Introducing Your Baby to Solids

Introduction

As your baby grows, becomes stronger, and begins to explore the world around them, they will also embark on a new journey: discovering the world of solid foods. Around the age of 6 months, their nutritional needs evolve, and introducing solids becomes an exciting yet sometimes challenging milestone. This is when feeding transitions from simple liquids to more complex textures and flavors. During this time, your baby will not only learn how to eat but also develop a connection with food. The way you approach mealtimes, the foods you offer, and how you interact with food will influence their developing relationship with eating. In this blog, we’ll share helpful tips and strategies to make this transition smoother and more enjoyable for both you and your baby. 

Developmental Milestones

4-6 Months 

What to Expect

• Breast/bottle feeding is well established. 
• Beginning to eat pureed cereals/baby foods (5 months). 
• Red Flags: Significant gagging or total refusal of introduction to new foods. 

6 Months 

What to Expect

• More interest/tolerance of purees (stage 1). 
• Will hold their bottle on their own. 
• May drink out of a cup when held by an adult. 
• Will start to finger feed. 
• Between 6-9 months, your baby will begin teething and will often place everything in their mouth. This is important for sensory and oral motor development. 
• Red Flags: Gagging, refusing to be spoon-fed, and refusing to eat food. 

7 Months 

What to Expect

• May begin to tolerate thicker textures in mouth (stage 2). 
• Between 7-9 months, lip closure will develop. 
• Red Flags: Gagging, refusing to be spoon-fed, and refusing to eat food. 

8 Months 

What to Expect

• Beginning to eat soft mashed table foods. 
• Sensory exploration with hard munchables, not consumption.  
• Red Flags: Difficulty with different textures of foods they are exploring. Becoming upset with mess or sensory exploration.  

9 Months 

What to Expect

• Beginning to eat soft table foods and meltable solids. 
• Transitioning easily through thin and thick baby foods. 
• May begin drinking from a straw cup with support. 
• May begin to use a spoon. 
• Red Flags: Refusing solid foods, difficulty with sensory exploration, overstuffing mouth, difficulty swallowing. 

10 Months 

What to Expect

• Beginning to eat soft cubes that can be mashed with minimal pressure. 
• Emerging rotary chew. 
• Red Flags: Refusing solid foods, difficulty with sensory exploration, overstuffing mouth, difficulty swallowing. 

11 Months 

What to Expect

• Beginning to eat single-textured soft mechanical foods. 
• Red Flags: Difficulty chewing, creating a bolus, or moving food around the mouth to safely swallow.  

12-14 Months 

What to Expect

• Eating a variety of soft table foods. 
• Transition to cup and straw drinking. 
• Self-feeding with a spoon and cup (many spills!). 
• Red Flags: Not starting to self-feed and difficulty safely swallowing foods.  

16-18 Months 

What to Expect

• Beginning to eat hard mechanical foods. 
• Develops the strength to chew various textures. 
• Continue to establish a circular rotary chew pattern. 
• Red Flags: Choking, gagging, difficulty safely chewing, swallowing, and difficulty drinking from a straw. 

Supportive Seating 

Ensuring that your child is seated in a safe and supported position when transitioning to solids is key to helping them succeed with feeding. Proper head and neck control, along with postural stability, are essential for babies to manage food safely. When babies are positioned correctly, it supports adequate breathing patterns and allows them to use their hands more freely, which helps them explore their food and even feed themselves as they grow. A good seating position also encourages better movement of the jaw, which is important for developing oral motor skills and learning how to chew and swallow effectively. 

Here are some chairs we recommend and use in occupational therapy that can help support your child during mealtime: 

Stokke: Tripp Trapp Chair

Abiie: Junior High Chair

Fisher Price: High Chair / Booster

Bento: Booster Seat 

Check out Solid Starts Ultimate Guide to highchairs: HERE 

Learning Through Play 

As your child starts to explore and eat solids, mealtime becomes a learning experience. Eating is something your baby will learn how to do, and during this process, they will look to the people around them—like you—to show them how it’s done. This is a great opportunity for you to make mealtime enjoyable and engaging! Getting a little silly and messy with your baby can help make the experience more exciting, and it encourages them to feel comfortable with the food they’re exploring. Allowing your child to experience the different textures, smells, and looks of food through sensory exploration is important. It helps them become familiar with different food groups and learn how to handle new textures. Getting messy is actually a vital part of their development, so it’s important not to rush in and clean them up immediately. Instead, give your baby the space to explore their food in their own way. This process helps build confidence and is a key step in their journey toward becoming an independent eater. Check out this Family Mealtime Benefits blog for more mealtime tips for success!

Conclusion 

The transition to solids can seem scary and new at first. Remember, there are many factors that go into feeding, and each child gets there in their own way. With these tips and tricks, we hope mealtime becomes a fun and meaningful part of your child’s development.  

For more helpful information, follow SLP Melanie Potock on Instagram @mymunchbug_melaniepotock. 

And check out Solid Starts for the ultimate guide to introducing solids to your child!

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