Solid Food Start Date Calculator: When Can My Baby Start Solids?

How it works

start ≈ (birth date + weeks born early) + 6 months; not before + 4 months; allergens from the start of solids; lumpy textures and finger foods by 9 months; three meals by about 10 months; cow’s milk as a drink and honey from 12 months

WHO, NHS, CDC and AAP guidance agrees: give only breast milk or formula until around 6 months, and do not start solid foods before 4 months. Around 6 months the gut, kidneys and mouth skills are ready, iron stores from birth run low, and most babies show the readiness signs: sitting up with a steady head, bringing things to the mouth and swallowing food instead of pushing it out with the tongue. Waking at night, chewing fists or wanting extra milk are normal and are not signs of readiness. This calculator counts 6 calendar months from your baby’s birth date, or from the due date if your baby was born early (corrected age), and gives a dated timeline: the earliest date at 4 months, the target date, the move to two or three meals a day at about 7 months, lumpier textures and finger foods by about 9 months, three meals by about 10 months, and family foods, whole cow’s milk as a drink and honey at 12 months. Allergenic foods such as egg, peanut (as smooth butter or powder, never whole nuts), wheat and fish can go in from around 6 months, one at a time so a reaction can be spotted, and should then stay in the diet. Babies with severe eczema or an egg allergy may need a plan from their doctor for peanut. Premature babies, especially those born very early, should get advice from their health visitor or neonatal team, who may adjust the timing to the baby. US practice generally uses corrected age, as this calculator does; UK neonatal weaning leaflets instead count from the birth date (most premature babies ready at 5 to 8 months after birth, never before 3 months corrected), and the calculator shows that window too.

Worked example

A baby born at term on May 20, 2026: solids can start around Friday, November 20, 2026 (6 months), and not before September 20, 2026 (4 months). Egg, peanut and other allergens can go in from November 20, lumpier textures and finger foods by February 20, 2027, three meals a day from about March 20, 2027, and whole cow’s milk as a drink and honey from May 20, 2027. Had the baby been born 4 weeks early, every date would move to 6 months after the due date of June 17, 2026: December 17, 2026.

Sources: NHS: Your baby’s first solid foods · CDC: When, what, and how to introduce solid foods · NIAID food allergy guidelines (2017 peanut addendum) · NHS community dietetics (Central Surrey Health): Weaning your premature baby (5–8 months actual age, not before 3 months corrected)

Frequently asked questions