Feeding guide · 6 months
Feeding your 6-month-old: first foods and how to start
Six months is when most babies are ready to start solid food. The goal this month isn't nutrition from food. Milk still does that. It's practice: tasting, touching, squashing and learning that food goes in the mouth. Here's how to start calmly, what to offer first, and how much is normal.
- Meals a day
- 1, building to 2
- Portion
- A few tastes
- Milk
- Unchanged, on demand
- Texture
- Soft finger-length sticks or smooth mash
Check the four readiness signs first
Before the first meal, make sure your baby sits up with a little support, holds their head steady, reaches for food, and no longer pushes food out with the tongue. Look for all four together. Never start before 17 weeks, and use corrected age if your baby was premature.
Iron first
The iron stores babies are born with run low around six months, and breast milk contains little iron. Make iron-rich foods the backbone of the first weeks: soft shredded or minced beef, lamb or chicken, well-cooked lentils, soft tofu, and iron-fortified oat cereal. Serve them alongside a vitamin C food such as tomato, pepper, kiwi or berries to help the iron absorb.
How much and how often
Start with one small meal a day, mid-morning, 30 to 60 minutes after a milk feed, when your baby is alert but not starving. Keep it to 10 to 15 minutes and stop when they turn away. Over the following weeks, add a second meal as they show they want more. A few mouthfuls, or none at all, is completely normal this month.
Shapes for baby-led weaning
At six months babies grab with their whole hand, so offer food in strips about the size of an adult finger, with some sticking out above the fist. Everything should squash easily between your thumb and finger. Steamed sweet potato wedges, avocado spears, broccoli florets with a stalk handle, soft omelette strips and toast fingers are classic first foods.
Gagging is normal, choking is not
Gagging is loud: coughing, a red face, the tongue pushed forward. It's a protective reflex and happens a lot in the first weeks. Stay calm and let your baby work it out. Choking is silent: your baby can't cough, cry or breathe. Learn infant first aid before you start, and always sit with your baby while they eat.
Good first foods at 6 months
- Soft shredded beef, lamb or chicken
- Well-cooked lentils and mashed beans
- Soft tofu strips
- Iron-fortified oat cereal or porridge fingers
- Steamed sweet potato, carrot and broccoli
- Ripe avocado and banana
- Strips of soft omelette (egg is a common allergen; offer it early and often)
A sample day in the first weeks
- Wake
- Milk feed
- Mid-morning
- Solids: avocado spears and soft beef strips, a few sips of water from an open cup
- Through the day
- Milk feeds as usual
- Later weeks
- Add a second meal, e.g. lentil and sweet potato fingers in the late afternoon
Recipes for 6-month-olds
Key takeaways
- Start when all four readiness signs are there, around 6 months and never before 17 weeks.
- Lead with iron-rich foods, paired with vitamin C.
- One meal a day to begin with; milk is still the main meal.
- Finger-length, squashable strips for baby-led weaning.
- No salt, sugar or honey, and stay with your baby every time they eat.
Common questions
How much should a 6-month-old eat?+
Very little. At six months, solids are practice and milk provides almost all nutrition. A few tastes once a day is a perfectly good start, building to two small meals over the month as your baby shows interest.
Can I give water to a 6-month-old?+
Yes. From six months you can offer a few sips of water in an open or free-flow cup with meals. It's about practice; milk remains the main drink.
When should I introduce allergens?+
For most babies, current guidance is to introduce common allergens such as egg and peanut early in the weaning journey, one at a time and at home, then keep offering them regularly. Talk to your doctor first if your baby has severe eczema or a known allergy.
Sources
- NHS Start for Life – Weaning
- HealthyChildren.org (AAP) – Starting Solid Foods
- CDC – Infant and Toddler Nutrition
- CDC – Choking Hazards
- First Steps Nutrition Trust
This guide is general information, not medical advice. Read the nutrition disclaimer