Nutrition Guide: Sitter

By now, your baby may be eating solid foods and may even show interest in trying the foods that other family members are eating. But babies at the Sitter stage aren’t ready for table foods. Once your baby has started solids, continue to give your baby iron-rich infant cereal and pureed fruits and vegetables. At this stage, you may also want to introduce pureed meat or poultry and mixed purees. Just remember that breastmilk or iron-fortified infant formula should still be your baby’s main source of nutrition.

* Average estimated intake. Your baby’s needs may be greater or less than these stated; always follow your baby’s hunger and fullness cues

Common nutrition needs and gaps

The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2008 found that around 12 percent of babies age six-to-11 months are not getting enough iron on a given day. Iron aids in healthy brain development and is a component of hemoglobin which carries oxygen through the body. By around the middle of the first year, the natural iron stores which babies are born with start to deplete. Breastfed babies need supplemental iron and zinc at this time. Iron and zinc from infant cereal and pureed meats can help meet babies’ needs.

Once your baby is over six months, you may want to offer 100% fruit juice to your baby. Start with 1 to 2 fluid ounces a day. Juice intake for older babies can be up to 4 fluid ounces per day.* If you choose to give your baby juice, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you serve juice in a cup rather than a bottle.

Sweetened foods and beverages should also be limited in your baby’s diet. Nestlé FITS 2008 found that 17 percent of six- to eight-month old babies ate a dessert, sweet, or sweetened beverage on a given day. Instead of giving your baby sweetened foods and drinks, choose nutritious options, such as pureed fruits, yogurt, and iron-rich infant cereals made with whole grains.

You may also want to begin introducing your baby to pureed meats—they are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) as one way to help prevent iron-deficiency anemia. It may take about 10 tries for her to accept a new food. Try mixing GERBER® 2ND FOODS® Beef & Beef Gravy or Ham & Ham Gravy into one of her favorites like GERBER® Mixed Grain Cereal or GERBER® NATURESELECT™ 2ND FOODS® SWEET POTATOES.

Following your baby’s signals

As your baby continues her solid-food journey, it’s important to follow her appetite. Using the cues below can help you know when she’s hungry and when she’s full. It will also help your baby start to understand her own hunger and fullness cues.

Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ Menu Planner

The Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ Menu Planner generates easy-to-follow menus based on the food groups and nutrients recommended by health professionals for children’s healthy growth and development. You can use the generated menus, or create your own—either way, the unique 5-Star Rating System** lets you know your menu falls within our recommended nutrition guidelines for your child’s stage.

**patent pending

Menu Planner for Sitters

Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ Nutrition System

The Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Nutrition System is an innovative approach which helps you choose the right nutrition for your baby based on her stage of development. Only Gerber offers a unique stage-based system with products, and feeding and nutrition guidance to support healthy growth and development and encourage healthy eating for your child from birth to 4 years.

Learn more about products for this developmental stage

The Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Nutrition Guide Milestone Symbols and Benefit Band are trademarks of Société des Produits Nestlé, S.A. © 2008 Nestlé. All rights reserved.