What Foods to Introduce First

At 6 months it is important to offer iron-rich foods such as:

• Iron-Fortified Baby Cereals
• Pureed meats such as beef, chicken, turkey, lamb or pork
• Pureed fish
• Pureed tofu
• Pureed egg
• Well-cooked, pureed legumes such as beans, lentils and chickpeas

Most parents begin with iron-fortified baby cereals, but there is no physiological reason to suggest that babies can't tolerate meat or alternatives at 6 months of age.

Infant Cereal

• Start with iron-fortified, single grain infant cereal, such as rice. Gradually try other single grain cereals, such as oat, barley and wheat.
• Use mixed grain cereals only after your baby has tried each of the single grain cereals.
• Make the cereal thin at first. As your baby becomes better at eating, add less liquid to make the cereal thicker.
• Always feed cereal from a spoon. Never add cereal to a bottle.

Meats and Alternatives

• Keep meats and alternatives moist so they are easy to swallow. Add extra water or broth to cooked meats and cooked beans. Use silken (soft) tofu.
• Do not give your baby swordfish, shark, fresh or frozen tuna steak, marlin, orange roughy and escolar more than once per month. Limit albacore 'white' tuna to once per week. These fish are high in mercury.
• Fish and shellfish which are low in mercury and good sources of Omega-3 fat include, herring, Atlantic mackerel, Pollock, salmon, rainbow trout, lake whitefish, shrimp, and oysters. Canned light tuna also has a low mercury content. Include at least 2 servings a week of these types of fish.