Introducing solid foods marks an exciting new chapter in your and your baby's lives. The name already says it all: BEI-Kost initially complements your child's milk feeds, until porridge—and later, joining in with family meals—gradually replaces breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. With this next step, it’s completely normal for questions to come up: When is the right time to introduce solid foods? When should you feed your baby what? And which porridge is the right one? We’ve gathered answers to these and other common questions about starting solids.

When is my baby ready for solid food introduction?

Complementary feeding includes everything your baby eats or drinks besides breast milk or infant formula. At first, this usually means vegetables, fruit, potatoes, meat, and grains in puréed form—sometimes mixed with a little oil. These foods are much harder to digest than milk, and your baby’s sensitive digestive system is typically mature enough for them at around six months. Around the same time, you may notice the first signs that your baby is ready for complementary foods and their first puréed meal:

• The tongue-thrust reflex, which previously pushed solid food or a spoon out of the mouth automatically, has disappeared.

• Your child can (with some help) sit upright and hold their head steady. This is important to help prevent choking.

• Your baby can intentionally grasp objects and bring them to their mouth.

• Your baby opens their mouth when the spoon approaches and shows fullness by refusing the offered food.

• Your baby shows interest in your food.

Readiness for complementary feeding is completely individual : some babies start eating eagerly as early as five months, while others don’t show interest in porridge until seven months. So if your child isn’t ready right at six months, there’s no need to worry. Even though every child develops at their own pace and the start of complementary foods can vary, the first spoonful of porridge should be offered between the fifth and seventh month of life

Introduction of solid foods

Until then, breast milk or infant formula provides your baby with all the nutrients they need for healthy development. From the seventh month onward, milk alone gradually no longer meets your baby’s increasing energy and nutrient needs (especially iron, vitamin B6, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium). If your little explorer shows no interest in food in the seventh month of life, you should still offer the first purées by this point at the latest, so they can gradually get used to trying them.

We’ve put together such a lovely set for your baby’s first porridge: the Milestone Card Set for you. Simply download, print, take a photo, and enjoy! :)

How does the introduction of complementary foods proceed?

To ensure your child gets exactly the nutrients they need for age-appropriate development, organizations such as the Federal Center for Nutrition provide recommendations for nutrition in the first year of life . These don’t have to be a strict diet plan, but they can be a helpful guide and a source of inspiration for your child’s individual diet. As long as your child is developing in an age-appropriate way, is active, and gains weight appropriately as they grow, there’s no need to worry. If you have questions or feel unsure about introducing complementary foods, you can always speak with your pediatrician—for example, during regular check-ups.

5th to 7th month: vegetable-potato-meat puree (or vegetable-potato-cereal puree)

Complementary feeding usually begins with a few spoonfuls of finely puréed plain vegetable purée , ideally offered at lunchtime. Vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, or parsnips are especially suitable: their mildly sweet taste reminds your baby of familiar breast milk or formula. This helps your baby get used to the new texture at their own pace before exploring all the new flavors.

Start by offering small portions of the same vegetable purée and increase the amount day by day until you reach 100 grams. This gives your baby’s digestive system time to adjust to the new diet. If your baby accepts the vegetables and tolerates them well, you can add grated potato and a tablespoon of rapeseed oil after one week. The unsaturated fatty acids in the oil help your baby’s body process the porridge more easily. In the third week, add 30 grams of lean meat and 1.5 tablespoons of fruit juice so that iron from the food is absorbed more effectively. Your baby’s iron stores are largely depleted after six months, and their need for iron steadily increases—this is why the iron-rich vegetable-potato-meat purée is usually introduced first.

Twice a week, it is recommended to replace the meat with fatty fish, such as salmon. It’s best to introduce new vegetables gradually so you can observe how your baby reacts and whether any intolerances occur. Variety is encouraged, and you can also replace potatoes with pasta, rice, or other grains.

At first, most of the porridge will probably end up on the floor, on the wall, or on your blouse—but very little will make it into your little explorer’s tummy. ;) That’s why, alongside the lunchtime porridge, your baby should continue to have as many of their usual milk feeds as needed to stay full. After about four weeks of introducing solid foods, the entire lunchtime meal is typically replaced with porridge.

6th to 8th month: milk-cereal porridge

Once lunchtime porridge is going well, you can move on to milk-cereal porridge, which replaces your baby’s afternoon or evening meal. For the basic recipe, you’ll need two to three tablespoons of whole-grain cereals , prepared with 200 milliliters of warm whole milk, breast milk, or children’s milk and complemented with a little fruit purée or juice. Milk-cereal porridge is traditionally offered in the evening, as it keeps your little explorer full for a particularly long time.

7th to 9th month: Grain-Fruit Porridge

By now, you’re probably true baby food experts, and about a month after introducing milk-cereal porridge, you can add the third porridge. For cereal-fruit porridge, prepare two to three tablespoons of whole-grain cereals with 100 milliliters of boiling water and then let it cool slightly. You can add a teaspoon of rapeseed oil and 100 grams of fruit purée —completely according to your child’s taste.

Feel free to get creative with fruits and vegetables for your little gourmet—if your child gets to know a wide range of flavors early on, there’s a good chance they’ll enjoy them later, too. As your child gets older and becomes more accustomed to complementary foods, the porridge can also become a bit chunkier. This helps them experience different textures and gradually practise chewing before joining in with family meals.

10th to 12th month: transition to family food

At around ten months, the time has come: your child can increasingly join the family at the table. By eating with the grown-ups, your little explorer learns from the very beginning what shared family meals are like and gets used to regular mealtimes. In general, your child can eat what the family eats—mildly seasoned and, of course, in child-friendly portions. However, there are some foods you should still avoid during the first year of life:

• Raw milk

• Raw eggs

• Honey

• Salt

• Spices

• Nuts, small berries, and other foods that your child can easily choke on

• Added sugars (also in the form of maltose, dextrose, fructose, and maltodextrin), binders, and flavorings

• Chocolate and cocoa

• Yogurt, quark, and other dairy products (you should only use cow’s milk in the first year to prepare porridge; larger amounts could impair your child’s kidney function due to the high protein content)

How does the introduction of vegetarian complementary foods work?

Even though it is generally recommended to include meat and fish in complementary feeding, starting with vegetarian porridge is certainly possible. In principle, the same nutrition and nutrient recommendations apply to a vegetarian diet in the first year of life as they do when introducing meat. If you want to feed your child a vegetarian diet, you should first consult your pediatrician to clarify which nutrients—and how much of them—your child needs for healthy development. Based on your doctor’s recommendations, you can then create a plan with an appropriate selection of foods. Meat-based porridge can, for example, be replaced with vegetable-potato-grain porridge combined with vitamin C-rich juice or fruit purée.

Vegan nutrition during infancy and early childhood is generally discouraged. If you still want to feed your child a vegan diet, additional supplements such as vitamin B12 are necessary alongside complementary foods. You should seek support from a qualified nutritionist. In addition, your child should be examined regularly by a pediatrician to ensure they receive all necessary nutrients and develop healthily.

Purees from the jar or prefer to cook yourself?

When it’s time to start complementary foods, many parents face the same question: cook at home, or choose from the wide variety of ready-made jarred purées? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, because both options come with advantages and disadvantages.

With home cooking , you know exactly what’s in your little explorer’s porridge. By using fresh, healthy, and varied ingredients, your child gets to know different flavors from the very beginning and may also be better protected against allergies. If your child eats only homemade porridge, it may be necessary to supplement with iodine to ensure an adequate intake. It’s best to discuss this with your pediatrician.

Freshly prepared porridge also has the advantage that you can easily portion it, freeze it, and thaw it as needed. This often makes home cooking more affordable—especially if you use regional and seasonal fruits and vegetables. If you’re still looking for a suitable recipe, take a look at our YouTube channel. You’ll find simple baby food recipes to try out. How about, for example, a delicious ?

Industrially produced jarred purees , on the other hand, are often more practical—especially when you’re on the go. They have a longer shelf life and are easier to store than homemade baby food. Ready-made purées must meet strict legal requirements, so you can be confident they don’t contain germs that could harm your baby. Thanks to gentle preparation, many vitamins and nutrients are largely preserved, and the purées contain the essential nutrients your child needs. When buying purées, however, you should make sure no salt or sweeteners have been added.

As long as you pay attention to the ingredients, jarred purées are quite comparable to freshly cooked baby food. Both options—or a combination of the two—are suitable for introducing solid foods. Ultimately, it’s up to you and your baby to find what works best for you.

Can I continue breastfeeding my child?

Even after starting complementary feeding, you can—and should—continue breastfeeding for as long as you wish, or offer additional bottle feeds until your baby is full. Especially at the beginning, your child is still getting to know food and won’t yet eat enough complementary foods to feel satisfied. Appetite and metabolism also vary from child to child. During a growth spurt, your child’s appetite is likely to be greater; when they are teething or sick, they may eat less for a while. During these phases, it’s especially important to continue breastfeeding as needed or supplement with infant formula .

At the beginning of complementary feeding, your baby’s fluid intake is still covered by their usual milk feeds—just as in the first months of life. The more porridge your baby eats, the less milk they will drink. Because complementary foods provide significantly less fluid, you can offer an additional cup of water with each porridge meal. This helps your child learn from the start that drinking is part of a meal, too. Once your little one is eating three porridge meals, they should also drink an additional 200 to 600 milliliters of water per day.

Even though it’s important to introduce complementary foods step by step, it’s completely normal if not everything goes smoothly right away. Trust your child’s natural curiosity, hunger, and fullness cues, and don’t force them to eat if they don’t want to. And don’t be discouraged if your child initially rejects certain foods—often, they simply need time to get used to a new taste. Just offer it again regularly and let your child explore their new food calmly, even with their fingers if they want to. After all, eating is a completely new experience that should be discovered with all the senses. Of course, your little explorer should be full, but enjoying food and having a varied diet are just as important. In this spirit: dig into the porridge and enjoy your meal!