Healthy eating for your sitter
Once your baby has become accustomed to eating foods with a spoon and his digestive system is more developed, you can introduce more variety—while still keeping breastmilk or formula as his main source of nutrition. Some developmental skills you may notice:
- Leaning toward the food or spoon
- Closing his mouth over the spoon to pull food into his mouth
- Drinking from a cup with help
- Using his fist to rake food toward himself
New tastes of fruits and veggies
If your baby is already eating most of the GERBER® 1ST FOODS® purees and you notice his eating skills improving, he may be ready for additional foods. New foods could include GERBER® 2ND FOODS® purees with flavor variety from blended fruits, vegetables, and dinners.
New textures & combination foods
About this time, your baby may be ready for the new tastes of GERBER® Mixed Grain and Whole Wheat Cereals. You can also start to thicken the texture of your baby’s cereal. Experiment with adding less liquid, and follow his lead when it comes to the right texture for his development.
The time may be right to begin offering combination foods, as long as he has eaten each food alone and shows no sensitivity. Babies develop their feeding skills at different rates, so don’t worry if your baby seems ready for more advanced solids sooner or later than his peers.
Eating patterns
Your baby’s diet should begin to follow a pattern, but remember to follow his hunger and fullness cues. Your baby has a small tummy, so he needs to eat more often than you do.
What should you offer when? Breastmilk or formula is still his main source of nutrition. In addition, try fruit, vegetable, cereal, and meat/poultry purees. The exact time of day that you serve each type of food isn’t important, but be sure to feed your baby a variety
to help him learn healthy tastes and textures.
Click here to find menus for your Sitter.