When it comes to feeding your baby ‘first foods’, it’s not about presentation. Pureed veggies may look unappetizing to you, but your baby will most likely love them. Getting the knack of first meals is all about what’s easy on your baby’s tummy and appropriate for her digestive development.
If you’re new to motherhood and trying to figure out what should be on your baby’s mealtime menu, we’re dishing about the right foods for each stage of your baby’s development. Let’s dig in!
Stage 1: 4-6 Months
The first meal your baby eats will be pureed, strained or kind of runny. The recommended texture for her first “solid” foods is smooth and easy to digest. She’ll be excited to taste new flavors for the first time. If she doesn’t like certain things, don’t give up. Just keep re-introducing them.
Fruits
Peeled apples, avocados, apricots, bananas, mango, nectarines & peaches, papaya, pears, plums & prunes, pumpkin
Veggies
Green beans, carrots, peas, sweet potato, squash
Grains
Rice, oatmeal, barley
Stage 2: 6-8 Months
Your baby is an eating machine by now, so she’s ready to try food combinations like oatmeal with fruit or meat with veggies. You can introduce many new foods that are more fibrous, a bit more acidic and contain a higher amount of protein.
At this stage in mealtime, her food is chunkier in texture, but should still be in small pieces that are easy to chew and digest. You can also start to add some mashed spices to her food to see what she likes.
Fruits
Strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, cherries
Veggies
Spinach, kale, red beans, red peppers, lentils
Grains
Multigrain baby cereal, oatmeal with fruit and quinoa
Dairy
Soft cheese, yogurt, milk
Meats
Soft pureed meats like chicken and beef
Stage 3 - 8-12 Months
By the time she reaches 8-12 months, your baby has developed the ability to pick up finger foods (pincer), so your mini foodie is ready to explore even more. This is when you can cut your food into small bites and she can try things mama likes. Give her one piece at a time and encourage her to chew each piece before she puts another one in her mouth, because babies are great at packing un-chewed food in their chubby cheeks!
Just remember, the American Academy of Pediatrics does advise staying away from foods that are choking hazards during the first 12 months like hot dogs, nuts and seeds, big chunks of meat or cheese, whole grapes, hard candy, popcorn, peanut butter and chewing gum.
Bon appétit!
What was your baby’s favorite (or least favorite) first food? Let us know in the comments section on our Boudreaux’s Butt Paste® Facebook page!
