Starting Solids

Labelled photos to give you some finger food ideas for your baby from 8 to 12 months.

Being food smart is Oscar Kightley's passion - clean, cook, chill and you'll be food smart too.

Some suggestions for first foods.

Let your baby decide how much they want.

See a list of helpful hints on food safety.

Some suggestions for meals and snacks from 8-12 months.

By 6 months, your baby will be starting to run low on the stores of iron they were born with. So offering iron-rich foods is important. 

How to get started giving your baby solids.

Avoid giving pēpi (babies) small hard foods or whole foods.

The best drink for babies from birth to 6 months is breast milk (or formula, if breast milk is unavailable). From 7 to 12 months, breast milk (or formula) and water are the best drinks for your baby.

By 8 or 9 months, you can start to offer your baby their solids before breast milk or formula. By now your baby is probably having 3 to 4 meals a day, 1 to 2 snacks, and 2 to 3 breast (or formula) feeds.

Keep giving your baby breastmilk (or formula) before solids. Give more variety and texture as baby grows older.

Start with one food at a time, and add a new food every 2 to 4 days. Over time, increase how much and how often you give solid foods. Start with 1 to 2 teaspoons once a day, and slowly increase.

Safety's important when your baby is eating. Make sure your baby's well-secured in a high chair, or on your lap. Find out about foods that are more likely to cause choking.

Start with spoon-fed puréed foods when your baby is ready (around 6 months). Move on to mashed and chopped foods over the next few months. Offer finger foods from 7 to 8 months when your baby is able to pick them up, bring them to their mouth and chew them.

Around 6 months, your baby starts to need the extra vitamins and minerals (especially iron and zinc) that are in solid foods.