Establishing solids - 6 months to 1 year
© DK
He'll soon move from the stage of milk feeds with “tastes” of solids to three established solid meals a day with accompanying drinks of water, diluted fruit juice or milk.
The amount of food you give your baby can be gradually increased over the weeks until he takes most of the calories that he requires for growth from solid food and not from milk. As the number of solid meals that he takes increases, the amount of milk needed correspondingly decreases. When your baby is thirsty, give him plain water or diluted fruit juice to drink, rather than milk. It is best to avoid encouraging a taste for sweet drinks, so never give your baby a commercial drink containing sugar and colourings. It's difficult to specify the amount a baby should be eating because every baby has different requirements and appetites. You'll be the best judge of how much your baby wants. If you are not sure, make slightly more of each food than you think he needs and feed as much of each individual portion as your baby wants. Freeze the leftovers.
What foods to give between 6 months to 1 year
When your baby has got used to taking cereal and fruit or vegetable purées, you can start to introduce other foods - including meat, fish and dairy products - into his diet, until he is eating virtually all the foods that you normally eat. As these gradually replace milk as the main source of his nutritional requirements, you will have to ensure that he has a balanced diet that includes foods from all the main food groups (see Eating patterns).
When first starting on solids, your baby will cope best with foods of a smooth, creamy consistency. After cooking, mash, sieve or purée the food, then thin down with milk, stock or the water that the vegetables were cooked in.
By about nine months of age you can gradually introduce your baby to food with a more lumpy texture. This can be mashed with a fork or finely chopped with a sharp knife. You don't have to wait for your baby's teeth to appear before introducing lumpy food, as he can chew with his gums.
Food safety
In the first few months of your baby's life, it is essential that all feeding equipment is sterilized by one of the various methods available (see Cleaning equipment). By the time he starts eating solids, however, it is no longer necessary to sterilize everything used at feedtimes - although bottles and teats used for milk should still be sterilized as before. For cups, bowls and cutlery, thorough washing in hot, soapy water followed by rinsing with hot water, is adequate. However, as your baby is weaned onto solids and his diet expands to include a wider range of foods, more general questions of food safety become important, especially in the light of much publicized outbreaks of salmonella and listeria poisoning, as well as other concerns about food safety. As babies - along with the elderly, pregnant women and people suffering from illness - are among those most vulnerable to the harmful effects of bacteria in food, it is vital to have clear guidelines about the safe preparation, storage and cooking of food for infants, although the advice is equally applicable to the whole family.
Kitchen hygiene
Wash your hands with soap and hot water before handling food. Ensure that you and your family wash your hands thoroughly (not at the kitchen sink) after using the toilet and nappy changing, and after playing with pets.
Keep the kitchen scrupulously clean, especially work surfaces, chopping boards and utensils used in food preparation. Dry dishes with clean tea-towels, or leave them to dry in a rack after rinsing with hot water. Wash your dish-cloths regularly. Keep waste bins clean and covered and empty them often.
Don't leave any food out without covering it first; likewise cover food before putting it in the fridge. If you are feeding your baby from jars of baby food, it's all right to give it to him straight from the jar if you know he is going to finish the contents at one meal. Otherwise transfer some to a bowl and leave the remainder in the jar with the lid replaced, and refrigerate until the next meal.
Buying solid food
The rule is to shop often, choosing fresh ingredients wherever possible, and to use it quickly. Avoid bruised or damaged fruit and vegetables, and wash fruit if it is not to be peeled before eating. If buying canned goods, check that there are no dents or signs of leakage on the can, and that seals on jars are unbroken. Check sell-by dates, and avoid cut-price items that have reached their expiry dates.
Storing food
Store food in clean, covered containers in the refrigerator, and use as soon as possible. Don't store cooked and raw foods alongside each other, and put raw meat or fish on a plate at the bottom of the refrigerator so that juices cannot drip down onto food on to foods below. Don't keep food in the freezer longer than the time recommended by the manufacturer, according to the star rating of your model. Foods that have been frozen must be thoroughly defrosted before cooking, and defrosted foods must never be refrozen.
New Babycare
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley
Text copyright © 2009 Miriam Stoppard
Posted 30.06.2010
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