Babies are usually ready to eat solid foods between 4 and 6 months of age. When your baby is at least 4 months old and shows signs of readiness, which include being able to sit upright with support while maintaining good head control, he is ready to try solid foods. The first solid food should be pureed, though there is no medical evidence to show that one particular food is better than another. Pediatricians often recommend starting with cereal.
Cereal
Feed your baby the usual amount of formula or breast milk, then begin feeding her a single-grain cereal, such as rice cereal. Mix 1 tbsp. cereal with 4 tbsp. formula or breast milk. Offer the cereal to your baby with a spoon once daily. Make sure she is sitting upright when she eats. After a few days, you can begin to mix the cereal with less liquid, making it thicker. You can also offer her some variety by feeding her oatmeal and barley cereals as well.
Pureed Solids
Once your baby is eating cereal well, you can introduce single-ingredient pureed meats, vegetables and fruits. There is no specific order in which to feed these foods, though your baby may tolerate vegetables and fruits better than meats initially. Good starters are pureed sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, applesauce, peaches and pears. When you introduce meat, make sure it is a single-ingredient food, like pureed chicken or beef. Keep experimenting with different foods. If your baby turns his head and appears not to like the taste, try again at a later time.
Tips
When you introduce a new food, wait three to five days before introducing another food so that you'll know which food to blame if your baby has a reaction, like rash or diarrhea. When you begin to feed a baby solids, she'll need one feeding initially, as she is still getting most of her nutrients from formula or breast milk. If she eagerly eats her first solid food, you can add another feeding of the same food daily or add a different food after several days.
Dangerous Foods and Beverages
Don't give your baby cow's milk in his first 12 months because it doesn't meet his nutritional needs and can cause digestive problems. Citrus is off-limits during his first year because it can cause severe diaper rash. Finally, infants should not have honey or corn syrup because they can cause infant botulism.
