First foods to introduce to your baby

Very first foods: breast milk and formula

The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends exclusive breastfeeding until your baby is six months old. After six months, breast milk alone doesn't provide your baby with enough nutrients, in particular iron, so other foods are needed.

Waiting until six months to introduce solid foods into your baby's diet will help minimize the risk of her developing adverse reactions to foods and allergies. This is particularly important if you have a family history of allergies, as the incidence of adverse food reactions, allergies and celiac disease does decrease if you delay weaning until this time.

If you feel your baby needs to start solids before six months, discuss it with your family doctor first. This is particularly important if your baby was born prematurely.
First solid foods

The food you offer your baby first varies from culture to culture and family to family. Some people swear by bland food so their baby isn't overwhelmed by taste and texture at the same time. Others spice their baby food right from the beginning. And taste is just the beginning of your options.

Parents feed their babies a wide range of first foods. Many start with the iron-rich foods recommended by the Canadian Paediatric Society like fortified baby cereal. Others choose to introduce veggies and fruits first.

And then there's the question of texture. One of the first things your baby has to learn when you are introducing solids is how to swallow "non-liquid" food. There are different opinions on how to help him do that. One common way is to offer first foods that are very runny, usually cooked food that is puréed with some breast milk, formula or water.

You can mix foods together or serve them alone. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends introducing one food at a time, serving it alone for several days so you can monitor your baby for an unusual reaction to the food.

Even though there are a lot of ways to start your baby on to solids, there are some consistent recommendations on which foods to offer your new eater.

Iron-rich baby foods recommended by the Canadian Paediatric Society include:

• iron-fortified single grain infant cereal including rice, barley, and oatmeal.
• meat, chicken, cooked egg yolk, well cooked legumes like lentils and chick peas

Some excellent beginner fruit and vegetables include:

• purées of cooked sweet potato, butternut squash, carrots, peas, green beans, or ripe (raw) avocado
• purées of fruits, such as ripe cooked apple, pear, mango, and mashed banana (raw)

The next stage: mashed, minced and lumpyOnce your baby is doing well with his first foods, slowly introduce a more varied diet. Gradually make the food a thicker consistency. Try offering mashed or minced food, including some lumps. You can offer most of the foods your family eats although there are a few foods to avoid during the first year either because of allergies or because they pose a choking hazard.

Here are a few suggestions of foods to try next:

• A wider range of starchy foods - bread, couscous, pasta, baby bread sticks, breakfast cereals, oats, in addition to cornmeal, potatoes, rice and millet.
• Water from a sippy cup with a soft spout, when she is thirsty, in addition to her daily breast milk or formula. If you do choose to give fruit juice, keep it to a maximum of 4-6 oz per day. Most experts recommend avoiding giving juice to babies and young children as it can displace other foods with important nutrients and risk overconsumption. Juice, which is high in sugar, can also cause damage to emerging teeth.
• Nut butters are fine for babies who don't have a family history of allergic diseases. Use unsalted smooth versions, or make your own. Spread them thinly on toast or crackers.
• Full fat dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese. Although you should wait until at least nine months or even a year to begin to introduce cow's (or goat's or sheep's) milk as a drink, it can be used in cooking or in your baby's breakfast cereal. Many moms make a
• cheese sauce to add to vegetables or pasta. Fat is an important part of a baby's diet so be sure to offer full fat dairy products. Finger foodsMeals eventually start to follow an adult-like pattern of two to three meals a day along with one or two snacks and breast milk or formula. Once your baby can handle lumpier foods well, start to offer him food that is chopped and he can grasp with his fingers.

Some good starter finger foods include:

• Cooked green beans or carrots
• cubes of cheese
• slices of banana or soft pear