Adding new foods to your baby’s diet

At about six months of age, your baby will be ready to be fed with a spoon and you will be able to add cereals, puréed fruits and vegetables to her diet.

During the first four to six months of life, all the food a baby needs is breast milk or formula. After this, you can begin to add solid foods – initially puréed – along with the milk feeds, which should continue until at least 12 months of age. Between seven and 12 months, a baby needs 700–900 calories a day.

No real consensus exists among the experts regarding when and how to introduce solid foods, but you may find the chart helpful; it shows you when you can add new foods and textures to your baby’s diet. It is important not to rush your baby, but to take one step at a time.

If he or she will not eat one particular type of food it could simply be that he or she does not like it – like adults, babies dislike some foods. Pay attention to nutrition labels if you are buying ready-prepared food for your baby: they can be high in salt or sugar. When puréeing vegetables at home, do not add salt.

In terms of drinks, offer him or her occasional drinks of water. Experts feel that there is no specific need for fruit juice in a baby’s diet, but if you do decide to give it to your baby, do not give more than 180ml (6floz) of diluted 100 per cent fruit juice per day, and serve it only at mealtimes.

New foods table

New food	4–6 months	6–9 months	9–12 months
Milk	4–6 feeds of breast milk/formula per day	3–5 feeds of breast milk/formula per day	3–4 feeds of breast milk/formula per day
Breads, grains, rice, pasta, and potatoes	Rice, barley, or oat iron-fortified cereal mixed thinly with breast milk/formula twice daily Rusks, toast strips	Bread and bagels Small pieces of cooked noodles Mashed potatoes Unsweetened, dry cereal Teething biscuits	White wheat bread Rice Waffles Pasta and spaghetti Couscous Boiled potatoes
Vegetables	Puréed, well-cooked dark yellow, orange (but not sweetcorn), or dark green vegetables	Well-cooked, mashed vegetables such as butternut squash and peas	Cooked vegetables such as boiled carrots and broccoli Some raw vegetables, such as tomatoes and peeled cucumber
Fruits	Puréed fresh or cooked fruits, unsweetened Mashed bananas	Peeled or skinned soft fruit wedges such as bananas, peaches, pears, oranges, and apples	Any fresh fruit peeled and seeded or canned in juice Limit juice to 120–180ml (4–6floz) per day
Dairy foods	No cow’s milk or other dairy foods at this stage	Cottage cheese Yogurt Bite-size strips of cheese	Slices of cheese, cut up Cheese on toast, cut into small strips
Protein foods	Babies get all the protein they need from breast milk or formula	Well-cooked and puréed, minced, or finely chopped chicken, fish, and lean meats (without bones, skin, or fat) Well-cooked and mashed eggs Well-cooked pulses such as baked beans or chickpeas	Small tender pieces of chicken, fish, or lean meat Lean minced beef or minced turkey breast Chicken nuggets Ravioli