Starting solids usually happens around 6 months, when your baby is developmentally ready. Discuss timing with your clinician, especially for severe eczema or an existing allergy. This guide helps you organize common allergenic foods without treating a calendar as a medical feeding plan. Read the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidance.
Common allergenic foods
| Allergen | Easy first forms for babies |
|---|---|
| Egg | Well-cooked scrambled egg; egg folded into oatmeal or a small pancake |
| Cow's milk (dairy) | Plain whole-milk yogurt or cheese (cow's milk as a drink still waits until 12 months) |
| Peanut | Thinned smooth peanut butter; peanut powder in puree — see our peanut guide |
| Tree nuts | Thinned almond/cashew butter or finely ground nuts in puree, one nut type at a time |
| Soy | Mashed tofu; plain soy yogurt |
| Wheat | Iron-fortified wheat cereal; small pieces of soft bread or pasta |
| Fish | Flaked, well-cooked mild fish (salmon, cod) with bones removed |
| Shellfish | Finely chopped, well-cooked shrimp or other shellfish mixed into food |
| Sesame | Tahini thinned into puree or spread very thinly; ground sesame on soft foods |
Never serve whole nuts, whole peanuts, or thick spoonfuls of nut butter — all are choking hazards for babies and toddlers.
How to sequence introductions
- One new allergen at a time. Offer it earlier in the day and watch for about two hours before any other new food, so you can tell what caused a reaction if one happens. Know the signs before you start.
- Keep timing flexible. The Canadian Paediatric Society notes that a fixed wait of several days between new foods is not supported by evidence. Follow any individual plan from your clinician.
- Choose an order with your clinician. There is no single required sequence for every baby. Avoid delaying peanut or egg solely to complete a checklist of other foods.
- Plan repeat servings. Keep tolerated allergens in the diet regularly. See our frequency guide for the recommendations and their limits.
A flexible introduction log
Choose a food, note the preparation, and record what was actually eaten. Keep upcoming plans separate from completed feeds. After introduction, add familiar foods back into meals alongside new ones.
A log entry might read: “Tuesday breakfast — well-cooked egg — amount offered and any observations.” A checkmark records a meal; it cannot establish tolerance or predict future reactions.
Print a free baby food log to record completed meals and keep upcoming plans in a separate table.
Use our tracking guide to organize notes, then browse recipes for already-tolerated allergens.
Source: Canadian Paediatric Society: dietary exposures and allergy prevention.
Track all nine with First Baby Bites
A roster of every allergen, days since the last bite, and reminders when one is due to come back into rotation.
