Caring for your baby6 to 12 Months

I Am Your Baby

I grow best with love and the right food.

  • I need breast milk or formula with iron until I turn one. You can still breastfeed me after I am one year old.
  • I know when I am hungry or full. I let you know by the way I act. Please feed me when I act hungry. Let me eat until I am full.
  • I will have a growth spurt around 6 months. I might nurse more often or longer.
  • I am growing fast. If I take breast milk or formula from a bottle, there might be times I drink more than 4 ounces at a feeding.
  • When I am about 7 or 8 months old, help me learn how to drink from a cup. Offer a cup with breast milk, formula, or water at meals and snacks.
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With Your Help I’ll Learn to Eat Foods

When I’m about 6 months old, I can start to eat solid foods. Please go slowly. If our family has allergies or I was born early, talk to my healthcare provider or WIC before I start solid foods.

Be Sure I’m Ready

To eat solid foods, I must be able to:

  • Sit up and hold my head steady.
  • Show I want food by opening my mouth or taking it from a spoon.
  • Show I don’t want food by closing my mouth or turning my head away from you.
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I Will Go Through 4 Stages of Foods:

1

Smooth: strained or puréed

2

Mashed: smooth with some tiny lumps

3

Chopped: more lumps

4

Pieces of table foods

Make My First Food a Single Food

  • Give me only one new food at a time. This helps me adjust to new foods.
  • Make it thin by adding breast milk or formula. You can gradually make it thicker.
  • I might eat about a teaspoon to start with and then more as I get used to eating from a spoon.

Wait at least 5 days before trying another new food.

  • Build on the foods I tolerate. Offer what you know I like along with a new food. I will like the variety.
  • Watch for signs of food allergies like vomiting, wheezing, diarrhea, skin rash, or swelling. If I have a reaction to a new food, call my healthcare provider or take me to the emergency room.

I Need to Eat My Way

  • I’ll open my mouth if I want more food.
  • I’ll keep my mouth closed or turn my head if I don’t want more food; don’t force me to eat.
  • I might spit food out or make a face. I’m learning new flavors and how to move food around in my mouth.
  • If I don’t like something, wait a week and let me try it again. I might need to try a new food 10 times before I like it!
  • I’ll get food on my hands, face, and in my hair. Try not to stress about the mess. Be proud of me as I learn to eat.
  • Let me feed myself with my hands or a spoon. I use my jaw to mash food and my tongue and fingers to move it in my mouth.
  • Eat with me at our family meals. I eat better when you are with me. Let’s turn the TV and cell phone off so we can talk.

Follow My Lead

  • I’m learning about food and new ways to eat it.
  • Spoons are best for pureed foods, but sometimes I might want to feed myself.
  • I can use my hands to feed myself soft foods that I can mash between my fingers.
  • Offer me soft, plain foods the family eats like ripe bananas, avocados, scrambled eggs, and cooked carrots. No salt or sugar, please!
  • If you put a little food on a spoon for me, I can learn how to spoon feed myself.
  • When I feed myself, I may need a little more time to eat, but I will stop eating when I’m full.
Baby_eating

Let Me Eat Food With My Fingers

By 8 or 9 months, I might want to eat food with my fingers. You may still need to use a spoon to feed me, but let me try to feed myself, too.

Make foods safe so I won’t choke on them.
Safe “finger” foods are:

  • Tiny pieces of cooked vegetables or soft fruit
  • Tiny pieces of cooked meat, chicken, or turkey
  • Mashed cooked beans, egg yolk, or tofu
  • Chopped noodles or rice
  • Bite-size pieces of toast, plain crackers, or soft tortilla
  • Make pieces of food no bigger than your thumbnail.

How much should I eat?

I need to eat about 5 or 6 times a day. A meal might be breast milk or formula, or a meal might be breast milk or formula plus infant cereal. Start with 1 or 2 tablespoons of each food. Give me more if I want it. I may not eat everything on my plate. As I start eating more, you can give me 2 or 3 foods at a meal.

Here are some ideas:

6 - 8 Months

8 - 10 Months

10 - 12 Months

Let me eat until I show signs I’m full. I might close my lips, turn or shake my head, or raise my arm. Ask me if I’m full. Then, let me stop eating if I want to.

BabySipping

Time for a Cup

When I turn 6 months old, you can give me a small amount of water as I learn to drink from a cup.

Food Safety

  • We need to wash our hands before making my food or feeding me.
  • Put my food in a small dish and feed it to me with a baby spoon.
  • Throw out any food, breast milk, or formula left in a bottle, cup, or dish after I eat.
  • Don’t heat my food in a microwave. It could burn my mouth.

Foods To Avoid

I need food that is right for my age and will help me grow best.

I don’t need added sugars, salt, fat, or additives. Wait to offer juice until I am at least 12 months old.

  • Raw vegetables
  • Bacon
  • Whole grapes
  • Fish with bones
  • Potato, corn, or tortilla chips
  • Popcorn
  • Hard candy
  • Nuts
  • Hot dogs
  • Meat sticks

Also, please don’t give me foods that could make me sick, like:

  • Cow’s milk
  • Rare or raw meats
  • Honey or food made with it. Honey sometimes contains bacteria (Clostridium Botulinum) that can make babies sick. I shouldn’t have honey until I’m at least 12 months of age.
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Introducing Peanut Butter

After I have tried other solid foods, introduce me to peanut butter. Doing this can be helpful if our family has food or egg related allergies, like eczema or other skin issues.

Spread a small, thin smear of peanut butter thinly on a cracker or mix it with applesauce and cinnamon and spread thinly on bread. Watch me for the next 2 hours to make sure I don’t have a reaction.

Play with me!

Put me on a blanket on the floor. Put a toy just out of my reach so I can move to get it. Roll a ball to me. Hold both my hands and let me walk with you.

Look what I can do!

I love to learn from you. Read to me. Sing a song. Let’s play games like peek-a-boo. Take me for a walk and show me new things. I’m active — keep an eye on me!

Mom_baby_playing

Keep me safe and healthy

  • I need check-ups and shots to stay healthy. I should visit my healthcare provider at 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year of age.
  • Clean my gums and teeth with a clean, wet, soft cloth after I eat. Ask the dentist if I need fluoride.
  • Never put me to bed with a bottle. I could choke, get an earache, or damage my teeth.
  • If other people feed me, be sure to ask what and how much I eat.
  • Let me explore and learn. See each room like I will, from the floor, and make it safe for me.
  • Keep me away from cigarette, tobacco, and all other smoke or vapor. Smoke hurts my lungs and can make me sick.
  • Buckle me into an infant car seat before we ride in a car. It’s the law! Install my seat in the car’s back seat, rear-facing.

For additional support, contact your local WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor or designated breastfeeding expert for breastfeeding questions.

Side-Lying Hold

  1. For the right breast, lie on your right side with your baby facing you.
  2. Pull your baby close. Your baby’s mouth should be level with your nipple.
  3. In this position, you can cradle your baby’s back with your left arm and support yourself with your right arm and/or pillows.
  4. Keep loose clothing and bedding away from your baby.
  5. Reverse for the left breast.

This hold is useful when:

  • You had a C-section
  • You want to rest while baby feeds
  • You are breastfeeding in the middle of the night
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position

Cross-Cradle Hold

  1. For the right breast, use your left arm to hold your baby’s head at your right breast and baby’s body toward your left side. A pillow across your lap can help support your left arm.
  2. Gently place your left hand behind your baby’s ears and neck, with your thumb and index finger behind each ear and your palm between baby’s shoulder blades. Turn your baby’s body toward yours so your tummies are touching.
  3. Hold your breast as if you are squeezing a sandwich. To protect your back, avoid leaning down to your baby. Instead, bring your baby to you.
  4. As your baby’s mouth opens, push gently with your left palm on baby’s head to help them latch on. Make sure you keep your fingers out of the way.
  5. Reverse for the left breast.

This hold is useful when:

  • Your baby is premature
  • Your baby has a weak suck
  • Your baby needs help to stay latched
  • Your baby needs extra head support
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position

Clutch or “Football” Hold

  1. For the right breast, hold your baby level, facing up, at your right side.
  2. Put your baby’s head near your right nipple and support their back and legs under your right arm.
  3. Hold the base of your baby’s head with your right palm. A pillow underneath your right arm can help support your baby’s weight.
  4. To protect your back, avoid leaning down to your baby. Bring baby to you instead.
  5. Reverse for the left breast.

This hold is useful when:

  • You had a C-section
  • You have large breasts
  • You have flat or inverted nipples
  • You have a strong milk let-down
  • You are breastfeeding twins
  • Your baby likes to feed in an upright position
  • Your baby has reflux
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position

Cradle Hold

  1. For the right breast, cradle your baby with your right arm. Your baby will be on their left side across your lap, facing you at nipple level.
  2. Your baby’s head will rest on your right forearm with your baby’s back along your inner arm and palm.
  3. Turn your baby’s tummy toward your tummy. Your left hand is free to support your breast, if needed. Pillows can help support your arm and elbow.
  4. To protect your back, avoid leaning down to your baby. Instead, bring your baby to you.
  5. Reverse for the left breast.

This hold is useful when:

  • Your baby needs help latching on
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position

Laid-Back Hold

  1. Lean back on a pillow with your baby’s tummy touching yours and their head at breast level. Some moms find that sitting up nearly straight works well. Others prefer to lean back and lie almost flat.
  2. You can place your baby’s cheek near your breast, or you may want to use one hand to hold your breast near your baby. It’s up to you and what you think feels best.
  3. Your baby will naturally find your nipple, latch, and begin to suckle.

This hold is useful when:

  • Your baby is placed on your chest right after birth
  • You have a strong milk let-down
  • You have large breasts
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position