Baby’s First Foods

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Breast milk is the only food your baby needs for the first 6 months. Continue to offer breast milk until your baby is 2 years old and older. If you are not able to feed your baby breast milk, talk to your health care provider about feeding your baby a store-bought infant formula.

Does my baby need Vitamin D?

If your baby is breastfed, or is breastfed and given some infant formula, they need a liquid vitamin D supplement of 400 IU every day. Breastmilk has some vitamin D but not enough to meet your baby needs.

Babies who are only fed store-bought infant formula do not need extra vitamin D.

When do I start to feed my baby solid foods?

At about 6 months your baby can start to eat solid foods. By this time, your baby needs more nutrients, especially iron. Your baby is also ready to learn to eat foods with different textures.

Your baby is ready to start eating solid foods if they:

  • Can sit and hold their head up
  • Can watch and open their mouth for the spoon
  • Don't push food out of their mouth with their tongue

 How much food does my baby need?

As a parent or caregiver you decide what foods are offered. Your baby decides if they are hungry and how much they will eat.

 Trust your baby’s appetite. Your baby will let you know when they are hungry and full.

 Your baby is hungry when they:

  • Open their mouth for food
  • Get upset if the food is taken away

 Your baby is full when they:

  • Shut their mouth
  • Turn their head or push food away

How do I start to feed my baby solid foods?

Start by giving your baby small amounts of foods and gradually increase the amount based on their appetite.

Make your baby’s first foods rich in iron (see more information below).

Solid foods can be offered before or after breastmilk. You and your baby will decide what works better. This may change over time.

As your baby eats more solid foods, they will gradually begin to drink less breastmilk.

Foods can be mixed and moistened with water.

Do not put cereal or other solid foods in a baby bottle.

Sit down and eat with your baby. Choose a time when your baby is happy, interested, and alert. Babies enjoy company and learn about eating by watching you and others eat.

Let your baby explore food with their hands. Learning to eat can be messy.

What do I feed my baby?

Your baby can eat many of the same healthy foods enjoyed by the rest of the family. Offer family foods made with little or no added salt or sugar.

Your baby can eat soft foods and finger foods before they have teeth.

Soft foods include minced, mashed, ground, lumpy, pureed, and tender-cooked foods.

Finger foods include small pieces of cooked vegetables and soft fruits without the skin, strips of toast or roti, cooked pasta, and ‘oat rings’ cereal.

 At 6 to 8 months:

  • Continue to offer breastmilk.
  • Offer iron-rich foods at least 2 times each day. Foods that are high in iron include:
    • Well-cooked, finely minced or shredded meat, poultry, or fish, including beef, pork, chicken, turkey, cod, and halibut
    • Mashed cooked egg, lentils, beans or cooked tofu
    • Iron-fortified infant cereal
  • Work towards feeding your baby solid foods at 2 to 3 meals and 1 to 2 snacks each day based on their appetite. Your baby will decide how much they want to eat.
  • Offer other healthy foods except for honey.
  • Your baby can have milk products such as yogurt, cottage cheese and other pasteurized cheeses.
  • Offer sips of water in an open cup, but do not let your baby fill up on water.

 At 9 to 12 months:

  • Continue to offer breastmilk.
  • Offer solid foods at up to 3 meals and 1 to 2 snacks each day based on their appetite. By 12 months, aim to have routine meals and snacks every 2 ½ to 3 hours.
  • Continue to offer foods high in iron 2 or more times every day.
  • Make sure the foods are soft and cut into small pieces.
  • Offer water in an open cup.
  • Your baby does not need juice. If you do give juice, offer no more than 125 mL (1/2 cup) per day of 100% fruit juice in an open cup.
  • Do not give juice or other sugary drinks in a bottle.
  • Do not let your baby sip on milk or juice between meals or snacks. This can lead to tooth decay.

 When can I give my baby cow milk?

You can start offering small amounts of pasteurized whole cow milk (3.25% milk fat) in an open cup when your baby is:

  • 9 to 12 months of age;
  • Eating a variety of foods that are high in iron.

 Do not give your baby lower-fat (2% or 1%) or skim milk before 2 years of age.

 What if my baby does not drink cow milk?

If your baby does not drink cow milk, talk to your health care provider about what you can offer.

Whole goat milk must be pasteurized and must have vitamin D and folic acid added to it.

Coconut milk and fortified soy, rice or nut and seed beverages are not recommended before 2 years of age. These drinks do not have enough nutrients to meet your growing baby’s needs.

How do I brush my baby’s teeth?

Babies start to get teeth at about 6 months of age. New teeth are not very strong and need to be taken care of. Gently clean your baby’s teeth 2 times each day using a soft baby toothbrush or wet face cloth with a smear of fluoride toothpaste (the size of a grain of rice).

How do I keep my baby safe while eating?

Always stay with your baby while they are eating or drinking.

Babies and young children are at higher risk of choking. To prevent your baby from choking:

  • Grate raw vegetables and hard fruits;
  • Remove the pits from fruits;
  • Slice and chop food, such as grapes, into small pieces;
  • Make sure fish is free of bones; and
  • Do not offer foods such as popcorn, peanuts, nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, hard candies, hard raw vegetables (such as carrots), marshmallows, jellybeans, or lumps of seed or nut butters on a spoon.

Only give your baby pasteurized milk, juices, and soft cheeses (such as brie, camembert and feta). You can find this information on the label.

Never feed honey to babies younger than 1 year. Honey could give your baby a food-borne illness called botulism.

Offer your baby fish that are lower in mercury. See HealthLinkBC File #68m Healthy Eating: Guidelines for Eating Fish with Higher Mercury Levels.

For more information:

If you have questions about feeding your baby, vitamin D, or allergies, contact your health care provider. You can also call 8-1-1 to speak to a registered dietitian or registered nurse.

To learn more about feeding your baby, see:

To create a factsheet on feeding your baby or food for your toddler, visit the HealthLinkBC Factsheet Generator (FSG) web page at https://bcfsg.healthlinkbc.ca/