- Never put solids in a bottle. Solids like cereal with milk added are dangerous. Your baby can choke. It can also lead to food allergies and lead to overweight.
- Introduce one food at a time about a week apart. Watch your baby for food allergies. Signs of allergic reactions include diarrhea, rashes or vomiting. If you notice an allergic reaction, take the food from your baby’s diet right away. Talk to your baby’s doctor for advice.
- Foods fed to babies should be soft, unsalted, well-cooked and unseasoned.
- Children should not be fed any shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tile fish. These fish are high in mercury. Children should only be fed one or two servings of fish per week that have lower levels of mercury.
- Never feed honey to a baby less than on year of age. Babies can get infant botulism from honey.
- If you add juice to your baby’s diet only give him 1/4 cup a day and mix it with 1/4 cup water.
- Don’t give juice to your baby until he can drink from a cup. If you put juice in a bottle, it contributes to tooth decay in baby’s first teeth.
- The best juices for babies are apple, pear or white grape juices.
- Do not give a baby pineapple or orange juice yet. Citrus juices are not advised or infants. They can cause an upset stomach and irritation of the skin around the mouth.
- Make sure you give your baby only pasteurized (a heating process to kill bacteria) juices!
- Check dates on baby food jars. Never feed a baby food from a jar when the expiration date has passed. Keep opened jars in the refrigerator. Don’t feed your baby from the jar. This can spread bacteria from baby’s mouth to the spoon and into the food left in the jar.
- Warm food to room temperature. Do not microwave. It heats food unevenly and could burn your baby’s mouth.
- Do not argue or bargain with your child about food. Your baby will eat if he is hungry. A lot of later food problems start with food being tied to emotions now.
—- from First5 Advice for New Parents
