by Vanessa Bartlemus

Created on: January 10, 2010

The kinds of foods your baby is introduced to now will form the basis for a lifetime of healthy eating. So what types of foods should you start your baby off on, and what sort of things should you be avoiding?

Rice cereal is typically a baby’s first food, because it is easily digested, unlikely to cause an allergic reaction, and can be mixed with breast milk or formula, which are familiar tastes for your baby. Start your baby off with a tablespoon of cereal mixed with four tablespoons of breast milk or formula. After rice cereal, you can move on to oatmeal, barley, or mixed grain cereals.

Once your baby has started on cereal, there are many choices of fruits and vegetables to start on. Some experts advise that you should start your baby on vegetables first, so that he or she will get used to the taste before they venture into the more readily-accepted world of fruits. Other experts say it doesn’t matter. Do what you feel is best; the important thing is to expose your baby to a wide variety of foods early on. Never add any salt or sugar to your baby’s food. Your baby does not need added salt until later, and it is better if your baby learns to appreciate the natural sweetness of fruits without added sugar.

At six months you can introduce yogurt. Yogurt is a very healthy food that will aid in digestion, and many babies love it. Feed your baby plain yogurt mixed with fruit or look for a low sugar brand meant for babies.

Always wait about four days between introducing new foods. That way, if your baby has an allergic reaction, you can know which food it was that triggered the reaction. With any new food you are trying, don’t be discouraged if your baby doesn’t like it at first. Keep trying, and your baby may grow to like it.

Around 7 to 9 months your child becomes ready for finger foods. Watch for signs of readiness: your baby may be eager to feed herself, and will have developed the pincer grasp. The pincer grasp is when a baby can grasp small objects between his thumb and forefinger. Some healthy finger foods to start your baby on are crumbled egg yolks (hold off on the whites till baby’s a year old), cheerios, puffs, grains of well-cooked brown rice, small whole grain macaroni, and bits of cheese.

Keep in mind that your infant’s main source of nutrition will still be breast milk or formula, and will be until he or she reaches their first birthday.

There are some foods your baby should not eat at all until they are older. Hold off on honey, cow’s milk, citrus fruits, strawberries, chocolate, and egg whites till your child is 1. Hot dogs, candy, nuts, popcorn, and anything else that could get lodged in your baby’s throat should wait till they are 3 or 4 years old. Peanut butter should also wait because it’s sticky consistency has the potential to cause choking.

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