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Starting solids: from first bites to family meals

Last updated: July 6, 2026 · checked against CDC/AAP guidance · US edition (switch to the UK edition)

At about 6 months it begins: first bites. And with it, the questions. When exactly do you start? What first? How do peanut and egg fit in? How much milk should stay?

This plan gives you one continuous guide from the very first spoonful to the moment your child simply eats family meals. It follows US guidance from the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

📋 All stages at a glance

The stage-1 ages are deliberately "weeks after starting" rather than calendar age: however old your baby is when you begin around 6 months, the build-up is the same.

🚦 When do you start? The signs of readiness

The CDC and AAP advice: start solid foods at about 6 months — and never before 4 months. By around 6 months your baby also genuinely needs the nutrients from food (especially iron) alongside milk. Signs your baby is ready:

• Good head control; sits up alone or with support.
• Shows interest in food — leaning forward, opening their mouth when food comes near.
• Can move food to the back of the mouth and swallow it, rather than pushing it back out.

Does your baby spit the first bites out or turn their head away? Completely normal. A new taste may need 10 or more tries before it is accepted. Calmly keep offering, without pressure.

🥕 First bites

The goal of the first weeks is not feeding but practising: getting used to the spoon, to new tastes and to swallowing. All milk feeds stay exactly as they are. Offer the bite at a calm moment when your baby is not overly hungry or completely full.

What first? There is no fixed order, but single-ingredient purées work best: veggies, iron-fortified infant cereal or puréed meats (a good iron source). Starting with veggies before fruit is a smart move — babies love sweet by nature, so savory tastes need more practice. Give one new food at a time and wait a few days before the next, so you spot it quickly if something doesn't agree with them.

Good starters: carrot, sweet potato, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, green beans, peas — plus iron-fortified infant cereal or puréed chicken, turkey or beef.

🥜 Introducing peanut

Early introduction lowers the chance of a peanut allergy. The US guidance (AAP/NIAID):

• Most babies: introduce peanut at around 6 months, once a few other solid foods are tolerated.
• High-risk babies (severe eczema, or an existing egg allergy): peanut may be introduced as early as 4 to 6 months — but talk to your pediatrician first; they may recommend allergy testing or supervised introduction.

Which form? Smooth peanut butter thinned with warm water, breast milk or formula — or peanut powder stirred into a purée. Never whole peanuts or chunky peanut butter (choking hazard; no whole nuts until at least age 4).

A gentle build-up (3 days):

All going well (no reaction)? Done. Keep peanut in the diet regularly — for example about 2 teaspoons of peanut butter a few times a week. Keeping it up is just as important as the introduction itself.

What to watch for: an allergic reaction almost always shows within 2 hours — think hives or red patches, swelling around the mouth, vomiting, diarrhea or unusual drowsiness. If you see this: stop and call your pediatrician. With a severe reaction (trouble breathing, going pale or floppy): call 911. Severe first reactions are rare — and early introduction is exactly what prevents most allergies from developing at all.

🥚 Introducing egg

The same principle applies to egg: introduce it at around 6 months, build up calmly, then keep it in the diet.

Which egg? Always well-cooked: scrambled or hard-boiled. No raw or runny egg (salmonella risk).

A gentle build-up (3 days):

Afterwards: keep offering egg regularly — mashed through a meal, scrambled, or later as omelette strips. Don't introduce peanut and egg for the first time on the same day; a week apart means you know immediately which one caused a reaction, if any.

🍎 Two moments a day

Once the first bites are going well, a second fixed moment joins in: fruit in the morning, veggies later in the day. Keep varying, and repeat tastes that didn't land before.

Good starter fruit: pear, banana, apple (steamed or very ripe), melon, mango, peach, plum. Avocado needs no cooking at all — just mash. Amounts can slowly grow, but your baby still decides how much.

🗓️ The quick-start plan: the first 6 weeks written out

Just want a concrete plan without puzzling? This CAN be a fine schedule — see it as a starting suggestion, not a test. It shifts along with your start day.

✅ The 60-day plan: every day written out

Rather not think about it at all? This is the quick-start plan above written out day by day — including the peanut and egg build-up days, the weekly top-ups and three weeks of stage-2 meals. Check the days off in your personal dashboard (it follows along automatically from your start day), or use the print-friendly version below for the fridge.

Here too: a handhold, not a law. Swapping a day, skipping one or using a jar instead is fine — the only fixed anchors are the peanut and egg build-ups and keeping them up weekly afterwards.

🧊 The ice-cube method: cook once, two weeks ahead

Making purées yourself is cheaper than jars and you decide what goes in. With the ice-cube method it costs one cooking session every week or two: steam or boil one or two vegetables until soft, blend smooth, freeze in a lidded ice-cube tray, then pop the cubes into a labeled freezer bag (name + date).

Storage rules: freshly made purée keeps up to 2 days covered in the fridge; frozen cubes about 3 months. A defrosted portion must not be refrozen or kept — throw leftovers away. Always taste and check the temperature yourself: lukewarm is right.

🍽️ Mashed meals & finger foods

From 6 months the role of food changes: it is no longer just practice — your baby genuinely needs the nutrients (especially iron) alongside milk.

• Milk: breast milk or infant formula remains the main source of nutrition for the whole first year — count on roughly 4–5 feeds a day.
• Iron matters: combine veggies with iron-rich foods — puréed meats, beans and lentils, or iron-fortified cereal.
• Texture: the blender can stay in the cupboard more often. Mash with a fork; soft lumps are exactly what helps your baby learn to chew.
• Finger foods: offer soft pieces your baby can grasp — cooked carrot sticks, broccoli florets, strips of toast.
• Drinking: practise sips of water from a cup with meals. No juice before 12 months (AAP).

🥣 Meals replace feeds

Your baby gradually moves towards 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner). As the amount of solid food grows, milk feeds naturally reduce step by step — take about a week per change, and keep responding to your baby's appetite.

• Texture: mashed with soft lumps, minced, and plenty of finger foods. Let your baby grab pieces themselves — mess is learning.
• Dairy: plain whole-milk yogurt and cheese are fine now; cow's milk as a drink not before 12 months.

✋ Chopped & self-feeding

The last step before joining family meals. Food hardly needs mashing any more; your baby picks up more and more with thumb and finger and practises (with help) with a spoon.

• Rhythm: 3 meals plus 1–2 small healthy snacks; milk winds down to 2–3 feeds a day.
• Self-feeding: offer food your baby can hold: omelette strips, soft cooked veggies, soft fruit pieces, toast fingers.
• Cup: water from a cup becomes routine.

🍲 Family meals

Congratulations: you have a toddler, and they simply eat what the family eats — without added salt or sugar.

• Milk: bottles and formula are no longer needed. Move to whole cow's milk from a cup (whole milk from 12 to 24 months; after age 2 you can switch to low-fat). About 2 cups of dairy a day is plenty. Toddler milks are not needed (AAP). Breastfeeding on demand can simply continue as long as you both want.
• Rhythm: 3 meals and 2–3 healthy snacks, following the family rhythm.
• Keep watching: still no added salt, no whole nuts or peanuts (until at least 4), and cut grapes and cherry tomatoes lengthways into quarters. Honey is fine from now on.

⚠️ What NOT to give (before 1 year)

💊 Vitamin D

Breastfed and partially breastfed babies need a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU (10 micrograms) from the first days of life. Babies drinking a full daily amount of formula get enough through the formula.

❓ Frequently asked questions

📚 Sources

This guide follows the US guidance as published by:

• CDC — When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods
• American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) — Starting Solid Foods and When to Introduce Egg, Peanut Butter & Other Common Food Allergens

This is general information, not medical advice. Worried about your child's growth, eating or a possible allergy? Talk to your pediatrician — you are never too early with that.