# Starting solid foods: when and how

> Starting solid foods: when, signs of readiness, how to start, foods to avoid under 1 year

Feeding · Reviewed 2026-10-19 against the sources below · https://livia.baby/learn/starting-solids

- The AAP recommends breast milk only for about the first 6 months, then foods alongside continued breastfeeding (or formula).
- Signs of readiness: sits in a supported seat with good head control, opens the mouth or reaches for food, and moves food to the back of the mouth. If food dribbles back out, wait a week or two and try again.
- Start soft or pureed, half a spoonful or less, building up gradually. The CDC says not before 4 months; by 7 to 8 months babies can eat from every food group, in any order. Thicker and lumpier textures follow as skills grow; some coughing or gagging while adjusting is normal.
- Vary the fortified baby cereals (oat, barley, multigrain) rather than rice cereal alone: rice cereal raises arsenic exposure (CDC).
- One new single-ingredient food every 3 to 5 days, watching for reactions.
- A little milk first, then food, then finish with milk. Never force it: if the baby turns away, try another day.
- Include iron and zinc: baby food made with meat, or iron-fortified baby cereal.
- Finger foods once the baby sits up and brings things to their mouth: soft, easy to swallow, cut into small pieces; nothing that needs chewing under 1.
- No honey under 1 year (infant botulism).
- No juice under 12 months; breast milk or formula gives all the fluid a baby needs.
- Choking hazards under 1: hot dogs, nuts and seeds, chunks of meat or cheese, whole grapes, popcorn, chunks of peanut butter, raw vegetables, fruit chunks, hard or sticky candy.

## In Livia

Log meals with the foods offered: each meal keeps what was on the plate, so spacing new foods 3 to 5 days apart is easy to check.

## Sources

- [AAP / HealthyChildren.org](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Starting-Solid-Foods.aspx)
- [AAP / HealthyChildren.org](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/chest-lungs/Pages/Coughs-and-Colds-Medicines-or-Home-Remedies.aspx)
- [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-what-and-how-to-introduce-solid-foods.html)

_Education from the sources listed, not medical advice. If you're worried about your child, call your pediatrician; in an emergency, call 911._