Introduction
Your baby’s nutrition needs are changing! We’ve got the information you need to get off to a good start with solid foods. Learn what foods and textures to offer, when to offer them, and how much to offer.
Adjusting to solid foods takes time. Remember, your baby is exploring and learning how to use their mouth, tongue and throat in a new way.
Changes in feeding patterns
- Changing nutrition needs
- Using a cup
- Weaning off the bottle
In this Section:
Changing nutrition needs
The nutrition your baby needs will change during their first year. Along with breastmilk or infant formula, most babies are ready to start solid foods when they’re about 6 months old. As your baby eats more solid food, they’ll start to drink less breastmilk or infant formula, although these still remain an important food for them.
Breastfeeding
After 6 months, your baby will usually breastfeed about 5−6 times a day (24 hours). Continue to breastfeed while you’re starting solid foods. The longer you breastfeed, the more you and your baby will benefit. If you’re breastfeeding, there is no need to give any other milk to your baby. Learn more about breastfeeding your baby.
Watch our video on returning to work and breastfeeding.
Infant formula
Between 6−8 months, your baby will formula-feed 4−5 times a day (24 hours), about 120−240 ml (4−8 oz) at each feeding. Learn more about formula feeding your baby.
Between 9−12 months, the number of times your baby feeds will go down, but the amount they drink at a time may go up. You can also give your baby pasteurized, homogenized whole milk (3.25% milk fat) in place of breastmilk or formula at this age. Learn more about feeding your baby protein foods with calcium.
What about follow-up infant formula?
Your baby will get all the nutrition they need from the solid foods they eat starting at 6 months. Because of this, the extra calcium and phosphorous found in follow-up infant formula is not needed.
Using a cup
When your baby is about 6 months old, try offering a small amount of breastmilk, infant formula or water in a cup. Using an open cup without a lid helps with the development of your baby’s teeth, mouth and speech. Cups with spouted lids or nipples like sippy cups or sports bottles are not recommended.
Start with small amounts of liquid in the cup as your baby is likely to spill. It takes time for them to learn to use a cup—help them until they’re able to use it on their own. Using a cup will help your baby slowly give up their bottle, if they use one.
Here are some things to think about when offering drinks to your baby from a cup:
- Get your baby used to the taste of water. Try offering them a few sips from an open cup if you think your baby is thirsty. Water should not replace milk.
- Your baby doesn’t need juice. If you decide to give them juice, choose 100% juice and offer it in an open cup as part of a meal or snack. Giving your baby any kind of sugary drinks, such a fruit juice, punches or cocktails can
- reduce their appetite
- increase their risk of tooth decay (cavities)
- give them a lot of sugar they don’t need.
- Unpasteurized juice is not safe for your baby.
- Drinks such as pop, lemonades, vitamin or flavoured water, sports drinks, coffee, tea or herbal tea may have added sugar or caffeine and should not be given to your baby.
- When introducing milk when your baby is around 9−12 months old, use pasteurized, homogenized whole milk (3.25% milk fat) for the first 2 years. Unpasteurized milk is not safe for your baby. Learn more about feeding your baby milk.
Travelling with a cup
Choose a no-spill cup with a straw or a lid with an opening that doesn’t have a spout or nipple.
Adding water to juice
Adding water to juice does not make it healthy or safe for your child’s teeth. If given throughout the day, your child may get used to drinking sweet liquids and the sugar in it will increase their risk of tooth decay (cavities).
Weaning off the bottle
When you’re weaning your baby from a bottle:
- Offer them sips of water from their own cup throughout the day.
- Over time, decrease the number of bottles you offer during the day. Continue to offer your baby an open cup for drinking.
- For many babies, a bottle is a source of comfort, especially at bedtime. Once they’ve weaned off most of their daytime bottles, instead of giving your baby a bottle before going to bed, try soothing them by holding or rocking them, singing, reading a story or gently rubbing their head or tummy.
- For good dental health, try to have your baby off the bottle by 12−14 months of age.
If you have any concerns about weaning your baby off of the bottle, talk with your health care provider.
Starting solid foods
Signs your baby is ready
Swallowing solids is different from swallowing milk. Before they are 6 months old, your baby’s mouth is designed to suck and swallow. Around 6 months old, your baby will start to develop the ability to move food from the front of their mouth to the back so they can swallow safely. Solid foods are introduced gradually at this time.
Here are other signs that show your baby is ready for solid foods:
- They can sit up with little help.
- They have good head and neck control and are able to turn their head away if they don’t want to eat.
- They can open their mouth when food is offered.
If your baby is around 6 months old and showing all of the signs that they’re ready, it’s time to begin introducing solids.
To learn more about when and how to introduce solid foods to your baby, download Alberta Health Services – Starting Solid Foods: When and How
Feeding relationship
A healthy feeding relationship with your child during the early years is important. It helps them develop healthy eating behaviours for the rest of their life. Learn more about the feeding relationship.
Make mealtime family time
Mealtimes are a great time for your family to visit and talk. Your baby is learning about your family’s eating habits and traditions. Set a good example by sitting together at the table. With time, your baby will learn how and what to eat by following your example.
Tips to get off to a good start
Timing for starting solid foods is important. Introducing solids when your baby is ready helps them:
- Accept new foods and flavours more quickly
- Have an easier time eating new textures
- Get all the vitamins and minerals they need, such as iron
It may take several tries before your baby adjusts to eating solid foods. Remember, they’re exploring and learning how to use their mouth, tongue and throat in a new way.
Starting solid foods can be a fun time, as well as a messy time, for you and your baby. Babies like to touch their food and try to feed themselves—this is how they learn. The more they can get to know about a food, the more likely your baby will be willing to try it. Use a wide bib and keep a warm, wet washcloth close by to make clean-up easier.
Here are a few tips to get your baby off to a good start when starting solid foods around 6 months:
- Start with iron-rich foods. Examples include meats, baby cereal with iron, beans and lentils. Learn more about iron-rich foods.
- Introduce common food allergens next. Once your baby has tried an iron-rich food, introduce peanut and egg as the first common food allergens. Offer these foods in a safe texture for your baby. Learn more about common food allergens and how to introduce them to your baby.
- Start by offering solid foods once a day. Continue to offer breastmilk or formula. Breastmilk and/or formula will still be your baby’s main source of nutrition over the next few months. For amounts of foods to offer, see what, when and how much.
- Try new foods and flavours. Offer new foods when your baby is alert and relaxed—they’ll be more likely to try them. If your baby makes a face when you feed them, it doesn’t always mean they don’t like the taste. If they continue to reject a food, just try again another time—don’t force them to eat it. Let your baby explore new foods more than once. They may need to see it, touch it and smell it many times before they try it. To track when you offer your baby a new food item, download Your baby’s new food record. Find tips to think about when feeding your child.
- Be patient. Babies will make a mess as they learn to feed themselves, first with their hands and then with a spoon. Being able to use a spoon is an important developmental step. Eating with a spoon helps them move from sucking to chewing and biting. It helps your baby learn the skills they need to be able to feed themselves when they’re older. It’s also very common for babies to like a food one day and refuse it the next. Continue to offer small amounts of the food to your baby and let them decide when they want to try it.
To learn more about first foods for your baby, download Alberta Health Services – Starting Solid Foods: First Foods
Changes in bowel movements
When your baby starts to eat solids, their bowel movements may become softer or more solid. They shouldn’t be runny.
It’s time to get messy
Let your baby touch and explore new foods and try to eat with their own spoon. Eating off a spoon is an important skill for them to learn.
Feeding cues
When you first start solids, wait for your baby’s mouth to open and feed them with a spoon as slowly or as quickly as your baby wants. Stop feeding when they show signs of fullness.
You’ll know your baby is hungry when they:
- lean forward
- reach for food
- smack or suck their lips
- open their mouth when food is offered
- put their fist in their mouth
You’ll know your baby is full when they:
- turn their head away
- close their mouth when food is offered
- cover their mouth with their hand
- fuss or cry
Solid food choices
- Iron
- Common food allergens
- Milk
- Suggestions for foods to give to your baby
- Food textures
- Baby food
- Finger foods
In this Section:
Iron
Babies need iron to grow and develop. Your baby was born with a supply of iron, but around 6 months old, it’s nearly used up. Therefore, your baby needs to get iron from their solid foods. They need iron-rich foods every day, offered at each meal—breakfast, lunch and dinner. Learn more about what, when and how much food to offer.
- As you introduce solids, gradually increase the different types of iron-rich foods you offer to your baby. Good sources of iron include: baby cereals with iron, such as: oat, wheat, barley, quinoa, millet, amaranth, and buckwheat
- Animal sources, such as: beef, shellfish, wild game, chicken, pork, fish, and egg
- Plant sources, such as: lentils, soybeans, tofu, chickpeas, nut butters, cooked spinach, sesame seeds, and ground chia and flax seeds.
Once your baby has started solid foods, offer a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and protein foods from Canada’s Food Guide. Your baby will enjoy many of the same healthy foods that your family is eating. Offer new foods, flavours, and textures as your baby learns to eat. Change the texture of food as your baby grows and develops better eating skills. Learn more about food textures and iron in foods.
What about rice cereal?
Arsenic is a natural element found in some foods such as rice and rice products. Too much arsenic may be harmful to babies and young children. You can give your baby rice cereal and other rice products, but make sure it is not the only grain offered.
Iron and vitamin C
Vitamin C found in vegetables and fruits helps your baby use the iron from their food. Remember to offer vegetables and fruits along with iron-rich foods.
Vitamin D for older babies
Your baby needs a supplement of 400 IU vitamin D every day to help meet their needs.
Common food allergens
Offer your baby common food allergens when starting solid foods, and aim to offer them weekly, to help prevent allergies to these foods.
- After your baby has tried an iron-rich food, introduce peanut and egg as the first common food allergens.
- Offer the food in a texture and size that matches your baby’s development to prevent choking.
- Do not rub the food on your baby’s skin as a way to test for food allergy. This does not help to know if your baby has an allergy to that food.
- Introduce only one common food allergen per day. This makes it easier to tell if your baby may be allergic to that food.
Signs of a food allergy can happen right away or a few hours after eating a food.
Some signs of a food allergy in babies are:
Some serious signs of a food allergy in babies are:
| You know your baby well. If you think your baby has signs of a food allergy:
If your baby shows any of these signs, call 911 right away. Tell them you think your baby is having a serious allergic reaction to a food.
|
Common food allergens
Common food allergens are: peanut, egg, cow’s milk, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame, wheat, and soy.
Milk
When your baby is 9−12 months old, you can start giving them pasteurized, homogenized whole milk (3.25% milk fat) in place of breastmilk or formula, as long as they’re eating iron-rich foods at each meal. Unpasteurized milk is not safe for your baby. By the time they’re 1 year old, offer your baby 500 ml (2 cups) of milk each day. Drinking more than this amount of milk may take the place of iron-rich foods. Breastfed babies can continue to get all their milk needs from breastmilk.
Low-fat milks such as 2%, 1% and skim don’t have enough fat and energy and are not recommended until your child is 2 years old.
Soy and other plant-based beverages such as rice, oat, almond, potato, hemp or coconut should not replace cow’s milk in the first 2 years. These beverages don’t have enough protein, energy and healthy fat to help your baby grow and develop. To learn more about plant-based beverages, download Alberta Health Services – Plant-based Beverages for Children.
Suggestions for foods to give to your baby
Vegetables and fruit
- Fresh, frozen or canned vegetables and fruit without added salt or sugar.
- Broccoli, kiwi, mango, strawberry, peppers and sweet potato are good sources of vitamin C
Whole grain products
- Start with a store-bought, single-grain baby cereal with iron such as barley, oat, rice or wheat.
- Add foods such as barley, couscous, rice, quinoa, roti and toast strips when your baby is ready for these textures.
Protein foods with iron
- Beef, chicken, fish without bones, lamb, pork, turkey and wild game.
- Fish such as Atlantic mackerel, herring, rainbow trout and salmon.
- Meat alternatives such as black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, split peas, eggs and tofu.
- Limit processed meats such as hot dogs, salami and bologna as they’re high in salt.
Protein foods with calcium
- Yogurt (2.5% milk fat or higher), plain or with fruit.
- Cheese such as cheddar or cottage cheese.
Food textures
Babies need to try different textures to help them develop their eating skills over time. Start with smooth or pureed food—most babies only need pureed food for a short time before they move on to other textures. Start to offer lumpy textures before they’re 9 months old. If your baby stays on pureed textures too long, they may resist different textures later.
Every baby is different and will move through textures at their own rate. Introduce food textures that match your baby’s development. Your baby might gag a bit as you offer new textures. This is a normal reaction for a baby learning to eat a new texture. Gagging (a reflex that happens when food slips to the back of the tongue before you’re ready to swallow and is forced back into the mouth) is not the same as choking.
Here is a table to give you an idea of when to introduce new textures to your baby (download chart as JPG image):
No teeth yet? No problem!
Babies don’t need teeth to start eating foods that are not pureed.
Baby food
You can make baby food at home or buy it at a store. There are many things to think about when feeding your baby solid foods, such as making sure that it’s the right texture and that it’s healthy for your baby.
Homemade baby food
Make baby food without added salt or sugar. You can use the same foods the rest of your family is eating.
Making baby food at home can be easy. Use simple kitchen tools such as a fork, potato masher, blender or grater to prepare food in a way that matches your baby’s eating skills. To learn more about making homemade baby food, download Alberta Health Services – Making Baby Food.
Homemade baby cereal does not have the iron your baby needs to grow and develop, so use store-bought cereals that are fortified with iron.
Store-bought baby food
If you’re buying baby food, choose foods without added salt or sugar. Allow your baby to explore different flavors, such as bitter or savoury foods.
Keep all food and leftovers safe:
- Do not use the food if the safety seal is broken or if the safety seal button is up. You should hear a pop when you open the lid on a jar.
- Throw away any baby food that is past the ‘best before’ date.
- Feed your baby from a dish not directly from a jar or squeezable pouch. Food that has been in contact with your baby’s saliva will spoil more easily.
If you have any questions about feeding your baby, call Health Link at 811 or talk with your health care provider.
Check the food labels
Always read the ingredient list to make healthy food choices. Ingredients are listed by weight from the most to the least. To learn more about food labels, visit Alberta Health Services – Read Labels to Make Healthier Food Choices.
Squeezable food pouches
These pouches encourage babies to suck purees—they don’t help them learn to accept lumpy foods or to chew. If you choose to give your baby a squeezable food pouch, squeeze the food onto a spoon to encourage development of spoon feeding skills. This will also ensure that any leftover food can be safely stored in the fridge and eaten at a later time.
Honey is not for babies
Do not give babies under 1 year old honey or foods with honey — even if the honey is cooked or pasteurized. It can make them sick with botulism.
Food safety
Compost or throw out any leftover food from your baby’s dish after they have finished eating.
Finger foods
Finger foods are foods that your baby can pick up and put into their mouth themselves. At first, finger food needs to be grated or cut into small pieces or strips. By 8 months old, most babies can pick up foods with their fingers and feed themselves.
To prevent choking, only give your baby food while they’re sitting down—not while they’re playing or while you’re driving. Learn more about foods that can be choking hazards and how to make them safe.
Here are some foods to try as finger foods:
- small cooked pasta
- dry toast strips, bread crusts, plain rice cakes and unsalted crackers
- cooked vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and beets cut into small pieces
- soft, ripe, peeled fruit such as bananas, pears, peaches, plums and kiwis cut into small pieces
- hard cheeses grated or cut into small cubes
- tender cooked meat or hard-boiled eggs cut into small pieces
- tofu, cooked beans or other legumes
- mashed potatoes or casserole
Learn more about healthy eating for your baby.
What, when and how much food to offer
Every baby will like and eat different amounts of food from day to day. Continue to breastfeed or feed formula as you add more solid foods.
Start by offering 5–15 ml (1–3 tsp) of smooth or pureed food. Give your baby more food if they show you they’re hungry, and stop feeding when they show you they’re full. Some days, your baby will eat a lot, other days not as much.
Amounts to offer your baby
Offer your baby small amounts of food (a few teaspoons to a few tablespoons at a time). Your baby knows how much they need. Let them eat as much as they want at meals and snacks. Your baby will show you when they are full. Your baby may eat more or less food than what you offer. They may even like one food one day and not like it the next day. Trust your baby when they show you they’re hungry and full. Let their feeding cues guide you.
Here are some examples of amounts of food to offer your baby:
Food | Amount |
---|---|
Baby cereal with iron | 30–60 ml (2–4 Tbsp) |
Meat and eggs | 30–60 ml (2–4 Tbsp) |
Beans, lentils, tofu | 30–60 ml (2–4 Tbsp) |
Fruit | 30–60 ml (2–4 Tbsp) |
Vegetables | 30–60 ml (2–4 Tbsp) |
Grain foods | 45–120 ml (3–8 Tbsp) |
Cheese and yogurt | 30–45 ml (2–3 Tbsp) |