Baby's First Year

• Breast milk or formula with iron provides all necessary nutrients for your baby's first 6 months of life.
  
  
• Start cereal at 4 to 6 months.

• Start vegetables and fruits and fruit juice at 6 to 8 months.  Use plain, not mixed vegetables or fruits.

• Avoid adding sugar to fruit, or salt or fat to vegetables.

• Put juices in a cup, not a bottle to prevent "baby bottle tooth decay.”

• Use strained or finely chopped meat, chicken, or fish. Also try cooked dry beans (mashed to prevent choking) and cottage cheese. 

• Buy plain meat, not meat dinners or meat-vegetable combinations.

• Start meat, egg yolk, and other high protein foods at 8 to 10 months.

• Offer more "table foods" as your baby gets older.  Encourage self-feeding even though it's messy!

E-mail: wic@dhmh.state.md.us