Iron-rich food. Lentils are a good source of iron and can easily be combined with nutritious vegetables.
As the process of weaning usually starts at around six months, it is no longer recommended that foods are introduced singly (this advice is from a time when weaning began at four months) – and giving only fruit and vegetables won’t provide your baby with the critical nutrients she needs. At six months of age, it is essential to wean your baby onto a varied diet.
Breast or formula milk still supplies a lot of your baby’s nutritional needs, but it’s not enough for the rapid growth and brain development that occurs between now and two years of age. So what are the critical nutrients your baby needs?
Most babies are born with enough iron stored to last around six months, which is helpful as breast milk contains only a small amount of iron and the iron supplement in formula milk isn’t easily absorbed. From when your baby is four months old, her body begins to use iron stores quickly due to the start of a big growth spurt. The iron is used to fuel growth and make more haemoglobin in her blood, which carries oxygen to the brain, where it’s needed for rapid brain development, including for intelligence.
From six months to two years, babies need more iron than at any other time in their lives. Babies who don’t get enough can have sensory and cognitive impairment and it may affect their motor development. Built-in iron stores are depleted by six months – or even earlier if you were iron-deficient when pregnant or your baby had a low birth weight, so iron has to come from food. It’s therefore essential to give iron-rich foods at least twice a day from six months. The best sources are red meat and dark poultry meat. Other iron-rich foods are fortified breakfast cereals; wholegrain cereal products, such as pasta; egg yolk; pulses, such as lentils; tofu; dark leafy green vegetables, such as kale; and dried fruit, such as apricots and dates. Try to pair non-meat iron-rich foods with vitamin C foods as they help iron absorption.
Despite their bad press for adults, high-fat foods are good for babies and toddlers so don’t be afraid to give them. If your baby likes fruit, serve it with full-fat yogurt and toss vegetables in melted butter. Around 50 per cent of a baby’s energy needs to come from fats and oils for growth and development, and a lack of fat can affect cognitive development. It won’t be easy to get this much fat into your baby’s diet because she may not eat much. Therefore it’s important to choose energy-dense foods, such as whole or full-fat versions of milk, cream, yogurt, and cheese and cook with oil whenever you can. The best oils are rapeseed and olive – high in monounsaturated fatty acids, they are good for a healthy heart.
There are two types of fibre, but only one is good for your baby. Insoluble fibre, found in foods such as bran flakes, can’t be digested and should be avoided. It sweeps food through your baby’s digestive system quickly, which can make it difficult for her body to absorb important minerals. The other type is soluble fibre, which can be digested and is good for a healthy heart. It’s found in oats, beans, pulses, vegetables, fruits, including dried, and wholegrain bread. Too much, however, can be filling and affect your baby’s appetite. It can also cause tummy aches and loose stools, so use a combination of white and wholegrain bread, rice, pasta, and grains.
This is the main nutrient for growth, but it can’t be used efficiently by the body unless your baby has enough energy (see here). Protein-rich foods include fish, meat, milk, cheese, nuts, eggs, beans, soya, and pulses.
EFAs can’t be made by the body so have to come from food. The most important one for babies is Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, which is essential for brain development and the development of the retina. The only decent food source is oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, pilchards, and fresh tuna (not canned), but don’t give your baby oily fish more than twice a week as it can contain pollutants. DHA can also be found in eggs from hens fed with omega-3-rich grains, and it does pass through breast milk. A baby won’t be able to meet her DHA requirements from vegetarian sources, such as walnuts and flaxseeds.
These are also energy providers and, alongside fats, provide the fuel required by your baby’s body to make the best use of protein foods. Include a mixture of both white and wholegrain versions of grains, rice, bread, and pasta. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and fortified breakfast cereals are also good sources.
High-protein foods (see below) are the best source of zinc and are recommended from the outset of weaning. Zinc is needed for the development of a healthy immune system and a diet high in zinc helps to boost your baby’s immunity. All of the iron-rich foods (see here) are also high in zinc, so if your baby has iron twice a day she’ll also be getting enough zinc.
This vitamin, made by the body when sunlight shines on the skin, is important for bone growth and essential for developing your baby’s immune system. Oily fish, egg yolk, and fortified foods, such as some margarines, milks, and cereals, are the only food sources we have, so your baby won’t be able to consume enough.
Therefore the recommendation is to give an 8.5–10mcg supplement daily. Infant formula already contains the supplement, but breastfed babies should receive drops (some families can get free drops from their health visitor). Most drops also contain vitamins A and C.
Exposing your baby’s skin to sun is the best way to get vitamin D, but in the UK we don’t get enough sun during winter.
This is essential for iron absorption, healing, healthy skin and bones, and to boost immunity. All fruit and vegetables are good sources, but especially berries, papaya, mango, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, broccoli, cauliflower, and sweet peppers.
Your baby’s first tastes are not intended to provide every known nutrient. However, because babies have small tummies, everything you serve should go some way towards helping her become strong and healthy. Babies also have fewer nutrient stores to draw from, which means that a balanced nutritional intake is important. What’s more, likes and dislikes are established early, so helping your baby to develop a taste for healthy foods now will make mealtimes a lot easier in years to come.
When you first introduce your baby to solid foods, portion sizes aren’t important. A few spoonfuls, once a day, will give her a taste of different flavours and provide a little nutrition. In time, your baby will probably begin to eat one or two “meals” a day. “Meals” can, however, be comprised of a very small amount of food.
You’ll find your baby will let you know how much she needs to eat; some foods, such as carbohydrates, will fill her more quickly than fresh fruit and vegetables. When she appears to be full, or resists your attempts to feed her, it’s a good idea to stop.
By the time your baby is on three meals a day and has cut down on her milk feeds (around 10 months), she needs to be eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, good sources of protein, healthy fats, and good-quality carbohydrates to keep her diet balanced, her body healthy, and her energy levels high. Look at her diet across the day – as long as she is getting a little of each (ideally some carbohydrate, protein, and vegetable or fruit at every meal), you are doing well.