7 Foods You Should Be Feeding Your Baby And 7 You Shouldn't

As they await the arrival of a new baby, most parents are just concerned with two choices when it comes to nutrition: breastmilk or formula (or a combination of the two!). It's not until several months later that they realize that things will become a lot more complicated.  

Over the years, the recommendations surrounding baby's first solid foods have changed, and across cultures, we continue to see a lot of variation. It is recommended that babies wait until four to six months before adding to their milk-based diet. Introduce new foods one at a time so that you can easily identify any allergic reactions.

It's entirely possible that what we know now will change as we learn more about nurturing those tiny digestive systems, but as of right now, here are seven foods that you should be feeding your baby and seven foods that you shouldn't.

Once reserved for older babies, iron-rich foods such as "beef, lamb, game, poultry, and fish" are being recommended among baby's first foods. Families who do not consume meats can also offer "eggs, tofu, and legumes such as beans and lentils." This can be a real game-changer for some children.  

My first four children did not have meat early in life. Not only was it not recommended but was rejected by two of my kids all together. When my twins were born, they struggled with everything. One of them projectile vomited any baby cereal or puree we gave him. I happened to read an article about offering meat so I tried giving them a few pieces of chicken thigh. They greedily ate the meat, softened with some beef broth, and have never looked back.

Peanut allergies have steadily increased over the years and, today, as many as two million children in America live with them every day. It's not surprising, therefore, that, for a time, doctors urged parents to put off introducing the food until later in childhood. But studying Israeli customs has caused a reversal of this recommendation.  

In Israel, where rates of peanut allergies are significantly lower, children are given a snack coated with a powder made of peanuts. After conducting a study, researchers found that kids who were given the equivalent of four heaping teaspoons of peanut butter a week between the ages of four and 11 months old were an astonishing 80 percent less likely to show signs of allergy at their fifth birthday. Astounding!

Tried and true, veggies such as sweet potato, squash, peas, and carrots are usually on the list of first foods to offer babies. Most grocery stores will have an aisle dedicated to meals for brand new eaters and grabbing a jar or two to try is a simple first step.  

You can, of course, easily boil or steam the vegetables at home (especially, if you are making some for your own meals) and either mash them well or use a blender to make your own puree. Parents.com has a great tutorial and suggestions for combining different flavors with meat and other proteins.

For years and years, parents reached for rice cereal as the first food for their infants. New information, however, is making many think twice and experts are also concerned. There is arsenic in rice cereal and a study published by JAMA Pediatrics showed that babies who ate rice cereal had higher concentrations of arsenic in their urine, compared to those that didn't eat rice-based products. That's shocking!  

As Boston Children's Hospital pediatrician, Dr. Claire McCarthy explains, "I'm going to tell parents to avoid rice cereal. There are other kinds of cereals. That one is easy — it's definitely not a risk worth taking. And besides, rice cereal a highly refined carbohydrate that can increase the risk of obesity."

It might be tempting, as your child's palate grows, to offer some juice with a meal but the American Academy of Pediatrics has taken a pretty definitive stance against this. For a while, they have discouraged parents from offering juice to babies under six months old but they've recently taken this a step further.

The new guidelines suggest that juice is never given to children in their first year of life since it offers very few nutritional benefits (especially since juice is high in sugar) and can prevent babies from getting the nutrition they need. When an infant is thirsty, the AAP recommends sticking to breast milk or formula.

Despite their popularity, giving hot dogs to small children is not recommended by experts, including those at Johns Hopkins. As pediatrician Nisha Kapadia explains, "Every food poses a choking risk in young kids but the hot dog has just the right size and consistency to perfectly block the airway, it's the perfect plug that doesn't allow any air to get through." In fact, researchers have determined that children under the age of three choke on hot dogs more than any other food, followed by hard candy, grapes, and nuts.  

It is also suggested that parents cut hot dogs into "noodle-like strips" if they are going to give them to their children, but also raised another concern about this common food item. They contain potentially harmful ingredients, so when possible, it's recommended that parents stick to nitrite and nitrate-free varieties.

There's something so fun about popcorn. That's probably why it's always available at movie theaters, amusement parks, and sporting events. There are even some restaurants that offer it to patrons as they wait for their food. I was at such an eatery recently and was shocked when the parents poured pieces onto their young child's high chair tray.  

Have you ever choked on popcorn or had a kernel stuck at the back of your throat? Imagine how that would feel if you were a very small child. It could be very dangerous and more than a little scary. For this reason, popcorn is among the foods that the pediatricians from the American Academy of Pediatrics say to avoid giving to children under 4 years old.