Guide · Food tracker

Where Remy is now around 8 months · the 6–12 month stage

Textures: move beyond smooth purée — offer roughly mashed, minced and soft pieces, plus soft finger foods, to build chewing and self-feeding.
Self-feeding: give a small spoon and soft pieces to hold, even while you still give most of the food.
Iron matters most: include iron-rich foods daily — meat, chicken, fish, eggs, legumes and iron-fortified cereal.
Allergens: introduce one new allergen at a time; once tolerated, keep it in the diet regularly. Egg and peanut are ASCIA priorities.
Drinks: keep breastfeeding/formula; offer cooled boiled water in a cup at meals. Cow's milk is fine in food, but not as a main drink before 12 months.

Source: RCH Guide to foods — baby's first year & Raising Children Network, Introducing solids.

Start solids when developmentally ready — around 6 months, and not before 4 months.
Offer well-cooked egg and peanut soon after starting solids — don't delay them.
Introduce all the common allergens within the first year: egg, peanut, tree nuts, cow's milk, soy, sesame, wheat, fish, shellfish.
Once a food is tolerated, keep feeding it — at least once a week — to maintain tolerance.
Introduce only one new allergen per meal, so a reaction points to the culprit.
Don't smear food on the skin to "test" for allergy — this can promote allergy, not prevent it.
Keep breastfeeding as long as you both wish — breastfeeding mums don't need to avoid allergens in their own diet.
Soy-based and hydrolysed ("HA") formulas are not recommended for allergy prevention.

Source: ASCIA, Guidelines for infant feeding for food allergy prevention (preventallergies.org.au).

< 12 months Honey — risk of infant botulism.
< 12 months Raw or runny egg & foods with raw egg (e.g. home-made mayo) — bacteria.
< 12 months Cow's milk as a main drink — fine in food, not as the drink.
< 2 years Reduced-fat dairy — babies need full-fat for growth.
< 4 years Whole nuts, large seeds & hard foods — choking.
any Added salt, sugar & processed snacks (cakes, biscuits, chips, fried foods).

Always sit with Remy while he eats — and have him sit down, not crawl/walk around.
No hard, small, round or sticky foods: whole nuts, large seeds, popcorn, raw carrot/apple chunks.
Quarter grapes and cherry tomatoes lengthways — never whole.
Cook hard veg/fruit until soft, or grate them.
Check fish carefully for small bones; take care with pieces of meat.