Baby Foods During First Year of Life-First 6 Months

During the first 3 months of life, breast milk or formula provides all the nutrients a newborn baby needs. Here, we will be discussing the generally accepted guidelines for introducing new foods to babies less than one year of age. It should be noted, however, that all babies are different; consequently; the timing varies considerably from one baby to another.
First Month: If giving breast milk, it should be enough for weight gain and to yield regular soft stools and 6 or more wet diapers a day. If giving formula, 2-4 oz (60-120 ml) per feeding (every 2-4 hours) should be provided.

Second and Third Months: Baby should be fed in such a way in order to get 4-5 oz (120-150 ml) in each feeding; and there should be approximately 6 feedings a day on an average.

Four to Six Months:
Total intake should be about 30-40 oz (900-1,200 ml) of breast milk or formula per day, plus small amounts of new foods (starting 1-2 teaspoons and work up) at two or three feedings a day. Alternatively, you can give 5-6 oz (150-180 ml) breast milk or formula feeding five or six times a day.

In addition, iron-fortified cereals-rice first, then barley, oat, and finally mixed should be given.

At 6 months: Plain, cooked pureed vegetables; plain, soft pureed fruits should be given. Meat and meat alternatives should be avoided as baby’s kidneys are still immature at this age.

Honey should be avoided in the first year altogether due to its link to botulism in infants, and egg white should also be avoided to reduce risk of development of egg allergy.

We will discuss about the baby food during next 6 months of age in our subsequent post.