A Short Guide to What to Feed and What not to Feed Your Baby in their First Year.

Are babies able to eat the same foods as us in their first year or do we have to limit what we introduce to them? Are some foods harmful to babies in their first year?

picture of baby feeding

The recommended age by professionals for weaning a baby is 6 months old. Our baby was weaned at just over 5 months. We held off for as long as possible but she became far too inquisitive with our food and she appeared hungry a lot of the time.

It is important that the baby still gets at least 25oz of formula milk or breast milk a day up until they are one year old as well as the solids that you introduce to your baby

These foods I introduced in the first couple of weeks of weaning.
Baby rice
Puréed carrots
Puréed potato and carrots
Puréed courgette
Puréed sweet potato and carrot
Puréed cooked apple, banana, cooked pear
Puréed swede and potato

At around 6 months I introduced porridge oats made with cows milk for breakfast and a mashed banana mid morning. Lunch and dinner were a combination of mashed or puréed vegetables.

From 7 months onwards I added chicken to the vegetables and fed our Baby chicken at least three times a week. I also introduced fish, rice and pasta into her diet. It is important that the fish is low in Mercury content as this can be harmful to a young child. After her evening meal I would feed Amélie a fruit yoghurt.

A typical menu for a day would consist of the following meals:

5oz formula milk
Porridge oats made with cows milk.

5oz formula milk
Banana

3 types of vegetables mixed together (for example potato, broccoli and carrot)

5oz formula milk
Finger food for a snack like cucumber, cheese, bread or toast, fruit

5oz Formula milk
3 types of vegetables and chicken mixed together
Yoghurt for dessert

Throughout the day there is a bottle of water handy for the Baby. It is recommended that the Baby drinks about 3oz of water a day.

It is important to keep introducing new food into the little ones diet but there are some food ingredients that should be avoided in the first year.

Salt - the kidneys are still immature and cannot cope with the salt
Honey (until over 1 year) - botulism spores, these are not a health risk to adults but can poison babies
Nuts - these can cause choking or allergic reactions
Low fat foods - not suitable for children under 2 years old.
Cow's milk - this can be used in porridge or to cook with but not to be given as a drink or to replace the daily milk intake of a baby.
Soft unpasteurised cheeses
Citrus and fruit juices undiluted (If you would like to give your baby fruit juice it needs to be diluted one part juice to 10 parts water)
Raw eggs
Egg whites can cause allergic reactions, it is often recommended to wait until the baby is a year old before introducing them
Food and Drinks with artificial sweetners
All types of teas and coffees
Food with added spices, seasoning and salt
Shellfish could cause allergic reactions
Potato or corn crisps
Peanut butter
Hot dogs and sausages as these are high in salt and fat

Please let me know if you know of any other foods that should not be given to babies in the first year and the reason why and I will update this article.

Amélie is now 8 months old and she really enjoys mealtimes and her food. The only food I found she was not keen on was tomatoes and pasta but she has now grown out of that small phase. I will be adding to the weaning series by doing some recipe articles, if you have any of your own recipes that you would like to share with us please let us know.