Starting solids guides, from first bite to family table
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Starting solids: a calm guide for 6–12 months
Readiness signs, purees or baby-led weaning, gagging vs choking, first foods, allergens and a sample day, in six short steps.
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01 · GETTING STARTED
When and how to begin
Starting solids shopping list
Before you start: the gear and first foods to have ready, and what to skip.
Starting solids: the complete guide
Six short steps for the first bites, 6–12 months.
Is baby ready? Take the quiz
The four signs that matter more than the calendar.
Baby-led weaning, explained
How it works, what to serve first, and mixing it with purees.
The best first foods for baby
Ten easy first foods, with shapes and textures that work.
Purees to finger foods
Moving from the spoon to self-feeding, step by step.
02 · SAFETY & CHOKING
Safe bites, calm parents
Choking first aid & the Heimlich maneuver
Step by step for babies, children and adults, updated for 2025.
How to cut food by age
Strips, quarters and flattened pieces for every stage.
Gagging vs choking
How to tell the noisy, normal reflex from an emergency.
Foods to never feed babies
Honey, whole nuts, added salt and the other hard no’s.
When can babies have water?
How much, from what cup, and why not before 6 months.
Infant CPR & choking first aid
Back blows, chest thrusts and infant CPR, plus why a class is worth it.
03 · ALLERGENS
The Top 9, one at a time
The Top 9 allergen plan
A week-by-week plan to introduce and keep every allergen in.
How to introduce peanut
Safe forms, first amounts and how often to serve it.
How to introduce egg
Well-cooked egg, from first taste to a regular breakfast.
Free allergen bingo printable
One stamp per allergen, three dots for three servings. No sign-up.
Signs of an allergic reaction
Hives, vomiting, swelling: what to watch for and when to call.
6-month-old feeding schedule
One small meal a day, built around milk feeds.
7-month-old feeding schedule
Two meals, sample menus and how much milk to keep.
8-month-old: how much food?
Portion sizes, three meals and a sample day.
9-month-old feeding schedule
Pincer grasp foods and adding a snack.
10–11-month-old feeding schedule
Three meals, two snacks and less milk.
12–14-month-old feeding schedule
Family meals, whole milk and the switch from bottles.
15–18-month-old feeding schedule
One nap, three meals and goodbye to bottles.
19–24-month-old feeding schedule
Family meals, whole milk until 2 and picky phases.
05 · NUTRITION & MEALTIME
Iron, tummies and tricky meals
Iron-rich foods for babies
Why iron matters from 6 months, and easy ways to serve it.
Constipation and starting solids
Foods that help, foods to ease off, and when to call.
When baby refuses food
Why it happens, and how to keep meals low-pressure.
Food throwing at the table
What it means at each age and how to respond.
Open cup and straw drinking
Teaching baby to sip, from the first tiny cup.
Guides are reviewed by our dietitians, and based on AAP and NIAID guidance. They are educational and don’t replace your pediatrician.