doesn’t like. It may take your child 10 or more tries to get used to new foods, tastes, and textures. There will be days when he eats more, there will be days when he eats less, and then days when your baby rejects everything Don’t worry, this is perfectly normal.
Let your baby love to touch and hold food. Let him eat on his own, using his fingers as soon as they show interest. If you use a spoon, your child may enjoy holding it.
Minimize distractions during meals and don’t sit your child in front of the TV, phone, or tablet.
Show him or her how you eat. Babies copy their parents and other children. Sit down for family meals as often as possible.
Texture Progression
Once you start introducing complementary foods at about 6 months of age, try to move your baby from pureed or blended foods to purees, bites, or foods that can be eaten with their hands as soon as they learn to eat them.
This helps them learn to chew, move solid foods around in their mouths, and swallow.
Some children like to start with mashed, chunky foods or foods that are eaten with their hands.
Other children need a little more time to get used to the new texture, so they may prefer smooth or mixed foods on a spoon at first.
Just keep offering them lumpy textures and they will eventually get used to it.
Safety and hygiene
When introducing your child to solid foods, it is important to take extra care not to put them at risk.
Basic recommendations for food safety and hygiene:
Always wash hands before cooking and keep surfaces clean
Refrigerate hot foods and test them before giving them to your baby.
Wash and peel fruits and raw vegetables.
avoid hard foods, such as whole nuts, raw carrots, or apples
remove hard pips and bones from fruits and bones from meat or fish
Cut small, round things like grapes and cherry tomatoes into small pieces
Always stay close to your child when he or she eats, in case he or she starts to choke.
If your child chokes:
His eyes may be watery.
He may push his tongue forward (or out of his mouth)
He may vomit to push food forward in his mouth or induce vomiting

A list of things you need
A high chair. Your baby should sit safely in an upright position (so he or she can swallow properly). Always use a securely fastened safety harness in the high chair. Never leave children unattended on elevated surfaces.
Plastic or rubber bibs. It’s going to get messy first!
Soft complementary spoons are gentler on your baby’s gums.
A small plastic bowl. You may find it helpful to buy a special weaning bowl with a suction cup to keep the bowl in place.
First cup. From about 6 months of age, introduce a cup and offer water in sips at mealtimes. Using an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve will help your baby learn how to sip and is better for his teeth.
Dirty mat or newspaper sheets under the high chair to collect most of the mess.
Plastic containers and ice cube trays can be useful for occasionally making and freezing small portions.
Baby’s complementary foods: from 0 to 6 months
Breast milk is the best food your baby can eat in the first 6 months of life.
It is free, always available and the perfect temperature, and is made especially for your baby.
Infant formula is the only suitable alternative if you are not breastfeeding or prefer to supplement with breast milk.
Other types of milk or milk substitutes, including cow’s milk, should not be introduced as the main drink until your baby is 12 months old.
Do not put anything (such as sugar or cereal) in the bottle except breastmilk or infant formula when using it.
Vitamins for babies
Breastfed infants should be given a daily vitamin D supplement containing 8.5 to 10 µL of vitamin D from birth, whether or not you are taking a vitamin D supplement.
Babies who get 500 mL or more of formula a day should not be given vitamin supplements.
This is because the formula is fortified with vitamin D and other nutrients.
All children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years should be given daily vitamin supplements containing vitamins A, C, and D.
Infant complementary foods from 6 months of age
When babies first start eating solid foods, they do not need 3 meals a day. Babies have tiny bellies, so start with small amounts of food (just a few bites or teaspoons).
Choose a time that works for both of you when you don’t feel rushed and your baby isn’t too tired.
Start offering him food before his regular milk feedings, as he may not be interested if he is full, but don’t wait until your baby is too hungry.
Give your baby plenty of time and let him go at his own pace.
Keep offering different foods, even foods your child has already rejected.
It may take 10 or more tries before your child accepts a new food or texture, especially as he gets older.
Your baby will still get most of his or her energy and nutrients from breast milk or first baby formula.
Breast milk or infant formula should be their main drink for the first year of life. Do not give them whole cow’s (goat’s or sheep’s) milk as a drink until they are 1 year old.
You can continue breastfeeding for as long as you want.
First complementary foods
You can start with individual fruits and vegetables.
Try mashed or soft sticks of parsnips, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, or pears.
Include unsweetened vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach.
This will help your child get used to a range of flavors (not just sweeter ones like carrots and sweet potatoes) and can help prevent picky eating as he gets older.
Make sure any cooked food is cold before offering it to your child.
Foods that contain allergens (such as peanuts, chicken eggs, gluten, and fish) can be introduced from about 6 months of age, one at a time and in small amounts so you can notice any reaction.
Cow’s milk can be used for cooking or mixed with food from about 6 months of age, but it should not be given as a drink until the child is 1 year old.
Full-fat dairy products, such as pasteurized cheese and plain yogurt or cottage cheese, can be given from about 6 months of age. Choose foods without added sugar.
Remember, babies do not need to add salt or sugar to food (or cooking water).
Foods that can be eaten with their hands
As soon as your child starts eating solid foods, encourage them to participate while eating and enjoy touching, holding, and exploring the food.
Let them feed from their fingers whenever they want. This promotes fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Your child can show you how much they want to eat and introduce them to different types and textures of food.
By offering your child finger foods at every meal, you are helping them learn to eat on their own.
Finger foods are foods cut into pieces large enough for your child to hold in his fist, with few pieces sticking out.
Bits the size of your own finger work well.
Start with food that can be eaten with your hands, that breaks easily in the mouth and is long enough to be grabbed.
Avoid solid foods such as whole nuts or raw carrots and apples to reduce the risk of choking.
Examples of snacks that can be eaten with your hands include:
Soft cooked vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, parsnips, zucchini
Fruit (soft or cooked without added sugar) such as apple, pear, peach, melon, banana
edible pieces of avocado
Cooked starchy foods, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, pasta, noodles, rice
legumes, such as beans and lentils
boneless fish
hard-boiled eggs
boneless meat, such as chicken and lamb
Pasteurized sticks of fatty, hard cheese (choose versions with less salt)
Infant complementary foods: from 7 to 9 months
From about 7 months of age, your baby will gradually transition to 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea) in addition to his regular milk feedings, which may be about 4 times a day.
As your baby eats more solid foods, he may want less milk at each feeding or even give up milk completely.
If you are breastfeeding, your baby will adapt his nutrition based on how much food he gets.
Approximately 600 ml of milk a day may be needed by an artificially-fed baby.
Gradually increase the amount and variety of food offered to your baby so that he gets the energy and nutrients he needs.
Try to include foods containing iron in every meal, such as meat, fish, fortified breakfast cereals, dark green vegetables, beans and lentils.
Your child’s diet should consist of the following foods:
Fruits and vegetables, including those with bitter flavors, such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and white cabbage
Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and other starchy foods.
Beans, beans, fish, eggs, meat, and other non-dairy sources of protein
Pasteurized fatty dairy products such as plain yogurt and cheese (choose low-salt versions)
Providing food that can be eaten with your hands as part of each meal helps encourage infants to eat on their own, develop hand and eye coordination, and learn to bite, chew, and swallow pieces of soft food.
Infant complementary foods: from 10 to 12 months of age
From about 10 months of age, your baby should now eat 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea) in addition to the usual milk feedings.
At about this age, your baby may have about 3 milk feedings a day (for example, after breakfast, after lunch, and before bedtime).
Breastfed babies adapt their milk intake as their diets change.
Roughly, formula-fed babies drink about 400 ml per day.
Keep in mind that formula-fed children should receive a vitamin D supplement if they are getting less than 500 mL of formula per day.
All breastfed babies should receive a vitamin D supplement.
By now, your baby should enjoy a wide variety of flavors and textures.
He should be able to handle a lot of food eaten with his hands and be able to take small pieces of food and bring them to his mouth. They will use the cup with more confidence.
Lunches and teas can include a main meal and a fruit or unsweetened dairy dessert to bring the eating pattern closer to that of children over 1 year old.
As your child grows, eating together as a family promotes good eating habits.
Baby’s complementary foods at 12 months of age
From 12 months of age, your baby will eat 3 meals a day, including:
A minimum of 4 servings of starchy foods such as potatoes, bread, and rice per day
At least 4 servings of fruit and vegetables a day
At least 350 ml of milk or 2 servings of dairy products (or alternatives) per day
At least 1 serving a day of protein from animal sources (meat, fish and eggs) or 2 from plant sources (dal, beans, chickpeas and lentils)
Your child may also need 2 healthy snacks between meals.
You can offer foods such as:
Fresh fruit, such as an apple, banana, or small pieces of a soft, ripe, peeled pear or peach
Cooked or raw vegetables such as broccoli, carrot sticks, or cucumber sticks
pasteurized plain plain fat yogurt
Cheese sticks (choose a version with less salt)
toast, pitta
Unsalted and unsweetened rice or corn tortillas
The World Health Organization recommends that all children be breastfed until age 2 or longer.
You can continue breastfeeding as long as it suits you both, but your baby will need less breast milk to make room for more food.
Breastfeeding for Beginners | The right way to feed your baby