When to start purées, which meal comes first, how to move to family food and which foods to wait with.
Timeline
- Month 5–7: start the first purée at lunch
- Month 6: add the milk–cereal purée in the evening
- Month 7–9: add the cereal–fruit purée as a snack
- From 8 months: food can be lumpier
- From 10 months: mash with a fork, season lightly; small amounts of yoghurt and quark
- 1 year: family meals: 3 main meals and 2 snacks; honey allowed
When to start
- When: between the start of the 5th and the start of the 7th month (Gesund ins Leben).
- Ready signs: sits upright with support, holds the head steady, watches you eat, opens the mouth for the spoon and no longer pushes food out with the tongue.
- Own pace: some babies eat a full portion at 5 months, others need until 8 months. Both are normal. A little food on a soft spoon held at the lips helps.
- Keep breastfeeding: alongside solids, for as long as you both like.
Step by step: three purées replace three milk feeds
- Vegetable–potato–meat (lunch): begin with one vegetable such as carrot, pumpkin or parsnip and build up to about 100 g. Then add a cooked potato and a tablespoon of rapeseed oil, and finally about 30 g of lean meat plus a little fruit juice. Fish (without bones) can replace meat once or twice a week. Vegetarian option: replace the meat with about 10 g oat flakes and add vitamin C-rich juice or fruit purée to help iron absorption.
- Milk–cereal (evening): about a month later, from the start of month 6 at the earliest. Around 200 ml whole cow's milk (3.5%), breast milk or formula with 20 g wholegrain flakes and 20 g fruit purée.
- Cereal–fruit (morning or afternoon snack): made with water, not milk (Gesund ins Leben).
Homemade or jars? Both are fine; jars meet strict standards (Gesund ins Leben). For homemade food, choose organic, seasonal vegetables. Offer water with meals once solids begin.
Moving to family food
From about 8 months purées can be lumpier; from about 10 months food is mashed with a fork and can be lightly seasoned. Let your child pick up soft pieces and eat at the family table. By the first birthday most children eat 3 main meals and 2 snacks and no longer need formula.
Foods to wait with
- Honey: not before the first birthday (risk of infant botulism).
- Whole nuts and raw carrot pieces: choking hazard; finely ground nuts or nut butter are fine.
- Quark: only small amounts from about 10 months because of its high protein. Yoghurt and kefir also from about 10 months.
- Cow's milk as a drink: up to 200 ml per day in the first year, around 300 ml of dairy per day after.
Gluten (wheat, spelt, rye) can be introduced in small amounts during weaning, even with coeliac disease in the family.
Preventing allergies
Advice has changed: avoiding foods does not prevent allergies, while variety helps the body build tolerance (AWMF S3 guideline on allergy prevention).
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Eat a varied diet in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, including dairy, eggs, nuts and fish. Avoidance diets are not recommended.
- Smoke-free: Keep your baby's environment smoke-free and avoid alcohol; both raise the risk of allergies.
- Start on time: Start solids on time and include potentially allergenic foods such as egg, dairy and finely ground nuts.
- Formula: If you cannot breastfeed, a normal starter formula is fine. HA formula is no longer recommended for allergy prevention. Only a confirmed, severe cow's milk allergy needs a special formula on prescription.
- Ask first: Do not cut out foods on your own. If you suspect a reaction or your baby has severe eczema, talk to your Kinderarzt.
Sources
Official German sources, most of them in German.