New Parents’ Guide To Feeding Your Baby The First Year
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A baby’s first year is important. Everything the little one consumes contributes immensely to their mental and physical development. That’s why the foods you feed your baby from birth to 12 months old should always have some nutritional value. As much as he or she cries or begs for something else, sticking to an age-by-age plan is crucial.
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Here is a list of recommended foods for your baby at stages throughout his or her first year:
Birth to 4 months:
Your baby’s digestive tract is new and still developing. The only thing your baby is able to digest is breast milk or formula – whichever path you’ve chosen to begin with your little one. Absolutely no solid foods should be introduced to the infant at this time. Her body won’t be able to handle solids right now.
4 to 6 months:
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By this point, your baby can hold up his head, sit in a highchair for feeding, can move food from the front to the back of the mouth and gained a good amount of weight. She’s very interested in food and doesn’t have the natural tendency to push food out of her mouth with her tongue. If you’re breastfeeding, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for about 6 months without including any solid foods. But if you’re ready to introduce a few solid foods, try pureed vegetables such as sweet potatoes or squash. Pureed apples and bananas, pureed meat and semi-liquid (iron-fortified) cereals are good solids, as well. Start off with 1 teaspoon of pureed food or cereal and gradually increase to 1 tablespoon.
