Your baby needs only your breastmilk for the first 6 months of life, as long as you produce enough milk for her to grow well.
Click here to read how to know if your baby is getting enough.
Most babies who are 2 weeks to 6 months old consume between 24 – 32 oz of milk each day. While strictly nursing, you can’t measure the milk. The best way to know that your baby is getting enough to grow well is to get check-ups at birth, 2 weeks, 1,2,4,6,9, and 12 months of age. Weight, height, and head size is plotted on a World Health Organization growth chart, which shows how typical healthy breastfed babies grow around the world. Ideally, your baby’s growth pattern will fall within the typical range.
Vitamin D, the Sunshine Vitamin
Breastfeed babies need to take a daily vitamin D supplement, because Vitamin doesn’t pass through your breastmilk. Click here
to read more about vitamin D supplementation. START SOLIDS BY 6 MONTHS
Food availability and flavor preferences vary between cultures. And, feeding recommendations continue to change over the years. It doesn’t really matter when and what foods you offer, but there are a few things to consider.
Textures and choking hazards
Purees are typical to start with. Advance textures from soupy, to thick and chunky. Push through a strong gag reflex, or your baby will want to eat mush forever. In general, if your baby can pinch and pick up a piece of food, he’ll probably be able to eat it. Cheerios are fine to try, or finger foods and crackers that melt in the mouth are good first foods.
Baby led weaning
Simply put food from your table in your baby’s hand –– and let him go for it. Choking hazards, like round foods that could block an airway, if aspirated, should be smashed (peas) or cut out of their round shape (grapes, hot dogs). Avoid popcorn and peanuts for the first several years.Food allergy concerns
In the past, babies under 1 year old were not to eat eggs, peanut butter, and other allergenic foods.Oops – now we think this contributed to the increase in food allergies! So, nowadays – just go for it!
However, if a close relative has severe food allergies, or your baby has severe eczema or other allergic concerns, it’s best to ask your doctor before feeding these foods to your baby.
Honey
No honey while your baby is under 1 year old, due to the risk of botulism.
IRON
Iron prevents anemia and helps blood carry oxygen. Iron deficiency anemia causes poor growth, fatigue and poor brain development.Breastmilk is a great source of iron for your baby. Some recommend iron vitamins for breastfed babies starting at 4 months, since breastfed babies don’t start iron fortified foods until 6 months. Also, if your baby was premature or had health issues, your doctor might recommend iron vitamins. Just ask!
Regular cow’s milk bought from the grocery store is a terrible source of iron.
Commercial infant formula is fortified with lots of iron, so if your baby drinks formula, a vitamin D supplement is not needed. Never feed your baby a “low iron” formula, which is on the USA market anyway.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps your immune system.Vitamin C also helps iron absorb into your baby’s body, so feed your baby vitamin C at the same time as iron.
Iron fortified infant cereal comes as dry flakes or powder. Mix vitamin C fortified juice to make the cereal as thick as your baby can handle. The vitamin C helps maximize the amount of iron your baby will absorb.
Don’t feed your child straight up fruit juice, because it’s empty calories with lots of sugar. Fruit juice will spoil your baby’s appetite for other healthy foods. The exception – fruit juice is good for constipation, especially pear or prune juice.
Food from animals are great sources of iron(except for milk)
Start eggs after 6 months.Meat is discussed below.
Peas, beans, and green leafy vegetables are good sources iron. Introduce them when your baby can handle the texture, or cut them up tiny to hide in other foods.
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Protein
- Protein builds your baby by making cells. Plant based proteins come from beans, seeds, and nuts, like peanut butter.
- In the past, peanut butter was a no-no until after 1 year of age, but now we recommend that you introduce it at 6 months, along with other foods. You can buy peanut butter powder to mix in food, but why not keep it cheap and simple. Feed your baby old fashioned peanut butter!
- Food from animals are a great source of protein, such as meat, fish, eggs, and milk
- Meat
- Buy pureed meat and mix it with pureed veggies or fruits so it’ll slide down a bit easier.
- Or, serve pieces of thinly sliced wet deli turkey, which also slides right down.
- Meat
MILK
Your baby needs only breastmilk or formula for the first 6 months of life. Then, food becomes additional calories and nutrients after 6 months. Food should not replace milk intake, and milk intake might even drop a bit (see below) when you start solid foods.Before you start offering solid foods, note how many times per day your breasts are drained, either by nursing or by pumping. When you introduce foods, keep draining your breasts regularly in order to maintain your milk supply.
*Note: Some babies seem to prefer food over nursing. If this describes your baby, nurse before offering food. He’s more likely to drain your breasts when he’s most hungry. This will better maintain your supply.
When nursing, you can’t measure the volumes of milk. But, if you pump at work and send milk to daycare, it’s helpful to know some expected volumes.
Here is a guide
- First 6 months, 24 -32oz per day
- 6 to 12 months, 24oz per day
- Around 9 months, about 20oz per day, as long as your baby eats other sources of protein and calcium.
Calcium makes the bones strong
Breastmilk provides the calcium, and everything else your baby needs for the first 6 months, except vitamin D.But, at 6 months, your baby needs more than just breastmilk. As he learns to eat solid foods, continue nursing the same as before. Food is to be IN ADDITION to ongoing milk intake.
As noted above, by 9 months, a bit less breastmilk is OK, as long as your baby has learned to eat food with calcium and protein. If your breastmilk drops off too much, or you stop breastfeeding, the supplemental milk should be infant formula, NOT regular cow’s milk from the grocery store. Grocery store milk does not have the extra vitamins and iron your baby still needs. Although dairy products, such as cheese, yogurt, puddings, and ice-cream are good sources of calcium and protein for babies, dairy should not be the primary source calcium and protein, as they provide no iron.
After 12 months, your baby is eating a variety of nutritious foods, which include calcium, protein, iron and other stuff. So, he can now drink regular cow’s milk instead of infant formula.
But, don’t enable a milk-a-holic!
Milk anemia can happen after a 1 year old milk-a-holic switches to regular cow’s milk, which is low in iron.
Milk-a-holic toddlers drink so much milk that they’re too full to eat colorful fruits, vegetables, and grains.
They miss out on other vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and they become anemic, pale, tired, and constipated.
As with milk, offer cheese in moderation. 1 1/2 ounces of hard cheese looks like a pair of dice, and is 1 serving, just like 1 cup of milk. And, FYI, cheese contributes to constipation.
If your baby loves to breastfeed, he may not be a fan of solid food, nor be hungry for it. But he needs food, especially food with iron. If your baby is a milk-a-holic, you might need to feed your baby food before nursing, which is opposite of what most babies do (as noted above)
Vitamin A helps your baby’s vision
Vitamin A deficiency is a significant problem in Africa, so they have vitamin A supplementation programs.Even though it’s not a big problem in the USA, awareness is important.
In the olden days, doctors recommended that babies start out eating orange and yellow veggies.
Why? You may recall learning that carrots help you see better. Carrots are loaded with vitamin A!
Sweet potatoes are orange, so yes, they’re also loaded with vitamin A.
THE BOTTOM LINE
- Breastmilk is all your baby needs for the first 6 months.
- Milk is a great source of calcium and protein.
- Add a variety of solid foods after 6 months, to provide more calories, protein, iron, vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.
- Continue breastmilk as long as you want.
- If you don’t have enough breastmilk, use infant formula through 12 months – not regular cow’s milk.
- Cow’s milk is a terrible source of iron.
- A kid who drinks too much milk likely doesn’t eat enough other stuff, and his nutrition will suffer.
- Make your child’s plate colorful. Different colors of fruits and vegetables contain a variety of vitamins and minerals!