Your baby is turning four months soon.   Are you ready for another milestone for your child?  Usually, babies start to eat their first solids at four months old.  Before you get too excited and start feeding your child, check for signs that your baby is ready for solids.  You can check out our article on 4 Steps to Introduce Solid Food to Your Baby to guide you in preparing for this milestone.

Now that your baby is showing signs of readiness to eat, here is a quick guide that you can use to know what is the right food you can introduce in your baby's first year.

Baby's Age Group and Food to Introduce

Before you start, here are quick and simple tips you can follow:

-       Wait until your baby is in a good mood before you start to feed him/her

-       Introduce one type of food every three days.

-       Watch out for any allergic reactions.

-       Continue to breastfeed or bottlefeed even if your baby starts eating solid foods

-       If your baby seems to dislike particular food, you can try to reintroduce the food some other time. 

-       Follow the list of food recommended per age group.

You need to know what food to introduce to your baby, depending on his/her age.  As your baby's tummy is still developing, his/her stomach cannot digest a particular food.  Another reason is that some food may pose a choking hazard.  Here is a list of food recommended per age group to guide you on the first food to give your baby.

You can also download and print your copy of the Tiny Steps Solid Food Guide for Babies for easy reference of your baby's first foods list.

-       Four to Six Months

o   Fruits: Avocado, Apple, Banana, Pears, Plum, Peach

o   Vegetables:  Butternut Squash, Carrots, Sweet Potato, White Potato, Parsnip

o   Dairy: Yogurt (Please consult your pediatrician because some doctors recommend waiting until the baby's sixth month before giving yogurt).

o   Grains: Oatmeal, Rice

o   Meat:  Not Yet Recommended

o   Fish: Not Yet Recommended

Serving Size Recommendation: 1-4 tbsp of cereals (1 - 2 x a day);  1-4 tbsp of fruits or vegetables (1 - 2 x a day)                                   

-       Six to Eight Months

You can continue to give the food you introduced to your baby during his/her fourth – sixth month.  To add more variety, you can add the following to your baby's diet.

o   Fruits: Avocado, Apricot, Nectarine, Plum, Mango, Prunes, Papaya, Peach

o   Vegetables:  Peas, Pumpkin, Zucchini

o   Dairy: Yogurt, Cheese, Yogurt Cheese

o   Grains: Oatmeal, Rice

o   Meat:  Chicken, Turkey

o   Fish: White Fish, Light Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, Mackarel 

Serving Size Recommendation: 4-9 tbsp of cereals, fruits, or vegetables (2- 3 x a day) ; 1-6 tbsp of proteins (daily) 

-       Eight to Ten Months

Here is more food you can let your baby eat starting in his/her eighth month.

o   Fruits: Blueberry, Cherry, Cantaloupe, Coconut, Cranberry, Fig, Grapes, Kiwi

o   Vegetables:  Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cucumber, Eggplant, White Potato, Pepper

o   Dairy: Yogurt, Cheese, Yogurt Cheese

o   Grains: Pasta, Quinoa, Oats, Rye, Barley

o   Meat:  Beef, Pork

o   Fish: White Fish, Light Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, Mackarel

Serving Size Recommendation: 1/4-1/2 cup each of grains, fruits, or vegetables (2 x a day); 1-6 tbsp of proteins (daily)

-       Ten to Twelve Months

At ten months, your baby is ready to eat these foods already.

o   Fruits: Strawberry, Citrus fruits, Tomato

o   Vegetables:  Corn, Spinach

o   Dairy: Cow's Milk (12th month)

o   Grains: Pasta, Quinoa, Oats, Rye, Barley

o   Meat:  Beef, Pork

o   Fish: White Fish, Light Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, Mackarel

Serving Size Recommendation:  1/4-1/2 cup each of grains, fruits, or vegetables (2 x a day) ; 1-6 tbsp of proteins (daily); 1/4-1/2 cup dairy (daily)                                 

Foods to Avoid during Baby's First Year

safety_first

As mentioned earlier, there are foods that you need to hold off from introducing to your child. Here is a list of food to avoid:

-       Salt

Do not season or add salt when preparing your baby's food because it is not advisable for his/her kidneys.

Given this, avoid feeding your child food that is heavy on salts such as processed meat (bacon, sausages),  chips, or ready meals.  You should prepare your food so that you know what goes into your baby's meal.

-       Honey

Honey may contain the bacteria spores of Clostridium, which can cause botulism in babies. Botulism is rare but can be fatal for babies. Infant botulism is especially common from 2 months to eight months.

-       Nuts and Peanut Butter

Although nuts are healthy and rich in protein, hold off giving nuts to your little one.  Nuts are a common allergen and are a choking hazard.

-       Shellfish and Seafood

Shrimps, Lobster, and Crab are some of the common kinds of seafood that can cause allergy.

-       Sugary Treats

Take advantage of your baby's first year to train his/her taste buds to appreciate the different tastes.  You can still give your baby sweet but healthier food like bananas and other fruits instead.

Hold off giving chocolates too.  Most pediatricians advise skipping chocolates until the kids are two years old.  Apart from the sugar most chocolate products have, some kids are allergic to cacao too.

-       Choking Hazards

Foods that do not dissolve in the mouth or foods that the gums cannot mash are choking hazards. Typical examples are raw vegetables, fruits, and even chunks of meat.  If you choose to use the Baby-Led Weaning approach, ensure that the food that you give your baby is soft enough that your baby can chew with his/her gums.  Get more tips on how to use the BLW approach through Dr. Gill Rapleys website

-       Unpasteurized Cheese

Bries, Camembert, and gruyere are examples of unpasteurized cheese.  These are not recommended because unpasteurized products may have a bacteria called listeria.

Did you find this artcile informative and useful?  We love to give you more information about baby's first food.  Watch out for our next blog post.  We will be sharing more tips and easy-to-follow baby food recipes. 

If you have any feedback, please send them by writing in the comment section below.

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