We are in no hurry. If baby needs more food, they will tell you. We started with one meal a day, and progressed to two meals a day.
One meal may have been cereal and the second one puréed vegetables. Fruit is easy to introduce so I am usually keen to create a ‘vegetable taste’ first before I offer fruit.
About six months
At round about six months baby may be eating cereal in the morning, fruit at lunchtime and vegetables at night. At each meal the milk comes first and the solids followed.
It is more or less this age when the baby’s routine changes. Either the baby will start waking up at night after sleeping through or the baby will start demanding more frequent feeds during the day.
Baby has told you that the solids need to step up
Increase the quantity at each meal and switch the milk feed to after the solids. We now have to think about adding first class proteins to the diet. I generally suggest chicken as the most digestible ingredient. Lean beef or lamb can follow, and later fish can also be added. Liquidise the meat and start by adding a teaspoon to the vegetable solids.
Move new solids to lunch time
When introducing a new solid, move that meal to lunchtime. When you are sure that baby tolerates that particular new ingredient, you can move it to another meal time.
Remember not to add salt to baby’s food until the second year of life.
Bottled baby food
Bottled baby foods are good and can be used as a convenience food. I normally suggest that it is not wise to use them exclusively because the baby will later reject your home cooked food. At about seven or eight months you can start mashing the food so that baby can start getting accustomed to ‘lumpy’ food.
You have a blank canvas, enjoy creating your masterpiece. Don’t be biased by your own likes and dislikes, and give your baby the largest possible variety tastes.
31st July 2012
Teresa Denton (1941-2014)
Teresa was a Community Health Nurse in South Africa and loved creative writing and poetry.
