The Best First Foods for Babies

According to the Mayo Clinic, babies are ready for their first real solid food when they can hold up their heads and sit up on their own, usually around four to six months. At this point, the Mayo Clinic suggests starting your baby off with baby cereal offered in a bowl and feeding your child with a spoon. Gradually add pureed food and then finely chopped finger foods around eight months of age.

  1. Baby Cereal

    • Add about 1 tablespoon of single-grain, iron-fortified cereal to every four or five tablespoons of formula or breast milk. Rice cereal is recommended to start off with because it will only slightly thicken up the milk to get your child used to swallowing cereal. When your child gets used to it, mix the rice with slightly less milk. Begin introducing other grains such as single-grain barley and oatmeal as well.

    Pureed Fruits and Veggies

    • Bananas are an ideal first food to give to your baby because of its softness, sweetness as well as nutrients. Peel and mash half of a banana and mix with a little water. Puree it in the blender for extra smoothness. Mashed avocados are also recommended as one of the first foods to feed your baby. Mix both bananas and avocados with a little formula or breast milk instead of water if you prefer. A tasty veggie your baby may like is butternut squash. Squash however needs to be baked to soften it up first. Then you can mash and serve it pureed with water or milk.

    Soft Meats

    • Meat is a good source of iron and protein. Begin serving your baby meat after introducing fruits and vegetables and between the ages of seven and 10 months, according to Baby Center. Introduce meats by serving your child well-cooked chicken. shred the meat and put it in a blender and add water to turn in into a puree. If your child takes well to chicken, try another meat the next time such as turkey or beef. Just remember that the meat should be pureed well with no bones whatsoever.

    Chopped Finger Foods

    • Once your child has taken to pureed foods well and is between the ages of eight and 10 months, you can start introducing soft, finely chopped finger foods. The best first finger foods include soft pieces of pasta, sliced bananas, finely chopped mangoes, peaches, cantaloupe and seedless watermelon. O-shaped toasted cereal is also a popular finger food for babies. Small chunks of cheese such as cheddar and American are good choices as well. Cooked, soft vegetable such as chopped broccoli can also be introduced. Meat broken into very tiny pieces that will not cause your baby to choke will work as well.

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