These myths about starting solids show just how much the rules for feeding your baby have changed since you were in a highchair.
Myth #1: Infant cereal should be your baby's first food
Generally speaking, you can introduce single-ingredient solid foods to your little one in any order.
In fact, offering new eaters a variety of healthy foods and flavors from the very beginning – including yogurt, pureed meat, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains – teaches babies to accept and enjoy a variety of flavors and textures, which in turn helps them get the nutrition they need.
Baked sweet potatoes, avocados, bananas, applesauce with no added sugar, and plain whole-fat yogurt are all easy-to-serve first foods. Note: Introduce foods one at a time, waiting three to five days after each food to make sure your baby doesn't have an adverse reaction.
If your baby is at risk for food allergies (see Myth #3, below), talk to your doctor before getting started.
Myth #2: Babies can't eat yogurt before their first birthday
It is confusing. Cow's milk isn't recommended for babies before age 1, but they can start eating yogurt and cheese as soon as they start eating solid food.
Plain whole-milk yogurt, such as Stonyfield YoBaby organic yogurts, makes a great first food. It contains calcium, protein, and vitamins and is one of the best foods for babies. Stonyfield YoBaby yogurts are non-GMO and #1 pediatrician recommended for children 6 months to 2 years among refrigerated yogurts.* They contain "live cultures" and probiotics, which may be beneficial for your child's health.
Myth #3: Babies should not be fed allergenic foods
Doctors used to advise parents not to feed highly allergenic foods, such as peanuts, eggs, and shellfish, to babies before their first birthday or even later – until age 2 or 3. Exposing kids to those foods early was thought to make them more likely to develop food allergies later.
It turns out that the opposite is true: Research has found that waiting to introduce allergenic foods does not prevent food allergies, so once your baby starts eating solids, there's no need to wait to introduce these foods. Early exposure may even help reduce your baby's risk of developing food allergies later, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Risk factors for food allergies include moderate to severe eczema, a previous allergic reaction to a food or a known food allergy, or a sibling with a peanut allergy. If any of these apply to your baby, talk to the doctor before starting solids to come up with a personalized plan.
Even if you don't think your child is at risk, some doctors will recommend that you introduce new foods one at a time. Then wait three to five days to make sure your baby doesn't have an adverse reaction before offering the next new food.
Myth #4: If you start with fruit, your baby will develop a sweet tooth
Babies are born with a preference for sweets. That's why breast milk (and formula) is sweet. And that's also what makes pureed fruit, such as apples, pears, peaches, and bananas, popular first foods. In other words, you can't cause your baby to develop a "sweet tooth" – because before you even start feeding solids, your baby already has it!
To encourage your baby to develop a taste for a wide variety of flavors, offer a range of healthy foods, including pureed meat, fish, yogurt, vegetables, eggs, cheese, whole grains, and fruit. This variety will also help her get all the nutrients she needs. If your baby doesn't like a food the first time you serve it, try again later. It can take more than 10 exposures for a baby to accept a new food.
Myth #5: Babies can eat only pureed food
Part of learning to eat solids is exploring new textures as your baby's chewing skills improve. When you introduce solids, start with food that's the consistency of a thin puree, adding formula or breast milk to achieve the desired consistency.
As your baby masters chewing and swallowing, and builds a larger repertoire of foods, however, she can graduate to mashed food, followed by thicker and lumpier textures. Once your baby can sit up and bring her hands or other objects to her mouth, you can give her finger foods to help her learn to feed herself.
To prevent choking, make sure anything you give your baby is soft, easy to swallow, and cut into pieces small enough for her to chew safely.
*IMS Health ProVoice Survey, 12/01/15-09/30/16
This article was paid for by Stonyfield. Stonyfield YoBaby® yogurts are made for little ones, providing nutrients, taste, and texture preferences – to help your child grow and develop.