# Day 183: One new food, three to five days

> One single-ingredient food at a time, a few days apart, so a reaction has a name. No required order, fruit first is fine, and iron leads. Today the food diary begins.

- Series: Your seventh month, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/seventh-month), day 183 of 365, week 25
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/seventh-month/day-183
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-21
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 183: One new food, three to five days." Last reviewed October 21, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/seventh-month/day-183

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

You have a baby who opens for the spoon. Now the question is what comes next, and how fast.

## Heart

One single-ingredient food at a time, with 3 to 5 days before the next, so that if a rash or an upset stomach shows up you know which food to suspect ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Starting-Solid-Foods.aspx); [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-what-and-how-to-introduce-solid-foods.html)). There's no required order, and starting with fruit doesn't make babies dislike vegetables ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Starting-Solid-Foods.aspx); [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-what-and-how-to-introduce-solid-foods.html)). Slow enough that a reaction has a name, fast enough that by 7 to 8 months your baby can be eating vegetables, fruits, meats and other proteins, plain yogurt and cheese, and grains ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-what-and-how-to-introduce-solid-foods.html)).

## Head

If one nutrient decides the order, it's iron. Meat purees and iron-fortified infant cereal are good early choices, and cereal goes on a spoon, never in a bottle ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Starting-Solid-Foods.aspx)). Eggs, fish, beans, lentils, and tofu supply iron too, and vitamin C foods like tomatoes or berries help a baby absorb the iron in plants ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/vitamins-minerals/iron.html)). The AAP's 2026 guidance also calls for iron supplements for exclusively breastfed babies by 6 months ([AAP, 2026](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/iron-deficiency-anemia-prevention-screening-treatment-AAP-updates-guidance.aspx)); if that didn't come up at the 6-month visit, it's one for the phone.

## Body

A diary earns its keep twice. First at the table: with one new food every few days, the notebook is the only way to be sure which one was new on the day the cheeks went blotchy. Mild signs of a food reaction are a new rash or a few hives around the mouth or face, and they mean holding that food and calling your pediatrician ([NIAID](https://www.niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/addendum_guidelines_peanut_appx_d.pdf); [AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/when-to-introduce-egg-peanut-butter-and-other-common-food-allergens-to-your-baby-food-allergy-prevention-tips.aspx)). Second at the checkups: the 6-month visit asked about solids ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Your-Childs-Checkups/Pages/Your-Checkup-Checklist-6-Months-Old.aspx)), and [the 9-month visit](https://chorevia.com/learn/7-12-months#the-9-month-and-12-month-checkups) will ask again, with more to tell. A line a day answers both.

## Try today

### The food diary

- **Time:** 1 minute per new food

1. Pick a notebook or a sheet on the fridge, and write today's date and the one food on the spoon.
2. Leave 3 to 5 days before the next new single-ingredient food, and write that one on its day ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Starting-Solid-Foods.aspx); [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-what-and-how-to-introduce-solid-foods.html)).
3. Beside any food, note a new rash, hives around the mouth, diarrhea, or vomiting, with the time ([NIAID](https://www.niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/addendum_guidelines_peanut_appx_d.pdf)).
4. Star the iron foods as you add them: meat, fortified cereal, egg, fish, beans, lentils, tofu ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/vitamins-minerals/iron.html)).
5. Bring the notebook to the next checkup.

**Make it work:** New foods only. A repeat doesn't need a line, even a refused one; it may take 10 to 15 tries before a baby accepts a food ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Your-Childs-Checkups/Pages/Your-Checkup-Checklist-6-Months-Old.aspx)).

## Watch for

- **Normal:** a food eaten happily on Monday and refused on Thursday; it may take 10 to 15 tries ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Your-Childs-Checkups/Pages/Your-Checkup-Checklist-6-Months-Old.aspx)). **Call your pediatrician right away** for a mild reaction, like a new rash, a few hives around the mouth or face, or diarrhea, and hold that food until you've talked ([NIAID](https://www.niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/addendum_guidelines_peanut_appx_d.pdf); [AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/when-to-introduce-egg-peanut-butter-and-other-common-food-allergens-to-your-baby-food-allergy-prevention-tips.aspx)).
- **Normal:** a baby who lunges for the spoon and gets excited when food appears; those are hunger signs ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/mealtime/signs-your-child-is-hungry-or-full.html)). **Call 911** for vomiting, swelling of the lips, face, or tongue, widespread hives, wheezing, or trouble breathing after a food ([NIAID](https://www.niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/addendum_guidelines_peanut_appx_d.pdf)).
- **Normal:** a fever-free fussy week with a lot of drool; gum irritation, irritability, and drooling were the commonest teething signs in a review of 16 studies ([Massignan et al., 2016](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26908659/)). **Call within a day** if a fever has lasted more than 48 hours with no other symptoms, or any fever for more than 3 days ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever)).

## For you

The diary answers questions later, and some of them are about you. The pediatrician's questions this month and at the 9-month visit will be about what your baby eats ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Your-Childs-Checkups/Pages/Your-Checkup-Checklist-6-Months-Old.aspx)); yours to your own provider might be about what you eat. Plenty of water and fresh fruits and vegetables is the Office on Women's Health's line for your body after birth ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth)), and it's the same list you're starring in the notebook. Write one line for yourself under the baby's: what you actually ate today, sitting down.

If you're the partner: you write the line on the days she forgets. One date, one food.

## Sources

- American Academy of Pediatrics. "When Can Babies Start Solid Foods? Readiness & Feeding Tips." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2026. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Starting-Solid-Foods.aspx
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods." 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-what-and-how-to-introduce-solid-foods.html
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Iron." Infant and Toddler Nutrition, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/vitamins-minerals/iron.html
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Iron Deficiency & Iron Deficiency Anemia: AAP Updates Screening, Prevention & Treatment Guidance." HealthyChildren.org, 2026. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/iron-deficiency-anemia-prevention-screening-treatment-AAP-updates-guidance.aspx
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "Instructions for Home Feeding of Peanut Protein for Infants at Low Risk of an Allergic Reaction to Peanut" (Appendix D). 2017. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/addendum_guidelines_peanut_appx_d.pdf
- Cox A, Pistiner M. "When to Introduce Egg, Peanut Butter & Other Common Food Allergens to a Baby." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2025. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/when-to-introduce-egg-peanut-butter-and-other-common-food-allergens-to-your-baby-food-allergy-prevention-tips.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Checkup Checklist: 6 Months Old." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2023. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Your-Childs-Checkups/Pages/Your-Checkup-Checklist-6-Months-Old.aspx
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Signs Your Child Is Hungry or Full." 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/mealtime/signs-your-child-is-hungry-or-full.html
- Massignan C, Cardoso M, Porporatti AL, et al. "Signs and Symptoms of Primary Tooth Eruption: A Meta-analysis." *Pediatrics*, 2016. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26908659/
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Fever" (symptom checker). HealthyChildren.org, accessed 2026. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever
- Office on Women's Health. "Recovering from birth." US Department of Health and Human Services, 2021. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth