You Can’t Feed Your Baby That! Or Can You? Let This Baby Feeding Timeline Be Your Guide

February 27, 2017 / Posted by in Parenting

Can you or can you not feed your baby something? That is the question. Because when it comes to feeding our babies, it’s so tempting to feed them whatever we want, right? Sweets, lemons (just to see their reactions), even food from our own plates! But, dear mommas, we can’t give our babies everything we eat. What we eat might not be good for them, and their tiny insides might not be able to digest the complicated starches and sugars our food has. So, to help you choose what to feed your baby, we came up with a baby feeding timeline to make things simpler for you. See what you can feed your baby at what particular stage, and how you can prepare it. Happy feeding, moms!

Baby Feeding Timeline
Pixabay/Kangheungbo

 

Age: Birth to 4 months Recommended Foods: Breast milk or formula Age: 4 to 6 months Recommended Foods: Breast milk or formula Single-grain, iron-fortified cereal Notes/How to Prepare: Cereal Mix with breast milk, formula, or water on occasion Age: 6 to 8 months Recommended Foods: Breast milk or formula Iron-fortified cereal Fruits (bananas, pears, apples, avocado) Vegetables (sweet potato, squash, carrots, peas) Protein (chicken, pork, beef, fish, lentils, beans) Notes/How to Prepare: Fruits and Vegetables Wash and peel fruits and vegetables very well Bake, boil, or steam the fruits and vegetables Cut them up and use a blender or food processor until it becomes a puree Strain the puree Add a little bit of water or milk if your baby is just starting out. Once your baby is used to it, you can start feeding fruit or vegetable puree without the added liquid. Protein Cook the protein until soft Cut the protein into very small pieces Use a blender or food process until it becomes a puree (You can serve protein with rice) Age: 8 to 10 months Recommended Foods: Breast milk or formula Cereal Fruits (bananas, pears, apples, avocado) Vegetables (sweet potato, squash, carrots, peas) Protein (chicken, pork, beef, fish, lentils, beans) Dairy (small amounts of soft pasteurized cheese or cottage cheese) Eggs (only the yolks) Finger food (cooked pasta, teething crackers, o-shaped cereals) Notes/How to Prepare: Fruits, Vegetables, and Protein No need to puree; just cook until soft and mash Eggs Scramble or hard-boil Finger food Make sure the finger food is small enough for your baby to swallow without choking Age: 10 to 12 months Recommended Foods: Breast milk or formula Cereal Fruits (almost all fruits, but avoid round fruits like grapes that can be a choking hazard) Vegetables (almost all vegetables but avoid round vegetables like cherry tomatoes that can be a choking hazard) Protein (almost all protein) Dairy (soft pasteurized cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt) Eggs (only the yolks) Finger food (babies can eat most foods now) Notes/How to Prepare: Dairy Avoid cow's milk until your baby is one year old Eggs Avoid egg whites until your baby is one year old Finger food Be aware of the size of the food. (You want to avoid choking.) If you're unsure, always cut food up into small pieces or mash them. Also be aware of allergic reactions.

 

Sources:

  1. Rodriguez, Abbey. “A Complete Baby Food Guide From Birth to 12 Months.” Along Abbey Road. Last modified October 6, 2014.
  2. WebMD. “Baby Nutrition in the First Year: What to Feed Your Baby Now.” WebMD. Last modified September 2016.

 

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