For the first six months, your baby will thrive on milk alone. Milk is easy for your baby’s immature stomach and intestines to digest, and newborns prefer to suck rather than to chew and swallow. Around four to six months, your baby’s nutritional needs will change and your baby will develop the new skills necessary to eat solids. This can be an exciting and challenging time for baby and parent.

How do you know when your baby is ready?
Experts agree that babies are ready to try solids between four and six months. Starting earlier than four months can increase the risk of food allergies. As a rule, when your baby’s tongue-thrust reflex has diminished and he can hold his head up he may be ready to try rice cereal thinned with formula or breast milk. Each month, you can supplement or replace the milk feedings with cereal and pureed foods. After about 9 months, your infant will be ready to try more solid foods and join the rest of the family at the table.

What to start with?
At first, foods should be strained, pureed or mashed and thinned with liquid so that it’s the consistency of thick cream. Food can be served at room temperature. By the time your baby reaches six or seven months, the food can become progressively thicker as baby becomes more experienced at eating.

Here are some good starter foods:

• Rice, barley or oat cereal mixed with breast milk, formula or water is easily digested by infants
• Pureed vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans
• Pureed apples, pears, bananas, peaches
• Unsweetened yogurt (for babies not allergic or intolerant of milk products)
• Pureed beef, chicken, turkey and lamb