First whole foods for baby

The Best First Foods for Babies 6 to 9 Months – Happiest Baby

By Happiest Baby Staff

You've spent the first six months of your baby's life making sure that they are nourished with breastmilk or formula. As they grow and thrive, you might notice that your little sprout shows you some signs that they are ready to graduate from the bottle or breast to solid foods. If your baby can sit up and hold their head up, that's a great first sign! What's more, if they bring objects to their mouth and show an interest in what you are eating, your curious kiddo might be ready to start eating solid foods.

But what should you feed your baby? Here’s a list of perfect starter foods for your baby from ages 6 to 9 months.

Best Baby Foods at 6 Months

At 6 months, babies may be starting to chew. Though this skill won’t be mastered just yet, they are typically ready to get messy with some mushy, pureed eats—helping them learn about flavor and texture. At this age, the goal is not to satiate your baby with full meals of solid foods but rather to get your child curious and excited about their culinary options.

Because babies are growing so fast, their needs for iron are high to prevent iron-deficiency and support their overall health. Offer your little one iron rich foods like—infant cereal (read up on why you may want to skip rice cereal), well-cooked meat, poultry, mashed beans, and lentils. To keep your baby safe from choking, avoid adding solids like cereal to baby bottles.

Here are some great first foods for Baby to try:

Infant oat, grain, or barley cereals mixed with breastmilk or formula and spoon-fed to your baby
Sweet potato puree
Squash puree
Pea puree
Carrot puree
Mashed banana
Mashed avocado
Mashed or pureed beans
Mashed or pureed lentils
Pureed meats (beef, chicken, or turkey)
Soft, falling apart meats (salmon, beef, chicken, turkey)

Check out more of our favorite first food purees. Or, if purees aren’t your thing, read up on how to start baby-led weaning.

Best Baby Foods at 7 Months

By 7 months old, your baby will probably be eating more solids but not enough to replace breastmilk or formula as their primary source of food. The goal for this month is to keep introducing solid foods to your baby. What's fun is by 7 months, you can get more creative with mixing flavors and adding textures.

Here are a few nutritious and delicious food combos to try with your baby:

Peas pureed with breastmilk (or formula), sweet potatoes, or squash
Kale pureed with blueberry, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, pears, or bananas
Apples pureed with cauliflower, carrots, pears, prunes, or beets
Beef pureed with broccoli
Chicken pureed with carrots and potatoes
Chickpeas pureed with bananas, apples, or sweet potato
Sweet potatoes pureed with red bell pepper

Seven months is also the perfect age to start giving your baby a plate, bowl, and plastic utensils so they can begin to practice feeding themselves. If your baby is teething, you can place frozen chunks of fruit in a sieve feeder/mesh bag that allows them to gnaw on the fruit without choking. Learn more about helping your baby use a fork and spoon!

Best Baby Foods at 8 Months

By 8 months, your baby is likely eating more solids and relying a little less on milk as a primary meal (though it’s still where they get the bulk of their nutrition!). And they’re probably having lots of fun learning how to use their hands to feed themselves. Something else to consider: Babies should be exposed to potential allergen foods (like peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and fish) before their first birthdays to help prevent future food allergies. Starting at 6 months of age, peanut butter is safe to introduce as long as you are comfortable giving it to your baby.

In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans says that babies can begin having these foods when they start eating solids. But many families often feel more comfortable waiting to introduce these foods until around this age. Of course, consult with your little one’s pediatrician if you have concerns about potential allergen foods.

Here are some foods to add to your repertoire:

Whole eggs, scrambled
Nut butter thinned out with water and mixed with cereal (nut butters are sticky and can cause choking)
Fully cooked fish, like salmon or tuna
Full-fat yogurt

Here are some preparation ideas:

Well-cooked (think over-cooked until falling apart) pasta such as elbows or alphabet shapes
Mashed meat with mashed or ground vegetables such as peas and potatoes or kale and squash
Rainbow on a plate: Using tiny pieces of soft, strained, pureed, and mashed food options, look for a variety of colors to offer. Some fun options could include banana, avocado, sweet potato, peas, blueberry, raspberry, cheese, and chicken.

Best Baby Foods at 9 Months

Though there’s a greater variety of foods babies eat now, formula or breastmilk continues to be their primary source of nutrition until age 1. At 9 months old, babies get more comfortable with self-feeding and eating the foods their families enjoy. After all, eating solid foods is a sensory wonderland of texture, smells, and tastes. Not to mention all that fun making messes with those adorably curious fingers.

As you begin to focus on meal planning for your baby, there are few things to keep in mind:

Babies need four to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. A serving size for a 9-month-old is less than a quarter cup.
"Eat the rainbow" is excellent advice because it gives your baby exposure to lots of different fruits, vegetables, grains, and starches.

Here are a few menu ideas to help meal plan for your baby…

Breakfast Ideas for Babies

These morning meals pack a nutritional punch—and don’t forget to check out all of our favorite breakfast ideas for babies:

Soft fresh fruit cut up in small pieces (think: banana, raspberries, or blueberries)
Whole-grain waffles or pancakes
Unsweetened oatmeal made with breastmilk or formula combined with cut-up and cooked apples and pears or banana slices. (It is essential to steam the apples or pears to make them soft enough for your baby to mash with their gums.)
Full-fat yogurt mixed with mashed or pureed berries such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, or raspberries
Soft scrambled eggs
Veggie frittata

Lunch Ideas for Babies

Spread hummus on soft crackers or bread
Grilled cheese sandwich with cooled tomato soup
Macaroni and cheese with cooked veggies like peas and carrots mixed in
Pizza bites with chopped bits of spinach in the sauce and melted shredded cheese
Quesadilla made with pureed spinach, squash, or beans

Snack Ideas for Babies

Babies this young won’t likely need to snack too much (remember, breastmilk or formula will provide the majority of your little one’s nutrition). Still, it’s not a bad idea to have snacks on hand for when your mini muncher needs something to eat that’s not quite a meal. A few baby snack ideas:

Apple and carrot slaw
Cheese slices
Full-fat plain yogurt
Hard-boiled egg
Avocado slices
Muffins made with fruits, veggies, and/or whole grains
Fruit and veggie pouches
Sugar-free, whole-grain cereal, like plain Cheerios

Dinner Ideas for Babies

To help your baby get and stay excited about eating solid foods, serve a version of whatever the family is having for dinner. Remember to steam or mash, grind or chop foods into appropriate softness and sizes to prevent choking. Some baby dinner ideas:

Pasta with softened vegetables
Well-cooked rice, soft veggies, and chicken
Baked sweet potato with butter or cheese
Beans or lentils served with rice and veggies
Flaky fish served with steamed zucchini

There are endless variations on what you can serve your baby for dinner. As long as your baby is safe and happy, try to encourage lots of food exploration!

You must not feed any child under the age of 1 year honey, cow’s milk, juice, hard foods like candy, raw vegetables, popcorn, or sticky foods like peanut butter, as these each present choking hazards.

Learn more about feeding your baby:

The Happiest Baby Feeding Guide
The Benefits of Homemade Baby Food
The Best Store-Bought Baby Food

***

REFERENCES

Unlocking Opportunities in Food Design for Infants, Children, and the Elderly: Understanding Milestones in Chewing and Swallowing Across the Lifespan for New Innovations. Journal of Texture Studies, August 2017
Complementary Feeding: A Position Paper by the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) Committee on Nutrition, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, January 2017
Infant Formula Feeding Practices Associated With Rapid Weight Gain: A Systematic Review, Maternal & Child Nutrition, July 2018
Solid Food Introduction and the Development of Food Allergies, Nutrients, November 2018
US Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025

View more posts tagged, feeding

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Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider.

How to Get Started with Baby Led Weaning: A Nutritionist's Guide

by Dana Simkins

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you) should you choose to purchase a recommended product.

If you’re a parent, you may have heard of a style of infant feeding called Baby Led Weaning. I first learned of this approach in my Pediatric Nutrition course while working on my Master’s. I have since used the technique with my own three children! In this post I’ll talk you through all the basics and let you know how to get started with baby led weaning.

What is Baby Led Weaning?

The basic idea is that instead of feeding your baby pureed solids, you offer them whole foods. This allows baby to experience a variety of textures and flavors of food. Rather than being spoon-fed, your baby can regulate his own intake. And research suggests Baby Led Weaning babies are less prone to overeat later in childhood*. Babies have the ability to regulate their food intake based on physical hunger cues, something that becomes increasingly more difficult as we get older. Perhaps the longer we allow them to experience food in that way, the better.

What About Purees?

You might be wondering…if she’s a proponent of Baby Led Weaning (BLW), then why are there recipes for pureed baby foods on this site? I’m a strong believer that you should do what works for you in parenting. If you feel that you might better nurture your child by offering pureed foods, or if the BLW approach makes you nervous, trust your instincts. Neither method is the “right” way, they are simply different and may benefit your baby in different ways. Keep reading to find out how I incorporate purees into Baby Led Weaning.

Feeling Unsure?

If you’re feeling unsure because other people have told you it’s a bad idea, take a minute to check out my post on Dealing With Doubters. It’s sure to give you a confidence boost and set your mind at ease about how to get started with Baby Led Weaning the right way.

Many moms (including me!) choose to do Baby Led Weaning while still offering purees to their children. There are some foods, like yogurt, that offer great nutritional value for your infant (protein, probiotics) but can be messy to offer to a 6-month old without assistance. I go more in-depth on how to include purees in my Baby Led Weaning Myths post and my Starter Foods post.

How to Get Started With Baby Led Weaning

When can I start Baby Led Weaning with my child?
What do I need to get started?
What sort of foods should I be offering?
When should I feed my baby solids? Do I still offer breast milk/formula?
But, my baby has no teeth…how can she chew?
What about choking?

When can I start Baby Led Weaning with my child?

The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend offering your baby any solids (pureed or not) before 6 months of age. The majority of infants are not ready to eat solids before then, and there is evidence that it could result in the development of allergies since their digestive systems are not fully developed yet.

6 months is a general recommendation, and of course there are some babies who are ready earlier, and some who might even take a bit longer. All of this should be determined by you and your pediatrician, but generally a baby is ready to go if he/she:

Shows interest in your food at meal times by leaning or reaching for it
Can sit up unaided
Has head and neck control
Has lost the tongue-thrust reflex, and does not push food out of his/her mouth but is willing & able to swallow

What do I need to get started?

Once you’ve read through this post about how to get started with baby led weaning make sure to prepare yourself with these fun and functional tools! They’ll help minimize the mealtime mess, and make meal prep a breeze.

What sort of foods should I be offering?

The Baby Led Weaning approach means you can offer your baby almost anything you’re eating with a few exceptions.

Be sure any food offered does not have too much salt or added sugar. Too much salt can overwhelm their tiny kidneys and added sugar offers no nutritional value, it just adds empty calories.

Do not offer:

Honey to children under 1 year of age. Honey can contain botulinum toxin which can cause botulism in infants.
Cow’s milk to children under 1 year of age. Babies can’t handle the proteins in cow’s milk before 1 year of age. However, yogurt and cheese made from cow’s milk are acceptable since the proteins in these food have been partially broken down.
Small, hard foods like whole nuts, popcorn and peanut butter (on its own) can all be serious choking hazards. These should not be offered to infants.

Limit the following:

Bread (limit to one slice a day since it tends to be high in salt/sugar and may cause constipation)
Fish high in mercury content such as tuna, mackerel, or swordfish (limit to two servings per week to be safe)
Processed foods like potato chips, canned soups/sauces, condiments and fried foods tend to be loaded with salt & sugar and offer little to no nutritional value.

Proceed with caution:

If there is history of food allergy in your family you may want to introduce foods one at a time to be sure there is no adverse reaction. Talk to your doctor about this before starting any solids.
The following foods can be a choking hazard and should be sliced up before offering to baby: whole grapes, bony fish, fruits with pits (cherries, olives, etc. )

Ideas for First Foods:

Fish fingers (tilapia works really well simply breaded)
Chicken (grilled or roasted, cut into strips)
Steamed Broccoli Florets
Steamed Carrots (larger pieces not baby carrots)
Cavatappi (or other “curly” pasta, like fusilli)
Sweet Potato “Fries” (cut sweet potatoes into strips and bake until soft enough to mash with your fingers)
Avocado cut into long pieces
Pears, apples, cucumber, peeled & cut into long pieces
Canned/jarred mandarin wedges in water (I recommend these over fresh because there are no seeds)
Toast strips with hummus spread
Cheese sticks
Banana with peel as a handle (see picture below)

When should I be feeding my baby solids? Do I still offer breast milk/formula?

Breast milk/formula should still make up the majority of baby’s diet until 1 year of age. Babies’ tummies are very small, and breast milk/formula is much more nutrient rich than any food. It provides them with everything they need for the first year. You may have heard this saying before, “Food before one is just for fun!” It’s true, for most babies breast milk/formula offers all they need until their first birthday.

The introduction of solid foods before 1 year is a “bonus”, may help avoid the development of allergies and allows them exposure to various flavors and textures.

To be sure your baby is getting enough nutrition from milk, I recommend nursing/offering a bottle before each “meal” of solid foods. This will also assure that your baby is in a good mood and doesn’t get frustrated while trying to eat.

But, my baby has no teeth…how can she chew?

What about choking?

First of all, it is very important that you know the difference between gagging and choking (but also know infant CPR). It is totally normal for your little one to gag a bit as they are learning to eat. It takes a while for them to learn the proper way to move food around their mouth. Here is an example of my son gagging when we began Baby Led Weaning at 6 months. Note how he moves the food around and continues to chew…

Basically, if baby gags but keeps on happily eating and shows no signs of distress, everything is fine. You will know if she’s choking because her eyes will get wide, she won’t be getting any air and she will stop eating. This NEVER happened with with either of my children, and is highly unlikely with Baby Led Weaning.

Because baby is deciding how much food to take in and because BLW encourages chewing rather than sucking, you’ll find babies eat more slowly and very small bits at a time. Offering bigger pieces can help avoid choking, too.

In the unlikely event your baby is actually choking, call 911 immediately and be prepared with infant CPR techniques.

Still not sure what to feed baby?

If you still aren’t sure where to begin, I urge you to check out my 4-week Baby Led Weaning Family Meal Plan! It’s a whole month of original recipes for your BLW baby and everyone else under your roof. Cook once, feed everyone! Along with the recipes are super organized shopping lists and serving tips for various ages (6m+).

For everything you need to know about Baby Led Weaning, check out this book by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett, the “creators” of Baby Led Weaning. I write that in quotations because they write in their book that parents have been doing this for a very long time, they just gave it a name and came up with tips, tricks and guidelines.

For some Baby Led Weaning recipes, check out Baby Led Feeding . It’s chock full of healthy, tasty options for your little one starting at 6 months! A great tool to get you started with Baby Led Weaning.

Do you think Baby Led Weaning is something you might try? Any tips on how to get started with Baby Led Weaning? Post about your experience/opinion in the comments!

Detailed list of all foods for the first 90 days of introduction of complementary foods for a child.

Download the table of complementary foods in PDF format:

Zucchini. Zucchini puree contains only 24 kcal per 100 grams of finished product. Proteins -0.6; fat - 0.3; carbohydrates - 4.6. Contains calcium, magnesium, vitamins A, C, B6 and iron. To save vitamins, we will prepare the first puree for a child for a couple. Zucchini cooks quickly, 10 minutes is enough. The first serving is 5 grams (a teaspoon), even less, at the tip of a spoon. We'll give you a taste of the new flavor. Take a small circle of zucchini (we choose the smallest, youngest baby zucchini, the puree will be sweet), wash well (you don’t need to clean and remove the seeds from young zucchini), cook for 10 minutes for a couple and grind through a sieve. Let the child try. The feeding temperature should be around 40 degrees. DEFINITELY try the puree yourself before giving it to a child! Not bitter, not sour, are there any strange aftertastes that may indicate a poor quality vegetable? We offer zucchini for 5-7 days according to the scheme: 5 grams - 10 grams - 20 - 40 - 60 - 60 - 60. The zucchini has passed the test! Let's put it aside for now and move on to the next product.
Cauliflower. Cauliflower puree contains 33 kcal per 100 grams of finished product. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates, respectively: 1.6 / 0.7 / 5.4. Contains calcium, magnesium, iron, vitamins C and B6. To save vitamins, we cook for a couple. We divide the cabbage into small inflorescences, cook for 15 minutes. Grind the first portion (5 grams) on a sieve, prepare large portions with an immersion blender with the addition of boiled baby water, so that the consistency is the same as that of the zucchini. Cabbage, unlike zucchini, contains less water, so it needs to be added. We give according to the scheme: 5-10-20-40-60-60-60. Recall that it is not necessary to give all 7 days, five days will be enough to test for allergens.
Broccoli. For 100 grams of finished puree 34 kcal. Proteins 2.8; Fats 0.4; Carbohydrates 6.6. Broccoli contains a lot of vitamin A, as well as calcium, magnesium, iron and vitamin C. We prepare mashed potatoes according to the same principle as cauliflower.
Buckwheat porridge. From vegetables to cereals. It's time to try the cereals. Previously, it was recommended that babies start complementary foods with cereals if they are not gaining weight well, or start complementary foods before six months. But it's all MYTH! Well, the baby will not start gaining better if instead of a portion of fatty milk he receives 60 grams of lean porridge cooked in water. Yes Yes! The first cereals are dairy-free, sugar-free and gluten-free! It is important! For the first test, it is still recommended to introduce special baby cereals, which are sold in stores. Why? Because cereals for children's cereals are not treated with rodenticides, unlike ordinary cereals on store shelves. Yes, and making flour from ordinary buckwheat and cooking 5 grams of such porridge will not be so easy as pouring half a teaspoon of prepared store-bought baby porridge with water, stir and give to the baby. Therefore, we suggest buying a pack of special children's dairy-free buckwheat for the first try and cook it according to the cooking method indicated on the package.
Rice porridge. Same as buckwheat: dairy-free, gluten-free, salt-free and sugar-free. We look at the energy value on the packaging.
Corn porridge. This porridge is the most high-calorie of the three, so it is still better to introduce it as the third one. The scheme is still the same as with vegetables: 5-10-20-40-60-60-60 (the last two days are optional). When the volume of any of the cereals reaches 40 and 60 grams, you can add a little already introduced vegetables to it (also up to 40 grams), so that the porridge is not too viscous and monotonous for the child (“in a dry bag”, as we usually say).
Pumpkin. Puree and pumpkin will already contain 88 kcal per 100 grams of the finished product. Thus, we gradually raise the calorie content of products. Proteins / fats / carbohydrates - 1.7 / 6.2 / 6.3. We clean and cut it into cubes, steam the pumpkin, about 15 minutes. Puree is introduced as before 5-10-20-40-60-60-60. For portions of 40 and 60 grams, you can try to give it together with the already tested porridge and bring the total volume up to 100 grams.
Apple. It's time to taste fruit. Why weren't they introduced earlier? Because, from birth, a child has a love for sweets, and if you start complementary foods with fruits, then there is a high probability that you will eat vegetables yourself later. We start complementary foods from the most tasteless foods incrementally. The finished puree contains 85 kcal per 100 grams of the finished product. How to cook: wash, peel, cut apples and send to a double boiler or cook in boiling water for 10 minutes (a couple more vitamins will be preserved). Scheme 5-10-20-40-60-60-60. By the way, with regard to fruits, a dose of 60, maximum 80 grams for a child up to a year is quite sufficient. If we then increase the portions of vegetables and cereals, then we will leave the fruits. A large amount of sugar is not good for a child. Up to 40 grams we give applesauce as a separate dish, from 40 grams and more we mix with cereals. Now we will gradually increase the volume and replace breakfast with porridge with fruit, seasoned with a small amount of butter (at the rate of 2 grams of butter per 100 grams of porridge).
Rabbit. It's time to introduce meat! At this point, the baby should be about 8 months old. It is recommended to start with a rabbit, as this is the most dietary meat. How to cook: we twist the meat in a meat grinder, form small meatballs and weld them a little in boiling water. It’s good if you have a kitchen scale at home and you can immediately prepare meatballs for the required 5-10-20-40 and 50 grams. We throw the boiled meatballs into a colander so that the glass is excess water and they cool, then we freeze. Our semi-finished product is ready! The first 5 and 10 grams are given separately. Boil or steam again and grind with a blender. Starting from 20 grams, grind together with the introduced vegetables. Now you can gradually increase the portions and replace lunch with vegetables and meat seasoned with a small amount of vegetable oil (at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 100 grams of vegetables). Meat, unlike all other products that are necessarily introduced in the first half of the day, is introduced at lunchtime.
Prunes. We prepare mashed potatoes in the same way as from apples, but first, prunes need to be washed, peeled and soaked for a couple of hours in water, then steamed and chopped with a blender. Portions are the same as for an apple: 5-10-20-40-60-60-60. Starting from 40 grams, mix with porridge.
Turkey. We choose the fillet and give it according to the principle of the rabbit.
Pear, banana, apricot, peach, plum. We introduce these fruits one by one according to the same principle as we introduced apple and prunes.

So, we have sorted out the safest products for the baby! Selected according to our climate, according to their energy value, composition and vitamin content. To put together a correct balanced diet, you need to know some WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations for complementary foods:

At 6-8 months, the child should receive 60% kcal from breast milk and 40% kcal per day from complementary foods ;
At 9-11 months, the baby should receive 45% kcal from breast milk and already 55% kcal per day from complementary foods ;
The volume of the baby's stomach is approximately equal to 30 ml/kg of the baby's weight;
At 6-8 months, smoothly go to 2 meals based on complementary foods (breakfast and lunch) and the minimum energy density of the meal should be 0. 9 kcal / g for breastfeeding or 1.7 kcal / g for artificial feeding;
Protein requirements for babies 6-9months 1.25 g/kg body weight;
Fat should make up 30-40% of the daily calorie intake of the entire diet.

Download the PDF food table in PDF:

Categories of Malyuk

7 products, which are undesirable for children up to a year

Of course, modern mothers know that babies should not give sausages, soda and cream cakes. What else can not eat children under one year old? We made a list of 7 less obvious foods.

1. Salt

Excess salt in the diet is harmful to the baby's kidneys and can lead to swelling and dehydration. Of course, a lack of salt is also not useful, but in real life, with a normal diet, it practically does not occur: salt is contained in sufficient quantities in most foods, and there is no need to add salt on purpose. And if for us, adults, baby purees and cereals without salt and sugar seem tasteless and disgusting, don’t worry, for a baby, the situation is completely different.

The taste perception of young children is not yet spoiled by excessively sweet and salty foods, flavors and flavor enhancers. If your child refuses mashed broccoli, then most likely he just does not like the taste and texture of broccoli, and not at all the lack of salt.

2. Sugar

Everyone knows the dangers of excess sugar - dental problems, obesity, associated cardiovascular diseases and the risk of developing diabetes. However, it can be very difficult to refuse a cookie or candy to a child familiar with the sweet taste, and tears are usually inevitable. What to do?

The secret is simple - introduce foods with added sugar into your baby's diet as late as possible, at the earliest in the year, although it is better to wait until two years. The National Nutritional Optimization Program for Children aged 1 to 3 years recommends limiting sugar in the diet of toddlers aged 1 to 3 to 25-30 grams per day, taking into account the sugar found in special baby foods, juices, yogurts, etc.

3. Honey

It would seem that honey is a wonderful and healthy alternative to sugar, so why is it not recommended for babies under one year old? In fact, the reasons some. First, honey can contain spores bacteria Clostridium botulinum. The immune system of adults and children older people can easily cope with them, but in babies they can cause a deadly disease called infantile botulism.

Secondly, honey is the strongest allergen, so it is better to postpone acquaintance with it until a later age.

4. Fruit juices and drinks

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released in 2017 New recommendations for adequate intake of fruit juices in infants, young children and adolescents who begin with advice to completely avoid fruit juice for feeding infants life. According to AAP, excessive juice consumption can lead to diarrhea, overeating or, conversely, malnutrition, as well as to occurrence of dental caries*. At the same time, babies can and should be offered Whole fruit, mashed or pureed.

A various fruit drinks and nectars in addition to natural sugar from fruits often contain added sugar, which makes them perfectly unsuitable for feeding babies up to a year.

Breeding of juices and nectars with water does not completely solve the problem, since it does not reduce dental risks. If your child refuses to drink water, try compotes and fruit or herbal teas.

5. Foods that are easy to choke on

The danger of a product to children is determined by several characteristics: consistency, shape, and size. Most often babies gagging slippery, round, sticky, fibrous and hard products.

The most dangerous are all round and large enough to block the airways: lozenges, grapes, cherry tomatoes, nuts**. Not far behind in sad dangerous food rating other candies (especially sticky ones), fish bones and meat and, in fact, the meat itself ***.

Remember that theoretically a child can choke on any food, so never leave your baby unsupervised eating.

6. Egg white

Have you ever wondered why in all complementary feeding schemes is it the yolk, not the whole egg? Nothing surprising: egg protein is one of the strongest allergens. Up to a year is better limit the baby to only the yolk, and introduce the protein a little later.

Only make sure the eggs are thoroughly cooked. Raw and half-raw eggs may contain a bacterium that causes salmonellosis, a disease deadly for young children.

7. Cow and goat milk

Surprised? Whole cow's milk is the main cause of allergies in children under one year old. In addition, it contains a large amount of lactose, milk sugar, which some babies have difficulty digesting due to the fact that their gastrointestinal tract is not yet sufficiently developed. There are studies linking the early introduction of animal milk into the diet as a substitute for mother's milk or infant formula with an increased risk of iron deficiency anemia and type 1 diabetes.