Introducing Solids

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recommends introducing solids at six months – an age at which your baby begins to require more iron and zinc. If you elect to begin prior to this period, only do so under the instruction and guidance of a health care professional like your family doctor or paediatrician.

When determining whether your baby is ready for solids, look for the following developmental signs:

Your baby shows interest in food
Your baby watches you eat
Your baby opens their mouth towards your food
Your baby can sit upright when supported
With good head and neck control
Your baby’s tongue extrusion reflex has disappeared
This reflex pushes food out of the mouth
Your baby is no longer nutritionally sustained by breast milk or formula alone

If your baby is showing you these cues and is around six months of age, it’s time for solids! Start slow, and progress through foods. Keep in mind that milk is still the priority for your baby’s nutrition. Solids shouldn’t replace breastfeeding or infant formula until nine months. At nine months, offer solids first, then milk. Continue to offer your child breast milk or formula until they turn one.

Safety Alert: Use a 5-point harness chair at meal times. Do not leave your baby unsupervised.

Food can be introduced in any order and amount that suits your baby. Continue introducing different foods until they are eating a variety of foods from the five food groups. Culturally appropriate foods and preparation are encouraged if they are nutritionally suitable (no added salt and/or sugar). When introducing new foods, it is okay to introduce more than one at a time.

If your baby is under nine months, offer milk first. Approximately 30 minutes after they’ve finished their milk, you can offer solids. After nine months, offer milk second.

Karitane Tip: Between six and nine months is a crucial window of opportunity to introduce textured foods. If you miss this opening, you may increase the chance of feeding difficulties later. A variety of tastes, choices and textures are key!

Start with iron rich food like fortified cereals, puree, meat, poultry, fish, legumes and tofu
Progress to mash
Progress to minced and finely chopped foods
Progress to finger foods
Progress to smaller pieces of family food

Karitane Tip: It’s very normal for children to have particular food preferences. Some like vegetables, some prefer fruit, some like only puree, and some like white foods (rice, breads, pasta, dairy). It is important that you encourage your child to try a wide variety of tastes and textures to ensure you’re meeting their nutritional and developmental needs.

Foods to avoid:

Whole nuts, seeds, raw carrot, celery sticks, apple chunks
Honey
Homemade ice cream, mayonnaise or any other product that contains raw eggs
Animal milk
Fruit juice and fruit drinks
Tea, caffeinated drinks, sugar sweetened drinks

Safety Alert: Choking is a potential hazard at any age. We recommend staying with your child whilst they are eating. You may also find completing a first aid course helpful in addition to keeping a first aid chart and manual within reach of the kitchen and living areas.

When you first introduce solids, your baby may only accept one or two teaspoons of food at each meal. This is very normal. Always let your baby decide how much food to eat.

Begin with one solid meal a day until your baby shows cues they’re ready for the next. In the early weeks of introducing solids, it takes around six weeks for a baby to graduate to half a cup of solids a day.

Your baby may have had enough if they:

Turn their head or look away
Push food out of their mouth
Close their mouth when food is offered
Shake their head (no)
Slow their eating pace

All babies’ energy needs are different. On average a baby eats half to one cup of food at each main meal by the time they’re one year old.

Karitane Tip: Always allow infants to satisfy their appetite. Do not push your child to overeat, or force them to finish the bowl. Apply the rule ‘you provide the food, your child decides how much’ at mealtimes.

For more detailed information on appropriate solid foods, you can consult the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Infant Feeding Guidelines.

Yes – but don’t worry. Most of these are very minor, and can be easily managed.

1. Messy meals:

Learning to eat solid foods can be a messy business! If you’re prepared for a messy situation, it’s often a lot easier to handle.

Allow your baby to experiment with tastes and textures
Expect spit and grubby hands
Place a plastic mat under the highchair
Use a bib to protect clothing
Avoid wiping your baby’s face
Leave clean up to the end

2. Encouraging variety:

As a parent or carer, you may worry your baby isn’t receiving enough variety. Because you’re the parent, you have ultimate control over the food offered. Sometimes your choices will influence what your child eats over the day, and whether they will or won’t try diverse food.

Things to consider:

High fat and sugary foods fill babies up quicker
Your baby may want to feed themselves at 6-7 months
Soft foods can sometimes hinder progress
Weight gain slows after six months
Only offer the recommended amount of milk for their age
If your baby is tired, they’ll be less interested in eating
Your baby may need to retry food
Your baby watches and learns from you

Karitane Tip: Your child chooses how much to eat. There is never a good reason to force feed a baby.

The majority of babies triple their birth weight by one year of age. Weight gain usually slows to 2-3 kilos in the second year, then to 2 kilograms a year, up to the age of five. If your child seems to be growing at a different rate, don’t be alarmed – these figures are indicative only. If you have any concerns discuss this with your health care professional.

Factors that may influence weight gain:

Poor sleep habits
Illness
Medical conditions
Diet
Role modelling from parents and family
Activity levels

Karitane Tip: If you have concerns about your baby’s weight, please consult your family doctor or child and family health nurse.