What have you heard about feeding your baby solid foods?
What do other people say about feeding solid foods?
How do your friends feed their babies?
What would you like to do?
Your child learns to eat step by step. Here are the foods that are right for each step. What are your ideas for foods your baby could eat at each step?
Step 1:
Mushy food you feed from the spoon
- Iron-fortified baby rice or barley cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula
- Fruits and vegetables that are finely fork-mashed, pureed, or put through a baby-food grinder
- Baby food you buy in the store
Step 2:
Thicker, lumpier food you feed from the spoon
- Fruits and vegetables that are coarsely mashed
- Mashed potatoes, refried beans, and sticky rice
- Toddler food that you buy in the store
Step 3:
Small pieces of finger food he feeds himself. Foods he bites or breaks off with his gums
- Cut-up cooked vegetables, fruits, and casseroles
- Cut-up raw bananas or peaches
- Tender chopped meats
- Cheerios or Corn Chex
- Bread squares, toast strips, tortilla strips
- Graham crackers
Step 4:
Family food that is easy to pick up, chew, and swallow
- Everything you eat except hard or tough food that might make him choke
- Whole pasteurized milk
- Juice in a cup
- Start one new food at a time. Wait 3 or 4 days to give more new food. That way you can tell if the new food gives your baby a stomachache, diarrhea, skin rashes, or wheezing.
- Give your child time and chances to learn to like new food. Offer a new food a few meals later and a few meals after that. After 10 or 15 tries, he will like most foods.
