For many parents, finding the best first foods for babies can be a little overwhelming. To first time parents especially, giving your baby their first foods can also be frightening. I remember with my first born being afraid to try anything that could cause a potential to choke. I knew he needed to be off purees eventually, but I didn’t even know where to begin.

Every baby is different and there isn’t a set age for when introducing their first foods should happen. Most babies can fall in a range of seven months to a year old before they are ready for food. I have found that trial and error is a process you can consistently count on when it comes to babies. If you try something and it doesn’t work the first time, you might have success in trying in a couple weeks.

When it comes to offering my baby first foods I always turn to Gerber snacks first.  Gerber offers nutritious snacks with good for you ingredients like whole grains, real fruit and yogurt, with no added artificial flavors or synthetic colors. Gerber snacks first snacks offer a range of nutritious, delicious products designed for your Crawler. Their snacks are made with a quick dissolving formula to quickly melt in their mouth which limits the chance of them choking. Because of this, Gerber snacks are my go to for babies first foods.

I usually start with Gerber Puffs and watch for my child to get the hang of gumming down on them. If they continue to push them out with their tongue, they aren’t quite ready for the table food transition yet. But if they tend to gum down on the food in a chewing motion, they are getting the hang of the next step in their first food journey. I stick with Gerber Snacks for awhile and make sure they have gotten the hang of gumming them down and swallowing. Gerber also has Lil’ Crunchies and Yogurt Melts which are perfect for the next step up. They still quickly dissolve and help your child practice picking up their food and developing their pincer skills.

Snacking smart with Gerber encourages healthy eating patterns from a young age while the taste and variety keep him happy. Little ones 8-24 months get about 25-30% of their daily calories from snacks and 1/3 of 8-24 month olds are not eating whole grains on a given day. So not only does Gerber offer the perfect first foods for babies, but you know that you are giving your baby a nutritious option.

When you know that your child can handle easy dissolving snacks like Gerber, then you can make the transition to easy to gum fruits and veggies. The longer you cook the fruits and veggies, the softer they become making it easier for baby to gum down. The softer your baby’s first foods the less likely they are to choke.

Here is a list of some of our favorite first foods for baby:

Gerber Age-Up Snacks

Green Beans

Carrots

Pasta

Pears

Peaches

Bananas

What are some of your favorite first food’s for baby?