At this stage, your child will be relying more on solid food than they have been in the past. Before, formula or breast milk was the primary source of nutrition for your child and provided everything that they need. By now, your child is weaning onto solid foods. This means that it is crucial for you to feed your child the right things in order to ensure they are healthy and growing. Further than that, it is important to establish healthy habits now that your child can carry with them as they grow older.
By now, you are used to feeding your child solid foods that are pureed. At this age, you no longer need to spend the time pureeing your food or buying jars of baby food anymore. You can simply cook foods like sweet potatoes or even carrots or regular potatoes until they are soft and just smash them up with your fork. With fruits like bananas, avocados, or some other similarly soft fruit, you can mash these up as well. You can also start giving items like cereals that are o-shaped and crackers. You can also give your child pasta now, if it is well cooked and cut up into small pieces. You can start offering things like scrambled eggs or cheeses, as long as these are also cut up in smaller pieces.
As your child nears 12 months, they will pretty much be relying on the solid food for their nutrition. You will still offer them formula or breast milk at this time, but otherwise they will be able to eat most things that you do as long as not heavily spiced or salted. You will just need to make sure that they are cut up into small enough pieces so that the child can eat this food safely. There are some foods that you will still need to avoid at this age. One important thing to stay away from at this age is honey. Honey can actually cause a serious illness called “infant botulism” in children under the age of 1, which is why it should be avoided until then. You should avoid things that are high risk for allergies, especially if there is a family history of a specific food allergy. Do not forget to wait a few days after introducing a new food in order to watch for allergies.
Starting your child off right during this crucial time can make a huge difference to your child’s life in the future. This will allow your child to keep these healthy habits that they are learning now for the rest of their life. By feeding your child a balanced nutrition, you can make sure that your child can grow up healthy and strong. By following these tips, you can make sure that you get your child off to the right start.
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