Beyond Strained Foods

  You may try to increase the consistency or texture of your baby‘s food gradually when your child show readiness or after he/she is eight to nine months old. The ability to eat thicker foods may vary greatly from child to child, some children being ready for soft table foods shortly after beginning strained foods, some not able to take anything but strained food until or after turning two years old. Remember that choking on food pieces is a real possibility up until your child is at least three years old, so do not give anything to on which he/she can choke (such as pieces of raw food, nuts, seeds, etc.) until well after this age. Nut butters (e.g. peanut, almond, walnut butters) are an excellent source of important nutrients including calcium and essential fats, and may be introduced usually after 12 months, depending on your child’s abilities to swallow.

             For the first 12 months, a child should not take honey or corn syrup because they contain botulinum spores and may cause botulism poisoning in infants this young. Also, it is best to avoid all dairy products, citrus foods or drinks (orange, grapefruit, lime, lemon and tomato), soy products, wheat, eggs, nut products, and berries for the first year as they are the most likely foods to cause allergies.