NINE TO TWELVE MONTHS When your baby is ready, around nine or ten months, let him feed himself small pieces of soft table foods. You will know he is ready when he can: Chew and swallow small bites of soft, mashed, and chopped foods Use his thumb and fingers to pick up small things Start to use a spoon Use a cup Try these table foods: Small pieces of soft cooked vegetables and peeled, soft fruits Small pieces of very tender meat, chicken, turkey, or fish. Take out all bones and tough parts. Cooked beans Small pieces of tofu Small pieces of mild cheese Crumbled egg yolk up to 3 yolks a week. No egg whites Small pieces of dry cereal like Cheerios 1
Give him lots of practice feeding himself with a spoon and his fingers. Let him touch and play with his food. This is how he learns! Try these tips: Cover the floor Plastic bib Non breakable dishes Eat in diaper or play clothes Don t scold or giggle Wet cloth this could get messy! More Important Information Continue to give your baby breast milk or iron fortified formula. As your baby eats more solid food, he will drink less breast milk or formula. Keep giving your baby new fruits and vegetables so he will like lots of different foods. Feed the same new food 3 to 5 days before offering another new food. Do not add salt, sugar, spices, gravy, ketchup, or fat (margarine, butter, oil, lard, bacon drippings, or fat back) to your baby s food. Avoid high salt foods such as lunch meats and cured meats. 2
Your baby s daily meals might look like this: Early Morning Noon Evening Cereal Vegetable Fruit Meat Vegetable Fruit Mid Morning Mid Afternoon Before Bedtime Crumbled egg yolk (no white) Toast strips Graham crackers (without honey) What if your baby does not like a new food? Give your baby time to explore new foods. Put a ½ teaspoon in his bowl, and let him feel it, pick it up, and taste it. It may take a few tries before he gets use to the taste and feel of a food. Don t give up too fast. Try the food a few more times and if he still does not like, try it again in a few months. Never force your child to eat a food. Be patient. 3
Health and Safety Tips DO NOT give foods that can cause your baby to choke, like: Hot dogs or meat sticks Peanut butter Raw vegetables Hard raw fruit like apples Fish with bones Whole grapes Popcorn Hard candy Raisins Nuts Chips Always sit with your baby and watch him as he feeds himself. He cannot make noise if he starts to choke. Some foods could contain harmful bacteria and make your baby sick, like: Rare or raw meats Lunch or deli meats Unpasteurized fruit juice Honey and foods made with it. It can cause very serious, even deadly foodborne illness in babies less than 1 year of age. These foods are more likely to cause allergic reactions. Wait until after your baby is one year of age to give them: Whole eggs or egg whites Cow s milk Shrimp and other shellfish Nuts and peanut butter 4
Mercury can harm your baby s nervous system. Mercury is found in some fish. DO NOT give your baby Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish. Limit other fish to two servings a week. What about juice? Babies do not need fruit juice. Juice can cause gas and diarrhea. Fruit is a much better choice. Fruit has fiber, texture, and contains juice too. If you give your baby juice: Do not give over 2 ounces a day. Mix one part juice with one part water. Give the juice in a cup, not a bottle. Look for 100% juice. Do not give fruit drinks, soft drinks, or other sugary drinks to your baby. What about water? Your baby s water needs are usually met through the water in breast milk, infant formula, and other foods. Ask your baby s doctor if he recommends giving any additional water. 5
What else can I teach my baby? Continue to help your baby learn to drink from a cup. Your child counts on you for things like healthy teeth. Keeping a child on the bottle past 14 months of age can lead to major problems with tooth decay. Give your baby 1 to 2 ounces of breast milk or formula in a small cup without a lid. A cup with handles works well. Start by giving him a cup at lunch. Just keep trying the cup every day. After a few weeks, give him the cup at breakfast and then at dinner. Then one day, when he is about 11 12 months old, he will be off the bottle! You will be proud your child has switched to a cup. Being off the bottle means less worries about tooth decay. Enjoy this special time! It is amazing how quickly your baby grows, changes, and learns. Relax, and enjoy this special time with your baby. Give him time to enjoy the tastes of new fruits and vegetables, and other new foods. Soon your baby will turn 1 year old and begin the toddler years (1 2 years of age). 6
Here is a preview of some changes that usually occur around one year of age: Whole milk* replaces infant formula, little by little. If you are breastfeeding your baby, WIC encourages you to continue breastfeeding as long as you and your baby want. New foods can be added: cooked whole eggs or egg whites, peanut butter.* Offer 3 meals a day plus 2 to 3 snacks. If your baby is not weaned from the bottle, make a plan to wean your baby before he turns 15 months of age. *These foods are more likely to cause an allergic reaction. If there is a strong family history of allergy, ask your baby s doctor when to offer them. Give only one new food at a time. Wait 3 to 5 days before offering another new food. Peanut butter can cause choking so only offer it spread thinly on crackers or toast. In order to receive your nutrition education (SNE) credit, you must complete a short evaluation. Please click on the Evaluation button below. Adapted with permission from the Texas WIC Program. 7