By 6 months, your baby will be starting to run low on the stores of iron they were born with. So offering iron-rich foods is important.
Starting solids: Video transcript [1]
Breastmilk (or infant formula) gives your baby the nutrients they need up to around the age of 6 months.
Around 6 months, your baby starts to need the extra vitamins and minerals (especially iron and zinc) that are in solid foods.
Babies have usually grown and developed enough to start eating solid food by around 6 months.
Breastmilk (or infant formula) is still very important for your baby. Offer breastmilk (or formula) before solids until your baby is 8 to 9 months old. After that, you can start to offer solids before breastmilk or formula.
Talk with your Well Child nurse about starting solids.
Call PlunketLine [2] on 0800 933 922 for parenting advice, including advice about feeding your baby.
This page last reviewed 05 December 2023.
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Links
[1] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/starting-solids-key-messages-video-transcript
[2] https://www.plunket.org.nz/plunket/what-we-offer/plunketline/
[3] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/why-iron-important-your-baby
[4] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/node/2590
[5] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/eating-healthy-babies-and-toddlers
[6] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/node/2589
[7] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/feeding-guidelines
[8] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/well-child-tamariki-ora-health-book
[9] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/node/1435
[10] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/food-and-nutrition-guidelines-healthy-infants-and-toddlers-aged-0%E2%80%932
[11] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/tags/nutrition-0-12-months
[12] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/contact?from=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kidshealth.org.nz%2Fprint%2F1230