Babies are born with natural reflexes that help them to nurse and during the first few months of life, breast milk or formula is all that is needed to provide babies with adequate nutrition. Prior to about four to six months of age, babies cannot control their reflexes well enough to eat solid foods. Somewhere between four and six months of age, most babies will be able to control their reflexes enough to eat solid foods.

Solid foods, such as infant cereal and baby food, are the first real foods baby will eat. Most experts recommend starting solid foods when baby is able to adequately control their head movement and their tongue reflexes. While this developmental milestone will occur at different times for different babies, it is usually around four to six months of age. The first solid foods introduced to babies should be easily digestible, such as rice cereal, and the consistency should be thin enough for baby to swallow easily.

Starting solid foods too soon can result in food allergies and certain foods should be avoided all together until baby is older. Nutritional experts and pediatricians generally recommend choosing simple fruits and vegetables as your baby’s first solid foods. Carrots, peas, pears, applesauce, and bananas are all good choices. Keep in mind that babies naturally have a preference for sweeter foods and introducing vegetables before fruits will not change this preference. It is more important to provide them with a well-balanced, nutritional diet.

When babies are ready to eat solid foods, introduce each new food individually and wait at least three days before introducing a new one. This allows time to identify any allergic reaction to a particular food. If your baby’s stool habits change drastically or a rash develops after the introduction of a new food, remove that food from their diet and talk to their pediatrician.

As time passes, babies begin to develop a taste for new foods and their breast milk or formula intake will gradually decrease. Babies should not be given whole milk until they are a year old and foods containing nuts, eggs, and honey should be delayed until they are older. Tempting as it may be, avoid giving your baby table foods that are prepared for the entire family unless you prepare them without salt.

Once babies have tolerated a variety of solid foods, new textures, such as pastas and breads can be introduced and before you know it, they will move on to the next milestone – self-feeding.