{"id":25409,"date":"2025-09-11T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=25409"},"modified":"2025-08-27T14:22:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T18:22:02","slug":"vegan-babies-starting-solid-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2025\/09\/11\/vegan-babies-starting-solid-foods\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Babies: Starting Solid Foods"},"content":{"rendered":"
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photo from Freepik<\/p><\/div>\n

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD<\/p>\n

It\u2019s exciting for new vegan parents to imagine their baby starting to eat solid foods. There will be adorable photos of the baby after a meal, with more of the meal on the baby than in the baby\u2019s stomach. There will be the thrill of the baby\u2019s first taste of a strawberry or broccoli or another new food. How can parents know when it\u2019s appropriate to introduce solids?<\/p>\n

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old and that introducing solid foods before 4 months is not recommended. Introducing solids earlier than 4 months appears to increase the risk of childhood obesity. Breast milk or infant formula meets a baby\u2019s nutritional needs for the first 6 months and generally there is no nutritional need for solids before age 6 months. Around age 6 months is when babies typically are ready to develop the skills needed to eat solid foods. Each baby is different, of course, and it\u2019s more important to consider signs of readiness for solids than to only look at the baby\u2019s age.<\/p>\n

Some signs that a baby is ready to start solid foods include:<\/p>\n