Here - Health Promotion Agency

Feeding your child
– push the bowl or plate away or
on to the floor;
– scream or shout;
– spit food out repeatedly; or
– hold food in their mouth and
refuse to swallow it.
HERE’S HOWTOSTART-
6 - 9 MONTHS
Most babies take time to learn how
to take food from a spoon. Be
patient and prepared for some
spitting and mess. Your baby may at
first also cry between mouthfuls.
Until now, food has come in one
continuous stream. Now there are
frustrating pauses.
Don’t be surprised if your baby
doesn’t want the spoon feed at first –
this is perfectly normal. Wait until
the next meal time. The main aim at
this stage is to get your baby used to
the idea of taking food from a
spoon. Your baby will still be getting
most of the nourishment he or she
needs from breast milk or 600ml
(around a pint) of infant formula
milk a day.
Foods you might try
•
Mashed carrot, parsnip, potato,
turnips or cauliflower.
• Mashed banana, cooked apple,
pear or apricots.
•
Plain rice mixed with baby’s usual
milk.
Milk is still the most important part
of your baby’s diet. At first your baby
may be content with only 1-2
teaspoons of mashed food. Once
your baby is used to a spoon, give
the soilds first and the milk feed
second. Move from solid food at one
feed in the day to solid food at two
and then three feeds.
Try to keep cereals for one feed
only. Begin to add different foods and
different tastes, e.g. pureed/mashed
meat, chicken with pureed potatoes
or vegetables. You’ll be able to use
lots of the foods you already cook for
yourself. Just mash or sieve a small
amount (without added salt or sugar)
and give it a try. You will find that as
your baby eats more solid food, his or
her milk intake will start to decrease.
Once he or she is on three meals a
day, you can drop one milk feed, but
your baby should still be having
breast milk or 500-600ml (about a
pint) of infant formula a day. Full-fat
cow’s milk products can be used in
weaning after six months, e.g.
yoghurt, custard or cheese sauce.
Again, try to follow your baby’s
appetite and go at your baby’s pace.
Iron and vitamin C
Try to give your baby a variety of
foods rich in iron every day, e.g. beef,
pork, lamb, chicken, sardines, egg
yolk, green vegetables, beans, peas,
lentils, fortified breakfast cereals.
Vitamin C helps the body absorb
iron so it is important to include
some foods rich in vitamin C at meal
BABY FOODS
It can be useful to have a
few jars, tins or packets of
baby food in the cupboard,
but don’t let them replace
home-made foods altogether.
If you buy baby foods:
check the expiry date;
•
check the seals on
cans and jars haven’t
been broken;
•
read the instructions
carefully about how to
prepare the food;
•
avoid these foods before
six months: wheat-based
foods, gluten, nuts, seeds,
eggs, fish.
•
choose foods which state
they do not contain
added sugars;
•
if your family has
asthma, eczema or
allergies to foods, talk to
your GP or health visitor
to see if your baby needs
to avoid other foods.
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