Schedule for adding solid foods
At four to six months of age you may start adding solid foods like cereal. Rice or oat cereals are tolerated the best and are least likely to cause an allergic reaction. At six months you may start adding fruit and vegetables. Avoid corn and wheat, plus citrus like orange or lemon. Add only one new food each week.
You want to avoid allergic reactions like pain, spitting up, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, runny nose, or cough. Do not force these new foods. If your baby refuses, stop for a few days and then resume. Your fresh, home-cooked foods, put into a blender or mixer, are the best foods for your infant. They taste better, have more nutritive value and cost less. Commercial baby foods are convenient but more expensive. Use plain food for your baby. Avoid mixed dinners, mixed vegetables, puddings, cobblers, or desserts. They have less food value. To prepare these foods for future use you can blend a larger amount and fill an ice cube tray, freeze and put individual cubes in a freezer bag for future meals.
0-4 months Breast milk or Formula
4-6 months Cereal - rice or oatmeal preferred.
6-8 months Vegetables: carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green vegetables, and fruits: applesauce, pears, peaches Your child hold a cup by 6 months so start off with a tippy cup.
At 7 or 8 months, your infant can be introduced to soft table foods.
8-12 months eggs, meats, finger foods
From 8 to 12 months, babies eat more from the table. Feed them mashed or pureed foods or small bite sized finger foods that dissolve easily in the mouth (finger foods). Teething biscuits or Jell-O are fine. Avoid rich or seasoned foods. When starting eggs, remember: 2 to 4 eggs per week. It is okay to add eggs through a scrambled method. If there is greater concern about egg allergy, then starting with egg yolk before white can be considered.
Honey should not be added to the diet before one year of age because of the risk of botulism.
Water
baby is fussy and not comforted when picked up or talked to soothingly. In our warm summer months, water may be offered if your infant has been exposed to warmer temperatures. Hiccups may be soothed by nursing, formula or water. Water does not need boiling, and the bottle does not need sterilization. Do not add honey as a sweetener at any time during the first year because of the risk of botulism – a life-threatening infection. The risk disappears after this age.
Offer one to two ounces of unsweetened water between feedings if your baby is fussy and not comforted when picked up or talked to soothingly. In our warm summer months, water may be offered if your infant has been exposed to warmer temperatures. Hiccups may be soothed by nursing, formula, or water. Water does not need boiling, and the bottle does not need sterilization. Do not add honey as a sweetener at any time during the first year because of the risk of botulism – a life-threatening infection. The risk disappears after this age.
Circumcision
Notify me if marked bleeding or swelling occurs after a circumcision. Sometimes a Plastibell™ or plastic ring is used so no Vaseline would be necessary. If one was used for the circumcision, no special care is needed. The ring will fall off in about one or two weeks.
Reviewed 5/1/2024