Choosing the right food for your baby’s first year will help keep him or her both healthy and aid their development. In this article, we have provided seven meals and the benefits that are perfect for babies during their first year.
During your baby’s first year, there is no specific food expert advice on what to feed your child. Doing that will limit their options when they grow older. Even for picky eaters, we recommend that you try out varieties of foods. Here are some baby pediatrics advise that you can go for:
- Healthy meals
- Colour
- Fresh foods
- And always trying out new flavours and textures.
These are guides towards selecting the foods you can feed your baby. Therefore, in no particular order, check out these seven foods you can give your child.
- Breast milk
Recommended age: 1-12 months or older
Breast milk is by far the most rudimental diet for babies. Experts even stipulate that you should feed your baby breast milk exclusive for six months to aid their development. Breast milk, on its own, contains all the necessary nutrients required for a baby to be healthy. You might need supplements such as vitamin D and a host of others; however, breast milk is an excellent food for your infant.
- Fruits (avocados, bananas)
Recommended age: 6 months and older
The pureed form fruits such as avocados come with, makes them great for babies. We can also use marsh bananas for infants. Notwithstanding, fruits are inarguably highly nutritious for everyone, and that includes babies. For avocados, their great taste and high concentration of the good monosaturated fat makes them ideal for your kid. Go for the ripe ones that are already edible for babies.
- Meat (beef, pork, chicken)
Recommended age: 5 to 6 months and older
Meat is an excellent source of protein and equally suitable for babies. More than that, you get nutrients like zinc, iron, and some essential vitamins. You can choose to give your child any kind or all kinds of meat finely diced and pureed. For smooth swallowing and to avoid choking, we recommend you mix the different types of meat either in formula or breast milk.
- Berries
Recommended age: 4 to 6months and older
As soon as your baby can eat solid foods, berries are right for them. You can dice strawberries, raspberries, or any other kind to feed your baby or serve pureed. Berries are great antioxidants source that helps fight diseases. Note that strawberries, raspberries might not be the number cause of allergies, but it is essential to first check with your doctor. Also, pick out fresh berries and not the conventionally grown ones.
- Leafy Greens
Recommended age: 7 months and older
Babies are bound to be picky with leafy greens due to their natural and bland taste. Despite this, leafy greens such as kale and spinach are good sources of vitamin A, C, iron, and calcium. All these make it the reason you should try feeding them to your baby. You can either blend or chop them for a smooth swallow.
- Iron-fortified cereal (oatmeal, barley)
Recommended age: 5 months and older
Since the natural supply of iron babies are born with depletes around six months of age, iron-fortified cereal serves to replenish them. It can be oatmeal, barley, or rice cereal. Anyone of these options sees to it that your baby gets the required iron for her growth. We recommend that you start with a single grain at first.
- Vegetables (potatoes, carrots)
Recommended age: 6 months and older.
Vegetable such as sweet potatoes is considered a baby’s superfood. The reason for this is because they top the list of nutritious food for kids. Sweet potatoes are great for your baby’s vision, fights infection, and great for the skin. When cooked, it is perfect for your baby to eat, and their taste makes a kid want to try more.
There is no doubt in the importance of what we feed our babies. However, these seven foods listed here ticks all the boxes for foods that are great for early childhood. Ensure you talk to your doctor when trying out something different. Do you have something to tell us? Leave your suggestions and your thoughts in the comment section below so we can hear all about it.