Starting solids shopping list

Screenshot this list or print it before your shopping trip. Tap any photo to see it larger and swipe through the list.

Product photos are illustrative and AI-generated; any brand that meets the safety notes above works.

Item	How many	Need it?
High chair with footrest and harness	1	Must-have
Baby spoons (short handle, soft tip)	2–3	Must-have
Small open cup	1	Must-have
Bibs (silicone or long-sleeved)	2–3	Must-have
Steamer basket or small pot	1	Must-have
Fork or potato masher	1	Must-have
Washcloths	4–6	Must-have
Iron-rich food and the first allergens	A little of each	Must-have
Glass grater	1	Nice to have
Suction bowl or plate	1–2	Nice to have
Straw cup	1	Nice to have
Splat mat	1	Nice to have
Blender or stick blender	1	Nice to have
Freezer trays with lids and labels	2	Nice to have
Crinkle cutter	1	Nice to have
Food thermometer	1	Nice to have

The high chair is the one item worth spending time on. Baby should sit upright at about a 90° angle, close to the tray or table, with hips, knees and ankles bent at right angles. Sitting upright makes chewing and swallowing easier and lowers choking risk.

• Adjustable footrest. Feet flat on a footrest help baby sit stable and focus on eating, the way your feet rest on the floor.
• A harness (3- or 5-point) and a crotch post, so baby can’t slide down or climb out.
• Easy to clean, with few seams and a tray that comes off, or a chair that pulls up to the family table.
• A wide, stable base, and a safety certification sticker (in the US, look for a chair that meets ASTM F404 or is JPMA certified).

Hook-on chairs that clip to the table are fine if your table is sturdy and the chair has a footrest. Buying second-hand? Look the model up on cpsc.gov/recalls and check that the harness, tray lock and footrest still work. Not sure baby is ready to sit up yet? Take the readiness quiz.

Babies learn by holding things themselves, so pick gear made for small hands.

• 2 or 3 baby spoons with a short, thick handle and a shallow, soft tip. You can “preload” the spoon with puree or mash and hand it to baby, so they practice feeding themselves from the first meals.
• A suction bowl or plate (nice to have). A clean high chair tray works just as well as a plate in the first weeks.
• 2 or 3 bibs. Silicone bibs with a pocket wipe clean in seconds; a long-sleeved smock bib saves outfits on messy days.
• Soft washcloths for hands and faces, and a splat mat or old shower curtain under the chair if you want an easy floor.

You don’t need divided plates, utensil sets with many pieces, or forks yet. A spoon comes first; a short, blunt-tipped toddler fork usually comes later, in the toddler months.

Babies can start small sips of water from about 6 months, with meals. Offering a cup early helps baby learn to drink, so they’re ready to move off bottles around 12 months.

• A small open cup (about 1 to 2 oz). It looks messy at first, but it’s the best way to learn to sip.
• A straw cup (nice to have), ideally with a weighted straw, so baby can drink at any angle.

From 6–12 months, babies need only about 4 to 8 oz (120 to 240 ml) of water a day in total. Breast milk or formula stays the main drink. Read when can babies have water and open cup and straw drinking.

Baby food is family food made soft and safe. A regular kitchen covers almost everything.

• A steamer basket or small pot to cook vegetables and fruit until they squish between your fingers.
• A fork or potato masher for mashes. A blender or stick blender is optional, useful if you want smooth purees.
• A grater for hard foods like raw apple, pear and carrot, which are too hard to serve in pieces. A glass fruit grater makes a fine, soft texture that is safe from 6 months.
• A sharp knife and a separate cutting board for raw meat, to cut foods into safe shapes for each age.
• A food thermometer (nice to have), to check meat and fish are cooked through (165°F / 74°C for chicken, 160°F / 71°C for ground meat).
• Ice cube trays with lids or small freezer containers, and labels with the date, for batch cooking.

A crinkle cutter is a nice extra once baby moves on to soft pieces at 7–8 months: ridged edges give slippery foods like avocado more grip. See how to cut food by age.

Babies eat very small amounts at first, often just a few teaspoons. Buy a little of several foods rather than a lot of one.

Ideas for the first week are in the best first foods for baby, and the allergen order is in the Top 9 allergen plan.

The most important thing to prepare isn’t something you buy.

• Learn infant choking first aid and CPR. A short in-person or online course takes about an hour. Read choking first aid and infant CPR.
• Know gagging from choking. Gagging is loud and normal; choking is silent. See gagging vs choking.
• Save your pediatrician’s number and your local emergency number (911 in the US) in your phone.
• Ask your pediatrician whether to start allergens at home, and what to keep at home in case of a mild reaction.
• Know which foods to avoid, like whole grapes, nuts and popcorn. See foods to avoid.

Talk to your pediatrician first if baby:

• Has severe eczema, a known food allergy, or has reacted to a food before. They may suggest a plan for peanut and egg.
• Was born preterm, has trouble sitting up with support, or isn’t showing signs of readiness by about 7 months.
• Has reflux, trouble swallowing milk, or weight gain your pediatrician has been watching.
• Coughs, chokes or struggles with breathing while feeding.

Baby aisles are full of things you don’t need. Save your money on these:

• Baby food makers. A pot, a steamer basket and a fork or blender do the same job.
• Pouches as an everyday food. They are handy on the go, but babies learn to chew and handle food by eating from a spoon or their hands.
• Juice and “toddler milk”. Babies need breast milk or formula and a little water. Juice is not recommended before 12 months.
• Salty or sweet baby snacks and teething biscuits. Real food is better, and many snacks add sugar or salt.
• Mesh or silicone feeders. Optional at most. Lumpier mashes, and soft pieces from 7–8 months, teach more about texture and chewing.
• Lots of stage-based jars. Jarred food is fine for busy days, but family food made soft gives more variety.

• Buying a high chair without a footrest, or one that reclines.
• Feeding in a bouncer, car seat or stroller “just this once”.
• Stocking up on lots of one food before you know what baby likes.
• Buying flavored yogurt, salted crackers or sweetened cereals instead of plain versions.
• Leaving allergens off the list. Peanut and egg early in the plan are linked to lower allergy risk.
• Skipping the first aid course because baby “only eats purees”. Babies can choke on any food.