Solid food introduction

Human milk provides sufficient nutrition for optimal growth, development, and health for the first 6 months of life.

At around 6 months your baby will be ready to include foods and drinks  other than breast milk. The timing of the introduction of solid food to a  baby’s diet is important for nutritional and developmental reasons.

Our advice:

There’s no one right way to do this.

Each baby is different, so talk to your child’s doctor, IBCLC, Nutrionist, etc. about which solids to introduce and when.

Appropriate  complementary foods to offer from 6 months include vegetables and  fruit, starchy foods, protein foods and dairy products.

In particular, foods high in iron  and zinc should be included in the child’s diet because iron and zinc requirements increase as the amount of these minerals in human milk decreases.

Start  by offering small amounts of food and gradually increase the amount, so  by 9-12 months your baby is eating three healthy meals a day plus some  healthy snacks.

Repeatedly  offering your baby a wide variety of foods that are part of a healthy,  balanced diet, will help them accept and gradually learn to like these  foods.

Breastmilk should be their main drink up the age of 12 months with breastfeeding continuing for as long as you and your baby wish, until 2 years or beyond.

One food at a time should be offered when first introducing complementary foods and you need to wait for 3 to 5 days between new foods to observe for possible allergies.

Smooth purees and mashed foods are a good start, but move to lumpier foods as soon as your baby is ready. Soft finger foods can be given from the start of complementary feeding.

Soft finger foods can be offered from the start of complementary feeding  and are a good way to encourage your baby to explore new foods and start  feeding themselves.

Finger foods should be big enough so that when it is grasped by your  baby some of it remains sticking out from their fist and soft enough for  them to easily chew up.

To reduce the risk of choking, always stay with your baby while they are eating and never offer small round foods.

A variety of food should be offered by the end of the first year.

During illness, fluid intake should be increased, including more frequent breastfeeding.

The principles of complementary feeding are the same for vegetarian as non-vegetarian babies.

If a child is not achieving normal growth patterns, an IBCLC can make a referral  to the primary care provider or specialist in pediatric nutrition, etc.

If the child is refusing to eat age appropriate complementary foods, is eating very few foods, or is consuming insufficient quantities a referral can be made usual for an evaluation by a pediatric feeding specialist, etc.

If a child  is exhibiting signs of food intolerance or allergy, a referral can be made to the primary care provider or an allergist, etc.

What you achieve:

Our tips for introducing solid foods explain how to get your baby interested in new foods and manage mealtime mess and play. Please read more on the blog.

Introducing solids is also important for helping your baby learns to eat,  giving her experience of new tastes and textures from a range of foods,  developing her teeth and jaws, and building other skills that she’ll  need later for language development.