Congratulations! Your baby is ready for solid foods, which means that you’ve made it to another feeding milestone. Perhaps this is a moment you’ve been waiting for or anticipating with anxiety. Like other aspects of parenting, feeding solids can be overwhelming, confusing, and messy. (Tip: With this transition in particular, it’s best to surrender to the mess.)

The introduction to solids comes with the addition of a bit of meal-planning logistics and gear (not much, we promise). Your baby is growing, and that’s cause for celebration. Being able to sit up means being able to join you at the table; you no longer need to hold your baby on your lap for every meal! You may experience a plethora of emotions; one mom has wryly said introducing solids is such a big milestone, it sort of feels like dropping your child off for college.

Thankfully, college—and even elementary school—is still a long way off, but we understand that making choices about which foods to offer, and when and how to offer them, can be stressful. Moving from a strictly liquid diet to one that includes baby cereals and purees of fruits, veggies, and proteins can be a whole lot to deal with. Try not to obsess or worry too much about making the “best” choices. It’s a slow and steady process.

The introduction to solids is less about adding significant amounts of solid food-based nutrition to your baby’s world than about helping your baby develop eating skills. This includes creating structures that support a foundation for healthy and happy eating habits. 

Figuring out how to feed your baby isn’t necessarily straightforward; social media, for one, is packed with conflicting advice. Take heart in knowing that there’s no wrong approach to feeding your baby. You don’t even need to subscribe to a particular approach. Openness and patience are paramount.

This guide is designed to help you understand what you and your baby need, on a practical level, to get through this introduction process, addressing issues ranging from determining readiness for solids to finding a feeding approach that feels right. If you’re curious (or super enthusiastic) about making your own baby food, you’ll want to check out our collection of puree and finger food ideas. You’ll also want to pour over our expert tips on food safety, drinking water, and food allergies. 

Like everything we’ve presented in our breast care, sleep, emotional support, and physical recovery guides, the information and guidance we provide here is science-backed and reality-tested, wherever possible. Some recommendations we provide have seemingly been around forever, while others—including leading advice in the food allergen space—are expert-approved updates based on relatively new research.

As you navigate the learning curve, you may feel a heavy mental load. Keep in mind that you aren’t introducing solids all at once, nor are you dropping breast milk or formula at this juncture. You’re not even making extra meals for your little one—and after a solid introduction to solids, you hopefully will never need to. 

What’s happening at this age (4 to 7 months old) is as follows: 

Over these months of nutritional transition, if you’ve been breastfeeding until now, you likely will be facing some transitions there too, including dropping nighttime feeds. If you are able to continue breastfeeding—even just one feed a day—great! The benefits to you and your baby of inclusive and extended breastfeeding are remarkable. 

As with any new phase of your baby’s development, it’s easy to become worried or anxious about the process of introducing solids. But fewer expectations generally provide room for more joy. If you approach this transition with openness to learn and enjoy the newness (and messiness), it will be less stressful. And it will be over before you know it.

Preparation and readiness

If your 6-month-old has good trunk control, and has hit some other physiological developmental milestones, it’s time to introduce solids. (You can start looking for signs of readiness when your baby is 4 months old.) Here’s how to know when it’s time to introduce your baby to solids—and in the meantime, how to help your baby get ready for solids. 

Getting started: How to do it and what you need

Once your baby is ready to start eating solids, you’ll want to consider how you’re going to navigate the baby food journey. There are multiple approaches, with considerations ranging from whether you want to make baby food to which feeding gear to acquire.

The tricky stuff: Food allergies, water, poop, and constipation

When your baby starts eating solids, you might have all kinds of questions about food allergies, drinking water, constipation, and even heavy metals and nitrates. Bottom line: No need to panic. There are dangers to beware of, but this is overall a time of engaging exploration. You have a whole new world of flavors and textures to share with your baby.