65 First Food Ideas

Starting solid food for the baby is a major milestone in his first year. I waited patiently for 6 months before giving him his first solid food (according to WHO, total and exclusive breastfeeding is highly recommended for the first 6 months). There are multiple sources of recommendations as to which foods are best as baby's first foods - be it low allergenic, soft texture, easily digestible or easy on the palate. Below, I compile my own list of tried and tested baby foods, based on their availability in Singapore (listed in order of testing).

Despite the earlier foods being low allergenic, I (being a very kiasu parent) still strongly recommend that all parents stick to the 3 day rule of letting baby test out each food to be allergy-free before moving on to the next food. We, after all, want the best for our child. And because of that, we test about 10 new foods per month.

As we progressed, I sometimes tested 2 foods together, if they were both deemed to be very low allergenic, and especially if they are recommended for babies younger than my son (e.g. recommended for 6 months babies, but I was giving it to my son at 10 months). I reason that some babies outgrow their food allergy when they get older, so if my son was already older, the risk of allergic reaction to that particular food was even lower than expected. Of course, testing 2 foods at the same time is not very scientific, because IF anything happens, I wouldn't know which was the culprit. I would then have to either test each one individually again, or just eliminate both from his diet. With that risk in mind, I only tested 2 foods together if logistically they made sense.

I also indicate below the food group each first food belongs to, so that you can vary the tests to include foods from different food groups, ensuring your little one has a balanced diet most, if not all the time.


6-7 months

1. White rice (carbohydrates)
2. Brown rice (carbohydrates)
3. Wheat (carbohydrates)
4. Oatmeal (carbohydrates)
5. Pumpkin (fruit / vegetables)
6. Apple (fruit / vegetables)
7. Pear (fruit / vegetables)
8. Avocado (fruit / vegetables)
9. Banana (fruit / vegetables)
10. Spinach (fruit / vegetables)
11. Threadfin (protein)
12. Watermelon (fruit / vegetables)
13. Plum (fruit / vegetables)
14. Prunes (fruit / vegetables)
15. Broccoli (fruit / vegetables)
16. Papaya (fruit / vegetables)
17. Peach (fruit / vegetables)
18. Blueberries (fruit / vegetables)
19. Barley (carbohydrates)

8-9 months

1. Carrot (fruit / vegetables)
2. Sweet Potato (fruit / vegetables)
3. Millet (carbohydrates)
4. Cauliflower (fruit / vegetables)
5. Lean Pork (protein)
6. Salmon (protein)
7. Peppers / Capsicum (fruit / vegetables)
8. Potato (fruit / vegetables)
9. Tofu (protein)
10. Chicken (protein)
11. Grape (fruit / vegetables)
12. Cucumber (fruit / vegetables)
13. Yam / Taro (carbohydrates)
14. Apricots (fruit / vegetables)
15. Persimmon (fruit / vegetables)
16. Turnip (fruit / vegetables)
17. Flax seed (carbohydrates)
18. Pasta (carbohydrates)
19. Cherries (fruit / vegetables)

10-11 months

1. Beet  (fruit / vegetables)
2. Egg Yolk (protein)
3. Onion (fruit / vegetables)
4. Couscous (carbohydrates)
5. Quinoa (carbohydrates)
6. Cantaloupe (fruit / vegetables)
7. Honeydew (fruit / vegetables)
8. Cherries (fruit / vegetables)
9. Coconut (fruit / vegetables)
10. Cranberries (fruit / vegetables)
11. Garlic (fruit / vegetables)
12. Kale (fruit / vegetables)
13. Eggplant (fruit / vegetables)

After 12 months

1. Tomato (fruit / vegetables)
2. Green beans (fruit / vegetables)
3. Corn (fruit / vegetables)
4. Peas (fruit / vegetables)
5. Beef (protein)
6. Egg White (protein)
7. Kiwi (fruit / vegetables)
8. Strawberries (fruit / vegetables)
9. Cow's milk (protein)
10. Yoghurt (protein)
11. Cheese (protein)
12. Mango (fruit / vegetables)
13. Orange (fruit / vegetables)
14. Lemon (fruit / vegetables)

Recommended Baby Weight Chart

At my 20 weeks detailed scan, the sonographer gave me a shock by telling me there were a few things she needed to "double check" with a more senior and experienced sonographer. Apparently, my baby's thigh bone length and abdominal width is way higher than average. In fact, when the experienced sonographer came in to check, her re-scan yielded even larger figures that were off the charts. They then decided to take the original, smaller number that would at least fit within the regular charts at ~95th percentile. Talk about trying to make us first time parents feel a little better.

During the review of the results with my gynae thereafter, she was not too concerned with the thigh length being long, as both my husband and I are considered tall for Asians (and myself even tall amongst some caucasian ladies). However, abdominal width was a small concern, because big babies tend to be more difficult to deliver naturally. Her comforting words were that "at least the head is of average size, because the head is of a fixed size, if it is too big, it cannot be pushed out easily. As for a big tummy, since it is slightly flexible / malleable, you can do it with just a slightly harder push". Also, this being only a 20th week scan, there was still alot of time for "weight correction". Furthermore, at only 360g (average is ~200-300g), my baby was actually just 60g "overweight". Which isn't too big a number actually. If, at 37 weeks he was still just 60g "overweight", that was just within standard error of the machine's calculations. So, conclusion was, it's not the end of the world.

With the sonographers' and gynae's reassurances, my hubby and I returned home with a calm heart but strong resolution to stop all excessive tonics I had been given from the start of the pregnancy. I also decided to check websites for a comprehensive table so I could continue to track the progress of my little one as he grows in the next couple of months. After some searching, to my dismay, there were either a lack of measurements in metric units, or differed largely in recommended weight/length to gestational age. Hence, I decided to compile my own table, pooling together various resources and doing my own calculations, so that I can see both weight and length on any preferred measurement unit of choice in a single table. I also added an additional column to the right to suggest how that length equates to, so that it is easier to imagine how the LO looks in terms of size. (I really loved doing that... every week I would update my husband by saying "He's a little Mango now!" And that association really helps us to connect the numbers to something we see on a daily basis)

One note about the table though, since it is compiled from websites that do not really cater specifically to either the caucasian or asian population, it may be neither here nor there. Measurements and estimations also vary according to gynaes and clinics, because different machines use different formula to calculate weight, so there can be a systematic bias. Just take it as a point of reference. For example, although my baby has since become "average weight" according to my gynae, he has always appeared to be ~1-2 weeks faster if I compared his weight to the table below. As long as the growth remains consistent (i.e. progress 2 weeks in 2 weeks, not gain weight equivalent to 4 weeks in 1 week), then I believe you will be fine :)