Introducing solid food to your baby after being dependent on breast milk or formula is a new step in your infant’s life. Moreover, since your baby’s digestive system is not as mature as adults, there are many precautions that you need to be aware of before you start giving solid food to your baby.

How to know that your baby is ready for solid food?

It is recommended to start feeding your child solid foods between the age of 4 and 6 months, but you should always look for signs that your baby is ready for that step. Here are some signs that show that your baby is ready:

• If the baby doubled his birth weight, and that weight is at least 5.8 kg.
• If the baby can set well with support.
• If the baby opens his mouth when a spoon is approaching.
• If the baby’s tongue does not push food out of his\her mouth.
• If the baby can hold his\her head in a steady, upright position.
• If you feel the baby is interested in what you’re eating.
• If the baby is mouthing his\her hands or toys.

What type of solid food should you feed your baby?

Each baby is different, so talk to your child's doctor about which solids to introduce and when. You should continue giving the baby breast milk or formula – up to 1 liter a day, then:

• Offer single-ingredient foods that contain no sugar or salt, and wait three to five days between each new food. This way if your baby has a reaction — such as diarrhea, rash or vomiting — you'll know the cause. After introducing single-ingredient foods, you can offer them in combination.
• Iron and zinc are important nutrients in the second half of your baby's first year. These nutrients are found in pureed meats and single-grain, iron-fortified cereal. Beans, lentils or other culturally acceptable foods might also be appropriate.
• If your baby is breastfed, offer pureed meat as a first food because the iron in beef, chicken, and turkey helps to replace her iron stores, which start to diminish at about 6 months of age. Other good first foods include pureed sweet potatoes, squash, applesauce, bananas, peaches, and pears.
• It is customary to start babies on infant cereal, but there is no medical evidence showing that this offers any advantages or health benefits.

How to avoid the risk of food allergy?

Foods like iron-fortified infant cereal, pureed vegetables, fruits, and meats, don't typically cause allergic reactions, but you must monitor your baby for signs of allergy, just in case.

After you know that your baby doesn’t have any allergies to these usual foods, start to add more allergenic foods, such as soy, eggs, wheat, fish, and peanut butter.

Introducing allergenic foods around 4 to 6 months may actually help prevent the development of food allergies later on. You should talk to your baby’s doctor to create a feeding plan before adding solid food to your baby’s diet if:

• You have another child with a peanut allergy.
• Your baby has moderate to severe eczema despite following a doctor's treatment plan.
• Your baby previously had an immediate allergic reaction to a new food or has been diagnosed with a food allergy.
• A positive blood test that confirmed your baby has an allergy to a specific food.

How many times a day should your baby eat solid food?

How often you should feed your baby depends on your baby’s age:

• Less than 6 months, one meal a day.
• 6 – 7 months, two meals a day.
• 8 – 9 months, three meals a day.

Important tips for introducing solid food to your baby

• Do not give your baby foods that might cause him to choke.
• If your baby turns away from a particular food, don't push.
• Unless your baby's doctor asks you to, don't add cereal to his bottle – he could choke or end up gaining too much weight.
• Babies are born with a preference for sweets, so you don't have to worry about introducing sweet or savory foods in any particular order.
• If you notice that your baby is having less frequent bowel movements, or that his stools have become hard or dry and seem difficult to pass, let his doctor know. Maybe you should add high fiber fruits to his diet.