Is Your Baby Ready for Solids?The Our365 Editors Some people say four months, some say six months, some say later - so what is the right time for your baby to start solids? The short answer: It depends. Infants need to drink plenty of breast milk or formula for the first year because it’s the ideal nutrition. After a few months, babies develop the ability to swallow and digest chunkier foods, but until they've passed the 12-month mark, their main nutritional source continues to be milk. Introducing solids will slightly increase your baby's intake of certain vitamins and minerals, but way more important, learning how to handle "real food" is how she'll develop an important social skill: eating!There are plenty of good reasons why a baby should not start solids too early, including protection from developing allergies later. The American Pediatric Association recommends not starting solids until 6 months. But some doctors say it’s OK to start earlier, depending on how much your baby’s digestive tract has matured and on specific developmental markers like teething (and the enzyme-filled drool that will help her digest). So where's your baby on the ready-or-not scale? Take our quiz - and if, when you finish, you think your baby's ready, just check with the pediatrician. Has your baby doubled his birth weight? Yes No