Introducing Food to Babies in Stages

Newborn to Six-Months

Once you are ready to introduce fruits and vegetables to a baby's diet, the easiest way to prepare homemade baby food is using a steamer and a food grinder made for the purpose of making baby food. For example, we recommend the Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker (we reviewed on Sunday) or the The First Years Babypro All In One Baby Food Maker (which we will review this upcoming Sunday).

But, you can use hand operated products which are designed for grinding food, or you can use food processor which purees food. You can freeze the food you make too. For freezing use ice cube trays. Ice cube trays provide perfect portions.

When boiling baby food, use as little water as possible without risking to burn the food. This way you'll keep more of the vitamins in the food.

Always clean your hands and all utensils you use for food preparation.

Newborn to Six-Months:

During the first six-months breastfeeding is recommended. Some formulas in the United States contain probiotics. While these formulas do not provide the full benefits of mother’s milk, they are designed to increase a formula-fed baby’s digestive bacteria to a level closer to that of breastfed babies. Babies grow at different paces and in order to be sure that an individual baby is ready for solids, you have to consult with their health professional. Click here to see the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations on how to choose a formula.

Cues Babies are Developmentally Ready for Solid Foods:

• They are able to sit upright
• They open their mouth when they see a spoon coming towards them
• They can move the food from the spoon and swallow without pushing back out of mouth
• They make chewing motions
• Drooling decreases as they become efficient at swallowing
• They have doubled birth weight
• They have ability to reject food by turning their head, keeping their mouth tightly closed, forcing food back out of mouth

Six-Months-Old

At six-months it's time to add some variety to baby's diet.The first food to add to the baby's diet is rice cereal. Have them eat a serving of rice cereal once a day for a week. The next week choose one of the following ingredients in addition to rice cereal: avocado, apricots, apples, bananas, nectarines, pears, peaches, plums, and pumpkin.

Banana Applesauce Mush

You will need:
one apple
one ripe banana

1. Peel, core, and cut one sweet apple into small chunks.
2. Place the chunks into a pan with just enough water to slightly cover apples.
3. Boil until tender; be sure to check on the water level. Or, you can simply steam the fruits in the Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker or The First Years Babypro All In One Baby Food Maker listed above,
4. Apples may be mashed with a potato masher to achieve a smooth applesauce consistency or you can puree in an appliance like the Beaba Babycook Baby Food Makeror the The First Years Babypro All In One Baby Food Maker just steam then blend in the product you are using.
5. Peel a ripe banana and mash in a bowl with a fork (heating in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds will soften the banana up if needed).
6. Add applesauce to the banana
7. Puree if necessary but mashing with a potato masher will typically get this mix smooth

Avocado, Banana Puree

You will need:
one or half banana
one or half sliced avocado

You do not have to cook avocado and banana. Peel avocado and remove pit. Cut out the "meat" and mash it with a fork. Next peel banana and mash it. Place fruits into food processor. Puree until you get proper texture of food.

Tomorrow: Baby food for Eight-Months-Old