Keeping a baby food diary: paper, a table or an app

Once several foods have been tried, remembering the last offer of egg or the first taste of broccoli can be difficult. A food diary can hold those dates for you, alongside changing textures and any symptoms worth discussing.

The feeding references in this guide follow French recommendations. If you live elsewhere, check local guidance with the professional following your baby. The diary suggestions are practical options, not a medical monitoring protocol.

What a food diary can help you remember

A dated list can answer three everyday questions: what has already been offered, when a tolerated allergen was last included, and whether a food has been offered several times rather than rejected permanently after one taste.

The French 1000 First Days guidance notes that accepting a food can take repeated offers, sometimes up to ten. A record may make that pattern easier to see. It is not a reason to force a food or count attempts as a target.

A list can also be shared at an appointment or with another caregiver. Choose a format that is accessible to the people involved, and distinguish actual symptoms from simple likes and dislikes.

Five useful columns

You can start with:

• Date. Record when the food was offered.
• Food. Include the ingredients or product when relevant.
• Preparation and texture. For example, thoroughly cooked and smooth, mashed, or an age-appropriate soft texture.
• Approximate amount. A small taste or a few spoonfuls may be enough detail; mark it as approximate.
• Response. Record whether your baby tasted, accepted or refused the food, plus any symptoms and when they appeared.

If a professional requests a specific diary, follow their instructions.

A missing entry does not mean you have failed, but it makes the record incomplete. Do not use an incomplete diary as proof that a food was never eaten or that no symptoms occurred.

Keeping track of allergens

French recommendations advise introducing major food allergens without unnecessary delay once complementary feeding begins. Once tolerated, the foods continue regularly as advised. A dated record can make it easier to remember them when several caregivers share meals.

Seek medical advice before introductions if your baby has severe eczema, a known food allergy or a previous reaction. Family history can also be discussed. A record does not replace an individual allergy plan.

ANSES’s assessment reports different allergy-related measures in French studies: in the Elfe cohort, 4.0% of children at age two avoided foods on medical advice because of food allergy; Inca3 reported 4.2% declared allergies or intolerances among children aged 0–17. These are different measures and age groups. They do not predict your baby’s risk or establish that every concerning symptom is unlikely to be allergy.

See introducing food allergens for appropriate forms and warning signs. The EU’s 14 labelling categories are not a checklist of foods to introduce to a baby.

Choosing a format

A dated list can be easier to share than relying on memory. There is no single best format for all families. Consider who needs to see it and whether it remains easy to use when routines change.

The French PNNS brochure also gives food-storage advice: prepared purée can be kept for up to 24 hours in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator, or frozen in small portions for up to two months, labelled and identified. These are storage references from that brochure; follow hygiene conditions and individual or local guidance. Labelling the food itself matters more than remembering a date in an app.

Choosing an app for solid-food records

Our baby tracking app comparison links to publishers’ public information in a dated French-market comparison. Check current details for food records, symptom notes, sharing, privacy and account limits. A missing public detail does not necessarily mean a feature is absent.

PetitNid includes solid-food records and an EU allergen register, shared between up to two parents, with offline recording that synchronises later. It supports French and English from version 1.2.0. The register organises observations; it does not diagnose allergy or recommend introducing every listed category.

For handovers beyond solids, see sharing breast and bottle feeding records.

What may be useful at each stage

Sources give different texture ages: PNNS allows gradual changes from around six to eight months, ANSES places non-smooth textures between eight and ten months, and AFPA describes first soft pieces around eight to nine months. These are not one interchangeable schedule. Starting solid foods explains the distinctions and supervision needs.

Keep the diary manageable

Agree on one place for information. Note things close to the meal when practical, and mark uncertainty if recording later. You can keep the record as simple as you find useful while remembering allergens already introduced.

The right detail depends on your situation and any medical instructions. A calm meal and your baby’s needs take priority over completing a box.

Never force a baby to eat for the sake of a diary entry. Refusal can be recorded and discussed if persistent.

When to ask for help

Ask the professional following your baby about persistent feeding difficulty, strong refusal of new textures, severe eczema, family allergy concerns or meals that become a repeated source of distress.

Seek prompt medical advice after suspected food-allergy symptoms such as hives, swelling or repeated vomiting, and do not reoffer the suspected food before advice.

Call emergency medical services immediately for breathing difficulty or wheezing, marked tongue or throat swelling, pronounced pallor, major weakness, collapse or loss of consciousness, or symptoms involving several parts of the body at once. In France, call 15; elsewhere, call your local emergency number. Do not delay help to finish the diary.

PetitNid is not a medical device. If you are unsure, speak to your baby’s doctor.