When you stop breastfeeding, your baby would need something other than just formula milk for his daily nutritional needs, especially if he's at the 6-month mark. This is where solid food comes in, packed and armed with the essential vitamins and nutrients for your little crawler.

A parent is usually hesitant when it comes to giving natural solid food to her baby. This may be because of "horror" stories about babies having allergic reactions to certain foods or the baby rejects the food altogether. Eating solids is a milestone that every baby and mother should be able to enjoy; it shouldn't be cause for worries. If you have a family history of allergies and other respiratory problems (such as asthma), then before giving baby solids, you should check out with your doctor first if it's okay, and you can talk out what type of food you can give your child.

Baby cereals and pureed fruits and/or vegetables are recommended first foods for baby. Here are some simple and nutritious solids your baby can start out with:

Oatmeal Cereal

Ingredients: one-fourth cup of ground oats (ground in blender or food processor, and NO Quick Cook or instant, please - you're feeding a baby, not a grown kid), three-fourth cup of water, some breast milk/formula milk for thinning mixture.

Procedure: Boil water in pan; add ground oats; stir constantly. Simmer for 10 minutes, whisking every so often. Take out of heat and add milk to thin it out. Serve warm.

Mashed Avocado

Ingredients: 1 avocado.

Procedure: Peel and pit a ripe avocado. Cut meat out and mash with a potato masher or a fork. No need to cook it; serve as is.

Mango Puree

Ingredients: 1 ripe mango. Breast milk/formula/water (optional).

Procedure: Peel and de-seed mango. Cut mango chunks and put in blender; puree. You can add milk or water or you can serve as is. (Trust me, no baby can resist the taste and pull of a ripe mango.)