Cereal Recipes

Infant cereal starts become less a part of your baby’s diet at 10 months. Instead, you can start to offer your 10 month old baby other types of grains, like bread, crackers, and pasta. However, you’ll probably still want to offer a few tablespoons of baby cereal to your 10 month old. You can purchase ready-made, powdered cereals at the grocery store, but you can also make your own (for a lot less money!) Visit our Baby Cereal Recipes for step-by-step instructions on how to make your baby’s rice and oatmeal cereal from scratch.

Fruit Recipes

Visit our Baby Food Fruit Recipes to see a sampling of delicious fruit purees and your 9 month old baby is sure to love.  By 10 months, your baby is eating a whole rainbow of fruit, including blueberries, melon, and kiwi!

Vegetable Recipes

Visit our Baby Food Vegetable Recipes for a listing of veggie purees and mashes that’ll keep your 10 month old on the path to healthy, nutritious eating.  At 10 months, your baby’s ready to start eating broccoli and spinach. (Don’t jump to any conclusions; he may love those veggies!)

Protein Recipes

At 10 months, your baby’s probably gobbling up poultry and beans (and possibly eggs, if she’s not allergic.) Now, she’s also ready to try meat (including beef) and even tofu! Visit our Baby Food Protein Recipes for tips on easy ways to prepare meat and tofu.

Meal Recipes

Up to this point, making homemade food for your baby has meant whipping up lots of single-ingredient purees and mashes. Well, it’s time to change that mindset; as a 10 month old, your baby is ready for you to cook “real” food for her! This can mean offering her small amounts of table food (as long as that table food contains ingredients that she’s already tried). It can also mean creating special dishes just for her. 🙂 Visit our 5 Great Recipes page for meal ideas. Your 10 month old will love the broccoli cheddar nuggets, the sweet potato pancakes, and the Hawaiian pork and rice dinner!

Feeding Fact

We’re way past the smooth, runny purees of just a few months ago; now, your baby should be comfortable with thick, chunky mashes. You can also start offering (very) small pieces of food at this point. Try chopping a chicken breast, or cutting a slice of cheese into tiny cubes. Your baby may not be able to feed himself yet, but you can feed him these tiny pieces.

For ideas that’ll help you create a feeding and sleeping schedule for your 10 month old, check out the recommended 10 month schedule available at BabySleepSite.com.

Everything You Need To Know About Starting Solids – All In One e-Book!

What if you could find everything you needed to know about starting your baby on solid foods – when it’s best to start solids, how to introduce solids, complications, food allergies, etc. – in one easy-reference guide? Now you can! Your Baby’s Start To Solid Foods: A Comprehensive Guide will walk you through every step of starting solids. Plus, your e-Book package includes several bonus materials, designed to maximize your success in starting solids. You’ll get a thorough guide to treating constipation, a dietitian’s advice on how to avoid 5 common solid-foods mistakes, and a weekly meal plan for your baby’s first year. Grab your e-Book today, and ensure your baby has the healthiest possible start to solid foods!

What are your 10 month old baby’s favorite foods?  Share your recipe and feeding ideas below!

The post Baby Food Recipes: 10 Months appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Cereal Recipes

Infant cereal starts become less a part of your baby’s diet at 9 months. Instead, you can start to offer your 9 month old baby other types of grains, like bread, crackers, and pasta. However, you’ll probably still want to offer a few tablespoons of baby cereal to your 9 month old. You can purchase ready-made, powdered cereals at the grocery store, but you can also make your own (for a lot less money!) Visit our Baby Cereal Recipes for step-by-step instructions on how to make your baby’s rice and oatmeal cereal from scratch.

Fruit Recipes

Visit our Baby Food Fruit Recipes to see a sampling of delicious fruit purees and your 9 month old baby is sure to love.  By 9 months, your baby is eating a whole rainbow of fruit, including blueberries, melon, and kiwi!

Vegetable Recipes

Visit our Baby Food Vegetable Recipes for a listing of veggie purees and mashes that’ll keep your 9 month old on the path to healthy, nutritious eating.  At 9 months, your baby’s ready to start eating broccoli and spinach. (Don’t jump to any conclusions; he may love those veggies!)

Protein Recipes

At 9 months, your baby’s probably gobbling up poultry and beans (and possibly eggs, if she’s not allergic.) Now, she’s also ready to try meat (including beef) and even tofu! Visit our Baby Food Protein Recipes for tips on easy ways to prepare meat and tofu.

Meal Recipes

Up to this point, making homemade food for your baby has meant whipping up lots of single-ingredient purees and mashes. Well, it’s time to change that mindset; as a 9 month old, your baby is ready for you to cook “real” food for her! This can mean offering her small amounts of table food (as long as that table food contains ingredients that she’s already tried). It can also mean creating special dishes just for her. 🙂 Visit our 5 Great Recipes page for meal ideas. Your 9 month old will love the broccoli cheddar nuggets and the sweet potato pancakes!

Feeding Fact

We’re way past the smooth, runny purees of just a few months ago; now, your baby should be comfortable with thick, chunky mashes. You can also start offering (very) small pieces of food at this point. Try chopping a chicken breast, or cutting a slice of cheese into tiny cubes. Your baby may not be able to feed himself yet, but you can feed him these tiny pieces.

For ideas that’ll help you create a feeding and sleeping schedule for your 9 month old, check out the recommended 9 month schedule available at BabySleepSite.com.

Everything You Need To Know About Starting Solids – All In One e-Book!

What if you could find everything you needed to know about starting your baby on solid foods – when it’s best to start solids, how to introduce solids, complications, food allergies, etc. – in one easy-reference guide? Now you can! Your Baby’s Start To Solid Foods: A Comprehensive Guide will walk you through every step of starting solids. Plus, your e-Book package includes several bonus materials, designed to maximize your success in starting solids. You’ll get a thorough guide to treating constipation, a dietitian’s advice on how to avoid 5 common solid-foods mistakes, and a weekly meal plan for your baby’s first year. Grab your e-Book today, and ensure your baby has the healthiest possible start to solid foods!

What are your 9 month old baby’s favorite foods?  Share your recipe and feeding ideas below!

The post Baby Food Recipes: 9 Months appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

By 8 months, solid food is a regular part of your baby’s routine. She’s probably having two or three solid feeds each day, and she’s tasted quite a variety of fruits and vegetables! Now, she’s ready to start eating small amounts of meat and dairy products.

Cereal Recipes

Infant cereal will still be one of the primary foods your 8 month old eats each day. You can purchase ready-made, powdered cereals at the grocery store, but you can also make your own (for a lot less money!) Visit our Baby Cereal Recipes for step-by-step instructions on how to make your baby’s rice and oatmeal cereal from scratch.

Fruit Recipes

Visit our Baby Food Fruit Recipes to see a sampling of delicious fruit purees and your 8 month old baby is sure to love.  By 8 months, your baby can enjoy some tasty fruits, including peaches, nectarines, plus, mangos, and even papayas!

Vegetable Recipes

Visit our Baby Food Vegetable Recipes for a listing of veggie purees and mashes that’ll keep your 8 month old on the path to healthy, nutritious eating.  At 8 months, your baby gets to enjoy two veggie “classics”: peas and carrots. 🙂

Protein Recipes

At 7 months, your baby wasn’t quite ready for meat, so we stuck to offering beans. But your 8 month old is ready to start eating small amounts of poultry; she’s also ready to eat eggs*. Visit our Baby Food Protein Recipes for simple poultry recipes.

Feeding Fact

Your baby’s ready to move past single-ingredient meals at 8 months, so it’s time to get creative! Mix those purees and mashes to create complete meals for your 8 month old. At this point, you can stop offering your baby smooth purees and begin to feed him chunkier, thicker mashes. This’ll help him practice using his gums to mash food, a key step in learning how to chew.

For ideas that’ll help you create a feeding and sleeping schedule for your 8 month old, check out the recommended 8 month schedule.

*Eggs are considered a highly allergenic food; check with your baby’s doctor before offering eggs.

Everything You Need To Know About Starting Solids – All In One e-Book!

What if you could find everything you needed to know about starting your baby on solid foods – when it’s best to start solids, how to introduce solids, complications, food allergies, etc. – in one easy-reference guide? Now you can! Your Baby’s Start To Solid Foods: A Comprehensive Guide will walk you through every step of starting solids. Plus, your e-Book package includes several bonus materials, designed to maximize your success in starting solids. You’ll get a thorough guide to treating constipation, a dietitian’s advice on how to avoid 5 common solid-foods mistakes, and a weekly meal plan for your baby’s first year. Grab your e-Book today, and ensure your baby has the healthiest possible start to solid foods!

What are your 8 month old baby’s favorite foods?  Share your recipe and feeding ideas below!

The post Baby Food Recipes: 8 Months appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

There are a few rules when it comes to what foods you should feed your baby first. Avoid any allergenic foods (like milk, eggs, tomatoes, nut butters, etc.) Think about textures, too; whatever foods you start your baby on should be smooth, runny, and pretty lump-free. So raw carrots are out. 😉 And you’ll want to start with foods that are easy for your baby to digest. Avoid things that’ll cause gas (like broccoli) or that are highly acidic (like tomatoes and strawberries).

Below, we’ve compiled a list of the 8 most common “first foods” for baby, along with a few words about each. This list is in no particular order. What’s more, this list isn’t meant to be a rigid, inflexible guide; you don’t have to start with these foods! Simply use this list as a guide to help you create the “menus” for your baby’s first few weeks of meals.

1. Rice Cereal

   This is the #1 most common first food for babies, for a few reasons.  It’s bland, so babies usually don’t reject it based on its taste.  Its texture makes it easy for babies to swallow.  And it’s easy to digest, making it a good first option.

2. Oatmeal Cereal

   Once babies have mastered rice cereal, many parents move on to oatmeal.  Like rice cereal, oatmeal is fairly bland and smooth.

3. Applesauce

   Applesauce is smooth and easy to swallow, making it a good first food.  And since babies tend to prefer sweet flavors, it’s usually a baby favorite 🙂  Plus, it’s easy to find sugar-free applesauce at the supermarket, making it an inexpensive choice.

4. Bananas

   Many parents love the convenience of serving mashed bananas — they’re easy to mash, and since they’re already soft and don’t need cooking, they provide a great way to feed your little one fresh fruit.  What’s more, bananas are easy for tiny tummies to digest.

5. Avocados

   Avocados are great first foods for many of the same reasons as bananas — they’re easy to mash, they’re soft and easy to eat when they’re fresh, and they’re highly digestible.  And you can feel good knowing that each time you feed your baby avocados, you’re offering her heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.

6. Pears

   Pears are fiber-rich and delicious; they can also help relieve constipation and reflux.

7. Sweet Potato

   Sweet Potatoes are a fantastic first food for baby.  They’re packed with vitamins and minerals, they’re easy to digest, and babies usually love their naturally sweet flavor.

8. Squash

   Winter squash, like butternut and acorn squash, is delicious and nutritious.  And squashes tend to produce smooth, runny purees — all the more reason to make it one of the first foods you offer to your baby!

Of course, you can buy commercial, prepared versions of all the food above; you certainly don’t have to make your own baby food.  But if you decide you want to try making your baby’s food yourself, check our our recipes for homemade cereal, homemade fruit purees, and homemade veggie purees.

You may also want to check out our Types and Amounts of Solid Foods By Age charts, for more information on what first foods are best for your baby.

What foods did you introduce to your baby first?  Share your list of first foods below!

The post 8 Most Common Baby First Foods appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Cereal Recipes

Infant cereal will still be one of the primary foods your 7 month old eats each day. You can purchase ready-made, powdered cereals at the grocery store, but you can also make your own (for a lot less money) Visit our Baby Cereal Recipes for step-by-step instructions on how to make your baby’s rice and oatmeal cereal from scratch.

Fruit Recipes

Visit our Baby Food Fruit Recipes to see a sampling of delicious fruit purees and your 7 month old baby is sure to love.  By 7 months, your baby is ready to try some tasty fruits, including peaches, nectarines, plus, mangos, and even papayas.

Vegetable Recipes

Visit our Baby Food Vegetable Recipes for a listing of veggie purees and mashes that’ll give your 7 month old baby the healthy start he needs.  At 7 months, your baby gets to start eating two veggie “classics”: peas and carrots. 🙂

Protein Recipes

Your 7 month old baby isn’t quite ready for meat yet, but she is ready for beans. Visit our Baby Food Protein Recipes for tips on how to create delectable, protein-packed bean dishes that your baby will gobble up, including lentil stew, baked beans, and hummus.

Feeding Fact

Continue to feed your 7 month old mostly single-ingredient meals (although you can begin mixing together foods that your baby’s already familiar with.) Your purees can be a bit less runny and smooth at this point. Slowly start to thicken purees with powdered cereal, and begin offering some chunkier textures. Just be sure you monitor your baby closely during feeding time, to prevent choking!

For ideas that’ll help you create a feeding and sleeping schedule for your 7 month old, check out the recommended 7 month schedule, available at BabySleepSite.com.

Everything You Need To Know About Starting Solids – All In One e-Book!

What if you could find everything you needed to know about starting your baby on solid foods – when it’s best to start solids, how to introduce solids, complications, food allergies, etc. – in one easy-reference guide? Now you can! Your Baby’s Start To Solid Foods: A Comprehensive Guide will walk you through every step of starting solids. Plus, your e-Book package includes several bonus materials, designed to maximize your success in starting solids. You’ll get a thorough guide to treating constipation, a dietitian’s advice on how to avoid 5 common solid-foods mistakes, and a weekly meal plan for your baby’s first year. Grab your e-Book today, and ensure your baby has the healthiest possible start to solid foods!

What are your 7 month old baby’s favorite foods?  Share your recipe and feeding ideas below!

The post Baby Food Recipes: 7 Months appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Something you may not be feeling to confident about, however, is when (during the course of a day) you should be offering your baby solids.  You likely eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at roughly the same times each day, but is that schedule best for your baby?

Feeding Schedule Recommendations:  4-6 months

4-6 month old babies are just starting out on solids, so they’ll need smaller amounts of food, combined with large quantities of breastmilk and /or formula.  Also, it’s best to offer your baby solid foods after you’ve nursed or bottle-fed him.  That way, he’s not too hungry when it comes time for a meal of solids, and that’ll prevent him from becoming frustrated and upset as he tries to eat.

Use the recommendations below to create a daily feeding schedule for your 4-6 month old baby:

• Nurse and/or bottle feed as you normally would throughout the day (see our Amounts of Solid Foods By Age chart for recommended amounts of breastmilk and formula.)
• After the first or second nursing or bottle feeding of the morning, offer your baby a solids meal (see our Types of Solid Foods By Age to determine what you can feed your baby.)  It’s best if babies just starting out on solids eat their food in the morning; that way, if baby has any digestive issues, they won’t disturb his nighttime sleep!
• Optional:  After one of your afternoon nursings or bottle feedings, you can offer a second small meal of solid foods.
• Total number of solid meals in a day: 1-2
• Total amount of solid food your baby will eat in a day: 3-7 tablespoons

Feeding Schedule Recommendations: 7-8 months

7-8 month old babies are more accustomed to solid foods and can therefore handle larger amounts of foods.  You can also begin to increase the number of meals a day to 2-3.  Continue offering your baby plenty of breastmilk and/or formula, however; that’s still her primary source of nutrition.  And you should continue to try and nurse or bottlefeed your baby before you offer her a meal of solids (although that’s a little less essential now than it was a few months ago).

Use the recommendations below to create a daily feeding schedule for your 7-8 month old baby:

• Continue to nurse and/or bottle feed throughout the day (see our Amounts of Solid Foods By Age chart for recommended amounts of breastmilk and formula.)
• After the first or second nursing or bottle-feeding of the morning, offer your baby a solids meal (see our Types of Solid Foods By Age to determine what you can feed your baby.)
• After a late morning/early afternoon nursing or bottle-feeding, offer your baby a second small meal of solids.
• Optional:  After a late afternoon/early evening nursing or bottle-feeding, offer your baby a third small meal of solids.
• Total number of solid meals in a day: 2-3
• Total amount of solid food your baby will eat in a day: 10-26 tablespoons (1/2 cup – 1 1/2 cups), plus 1 serving of dairy

Feeding Schedule Recommendations: 9-12 months

9-12 month old babies are solid food pros, and they’re definitely ready to handle 3 meals of solid foods each day.  Continue offering your baby breastmilk and/or formula (although he’ll start to need a bit less, now that he’s eating more solid food).  You can also offer your baby small amounts of water or juice.  It’s no longer necessary to nurse or bottlefeed your baby before you serve him a meal of solids, although you can certainly continue doing that if you prefer.

Use the recommendations below to create a daily feeding schedule for your 9-12 month old baby:

• Continue to nurse and/or bottle feed throughout the day (see our Amounts of Solid Foods By Age chart for recommended amounts of breastmilk and formula.)
• Before or after the first or second nursing or bottle feeding of the morning, offer your baby a solids meal (see our Types of Solid Foods By Age to determine what you can feed your baby.)
• Before or after a late morning/early afternoon nursing or bottle feeding, offer your baby a second small meal of solids.
• Before or after a late afternoon/early evening nursing or bottle feeding, offer your baby a third small meal of solids.
• Total number of solid meals in a day: 3
• Total amount of solid food your baby will eat in a day: 16-30 tablespoons (1 cup – 2 cups), plus 1-2 servings of other grains and 1 serving of dairy

For more help in creating a daily feeding schedule for your baby, check out these sample baby sleep and feeding schedules.

Everything You Need To Know About Starting Solids – All In One e-Book!

What if you could find everything you needed to know about starting your baby on solid foods – when it’s best to start solids, how to introduce solids, complications, food allergies, etc. – in one easy-reference guide? Now you can! Your Baby’s Start To Solid Foods: A Comprehensive Guide will walk you through every step of starting solids. Plus, your e-Book package includes several bonus materials, designed to maximize your success in starting solids. You’ll get a thorough guide to treating constipation, a dietitian’s advice on how to avoid 5 common solid-foods mistakes, and a weekly meal plan for your baby’s first year. Grab your e-Book today, and ensure your baby has the healthiest possible start to solid foods!

What’s your baby’s daily feeding schedule?  Help out our other readers; share your sample schedules below!

The post When Do Babies Eat Solid Foods In A Day? appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

We know that when it comes to baby schedules, moms like to have the basics presented to them in a clear, easy-to-understand way.  We’ve attempted to do just that in this article.  Below, you’ll find two simple charts:   one outlines the types of solid foods you can feed your baby, by age; the other highlights amounts and serving sizes, by age.  Use both as a guide as you shop for and prepare your baby’s foods.

Remember, these charts are a general guide — they’re not set in stone!  If your baby eats more servings of vegetables in a day than we’ve recommended here, good for him!  We’ve simply grouped the foods based on their digestability, texture, and allergy risk.  What’s more, the serving sizes we recommend are general ranges, but all babies are unique.

You’ll also notice that this chart shows solid food beginning between 4-6 months. You can start small amounts of solid food as early as 4 months; however, based on the most recent health information, we recommend waiting until closer to 6 months to start solids.

As you look over the recommended amounts of solid food, keep one thing in mind: you should always prioritize your baby’s breastmilk or formula intake over your baby’s solid food intake. In other words, if your baby isn’t drinking the recommended amounts of breastmilk or formula, but is eating plenty of solid food, be sure to decrease their solid food intake and really focus on making sure they’re drinking the recommended amounts of breastmilk or formula.

Finally, keep in mind that the information offered here should never replace the advice or guidance of your baby’s doctor.

TYPES OF SOLID FOODS BY AGE

AMOUNTS OF SOLID FOODS BY AGE

*1 serving of “other grains” = 1/2 slice of bread, 2 crackers, 1/2 cup Cheerios, or 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta

**You can offer small amounts of juice at this age, too, but based on pediatric dental recommendations, we don’t advise offering much juice at all (if any).  We also advise that parents offer breastmilk or formula first.  Only offer juice or water if your baby is getting the breastmilk and/or formula he needs each day.

Everything You Need To Know About Starting Solids – All In One e-Book!

What if you could find everything you needed to know about starting your baby on solid foods – when it’s best to start solids, how to introduce solids, complications, food allergies, etc. – in one easy-reference guide? Now you can! Your Baby’s Start To Solid Foods: A Comprehensive Guide will walk you through every step of starting solids. Plus, your e-Book package includes several bonus materials, designed to maximize your success in starting solids. You’ll get a thorough guide to treating constipation, a dietitian’s advice on how to avoid 5 common solid-foods mistakes, and a weekly meal plan for your baby’s first year. Grab your e-Book today, and ensure your baby has the healthiest possible start to solid foods!

Have anything you’d like to add to our chart? Share your input below!

The post A Solid Foods Feeding Schedule: Types and Amounts of Solid Foods By Age appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.