Baby is 6 months old : time to discover new flavors!
You have breastfed your baby since they were born, and your milk and nothing but your milk has made them into the wonderful baby they are! They have just turned 6 months and the time has come to set them off on a discovery of new flavours through dietary diversification. So what do they like?
A matter of taste
As a result of breastfeeding and your own diet, your baby is already familiar with different flavours but, from the age of 6 months, they are now ready to discover all of these for themselves1. The easiest thing is to start with a single puréed vegetable, whichever one you want, cooked and in small quantities, ideally at lunchtime. Your baby listens to you and understands you, so tell them what you are giving them and how good it tastes!
Start with one flavour a day
Start dietary diversification with just one flavour a day, so that baby can get used to new flavours and foods. A cooked vegetable on its own one day, another the following day... you will be able to tell what they like, what surprises them and what they don’t like. They are still too little for bits, so all their food needs to be mashed or puréed.
Fruits, 15 days after starting with vegetables (1)
In a compote or mashed, fruits can be offered to baby 15 days after you start introducing these new flavours. As with vegetables, one at a time will allow your baby to distinguish between each flavour and get used to them day by day. It is also recommended to introduce a single new food at a time in order to identify if they have any allergies.
Infant cereals, perfect for supporting baby
When you start dietary diversification, you can accompany their fruit and vegetables with infant cereals. They are the perfect way to start diversification and introduce the first spoonfuls. Indeed, cereals meet baby’s new requirements and encourage their sensory awakening2.
Does baby turn their nose up at a new food?
A new flavour can be surprising! Tastes are discovered one step at a time, and it may take several tries! So if your baby turns their nose up and seems to not like something you are giving them, it doesn’t mean they don’t like it. A word of advice: wait a day or two before offering this food again. It may take up to 8 attempts before baby likes a new food.
1 Commencez la diversification, by Dr Alain Bocquet, 10/10/19, mpedia.
2 ALCIMED Study, L’apparition et le développement du goût chez l’enfant : bilan des résultats scientifiques. April 2007.
BA20-651