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The best foods for a baby who is just being introduced to something other than breast milk or formula is, naturally, those foods that are most like breast milk and formula.
Foods with a milky or bland taste and are runny in their consistency will be well received. Your baby will learn to suck these off the spoon and his digestive system will be able to cope more easily with the new substances.
The best thing to start off with is rice cereal made specifically for babies. There are usually iron fortified and need only to be mixed with baby formula or breast milk. You can also use cooled boiled water, but milk is best because it adds a familiar taste to the cereal, making it more likely to be accepted by your child. Baby rice cereal is also a great first choice because it can be easily thinned and watered down to closely resemble milk, another plus.
Fruit and vegetable purees are next on the list. Some baby’s may prefer these to rice cereal, even though the taste is quite new and nothing like they’re used to. You may want to begin with vegetable purees as opposed to fruits, otherwise your baby may automatically build a preference to sweeter foods and begin rejecting those that are less sweet.
Potatoes are a great starter vegetable, because they have a bland taste familiar to babies. You want to puree them and also mix in some formula, breast milk or water (boiled and cooled) in order to achieve a runnier consistency. The same should be applied to any other fruit or vegetable purees, because your baby’s first solid foods should, in fact, not be solid at all.
Keep in mind that your baby’s stomach is very small, and so the portions of solid foods he may consume for the first year or so will be equally as small (especially since he should still be drinking breast milk or baby formula). A few tiny spoonfuls may end up being enough, especially in the beginning.
Other Great Starter Foods
All foods should be pureed and watered down with either breast milk, baby formula, or boiled and cooled water.
- Sweet potatoes
- Parsnips
- Carrots
- Pears (stewed)
- Bananas
- Apples (stewed)
- Mangoes
- Melons
Avoid serving your baby only orange/yellow vegetables, as this may cause your child to take on a yellow/orange tint.
Simple Baby Food Recipes
