9 +1 Starter Foods That Are Good For Babies And 9+1 To Avoid

9 +1 Starter Foods That Are Good For Babies And 9+1 To Avoid

  

First of all Congratulation to you for new born Baby. Having a baby is something that’s both exciting as well as something that’s frightening, especially if you’re a first time parent. There are always a million questions about every little thing. Do I let a stranger hold my baby? Do I let them kiss my baby? What car seat should I buy? When should they start crawling? Are they hot? Are they cold? Some questions have black and white answers while some fall into this gray area. You always want to know what’s best for your child, but sometimes it is hard to know.

However, when it is about food, parents do not mess around. Which is understandable; why would you? You don’t want to feed your child something that could be harmful to them. It's important to know what foods are safe for your baby and what foods are not. To ease the stress of parenting a baby, here’s a list of 10 starter foods your baby can eat and a list of 10 foods that your baby should avoid.

1: OATMEAL

As you introduce different foods into your baby’s diet, there are different ages in which you can do so. At around 6 months old it is suitable for your baby to have oatmeal as they begin to introduce solid foods into their diet. Oatmeal is jam packed with fiber (which helps to alleviate constipation), proteins, and vitamins, which are essential to your baby’s health. Oatmeal can be prepared in numerous ways making it more appetizing for your baby. To vamp up the taste of your baby’s oatmeal you can add yogurt, apple sauce, pears, or other fruits that your baby may like. Or if your baby prefers, you can make oatmeal cereal which can be started to be consumed at the age of 4 months old as it has a more porridge like consistency.

2: SWEET POTATOES

Yes, yes, yes to sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are extremely nutritional for your baby and they’re safe for them to eat. Sweet potatoes could potentially be considered a baby superfood as they provide many nutrients for your baby. Sweet potatoes contain Vitamin A, Beta carotene, Potassium, Folate among many other vitamins and minerals. You can start feeding sweet potatoes to your baby around 4-6 months old. In addition to their nutritious value, sweet potatoes can also be prepared a number of ways. You can puree sweet potatoes, make a sweet potato and apple mash, or even attempt sweet potato pan cakes when your baby turns 8 months old.

3: BANANAS

Bananas make the list of safe starter foods for your baby. Bananas are nutritious and safe. Two things that parents want in their baby’s foods. Bananas contain a great deal of potassium and fiber along with Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B2.

In addition to their nutritional benefits, bananas are an easy food for babies to eat as they mash up easily and choking is not as big of a concern.

Easy foods that don’t cause a choking hazard make life easier for those stressed parents. Bananas can be mashed, added to yogurt, added in with other fruits, added to oatmeal, among other things.

4: AVOCADOS

Everyone loves avocados. Everyone loves babies. Avocados are safe for babies and that just makes everything better. Avocados have grown in popularity over the years and they have been marked as a safe food for your baby! Not only are avocados safe for your baby, avocados actually provide great nutritional value to your baby.

Avocados contain nearly 20 nutrients while also remaining low in sodium and sugar levels.

You can mix mashed avocado with water for babies who are just starting out with solid foods or for those babies who are a little older, you can cube the avocados as a tasty treat.

5: MEAT

Meats have been given the safe starter food okay. Meat should be started around the 6-8 month mark. Meats are now being recommended for babies. They provide a good source of iron and protein, along with zinc. The first meats that you should start with are chicken and turkey. After chicken and turkey have been introduced, you can begin to introduce red meat to your baby. Meats can be baked in the oven, a crock pot, boiled or stewed. However, although meat is okay, deli meat should be avoided as it contains preservatives and chemicals.

6: SOUP

With those cooler Fall and Winter temperatures quickly approaching, comes soup season. Soups are a delicious meal for days with frigid temperatures. So luckily for you, soup makes the list of safe starter foods for your baby! Soups provide a warmth and comfort accompanied by a great taste.

Your baby can start eating soup around 7-8 months old.

Although your baby may be able to eat soup, it may not be what you parents want to eat as baby soups follow a different recipe for your baby’s needs. Some soups you can make your baby are pumpkin soup for that Fall weather or a homemade chicken soup.

7: YOGURT

Yogurt is a big yes on the starter list of foods for babies. Yogurt is one of the recommended foods for your baby to start with once they are around 7-8 months old. Yogurt has many health benefits for your baby.

Yogurt is loaded with vitamins and minerals that your growing baby needs, such a calcium and protein.

Because of the way that yogurt is processed, it does not upset babies’ stomachs, rather it is actually quite easily digested therefore that is an added bonus to all of its health benefits. Your baby can enjoy a nice cup of yogurt with some added fruit such as bananas, blueberries, or pears.

8: PEAS

Peas provide great nutritional value to your baby and are also safe, which is a win-win. Peas provide your baby with numerous vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. In addition to the nutritional benefits that peas provide, they are also small and can be mashed up easily in turn lessening the chance of a choking hazard. Peas should first be introduced to your baby around 6-8 months old. Peas can be mixed with chicken, sweet potatoes, or squash. Peas are a great first choice of green veggies to introduce to your baby! Eat up those peas little one.

9: SQUASH

Squash gets more than the okay for safe starter foods to feed your baby. Squash is actually one of the better starter foods to begin with. You can begin to feed your baby squash around 4-6 months old. Squash is nutrient dense as its high in Vitamin A, Folate, and Calcium. In addition, squash is easy to eat and also a tasty treat. Squash mashes up easily and goes down smooth. There are multiple different types of squash that your kiddo may enjoy such as butternut, acorn, and winter squash. Try baking or roasting your baby some yummy squash and see what they think!

10: PUMPKIN

While you enjoy your pumpkin spiced lattes this fall, your baby can enjoy some plain ol’ pumpkin. Last on our list of safe starter foods is the pumpkin. Pumpkins can be introduced to your baby when they are about 6 months old. It is yet another food that is loaded with vitamins and minerals, especially high in Vitamin A and Potassium among many others, but it is low in fat and in calories which is an added bonus. Pumpkin is also high in fiber which will help out those constipated little kiddos. Your baby can enjoy baked, poached, or steamed pumpkin this fall with a little added cinnamon or nutmeg for flavor.

1 AVOID: CITRUS FRUITS

Citrus fruits are going to have to wait to be eaten by your child. Citrus fruits are the last on the list of starter foods that you should avoid feeding your baby. Just like tomatoes, citrus fruits are very acidic. Therefore, because of this it can cause many negative reactions. If your baby eats citrus fruits they may get diaper rash, a rash around their mouth, or have an upset stomach due to too much acid. You should wait until your baby is at least 12 months old before introducing them to citrus fruits. Some citrus fruits include grapefruits, oranges, lemons, and limes.

2 AVOID: EGGS

Hard boiled. Soft boiled. Sunny side up. Scrambled. Eggs on toast. Whichever way you prefer to eat your eggs, your baby will have to wait to enjoy them with you until they are a bit older. Eggs should be avoided until your baby is at least 8 months old. However, if egg allergies are common in your family, it is recommended to wait at least 12 months of age before you give your baby eggs. Like nuts, eggs are also a common allergen, which is cause for more precautionary measures. However, the egg white of the egg is actually what causes the allergy, not the yolk itself.

3 AVOID: SALT

Too much of anything is never a good thing. This saying holds true to salt for babies. Babies don’t need salt. Us adults may love to add salt to our food to give it that little bit of extra flavor, but babies do not need it. Not only do they not need it, adding salt should be avoided. In fact, adding salt to your baby's food could be potentially dangerous. As your baby is continuing to grow, their body’s are still developing. Therefore, their systems are not able to handle certain things such as salt. Adding additional salt to your baby's diet could lead to potential kidney damage and even possible brain damage. Therefore, although it may be tempting to add a little flavor to your baby's food, don’t.

4 AVOID: NUTS

Nut allergies are extremely common these days. When it comes to foods that are common allergens, it can be scary to introduce them to your child. There are many different nuts that your baby could potentially be allergic to. It is not recommended to introduce your baby to nuts until they are at least 12 months old. However, even when you do introduce your child to nuts for the first time you should still be very cautious and do this at home. Avoid introducing new foods such as nuts while at restaurant or away from home. Because nuts are such a common allergy, they make the list of starter foods that should be avoided.

5 AVOID: FRUIT JUICE

Many people associate juice with children as juice boxes are so common among kids. However, as for babies, it is important to avoid fruit juice until your baby is at least 6 months old and even then doctors do not recommend giving your baby much juice. If a baby drinks fruit juice it can cause dental issues and could potentially lead to malnourishment or even obesity down the road. If your baby has too much juice, it is also likely to give them diarrhea. Babies do not need juice and it actually does more harm than good. Therefore, it is best to avoid giving your baby fruit juice.

6 AVOID: SOME FISH

Fish has many benefits such as great taste, omega-3 fatty acid, proteins, and other nutrients. But steer those babies away as it makes the list of foods to avoid feeding them. When it comes to fish, there are some that contain levels of mercury that are just too high for your little baby. Fish that contain high levels of mercury are shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish. Therefore, you should avoid feeding your baby those particular ones. In addition to fish containing mercury, it is not safe for your baby to consume raw fish (sorry, sushi lovers) as it may contain bacteria and viruses that can be harmful to your baby.

7 AVOID: GRAPES

Grapes pose a choking hazard for children. Because grapes are such a big choking hazard, it is best to avoid feeding them to your baby. The size and shape of grapes along with their firmness and skin make it easy for them to become lodged into your baby’s throat. As if you don’t already have enough to worry about and enough on your plate, lessen the chance for choking by avoiding eating grapes altogether. Choose other foods that don’t pose such a high risk such as bananas, and hold off on the grapes until your baby is much older.

8 AVOID: COW’S MILK Upto 1 Year

Moooove over Cow milk. Everybody loves a nice glass of milk with cookies every once in a while, but keep those babies away while you indulge. Cow’s milk is on the list of foods babies should avoid. Cow’s milk should not be used as a replacement for mom's milk or formula.

For those babies under a year old, cow’s milk is not easily digestible.

In addition, it doesn’t contain many of the nutrients a baby needs to develop. Therefore, babies should avoid the cow milk and stick to mom and formula until your baby is over a year old.

9 AVOID: HONEY

Honey tastes great and has many benefits, but as tempting as honey may sound to add to your baby’s food to provide a little bit of sweetness, honey should be avoided for at least the first year of your baby’s life. Honey will cause more harm than good to your sweet little baby.

Honey is known to contain a bacteria that is harmful to babies.

This bacteria is called Clostridium botulinum. This particular bacteria can cause harm to your baby by causing botulism, muscle paralysis, and other serious illnesses. Your baby’s digestive system is not yet strong enough to fight off this bacteria. Therefore, honey should be avoided at all costs before your baby turns a year old.

10 AVOID: TOMATOES

Watch out for those little babies cruising through your garden. You don’t want them to accidentally pop a tomato in their mouth because they are among the foods that your baby should avoid. Although tomatoes have a great nutritional value, they are far too acidic for your little babies.

Your baby cannot handle the acid in tomatoes and therefore it may give them an upset stomach or even a potential rash.

Therefore, it is best to avoid giving your baby tomatoes until your baby is around 10-12 months of age. By that time, your baby’s little tummy will have matured and will be able to handle the acidity of tomatoes.