Two
Feeding & Nutrition
Preparing for your baby’s first bites can be as simple as you want it to be. We’ll cover some of the biggest issues regarding food introduction, including when to start solids, the two main types of feeding approaches, what critical nutrients your baby needs more of in the first year, common food allergies and intolerances, and how gagging and choking are different. Even with all of this, we’ll explore how feeding should be fun!
As a nurse and health coach, I’ve seen how overwhelming it is for first-time parents to figure out when to start their baby on solids. The truth is your baby will tell you by showing feeding readiness signs. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to feeding a little one. Instead, the following guidelines will help you know what to watch for in your baby so you can give them solids at their perfect time. Not the time Grandma wants, the month your pediatrician says, or when your best friend gave her baby solids.
There is no rush when starting solids, as fun as it may be, because these first foods will have a big impact on the immune system. Rushing now can result in future challenges. The majority of experts recommend nothing outside of mom’s breast milk or formula for the first 6 months of life. The World Health Organization (WHO) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly recommend not introducing anything else before 4 months, and that you wait until as close to 6 months as possible. Before 6 months, babies do not make all the necessary enzymes to digest food, have underdeveloped kidneys, lack favorable bacteria for digestion, and have an open/leaky gut (see this page). So when solids are introduced too early, it increases their risk of food intolerances and allergies.
Once your baby meets the following six readiness signs, they are generally giving you the thumbs-up that they are ready to go. Let these be the gold standard for intuitively following your baby’s lead, and introducing foods at the right time. Note that some babies show these signs at 5½ months, others at 8 months. All babies meet these signs at different stages, just like any other milestone.
1.Sits unsupported, or with minimal assistance. This is important because the digestive system is muscular. When baby’s abdominal muscles are strong enough to support the core, it’s indicative that the digestive muscles are capable of digesting food.
2.Indicates they are done feeding by turning head from breast/bottle. This ability allows the baby to communicate when they are full or if their body is saying “no” to whatever we are feeding them (for example, if they have a tummy ache). Tuning in and respecting these cues are important because, often, the first sign of an illness is a change in your baby’s appetite.
3.Opens mouth when something comes toward face/mouth. Babies’ oral exploration is key in their development. They taste and feel new textures by doing this.
4.Can close lips around spoon. This motor skill shows readiness to accept food into their mouth.
5.Shows interest by watching others. Sometimes this happens around 4 months, which gives parents mixed signals that maybe they are ready to eat. But at this age (and for the next several months), they will put almost anything in their mouth, including dirt!
6.Loses the tongue thrust instinct. This is an involuntary reflex when babies push food or other objects out of their mouth. Its primary purpose is to prevent them from choking or aspirating, and to help them get a good latch when nursing or feeding. It usually goes away around the time baby is ready to start solids, as baby learns how to chew and swallow.
What to Expect, Stage by Stage
In this book, we’ll explore very first bites of food, working up to purées, ensuring variability in textures and flavors, and incorporating your own family meals into bite-size meals for your baby as they grow into toddlerhood and early childhood. The goal is not to have you making something totally different for your baby all the time, but instead working toward offering your child “big-people” food with the rest of the family.
The recipes are organized by first foods (bone broth and avocado), purées (fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood), mixing and matching foods, finger foods and chunky mashes, and toddler and family meals, as well as must-have snacks for your busy toddler. You’ll also find Superfoods for Baby (this page) if you want to take nutrition up a notch. As your baby progresses through each stage, follow your baby’s lead, as the following are just guidelines. Each child will be different, and when they are going through a growth spurt or feeling ill, the portions and stages will vary.
6 to 8 months
The concept of baby food between 6 to 8 months is more about introducing the idea of foods. It’s more important for them to get the taste and experience than to “get the serving in.” The primary source of nutrition is still breast milk or formula. At this age, you’ll introduce the rhythm of eating alongside their current daily patterns. The only big focus here is on offering iron-rich foods.
Time of day: After offering your baby breast milk or formula in the morning, you can offer a mid-morning solid food. Morning is best so you can monitor for any adverse reactions throughout the day.
Amount: 2 to 4 tablespoons of food, give or take (less to start). Follow your baby’s lead here and use your discretion. When they start losing interest, they’re done.
Texture: You can offer puréed-texture foods or some sliced soft-cooked foods. If you offer a purée, the consistency should be thin and watery, just a little thicker than formula or breast milk. If they enjoy and master that, you can make it a bit lumpier.
8 to 12 months
Around 8 to 9 months, you will start to establish more of a pattern of feeding, rather than random tastings. You’ll still want to avoid any strict schedule.
Time of day: A sample pattern would be: wake up, nurse/bottle, mid-morning meal, nurse/bottle before an afternoon nap, dinner meal with the family, and nurse/bottle before bed.
Amount: 2 tablespoons to ½ cup per meal, following baby’s lead
Texture: Variety in texture and flavor is desired here, foods should be thicker than they have been so far, and can include some very soft, mushy lumps (easily mashable with their hard gums, even if they have no teeth).
12 to 18 months
At 12 months, breastfeeding for toddlers varies from child to child. Some toddlers nurse one to four times in a 24-hour period, and that is totally normal alongside solid food. Formula-fed babies often take a bottle or cup in the morning and in the evening. Some toddlers at 12 to 18 months slowly transition away from formula and begin on another form of dairy, such as goat’s, cow’s, or other alternatives (see this page).
Time of day: About three meals and two to three snacks a day
Amount: ¼ cup to 1 cup of food per meal, following baby’s lead
Texture: Children are mostly eating foods with “big-people” textures, with caution and safety adjustments (mashing, cutting, cooking, etc.) to choking hazards (such as berries, soft breads, cherry tomatoes, nuts, grapes, chunks of food, popcorn, and raw vegetables).
Hybrid Baby-Led Feeding Approach
Before high-speed blenders became a regular kitchen appliance, what did we do? Moms offered mashed cooked vegetables, pre-chewed meats (really!), or simply sized and sliced whole foods in “baby-led feeding” fashion.
While this book covers a lot of beginning purées and mashes that you can offer your baby with a spoon, there are finger food recipes, too, that align more with baby-led feeding, also known as baby-led weaning, or BLW. This method allows the baby to be in charge of feeding themselves (see Resources, this page for more information on baby-led feeding). You can also incorporate baby-led feeding into your spoon-feeding plan for a hybrid approach. Some of the benefits of baby-led feeding are that it:
• Gives your baby control over what and how much they eat, thereby promoting a healthy relationship with food
• Supports fine motor development and chewing skills
• Helps establish your baby’s intuitive eating sense (knowing when they are full, and when to stop) which reduces the risk of obesity, according to research
However, baby-led feeding does come with down sides, including increased food waste, messy feedings, and potential gagging or choking, which can be scary for you and your baby.
If you’d like to try to incorporate baby-led feeding, remember that it’s up to you and your baby and that you can change things around if it’s not working for either of you. Do whatever you feel the most at ease with.
FINGER-SAFE FOODS
If you plan to do a hybrid feeding approach with baby-led weaning, foods will need to be cut in a specific shape (length and thickness).
Ages 6 to 8 months: A general rule of thumb for this age is soft finger foods, cut into long strips that are about your finger length and width. Try sliced avocado or banana in this fashion and make sure they aren’t overripe or mushy, so baby can grip the slices.
Ages 9 to 12 months: Around this age, smaller bite-size pieces of food are appropriate for babies to practice their pincer grasp. Try soft-cooked vegetables (like roasted beets or roasted sweet potatoes in strips), soft-cooked meats, very ripe pieces of fruit (like mango or peach), or smashed blueberries. For any round foods like cherry tomatoes or grapes, you’ll want to quarter them and not halve them, to minimize choking risk.
Baby’s Nutrition
Babies need a lot of nutrients, especially in the first year of life as their brain and body are rapidly developing. If baby is breastfed, a healthful mom’s diet provides most of these nutrients, but once they start eating foods, babies need an extra food source to boost some of these micronutrients if they are consuming less breast milk. Iron is the greatest need in the 6- to 9-month age range (see this page for more on iron needs).
The recipes in this book can help ensure that your baby gets adequate daily amounts of the necessary nutrients, but it’s important to know they may not meet this standard every single day. In the early stages, your baby will still be obtaining most of their nutrition and calories from either breast milk or formula.
If you are thinking about raising a plant-based child, it’s important to work with a certified nutritionist and make your pediatrician aware of your decision. While there is certainly reason to be conscious of overconsuming commercialized, poor-quality, factory-farmed meats, there are also risks with omitting animal foods altogether in a baby’s diet, and a good plant-based diet will require being well-informed on the subject. While the essential nutrients a baby needs are extremely easy to obtain from an animal source, they can be more difficult to get through a plant-based diet. It’s not impossible, but usually requires supplementation of a few nutrients; in particular, vitamins B12 and D3.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 is essential for baby’s immunity, gut health, and healthy sleep cycles, and aids in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus for strong bones. Vitamin D3 is the type of vitamin D our bodies make from natural sunlight. Since babies aren’t supposed to be in the sun for long amounts of time, the AAP recommends a supplement of 400 IU daily for infants.
Primary sources: 20 minutes of sun exposure daily, oily fish (mackerel, salmon), egg yolk, cheese, and liver
Supplementation: If you are nursing and taking a daily vitamin D supplement of 5,000 IU or greater, your baby may not need a supplement. Otherwise, babies under 12 months need 400 IU of vitamin D daily, as recommended by the AAP. Formula usually has this added. Babies on a plant-based diet will need supplementation.
Iron
Iron is literal brain food. It supports the normal protection of the nervous system and brain cells. Since iron stores start depleting around 6 months, it is essential that babies get a boost through solid food. Iron-deficiency damage can be irreversible. Babies between 6 and 12 months old need the same levels of iron as an adult man (11mg), and then 7mg thereafter from ages 1 to 3 years.
Babies can get dietary iron in two ways: heme iron sources and non-heme iron sources. Heme iron is the most absorbable type of iron, and is only found in animal sources. Non-heme iron is a much less absorbable type of iron, and can be found in plant-based sources like leafy greens, beans, and nuts. For plant-based iron sources, it helps to pair the food with foods that are high in vitamin C to enhance absorption and usability, and soak them to reduce phytic acid, which blocks absorption.
Heme sources: Red meat, liver, marrow, poultry, lamb, fish, egg yolks
Non-heme sources: Lentils and beans, dried apricots, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, chickpeas, spirulina
Supplementation: For plant-based babies, talk with your pediatrician or nutritionist to discuss your baby’s individual needs.
Calcium
Calcium is essential for bone and teeth development, blood clotting, muscle function, a regular heart rhythm, and hormone and nervous system regulation. Adequate calcium levels are critical for babies, and really for all of us! A baby’s calcium needs are 260mg daily for ages 6 to 12 months and 700mg daily for ages 1 to 3 years.
Food sources: Salmon, leafy greens, almond butter, cheese, beans, broccoli, and fermented foods
Supplementation: For plant-based babies, talk with your pediatrician or nutritionist to discuss your baby’s individual needs.
Probiotics
Probiotics are essential for diversifying good gut bacteria, which equates to a healthy immune and digestive system (regular bowel movements, etc.). Many infant probiotics carry similar strains that support the digestive system with a purpose for each strain. It is really important to provide babies with a probiotic supplement, especially in the following three situations:
1. Baby was born via C-section.
2. Baby takes formula.
3. Baby has had antibiotics.
Through the birth canal and through breast milk, babies receive specific strains of probiotics to help colonize their digestive system, and thus their immune system, since the two go hand in hand. If your baby needed an antibiotic, the antibiotic did what it was supposed to by wiping out all the bad bacteria, but it also wiped out the good bacteria. It can take up to 2 years for that gut to rebuild the good bacteria, so supplementing with a probiotic can help reshape it!
Food sources: Plain yogurt, kefir, and fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut brine, sauerkraut, and sourdough bread
Supplementation: Supplement if your baby was born via C-section; if antibiotics were given during pregnancy, labor, or directly to baby since birth; or if the mother has a history of yeast infections.
Omega-3s and DHA/EPA
Omega-3s are responsible for keeping the blood thin and protecting the nervous system, while helping your baby’s growth and development. Two important types of omega-3 fatty acids your baby needs are DHA and EPA, which are usually found together.
Food sources for omega-3s: Cold-water fish like salmon and sardines, chia, flax meal, and walnuts
Supplementation: Choose cod liver oil supplements, which contain adequate DHA and omegas (and are also rich in vitamins A and D). DHA supplements (sometimes with DHA sourced from marine algae) are available that can cater to plant-based babies.
Fat and Cholesterol
Although fat and cholesterol have been demonized in the past, offering a high-fat diet to your baby is absolutely vital. A few biological things to know about babies and fats/cholesterol:
Breast milk is comprised of over 50 percent fat. About half is saturated fat along with a liberal amount of cholesterol. No wonder we need to continue to offer these good fats to baby once they begin nursing less! Fats are also needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) and to fuel the nervous system and brain to function properly.
About 60 percent of the brain is made of fat! In order for your baby’s brain to keep growing at a rapid speed, fat is essential. Saturated fats make up every cell wall in your baby’s body, supporting the heart, lungs, bones, brain, and nervous tissue.
Cholesterol enables the body to function in many ways. It supports a healthy digestive system by strengthening the intestinal lining. It’s also needed for healthy hormone production and for vitamin D metabolism.
Food sources: Avocado, coconut oil, avocado oil, nut butters, and full-fat dairy such as butter, yogurt, and cheese
Supplementation: For plant-based babies, talk with your pediatrician or nutritionist to discuss your baby’s individual needs.
First-Time Parent Advice
TAKING CARE OF YOU
While taking care of baby is of primary importance, we can’t forget about ourselves! As parents, we need to keep our diets well-rounded and get sunshine, fresh air, and hydration to help optimize our immune system, and offer our bodies the nutrients it needs. To stay healthy, make sure you:
• Eat a diet rich in organic whole foods and fresh vegetables and fruits.
• Rotate between oily fish, meats, and poultry.
• Incorporate healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado, nuts, and animals fats such as grass-fed butter.
• Try recipes that fuel up the entire family such as Nut Butter Power Bites (this page), Banana Mini Muffins (this page), and Soaked Granola (this page).
Breastfeeding Mothers
Breastfeeding mothers should continue taking prenatal vitamins with folate and methylcobalamin, also known as 5-MTHF. However, this is not a replacement for a nutrient-rich diet. Also, a low-carb diet is not ideal if you are nursing. Here are some additional dietary recommendations:
Take an omega-3 supplement like cod liver oil. Adequate fat in your diet is good for brain health and combats “mommy brain.”
Stay hydrated. Each time you sit down to nurse, grab a glass of water. If you take your weight and divide it by two, you’ll get the number of ounces of water you need daily to operate at an optimal level.
Get creative with hydration. Warm teas and bone broths are also great for nursing mothers, and they count toward hydration. Caffeinated drinks do not.
