Your baby's first foods - 6 to 12 months

From 6 to 12 months, your baby discovers foods. Start with iron-rich foods. Continue with a variety of foods.

Start with iron-rich foods

Your baby’s first foods should be rich in iron. Why? Because iron plays a number of key roles in their development.

Iron is found in

• Iron-enriched baby cereal
• Meat and poultry
• Fish
• Tofu
• Legumes
• Eggs

Choose foods based on your baby’s preferences. Give them iron-rich foods at least twice a day.

A vegetarian diet may be suitable for your baby if it is well balanced. However, if too many foods are excluded, your baby’s diet may be lacking in certain nutrients. It’s best to see a nutritionist about this.

Continue with a variety of foods

After your baby has been eating one or more iron-rich foods for several days, it’s time to add a growing variety of foods into their diet.

You can introduce new foods in whatever order you please. Remember, however, that your baby should not drink cow’s milk before the age of 9 months.

You don’t need to introduce all of the foods from the same food group before starting on the next group. For ideas on foods to give your baby, see Food ideas for your baby.

Ideally, your baby will be eatin

Toward the age of 1 year, your child will be eating a wide variety of foods.

In the upcoming pages, you’ll find practical information about the four food groups:

•   Grain products
•   Meat and alternatives
•   Vegetables and fruit
•   Milk and alternatives

A word about fats

Fats and oils are essential to your child’s development. There is no need to limit them in their diet.

For cooking and food preparation, it’s best to use vegetable oils like olive or canola oil, or nonhydrogenated margarine.

Food ideas for your baby