Caring for your baby6 to 12 Months

I Am Your Baby

I grow best with love and the right food.

I need breast milk or formula with iron until I turn one. You can still breastfeed me after I am one year old.
I know when I am hungry or full. I let you know by the way I act. Please feed me when I act hungry. Let me eat until I am full.
I will have a growth spurt around 6 months. I might nurse more often or longer.
I am growing fast. If I take breast milk or formula from a bottle, there might be times I drink more than 4 ounces at a feeding.
When I am about 7 or 8 months old, help me learn how to drink from a cup. Offer a cup with breast milk, formula, or water at meals and snacks.

With Your Help I’ll Learn to Eat Foods

When I’m about 6 months old, I can start to eat solid foods. Please go slowly.

If our family has allergies or I was born early, talk to my healthcare provider or WIC before I start solid foods.

Be Sure I’m Ready

To eat solid foods, I must be able to:

I Will Go Through 4 Stages of Foods:

1

Smooth: strained or puréed

2

Mashed: smooth with some tiny lumps

3

Chopped: more lumps

4

Pieces of table foods

Make My First Food a Single Food

Wait at least 5 days before trying another new food.

I Need to Eat My Way

I’ll open my mouth if I want more food.
I’ll keep my mouth closed or turn my head if I don’t want more food; don’t force me to eat.
I might spit food out or make a face. I’m learning new flavors and how to move food around in my mouth.
If I don’t like something, wait a week and let me try it again. I might need to try a new food 10 times before I like it!
I’ll get food on my hands, face, and in my hair. Try not to stress about the mess. Be proud of me as I learn to eat.
Let me feed myself with my hands or a spoon. I use my jaw to mash food and my tongue and fingers to move it in my mouth.
Eat with me at our family meals. I eat better when you are with me. Let’s turn the TV and cell phone off so we can talk.

Let Me Eat Food With My Fingers

By 8 or 9 months, I might want to eat food with my fingers. You may still need to use a spoon to feed me, but let me try to feed myself, too.

Make foods safe so I won’t choke on them.
Safe “finger” foods are:

Tiny pieces of cooked vegetables or soft fruit
Tiny pieces of cooked meat, chicken, or turkey
Mashed cooked beans, egg yolk, or tofu
Chopped noodles or rice
Bite-size pieces of toast, plain crackers, or soft tortilla
Make pieces of food no bigger than your thumbnail.

How much should I eat?

I need to eat about 5 or 6 times a day. A meal might be breast milk or formula, or a meal might be breast milk or formula plus infant cereal. Start with 1 or 2 tablespoons of each food. Give me more if I want it. I may not eat everything on my plate. As I start eating more, you can give me 2 or 3 foods at a meal.

Here are some ideas:

6 - 8 Months

2 tablespoons pureed peaches

3 tablespoons baby oatmeal cereal

8 - 10 Months

3 tablespoons mashed peas

3 tablespoons cooked brown rice

1 tablespoons baked, chopped chicken

10 - 12 Months

2 tablespoons diced avocado

3 tablespoons cooked, chopped whole grain pasta

Let me eat until I show signs I’m full. I might close my lips, turn or shake my head, or raise my arm. Ask me if I’m full. Then, let me stop eating if I want to.

Time for a Cup

When I turn 6 months old, you can give me a small amount of water as I learn to drink from a cup.

Food Safety

We need to wash our hands before making my food or feeding me.
Put my food in a small dish and feed it to me with a baby spoon.
Throw out any food, breast milk, or formula left in a bottle, cup, or dish after I eat.
Don’t heat my food in a microwave. It could burn my mouth.

Foods To Avoid

I need food that is right for my age and will help me grow best.

I don’t need added sugars, salt, fat, or additives. Wait to offer juice until I am at least 12 months old.

Raw vegetables
Bacon
Whole grapes
Fish with bones
Potato, corn, or tortilla chips
Popcorn
Hard candy
Nuts
Hot dogs
Meat sticks

Also, please don’t give me foods that could make me sick, like:

Introducing Peanut Butter

After I have tried other solid foods, introduce me to peanut butter. Doing this can be helpful if our family has food or egg related allergies, like eczema or other skin issues. Spread a small, thin smear of peanut butter thinly on a cracker or mix it with applesauce and cinnamon and spread thinly on bread. Watch me for the next 2 hours to make sure I don’t have a reaction.

Play with me!

Put me on a blanket on the floor. Put a toy just out of my reach so I can move to get it. Roll a ball to me. Hold both my hands and let me walk with you.

6 to 9 Months

9 to 12 Months