Introducing solid foods step by step
Introducing solid foods marks a new, exciting chapter in your and your baby's lives. The name already reveals what it's about: The BEI-Kost still complements your child's milk meals at the beginning, until the porridge and later participation in family meals gradually replace breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. However, with the upcoming start of solids, questions may also arise: When is the right time to introduce solid foods? When should I feed my baby what? And which porridge is the right one at all? We have gathered answers to these and other questions about introducing solid foods.
When is my baby ready for solid food introduction?
Complementary feeding includes everything your baby consumes besides breast milk or infant formula. These are initially vegetables, fruits, potatoes, meat, and grains in pureed form, possibly mixed with a little oil. These foods are significantly harder to digest than the milk your baby has been consuming in the first months, and only around six months is their sensitive gastrointestinal tract sufficiently developed. Around the same time, you will also notice the first signs of readiness for complementary foods, indicating that your baby is ready for the first pureed meal:
The tongue thrust reflex, which previously automatically pushed solid food or a spoon out of the mouth, has disappeared.
Your child can (with some help) sit upright and hold their head steadily. This is important to prevent choking.
Can intentionally grasp objects and bring them to the mouth.
Opens its mouth when the spoon approaches and indicates fullness by rejecting the offered food.
Shows interest in your food.
The readiness for complementary feeding is complete individual , some babies start eating with a big appetite as early as five months, while others show interest in porridge only at seven months. So if your child isn't ready exactly at six months, there's no need to worry. But even though each child develops differently and the timing for starting complementary foods varies, the first spoonful of porridge should 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 it needs for healthy development. From the seventh month onward, the milk formula gradually no longer suffices to meet its growing energy and nutrient requirements (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 pureed foods by this time at the latest to encourage them to try it gradually.
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How does the introduction of complementary foods proceed?
so that your child receives exactly the nutrients it needs for age-appropriate development, for example, the Federal Center for Nutrition Recommendations for nutrition in the first year of life out. These do not necessarily have to serve as a strict diet plan for you, but can certainly be useful as a guide and inspiration for your child's individual nutrition. As long as it develops age-appropriately, is active, and gains weight accordingly alongside its growth, there is no need to worry. If you have any questions or uncertainties about introducing complementary foods, you can always consult your pediatrician, for example during regular check-ups.
5th to 7th month: vegetable-potato-meat puree (or vegetable-potato-cereal puree)
The start of complementary feeding begins with a few spoons of finely pureed plain vegetable mash , which you feed your child best at lunchtime. Vegetables like carrots, pumpkin, or parsnips are particularly suitable: their mildly sweet taste reminds your baby of familiar breast milk or formula. This way, it can first get used to the unfamiliar texture in the mouth at its own pace before it also learns all the new, unfamiliar flavors.
Start by giving your baby small portions of the same vegetable puree and increase the amount day by day until it reaches 100 grams. This allows their digestive system to gradually adjust to the new diet. If your baby accepts the vegetables and tolerates them well, you can give the puree after one week a grated potato and a tablespoon of rapeseed oil add. The unsaturated fatty acids in the oil help your baby's stomach to better process the porridge. In the third week, an additional 30 grams are added lean meat and 1.5 tablespoons Fruit juice thereby, ensuring that the Iron is better absorbed by the body from food. The body's iron stores of your baby are largely depleted after six months, and their need for iron steadily increases, which is why the iron-rich vegetable-potato-meat porridge is usually fed first.
Twice a week, it is recommended to replace the meat with fatty fish, such as salmon. It is best to introduce new vegetables gradually to observe how your baby reacts and whether any intolerances occur. Variety is encouraged, and potatoes can also be replaced with pasta, rice, or other grains.
Initially, most of the porridge will probably land on the floor, on the wall, or on your blouse – but little will end up in your little explorer's tummy. ;) Therefore, in addition to the lunchtime porridge, he should first receive as much of his usual milk feedings as needed to keep him full. After about four weeks of introducing solid foods, his entire lunchtime meal should then be replaced with porridge.
6th to 8th month: milk-cereal porridge
Once you've mastered the lunch porridge, continue with the milk-cereal porridge, which replaces your baby's afternoon or evening meal. For the basic recipe, you will need two to three tablespoons. Whole grain cereals , which you with 200 milliliters warmer Whole milk, breast milk, or children's milk prepared and complemented with some fruit purée or juice. The milk-cereal porridge is traditionally fed in the evening, as it keeps your little explorer feeling full for a particularly long time.
7th to 9th month: Grain-Fruit Porridge
Now you are probably true baby food experts, and there is nothing standing in the way of the third porridge about a month after introducing the milk-cereal porridge. For the cereal-fruit porridge, prepare two to three tablespoons Whole grain cereals with 100 milliliters boiling Water and then let it cool down a bit. You can add a teaspoon to the basic porridge rapeseed oil and 100 grams Fruit purée Add entirely to your child's taste.
Be as creative as you like when it comes to fruits and vegetables for your little gourmet – if he already gets to know a variety of flavors with complementary foods, the likelihood is high that he will enjoy them later. As your child gets older and becomes accustomed to complementary foods, his porridge can also become chunkier. This way, he learns different textures and can gradually practice chewing before joining the family meals.
10th to 12th month: transition to family food
At around ten months, it's time, and your child can increasingly join the family at the table. By eating together with the grown-ups, your little explorer learns from the very beginning about shared family meals and gets used to regular mealtimes. Basically, your child can eat everything that comes to the table from the start—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
Prayer
Nuts, small berries, and other foods that your child can easily choke on
Sugar additives (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 for preparing porridge; a larger amount 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 introduce meat and fish into complementary feeding, a vegetarian porridge start is certainly possible. In principle, the same nutritional and nutrient recommendations apply to vegetarian diets in the first year of life as with introducing meat during complementary feeding. If you want to feed your child vegetarian, you should first consult your pediatrician to find out which and how many nutrients your child needs for healthy development. Based on your doctor's recommendations, you can then create a plan with the appropriate selection of foods. Meat-containing porridge can, for example, be replaced with vegetable, potato, and grain porridge with vitamin C-rich juice or fruit puree.
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. Additionally, your child should be regularly examined by a pediatrician to ensure they receive all the necessary nutrients and develop healthily.
Purees from the jar or prefer to cook yourself?
By the time complementary foods are introduced, many parents face the question: cook themselves or opt for the wide variety of ready-made purees from jars? There is no definitive answer to this question, as both methods have their advantages and disadvantages.
At Cooking for oneself You know exactly what is in your little explorer's porridge. By cooking with fresh, healthy, and varied foods, your child learns about different flavors from the very beginning and is additionally protected against allergies. If your child only receives homemade porridge, it may be necessary to supplement with iodine to ensure adequate intake. It’s best to consult your pediatrician about this.
Freshly prepared porridge has the advantage that it can be easily portioned, frozen, and thawed as needed. This makes home cooking usually more affordable, especially if you use regional and seasonal fruits and vegetables. If you're still looking for a suitable recipe, check out our YouTube channel. There you will find simple baby food recipes to try out. How about, for example, a delicious ?
industrially manufactured Bread from the jar are usually more practical on the other hand, especially when on the go. They are longer-lasting and easier to store than homemade baby food. The ready-made purees must meet strict legal requirements, so you can be sure they do not contain any germs harmful to your baby. Thanks to gentle preparation, the vitamins and nutrients of the ingredients used are largely preserved, and the purees contain all the essential nutrients your child needs. When purchasing the purees, however, you should ensure that no salt or sweeteners have been added.
As long as you pay attention to the composition of the purees, the jars are quite comparable to freshly cooked baby food, and both options – or a combination of both – are suitable for introducing solid foods. Ultimately, it is up to you and your baby to find out what suits you best.
Can I continue breastfeeding my child?
Even after starting complementary feeding, you can and should continue breastfeeding your baby for as long as you wish or give additional bottle feeding until they are full. Especially at the beginning, your child needs to get to know the food first and does not yet consume enough complementary food to be 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 again in phases. It is especially important then to continue breastfeeding as needed or supplement with infant formula .
His fluid intake is still covered by his usual milk formula at the beginning of complementary feeding, just like in the first months of life. The more porridge your baby consumes, the less milk it drinks. Since complementary foods provide significantly less fluid, you can offer him an additional cup of water with each porridge meal. This way, he learns from the very beginning that drinking is also part of a meal. Once your little one is eating three porridge meals, he should also drink an additional 200 to 600 milliliters of water per day.
Even though it is important to introduce complementary foods step by step: it is completely normal that not everything works smoothly from the start. Trust in your child's natural curiosity, hunger, and satiety cues, and do not force them to eat if they don't like it. Also, do not be discouraged if they initially reject certain foods: often, they need time to get used to a new taste. Simply offer it to your child again regularly and let them 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 the fun of eating and a varied diet are just as important. In this spirit: dig into the porridge and enjoy your meal!