6 to 12 Month

I Am Your Baby

I GROW BEST WITH LOVE AND THE RIGHT FOOD.

Let’s continue to breastfeed after I turn one, if we want. It keeps us both healthy.
I know when I am hungry or full. I let you know by the way I act. Please feed me when I act hungry. Let me eat until I am done.
I will have a growth spurt around 6 months. I will be more hungry and might want some extra cuddling with you during this time.
I am growing fast. I might nurse more often or longer. If I take breast milk or formula from a bottle, there might be times I drink more than 4 ounces at one time.
When I am about 7 or 8 months old, help me learn how to drink from a cup. Offer a cup with expressed breast milk, formula, or water at meals and snacks.

With Your Help I’ll Learn to Eat Foods

When I’m about 6 months old, I can start to eat solid foods. Please go slowly and watch how I react. If I push food out of my mouth, it could mean I’m not ready yet. Try again in a few days and see what I do.

If our family has allergies or I was born early, talk to my healthcare provider or WIC before I start solid foods.

Be Sure I’m Ready

To eat solid foods, I must be able to:

Sit up and hold my head steady.
Show I want food by opening my mouth and taking it from a spoon.
Show I don’t want food by closing my mouth or turning my head away from you.

I Will Go Through 4 Stages of Foods:

1

Smooth:
strained or puréed

2

Mashed:
smooth with some tiny lumps

3

Chopped:
more lumps

4

Pieces of table foods

Make My First Food a Single Food

Give me only one new food at a time. This helps me adjust to new foods.
Make it thin by adding breast milk or formula. You can gradually make it thicker.
I might eat about a teaspoon to start with and then more as I get used to eating from a spoon.
I need foods rich in iron like puréed meats and infant cereal to build up my iron stores.

Wait at least 5 days before trying another new food.

Build on the foods in my diet. Offer me a new food every 5 days. You can give me all the foods I tolerate and just add the new one in. I will like the variety.
If I have a reaction to a new food, call my healthcare provider or take me to the emergency room. Food allergy symptoms include: vomiting, wheezing, diarrhea, skin rash, or swelling.

I Need to Eat My Way

I’ll open my mouth if I want more food.

I’ll keep my mouth closed or turn my head if I don’t want more food; don’t force me to eat.

I might spit food out or make a face. I’m learning new flavors and how to move food around in my mouth.

If I don’t like something, wait a week and let me try it again. I might need to try a new food 10 times before I like it!

I’ll get food on my hands, face, and in my hair. Try not to stress about the mess. Be proud of me as I learn to eat.

As I get older, let me feed myself with my hands or a spoon. I use my jaw to mash food and my tongue and fingers to move it in my mouth. If I get fussy at a meal, it may mean I want to practice feeding myself. Help me learn.

Eat with me at our family meals. I eat better when you are with me. Let’s turn the TV and cell phone off so we can talk.

Let Me Eat Food with My Fingers

By 8 or 9 months, I might want to eat food with my fingers. You still need to use a spoon to feed me, but let me try to feed myself, too. Share family foods with me but be sure to purée, mash, or dice them. A variety of meat and poultry are good sources of iron to keep my blood strong.

Make foods safe so I won’t choke on them.

Safe “finger” foods are:

Tiny pieces of cooked vegetables or soft fruit
Tiny pieces of cooked meat, chicken, or turkey
Mashed cooked beans, egg yolk, or tofu
Chopped noodles or rice
Bite-size pieces of toast, plain crackers, or soft tortilla

Make pieces of food no bigger than your thumbnail.

How much should I eat?

I need to eat about 5 or 6 times a day. A meal might be breast milk (at breast or expressed) or formula, or a meal might be breast milk (at breast or expressed) or formula plus infant cereal in a bowl. Start with 1 or 2 tablespoons of each food. Give me more if I want it. But know I may not eat everything on my plate. As I start eating more, you can give me 2 or 3 foods at a meal. Cereal or food should not be put in my bottle.

Here are some ideas:

I Am Starting
About 6-8 Months

I Am Progressing
About 8-10 Months

I Am Turning One Soon
10-12 Months

Let me eat until I show signs I’m full. I might close my lips, turn or shake my head, or raise my arm. Ask me if I’m full. Then, let me stop eating if I want to.

Time for a Cup

When I turn 6 months old, you can give me a small amount of water as I learn to drink from a cup.

Keep Me Safe

We need to wash our hands before making my food or feeding me.

Put my food in a small dish and feed it to me with a baby spoon.

Throw out any leftover food. If I haven’t finished my bottle of breast milk within 2 hours, throw the rest away. If I drink formula and do not finish the bottle within 1 hour, throw the rest away.

Don’t heat my food in a microwave. It could burn my mouth.

Introducing Peanut Butter

Talk to my healthcare provider about when I should start peanut butter. Introduction to peanut butter around 6 months is helpful for me if anyone in our family has allergies, skin issues like eczema, or asthma.

Mix with applesauce or fruit purée that I like, or spread a small, smear of peanut butter thinly on a cracker. Watch me for the next 2 hours to make sure I don’t have a reaction.

Foods to Avoid

I need food that is right for my age and will help me grow best.

I don’t need added sugars, salt, fat, or additives. Wait to offer juice until I am at least 12 months old unless recommended by my health care provider.

Don’t give me foods I can choke on, like:

Raw vegetables
Bacon
Whole grapes
Fish with bones
Potato, corn, or tortilla chips

Popcorn
Hard candy
Nuts
Hot dogs
Meat sticks

Also, please don’t give me foods that could make me sick, like:

Cow’s milk
Rare or raw eggs and meats
Honey or food made with it. Honey sometimes contains bacteria (Clostridium Botulinum) that can make babies sick.
Deli meat. If you give me deli meats it’s important to heat them until steaming and then let them cool before I eat them.

I shouldn’t have honey until I’m at least 12 months of age.

Play with me!

Put me on a blanket on the floor. Put a toy just out of my reach so I can move to get it. Roll a ball to me. Hold both my hands and let me walk with you.

Look what I can do!

I love to learn from you. Read to me. Sing a song. Let’s play games like peek-a-boo. Take me for a walk and show me new things. I’m active — keep an eye on me!

6 to 9 Months

I can sit up and roll over.I’ll start to creep and crawl. I like to shake things and drop them to see what happens.

9 to 12 Months

I like to use my hands. I can hold my cup. I like to point and wave bye-bye. I say da-da and ma-ma. I can pull myself up to stand.

Keep me safe and healthy.

I need check-ups and shots to stay healthy. I should visit my healthcare provider at 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year of age.

Clean my gums and teeth with a clean, wet, soft cloth after I eat. Ask the dentist if I need fluoride.

Never put me to bed with a bottle. I could choke, get an earache, or damage my teeth.

If other people feed me, be sure to ask what and how much I eat.

Let me explore and learn. See each room like I will, from the floor, and make it safe for me.

Keep me away from cigarette, tobacco, and all other smoke or vapor. Smoke hurts my lungs and can make me sick.

Buckle me into an infant car seat before we ride in a car. It’s the law! Install my seat in the car’s back seat, rear-facing.