6+ Months

Are you starting your baby on solids or thinking about it? You’ve come to the right place! Introducing solids marks a pivotal phase in your baby’s nutrition and growth, and we are here to support you. Here is just a few tips from our top feeding experts and paediatricians to help you get ready for this exciting feeding milestone.

• Starting with purees is the first transition into food textures for most babies. Choosing a smooth blend when starting can help ease your baby into this new texture. You can choose some that are very thin consistencies like Little Bellies fruit purees for 4+ months and others that are slightly thicker blends like Little Bellies fruit and oat smoothies for 6+ months.
• If you are opting for starting with purees and mashed foods, we recommend you take a responsive feeding approach where you do not force the spoon into their mouth and you follow their cues. This can mean holding the spoon a bit further so they lean in to take a bite or you can let them grab the spoon from you and explore the food.
• In the beginning, when they are around 6 months there will be a lot of exploring; your baby may spit out some of the food, squish it and only lick or taste it. This is how they learn to eat! It’s a process that takes time. We recommend you start with one meal in the first month of starting solids and slowly add in more meals at times that work with your schedule. By around 9 months ideally, your baby will be eating 3 times a day as you do. At 12 months they may have 3 meals and 1-3 snacks.
• We recommend you follow a responsive feeding guide where you read your child’s cues and honour their hunger or fullness at meals and don’t force them to finish specific amounts.

For more insights and tips on introducing solids, please read our article Baby Development Milestones Unpacked: A Comprehensive Age & Stage Guide to Natural Development.