What to Expect the First Year (97 page)

During the first few months of life, your little one's nutritional needs were fully filled with mama's milk or formula. Then solids were added to the menu—though really any you were able to shovel into that sweet smiley mouth were just gravy (make that sweet potatoes), served up more for the experience of eating than for covering any nutritional bases (those were still conveniently covered by the liquids in baby's diet). Now, that's about to change. After all, once your baby's first birthday rolls around, most nutritional requirements should be served up by sources other than the bottle, cup, or your breasts—even if you plan to continue breastfeeding into the second year and beyond.

Happily, feeding your little one well will still be pretty easy—a lot easier than it may be once he or she realizes you can get fries with that (and chips, and candy). It won't take much to spoon up the best for your baby in the months to come. Don't bother worrying about serving sizes or numbers of servings. Instead, provide a variety of healthy foods and a fun, relaxed mealtime atmosphere (one where pushing and prodding are never featured on the menu). Then sit back and watch healthy eating happen … and a future of healthy eating habits take shape.

Babies are all over the appetite map at this stage of the game, when eating is still more for practice and pleasure than for filling nutritional requirements. Some babies eat a lot all the time, some eat very little most of the time, others eat like a mouse one day and a horse the next. Some are varied and adventurous eaters (maniacs for meat, voracious for veggies), others are particularly picky (cereal and bananas only, please—and don't even think about mixing them). But presented with a wide variety of wholesome foods and allowed to follow their appetites (whether it leads to a mostly empty bowl or a mostly full one), almost all healthy babies eat as much as they need to grow and thrive. No need to keep a running tab—or to cram a certain number of servings of each food group into your baby every day. Not only is that a sure way to drive yourself crazy, it's bound to set the stage for food squabbles in the high chair and, later, at the table. So as you introduce more and more foods into your baby's repertoire, resist the urge to push, measure, or count servings, and instead aim for a mix of good-for-baby foods from the following categories:

Protein.
Baby's still getting most of the protein he or she needs from breast milk or formula. But since that picture will change once those first birthday candles are blown out, now's a good time for baby to start sampling other protein foods. As they're introduced, these can include eggs, meat, chicken, fish, and tofu. Calcium foods (especially whole milk cottage cheese and ricotta) and some grains (see below) can double as excellent protein sources.

Calcium foods.
Again, baby's getting the lion cub's share of calcium from breast or bottle, but baby-friendly calcium foods, such as whole-milk cheese (cheddar, muenster, edam, havarti, baby swiss, colby, jack, for example) and
whole-milk yogurt, ricotta, and cottage cheese are yummy, nutritious additions, and also add protein.

Whole grains and other complex carbohydrates.
These high chair favorites will add essential vitamins and minerals, as well as some protein, to baby's daily intake. Good options, as they're introduced, include whole-grain bread, whole-grain cereal (baby cereal for spoon-feeding, bite-size cereal for self-feeding), whole-grain pasta (bite-size is typically a big hit), brown rice or quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), lentils, beans, peas, or edamame (soybeans, which are also high in protein).

Green leafy and yellow vegetables and yellow fruit.
There are dozens of delicious vitamin A–rich fruits and vegetables under the green and yellow rainbow—experiment to see which ones your baby likes. Some to choose from: winter squash, sweet potatoes, carrots (look for yellow and purple ones, in addition to the standard orange), yellow peaches, apricots, cantaloupe, mango, broccoli, and kale.

Vitamin C foods.
Citrus fruits and OJ are obvious sources of vitamin C, and most doctors green-light them after the eighth month. Baby can also get an A+ in C from mango, melon, kiwi, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, and many other high chair favorites. Keep in mind, too, that most baby foods and juices are enriched with vitamin C—read labels to be sure.

Other fruits and vegetables.
Still room in that cute little tummy? Fill it up with any of the following: unsweetened applesauce, banana, peas or green beans, and potatoes.

High-fat foods.
Babies who get most of their calories from breast milk or formula get all the fat and cholesterol they need. As they switch to a more varied diet and spend less time at breast or bottle, it's important to make sure that fat and cholesterol intake doesn't dip too low. That's why most dairy products (cottage cheese, yogurt, hard cheese) you serve baby should be full-fat or made from whole milk. You can also add a healthy dose of fat by serving avocado, or cooking with canola or olive oil. Unhealthy fats (those found in fried and many processed foods) are another story, however. Loading baby up with those hard-to-digest fats can lead to an unbalanced diet, unneeded pounds, and tummy troubles. It can also set up unhealthy eating habits that'll be hard to break later on.

Iron-rich foods.
Bottle-fed babies get their full share of iron from fortified formula, but after 4 months, breastfed babies need another source. Fortified baby cereal can fill the bill easily, and additional iron can come from iron-rich foods such as meat, egg yolks, wheat germ, whole-grain breads and cereals, and cooked dried peas and other legumes as they are introduced into the diet. Serving up iron-rich foods with a side of vitamin C (a sip of fortified juice or a little mango alongside baby's oatmeal, for instance) increases absorption of this important mineral.

Omega-3 fatty acids.
Part of the family of essential fatty acids, omega-3s (including DHA) are vital for your infant's growth, vision, and optimal brain development—more than living up to their headline-making reputation as baby brain food. These fabulous fats are served up naturally in breast milk, but are also used to enrich some formulas and baby foods. Once baby's eating repertoire expands, you can add other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish (like salmon), grass-fed meat, tofu, flaxseed and canola oil, and DHA-enriched yogurt, cereal, and eggs.

Fluids.
During the first 5 to 6 months of life, virtually all of a baby's fluids come from bottle or breast—no supplementary water is usually needed. Now small amounts will start to come from other sources, such as juice and juicy fruits and vegetables—as well as, of course, from sips of water. As the quantity of formula or breast milk taken begins to decrease, it's important to be sure that the total fluid intake doesn't. In hot weather it should increase, so offer water and fruit juices diluted with water when temperatures soar.

Vitamin supplement.
Many doctors recommend giving a vitamin supplement. If your baby's doctor does, or if you'll feel better giving it as nutritional insurance, make sure you choose a formulation that fits your baby's needs.
Click here
for more.

With just a couple of months of solids experience logged in, your baby's eating habits are still putty in your hands (and sweet squash squeezed between those curious fingers)—but they're already beginning to form. Tastes may continue to evolve as the months and years pass, but research consistently shows that much of what is learned in the high chair sticks for a lifetime. Which means that you now have the opportunity of a lifetime (your baby's lifetime, that is) to help your little one form a future of healthy eating habits—habits that can actually help shape a longer, healthier future.

To get your little one's eating habits off to the healthiest head start possible, start with these healthy feeding basics:

Keep white out of sight most of the time.
You may already know that not all carbohydrates are created equal, nutritionally speaking. Complex carbs provide a wide range of naturally occurring nutrients, nutrients that are stripped away during the refining process (the process that makes whole grains white)—and nutrients that fuel your little one's growth and development. They're rich in naturally occurring fiber, too, and keep blood sugar steady. That's a compelling case for selecting 100 percent whole-grain pasta, bread, cereal, rice, and crackers at the supermarket, and when you're mixing up muffins or whisking up waffles at home, reaching for the whole-grain flour instead of the white. A whole-grain habit that's ingrained early is likely to go the distance, helping your little one make smart food choices later on in life (as in “I'll have mine on whole wheat, please”).

Hold off on cutting that sweet tooth.
Babies are certainly plenty sweet without added sugar. But that's not the only reason to skip the sugary sweets for now—and even to consider them (and the mostly empty calories they offer) off the menu entirely, or mostly, until baby's birthday or even beyond. While baby taste buds may have a natural affinity for sweet—after all, breast milk is naturally sweet—they're more open to other flavors (sharp, tangy, tart, even bitter) if they haven't been sweet-talked by sugar-added treats. No need to ban bananas, peaches, or other naturally sweet baby favorites—they're a yummy way to serve up nutrients. But as you're building baby's flavor foundation, avoid sweetening everything he or she eats with fruit. Your little one may surprise you by lapping up tangy plain Greek yogurt or gobbling up whole-grain cereal without applesauce. Were you raised to expect a sweet ending to every meal—and sweets to reward every accomplishment and celebrate every occasion? Consider breaking the dessert cycle, or at least limiting it—and thinking beyond the cookie jar when it comes to rewards and celebrations. Also remember that babies who haven't sampled their first cupcake don't care a lick about frosting yet. And, it could be argued … that's sweet.

Save the salt but not the spice.
Babies don't need salt in their foods beyond what's found there naturally—and sparing the salt now will keep your little one from craving it later (a habit that's strongly associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart disease). So skip the salt when you're preparing baby food or table foods your little one may be sampling (the rest of the family can always add a sprinkle to taste). And when choosing prepared baby or toddler food, look for ones with no salt added. But while you're holding the salt, don't hold the flavor—challenge your little one's taste buds with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, garlic, basil, dill, oregano, chives, pepper, and curry powder.

Mix it up with variety.
Who says baby food has to be bland and boring—and taste like, well, baby food? You'll both have more fun if you mix it up at mealtime. So be adventurous—think outside the baby food box, or jar, or pouch (within age-appropriate guidelines set by the pediatrician). Try dairy products in different forms: yogurt, cottage cheese, jack, cheddar, grated parmesan. Vary vegetables and fruits beyond carrots, peas, and bananas: avocado, soft steamed cauliflower and asparagus, sweet potato cubes, minced cooked eggplant, ripe cantaloupe, mango, papaya, watermelon, and kiwi, split fresh blueberries, grated pear, the gamut of grains. Add ground flax to baby's oatmeal, go wild with wild rice (as well as black, red, and brown rice), quinoa, barley, farro, whole-wheat couscous, and whole-grain polenta, pick pasta made with whole wheat, brown rice, buckwheat, spelt, kamut, and other whole grains. Take on tofu (most babies love it, straight out of the container), hummus and tahini, beans and legumes of all kinds, edamame. Spicing up your baby's menu with variety now doesn't mean you'll be spared a finicky eater later (most little ones play the picky card at some point)—but it will set the table for a more adventurous (and nutritious) eating future.

Be a model eater.
Want to raise a broccoli buff—or a fast-food fanatic? A sweets snubber—or a devotee of donuts? The apple—or the candy bar—doesn't usually fall far from the tree. So watch what you eat and what you don't eat—your baby is watching, too, and is likely to model your eating habits, for better or worse.