Starting solids: the readiness checklist

Medically-informed · Sources: CDC, AAP · Updated July 2026 · 3 min read

The signs that count

Guidance from the AAP and WHO points to around 6 months — but the calendar is the least interesting part. The body tells you: your baby sits with minimal support and holds their head rock-steady; the tongue-thrust reflex that pushes everything back out has faded; and they watch your fork travel to your mouth like it's appointment television, maybe lunging for the cargo. All three together beat any date.

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The signs that don't count

Waking more at night, chewing on fists, or being a big baby are not readiness signs — they're just being four months old. Starting solids early doesn't reliably improve sleep, and before readiness it mostly means more food on the bib than in the baby. If your baby was born early, count readiness from the adjusted age, and confirm the plan at a checkup.

Is this normal for your baby?

FirstWeeks answers with your baby’s age and today’s log in mind — with pediatric sources attached.

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First foods, minus the ceremony

There is no medically mandated first food. Iron-rich options earn their priority — iron-fortified cereal, well-cooked meat, beans, lentils — because iron stores from birth start running down around this age. Single-ingredient, soft or thoroughly mashed, offered once a day at a calm moment when your baby is interested but not starving. Expect comedy: faces of betrayal, food worn as accessories. Intake in month one is measured in teaspoons; milk remains the main meal.

What to keep off the menu

Honey before the first birthday (infant botulism risk — this one is absolute), cow's milk as the main drink before one year, choking-shaped foods (whole grapes, nuts, hard raw vegetables, chunks of hot dog), and added salt or sugar doing nothing useful. Juice has no required role in the first year.

When to check in

If your baby consistently gags to the point of vomiting on smooth purees past 6–7 months, pushes out everything for weeks despite readiness signs, or you have any feeding-history worries, raise it at a visit — bring the food log. Early input beats months of quiet stress.