Breastfeeding and starting solids

Breast milk is still the main food

Starting solids doesn’t mean starting to stop breastfeeding. When your baby first tries food, at around 6 months, they still get most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk (NHS). The CDC says breast milk remains the most important source of nutrition even after solids begin.

The NHS also notes that solid food shouldn’t simply replace breast milk: there’s evidence breast milk may help a baby’s digestive system cope with first foods.

In the early weeks, food is mostly practice. A few teaspoons or pieces is plenty. See is my baby ready for solids? and milk and solids together.

Nurse first, or food first?

There’s no single right order, and advice varies:

• A little milk first (AAP): nurse briefly, offer small spoonfuls of food, then finish with more breast milk. This stops a very hungry baby getting frustrated.
• Food before a usual feed (NHS): your baby may not be interested in food if they’re full, but don’t wait until they’re too hungry.
• If your baby loses interest in nursing (CDC): try breastfeeding before you offer food.

Pick what works for your baby. Many families move toward food first at meals as the months go on, with nursing at its own times.

How feeds change over the year

Keep breastfeeding on cue, whenever you notice hunger signs (CDC). Your baby will adjust how much they nurse to how much they eat (NHS).

• Around 6 months: usual feeds, plus 1 small meal, building to 2.
• 7 to 9 months: moving toward 3 meals a day, often with around 4 milk feeds, for example on waking, after lunch, after dinner and before bed (NHS).
• 10 to 12 months: 3 meals a day, often with around 3 milk feeds (NHS).

These are typical patterns, not targets. Some babies nurse more, especially when they’re unwell or teething.

Keeping your milk supply

Breast milk works on supply and demand: the more milk your baby takes, the more your breasts make (NHS). As food takes over, your supply will gently drop to match.

If you want to keep a good supply:

• Keep breastfeeding regularly, following your baby’s cues (CDC).
• If you’re away from your baby, expressing can keep your supply going. See pumping schedule.
• If you decide to cut back, drop feeds slowly, one at a time. Stopping suddenly can lead to overfull, hard breasts and mastitis (NHS). See weaning from breastfeeding.

Iron: why first foods matter

The CDC says that once your breastfed baby starts eating at around 6 months, it’s important to give foods with enough iron to meet their needs. The AAP suggests including foods with iron and zinc, such as meat and iron-fortified cereals.

Good choices include beef, lentils, tofu and iron-fortified infant cereal. Pairing plant iron with vitamin C foods like broccoli or berries helps absorption (CDC).

Iron drops. In the US, the AAP recommends iron drops from 4 months for babies who are partly or fully breastfed, until iron-containing foods are introduced; ask your pediatrician before starting them, and don’t start them on your own. In the UK, the NHS doesn’t recommend routine iron drops: its routine supplement contains vitamins A, C and D only. See iron-rich first foods.

Vitamin D, and other vitamins

Breast milk usually doesn’t provide all the vitamin D a baby needs.

• US: the CDC says breastfed babies, and babies having both breast milk and formula, need 400 IU of vitamin D a day from shortly after birth.
• UK: the NHS recommends a daily 8.5 to 10 micrograms of vitamin D from birth for breastfed babies, whether or not you take vitamin D yourself, plus vitamins A and C from 6 months.

See vitamins for babies.

Using breast milk in food

Expressed breast milk is handy for mixing into first foods. The AAP suggests mixing baby cereal with breast milk, formula or water, and you can thin purées or mashed vegetables the same way. Never put cereal in a bottle: the AAP says it’s a choking risk.

Your own diet

You don’t need a special diet while breastfeeding (NHS). The CDC says breastfeeding mothers generally don’t need to avoid specific foods, with a few points:

• Fish: eat a variety of lower-mercury fish (CDC). The NHS suggests at least 2 portions a week, one of them oily, and no more than 2 portions of oily fish a week.
• Caffeine: small amounts reach your baby through breast milk. See the limits below.
• Allergens: you can eat peanuts as part of a healthy, balanced diet while breastfeeding, unless you’re allergic to them yourself (NHS). See introducing allergens.
• Vegan or vegetarian diets: the CDC says breastfed babies of mothers who eat no animal products may get very little vitamin B12, so talk to your doctor about supplements.

Water and cups

From around 6 months, offer sips of water from an open or free-flow cup with meals (NHS). The AAP says a little water is fine once solids start, up to 1 cup (8 oz, 240 ml) a day. Fully breastfed babies don’t need water before solids start (NHS). See water for babies and cup and straw drinking.

Breastfeeding after 12 months

There’s no need to stop at the first birthday. In 2022 the AAP updated its policy to support breastfeeding to 2 years or beyond, as long as you and your child both want to. The WHO recommends continuing up to 2 years of age or beyond, alongside safe, nutritious food from 6 months. The AAP highlights continued benefits from breastfeeding beyond 1 year, especially for the mother, including lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, and breast and ovarian cancer.

From 12 months, food becomes the main source of nutrition. The CDC says toddlers vary: some nurse only at bedtime or in the morning, others still drink a lot of breast milk. Both are normal. Formula, including toddler and growing-up milks, isn’t needed after 12 months (NHS).

When to talk to your doctor

Talk to your pediatrician, GP, health visitor or a lactation consultant if:

• your baby is refusing most breastfeeds or most food. If your baby is under 12 months and also has fewer wet diapers than usual, a dry mouth, few or no tears or a sunken soft spot, call your pediatrician or GP the same day: these can be signs of dehydration (AAP, NHS).
• you have questions about your baby’s growth or how much breast milk they’re getting (CDC)
• you have a swollen, hot, painful area or a hard lump in your breast, with or without flu-like symptoms, that isn’t better 12 to 24 hours after home care (NHS: this may be mastitis, and you should keep breastfeeding)
• you’re not sure your baby is getting enough

Call 911Call 999Call your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) if your baby is floppy, or has signs of dehydration and is sleepier than normal or hard to wake, is breathing fast or struggling to breathe, or has blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin or skin that feels cold (NHS).

Where US and UK advice differs

• Vitamins. CDC: vitamin D, 400 IU a day, for breastfed babies under 12 months. NHS: vitamin D, 8.5 to 10 micrograms a day from birth, plus vitamins A and C from 6 to 12 months, and vitamins A, C and D every day for all children aged 1 to 4.
• Iron drops. AAP: iron drops from 4 months for partly or fully breastfed babies, until iron-containing foods are introduced, on your pediatrician’s advice. NHS: no routine iron drops.
• Milk or food first. The AAP suggests a little milk, then food, then more milk at the start. The NHS suggests offering food before a usual milk feed.
• Caffeine. The CDC says up to about 300 mg a day (about 2 to 3 cups of coffee) usually doesn’t affect a breastfed baby. The NHS recommends no more than 200 mg a day.
• Water. The AAP gives a limit of 1 cup (8 oz, 240 ml) a day once solids start. The NHS suggests sips with meals, without a set amount.