Most babies are ready to sample solid foods sometime between four and six months, but it's important to start when your baby is physically ready to start eating and not just because she's reached a certain age. Babies are ready to try solids when they can comfortably control their head and neck, can sit up with a little support and have doubled their birth weight. It's better to wait a little longer to try solids with your baby than to try to get her started with solids before she is ready.
Step 1
Mix 1 or 2 tbsp. of rice cereal in a small bowl with enough formula or breast milk to make a thin, runny mixture for your baby's first food.
Step 2
Offer your baby a spoon with a little of the cereal mixture on it. Put the cereal on the center of your baby's tongue. Don't be surprised if he spits it out; he's still learning how to use his tongue to eat, so spitting doesn't mean he doesn't like what he's tasting. Follow your baby's lead; if she doesn't seem interested in tasting the food, don't push. Try again in a few days.
Step 3
Continue to offer your baby cereal until she turns her head away or loses interest in the food.
Step 4
Offer your baby 1 to 2 tbsp. of cereal twice a day. Continue to breastfeed your baby or give him formula three to five times a day to be sure he's getting the calcium, protein and iron he needs for healthy development.
Step 5
Increase the thickness of your baby's cereal by gradually decreasing the amount of breast milk or formula you mix with it as your baby becomes accustomed to eating.
Step 6
Increase your baby's serving of cereal to 3 to 4 tbsp. of cereal mixed with breast milk or formula once she's in the habit of eating regularly.
Tips and Warnings
- Once your baby has mastered eating rice cereal, you can try feeding him other iron-fortified cereals. Just limit your baby to one new cereal a week so that you have enough time to check for allergic reactions. Use the same techniques you used to introduce rice cereal. Once your baby is about six months old, you can introduce pureed fruits and vegetables.
- Never offer your child cereal in a bottle.
Things You'll Need
- Rice cereal
- Small bowl
- Formula or breast milk
- Spoon
