Baby Solids for Each Age Group

Age Specific Baby Food

Use this article as a reference of when to introduce which baby foods. Whether your baby is just starting first foods at 4 to 6 months, or a developed eater at over 12 months, we'll guide you through the different baby foods you can offer your child at every stage of its first year.

• Nutrition
• Children's Food

4 to 6 Months Onwards - First Baby Foods

All babies should begin their foray into exciting new tastes and textures with baby food from the 4 to 6 month age group - even if you have waited till your baby turned six months. No matter how late you wait, you want to have moved up the baby food ladder to the meat purees by 7 months as your baby's need for iron grows.

At this stage breast milk or formula is still the most important food and is offered before the baby food. Baby solids are offered as 'tasters' - simply an introduction to the world of food. Start with 1 tbsp of food a day and increase offer time according to your baby's appetite. Baby food should be very smooth (heavily pureed) and quite runny.

• Baby rice - buy a packet of rice from the local supermarket that is aimed at the 4 to 6 month age group.
• Fruit purees - pears, peaches, and apples (avoid apple if your baby has reflux).
• Vegetable purees - butternut pumpkin, kumara, potato, and carrot.
• Apple in muslin. Cut a slice of apple (without skin, core, or pips) and put in some muslin so your baby can suck the juice from the apple without any bits of apple getting into the mouth. You can buy specially designed muslin baby safe feeders.
• Avocado mashed to a very smooth pulp and thinned with breast milk, formula, or water that has been boiled and then cooled.
• Banana mashed to a very smooth pulp and thinned with breast milk, formula, or water that has been boiled and then cooled
• Cans or jars of baby food for the 4 to 6 month age group.

6 to 8 Months Onwards Baby Food

Breast milk or formula should still be offered before the baby food. The baby solids should be a little lumpier now - perhaps use a masher instead of a blender. Start moving towards having 3 meals a day with snacks in between.

• Vegetables - introduce beans, broccoli, cauliflower, courgettes, parsnips, taro, and yams.
• Fruit - introduce plums, melon, nashi pears, and nectarines.
• Meat purees. You can combine pureed meat with mashed vegetables, or serve each food separately.
• Liver. Only introduce a small amount of liver. You can increase your baby's intake by adding a little liver to vegetable mixtures. A good way to handle liver is to freeze it, and then grate small amounts of liver in with the vegetables as they are cooking. The liver is cooked once it turns from pink to brown.
• If you choose not to introduce meat, make sure there is plenty of iron in your baby's diet from other sources - i.e. iron fortified baby cereal, follow on formula, broccoli, and beans.
• Bread and crackers. Teething rusks are fantastic as both a source of comfort and food. You can also try white bread, crackers, and toast fingers. For a less-mess marmite toast solution; spread marmite thinly on white bread and bake in the oven at 100C until crisp (20 to 30 mins).

8 to 9 Months Onwards Baby Food

You now need to offer solids before breast milk or formula, which should be reduced to about 600mls a day. Offer 3 main meals followed by breast milk or formula. Offer a morning and afternoon snack in between each meal with water instead of breast milk or formula. Baby food should now be minced, chopped, or grated.

• Vegetables - introduce cabbage, lentils, peas, silver beet, spinach, and tomatoes.
• Fruit - introduce berries, kiwifruit, oranges, mandarins, and canned pineapple.
• Cheese can be introduced unless you have a family history of dairy allergy. Try small slices of cheddar cheese, use cottage cheese as a dip or spread, pottles of yoghurt, and cheese sauce over vegetables.
• Creamed corn.
• Tofu.

9 to 12 Months Onwards Baby Food

• Finger foods. You can now introduce a large range of finger foods - refer to our Baby Finger Food article for more information.
• Fish can be introduced unless you have a family history of dairy allergy. Fish fingers are usually enjoyed by babies and toddlers.
• Pasta can now be eaten by your baby. Either cook with a tomato or cheese based sauce (i.e. macaroni cheese), or offer plain as finger food.
• Smooth peanut butter. Do not use crunchy peanut butter. You could spread on crackers, bread, or toast.
• Porridge.

12 Months Onwards

Your baby is now a toddler and can start enjoying the same food as the rest of your family. However they may like milder or simpler meals and you will also want to restrict the amount of salt and sugar in their diet. If there is a family history of peanut allergy do not try peanuts until they are 3 years of age, or consult with your family GP. Choking is still a high risk for your toddler so keep a careful watch while they are eating.

• Whole eggs can now be used so you can introduce the likes of omelettes, scrambled egg, egg sandwiches, french toast and stuffed eggs.
• Cow's milk.
• Honey.
• Breakfast cereals.

Looking for more information on food for children? Check out the NZS.com directory.

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Family images from Flickr: Nephew Baby, Kids Classroom and Hands.