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How will I know when baby is ready for solid foods?
• In general, your baby is ready to start solid foods when she:
• Can sit up with support
• Uses her lips and tongue to move food from the spoon to the back of her mouth
• Has doubled her birth weight
• Doesn't seem satisfied with breast or formula feedings alone
• It's part observation, part intuition — you may simply get the sense that your baby is eager to eat real food!
The easiest way to introduce baby to solid foods is to mix formula or breast milk with a small amount of
single grain dry cereal (such as Rice or Oatmeal). Start out with a very watery consistency to ease baby’s
transition to food from a spoon. You can gradually increase the thickness of the mixture over time as baby
becomes more accustomed to eating. Once baby has begun to accept cereal well, you can move on to
Beginners vegetables, then onto Beginners fruits. All of Nature’s Goodness® Beginners products are single
source products, which help baby become accustomed to new tastes while giving you the opportunity to test
for food allergies (see tips below for more on food allergies).
Be alert to signs of food allergies when starting baby on solid foods. This is critical. The rule of thumb is to
start baby on simple, single-source foods (i.e., single-grain cereals, then single-fruit or single-vegetable
foods), which makes it easier to isolate the source of an allergic reaction, if it occurs. Single-grain cereals
(especially rice) are generally the best solid foods to start with.
For foods that are palatable and that can be easily swallowed, mix cereals with some breast milk or formula
for a semi-liquid consistency. Once your baby is managing cereal well, move on to single vegetables,
followed by single fruits.
Introduce foods one at a time and watch for allergic signs (immediately tell your pediatrician if they appear).
Move on to the next fruit or vegetable if baby tolerates the food well after 3 to 5 days.
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