Hi Suzi and Paolo! I would just like to ask, what are the best foods that can be given to a 6-month old baby aside from milk? Can i give him banana or mashed potatoes? How about bread?

Mary Grace Sumagaysay

Suzi says

Hello there mommy!

Exciting times are ahead for you and baby! Six months is indeed the ideal age to start baby on semi-solid foods. There are many options out there. Of course the more natural, the choice the better. All you need is to invest a little time and patience and your baby will be eating like a pro in no time.

First start him off with rice cereal. This is available in supermarkets. Just mix a teaspoonful of cereal with enough boiled, cooled water or breast milk or formula to make the cereal smooth, almost on the watery side. And as opposed to the usual practice that we don’t give kids snacks before meals because it might ruin their appetite, it is the opposite for babies. It is better to give your child a small milk feed before you try to feed him; maybe just half of his usual feed. Wait around half an hour and then try to give baby the cereal. The reason for this is so that your baby will be a bit patient with his first eating experience. If baby is too hungry, he might become frustrated with the activity and get fussy. And of course, since it’s baby’s first time, make sure to have your video or still camera ready. A milestone for baby indeed!

Don’t be frustrated if baby will only take in one or two baby-spoonfuls each time you feed him. He is still just mastering the skill of eating from a spoon. After all, for the first six months of his life, all he had to do was nurse from you or drink from a bottle. But you will notice your child will take in more and more food with each meal.

Give him cereal once a day for the next 5 days or so. Then it’s time to make mealtimes more interesting by introducing new variants.

Popular vegetables to give babies are squash and potato. But give baby only one vegetable at a time so that if he reacts to any of them, you will be able to pinpoint what food causes any allergies.

Before preparing food, always make sure to wash your hands and utensils thoroughly. It is best to cook vegetables by steaming in order to retain as much nutrients as possible. If not, boiling vegetables in drinking water is okay. When veggies are soft, mash through in a strainer. If you want, you can mix some of this veggie puree with a bit of your rice cereal for better texture. Or you can give vegetables on their own. Remember you must not add any salt. Veggies are usually very sweet and flavorful especially to those who don’t know otherwise, like babies!

For the first two weeks, go with your one meal a day plan and introduce a new vegetable every few days. After two weeks you can give baby two solid feeds a day. The morning feed could be the vegetable feed (so that if baby has an allergic reaction, you can both deal with it during the day instead of in the evening when you both won’t be able to rest!) and the rice cereal feed in the afternoon. You can also start giving mashed fruit for dessert. Bananas, papayas and apple puree are yummy!

At this point there are certain foods that you should not give to baby. Nuts, honey, eggs, citrus fruits and cow’s milk should not be given before age 1. For other foods that are considered allergens such as seafood, peanuts and other types of nut products, delay giving such foods until age 2 or 3. If you or other family members are allergic to these types of foods, there’s a greater chance that your child will be too.

Regarding food storage, make sure you keep food in clean containers that are thoroughly dry right before you use them. Use a serving spoon when taking out food from the container to avoid saliva contamination. If you are using bottled baby food, consume within 2 to 3 days. To keep food longer, freeze in an ice cube tray then place cubes in a zip loc bag. You can do this with several different veggies and you can mix cubes together for thawing and warming. This will save you a lot of time and energy.

Good luck mommy! Remember also to smile encouragingly at your child when feeding. If they see your look of approval, that will encourage them to eat more. Enjoy!

Paolo says

Six months is a very exciting time of discovery for your baby in terms of motor skills, visual and auditory stimuli; and it’s an especially exciting time of discovery in terms of food! Most babies get their first taste of semi-solids between 4-6 months and it’s great that you are looking for food ideas.

Fruits like apples, bananas and pears that are prepared in a blender are good, as are vegetables like potatoes, sweet potato, and carrots. Foods should be introduced gradually; in small portions and in single ingredients at a time. This is a good approach for a couple of reasons: you give your baby some time to get used to the new flavors and textures one at a time and because you are feeding him/her one ingredient only, it’s easy to see if there are any allergic reactions and you can avoid those foods during future feedings. Certain foods, like bananas, can cause constipation. And other foods like kamote can cause gas but every baby reacts differently to different foods, so it’s really all about seeing what your baby likes to eat and if he/she doesn’t react to what she’s eating. Preparing small portions is also best so you don’t keep too much of it for too long. Freshly prepared is always best, but freezing small portions of fruit or veggies prepared via blender is a great way to always have something ready for baby.

A few foods you should avoid this early include eggs, cow’s milk and honey. Any type of nuts and nut products, unlike peanut butter, as well as hard to digest fruits and veggies, like strawberries and corn should be avoided till they are older and better able to digest these foods. These foods are also common allergens for many people and it’s a better idea to wait till your child is older than 1-year old before trying some of these foods. Be aware too that citrus fruits should be given in moderation early on as they are acidic and can cause diaper rash because of their acidity.

Have fun, be imaginative and enjoy the texture and flavor journey with baby!