Baby nutrition: in a nutshell

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• Feeding up to 6 months 
• Introducing solids
• Food and milk schedule after 6 months
• Fussy eaters
• Foods to avoid

Feeding up to 6 months

Breastfeeding is great for your baby. According to health experts, breastmilk is all your baby needs until she is six months old, so it is worth making every effort to breastfeed. Most problems can be overcome with information and support. However, for some mothers, issues such as mastitis make it difficult to continue breastfeeding. If you can't breastfeed, feeding your baby formula from a bottle is the next best thing. Cow’s milk, goat’s milk and soy milk are not suitable for children under 12 months – these products don't have all the nutritional elements a baby needs to grow and thrive.

Going back to work doesn’t mean that you have to stop breastfeeding. You can express and refrigerate or freeze your milk, or you can partially wean. If you do continue feeding, slowly introduce your baby to a bottle or cup before you start back.

For more information about breastfeeding, bottle-feeding and nutrition (yours and your baby’s), see the sections Newborns Nutrition and Babies Nutrition.

Introducing solids

You can start slowly introducing her to solids at around six months. It's wise to introduce foods one at a time (this can help identify food allergies or intolerances) starting with a little bit of very milky baby cereal (mixed with breastmilk or formula).

Here's a quick guide to what foods you can introduce and when:

• Six months: Baby is ready to try a world of different tastes and flavours. Along with baby cereal, available from the supermarket, you could also offer cooked pureed fruit (apple, pear) or vegetables (potato, pumpkin, carrot). See our homemade baby foods guide for how to make your own.
• Seven months: You can try introducing some lumpier food and broaden the variety offered. 
• Eight months: Time for a bit more coarsely mashed food, like minced meat, chicken, rice. You can also introduce finger foods such as soft fruit, soft-cooked vegies and toast, and also grated cheese (pasteurised) and yoghurt.
• 12 months: At this age, your baby is ready to eat a little of what the rest of the family is eating – as long as you cut foods into small pieces.

All babies are different and this time frame is just a guide. If a food gets knocked back one week, try it again next week. Babies can be offered a new food many times before deciding to try it. There's no point trying to force a child to eat anything. Avoiding fussing or worrying is the best way to establish good habits and avoid later problems. 

Food and milk schedule after 6 months

Once baby is eating well, you can start a meal schedule. Your schedule may look like this:

Fussy eaters

A fussy eater can cause all sorts of angst for worried parents. Fighting over food with babies can lead to eating problems later. As a parent, you are responsible for offering a variety of healthy food; your baby decides how much of it to eat.

Foods to avoid

• Salt, sugar or caffeine. Babies' systems can’t handle foods high in salt or sugar, or foods with caffeine (found in cola drinks and chocolate).
• Juice is expensive and high in sugar. It’s better for babies to get their nutrition straight from fruit. If baby is thirsty, plain tap water is best – it's fortified with fluoride which helps build enamel on her developing teeth.
• Honey and unpasteurised dairy products may contain dangerous bacteria and are unsuitable for babies under one year.
• Cow’s milk, goat’s milk and soy milk are not suitable for children under 12 months – babies need the nutrients from breastmilk or formula.
• Biscuits and sweets. If you can avoid the temptation to give your child biscuits and lollies (at least until she is two) and you may be rewarded with fewer mealtime battles.

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  By Raising Children Network

  Breast milk or formula is all your baby needs until he is six months old. When it’s time to introduce solids to your baby’s diet, you can start reducing milk feeds.
  
  Introduce foods one at a time, so you can identify any allergies or intolerances. You might like to try the following:

  • six months: baby cereal, cooked pureed fruit or vegetables
  • seven months: lumpier food and a broader variety of ingredients
  • eight months: coarsely mashed food, soft fruit and soft-cooked vegies
  • 12 months: a little of what the rest of the family is eating, cut into small pieces.

  Avoid:

  • salt, sugar or caffeine
  • fruit juice, cow’s milk, goat’s milk and soy milk
  • honey and unpasteurised dairy products
  • biscuits and sweets.

  This article is an extract only. For more information visit raisingchildren.net.au/nutrition/babies_nutrition.html

  Sourced from the Raising Children Network's comprehensive and quality-assured Australian parenting website www.raisingchildren.net.au.