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Feeding Your Baby From Newborn to One Year

Confused about what to feed baby when? Our expert guides you through the stages.

By Heather Hatfield
WebMD the Magazine - Feature

Reviewed by Sara DuMond, MD

It's OK to admit it, new parents: You're feeling a bit frantic about feeding your baby. You'll be relieved to know it doesn't require a degree in nutrition science. From liquids -- via breast or bottle -- all the way up to starting solids, Jennifer Shu, MD, pediatrician and co-author of Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed With Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup, offers this basic guide to what your baby should eat and drink during the first year of life.

Birth to 4 Months

Whether you decide to formula-feed, breastfeed, or use a mix of both, a liquid diet is all your baby needs for the first few months.

For breastfeeding, let baby be the boss. Watch your baby's cues to know how much and how often to feed her. If she starts turning her head or pushing away, she's probably done. If she wakes up from a nap and starts sucking on her fingers, it's time to feed again.
For formula-feeders, always be sure to mix the formula according to the instructions on the label. And don't forget to wash your hands before you handle the formula or bottle.
Try to get your baby comfortable drinking liquids at room temperature or straight from the fridge so you can skip the step of heating them.
Offer only the amount of formula you think your baby will finish at one sitting. Once the bottle has touched her mouth, it's good for only about an hour, at which point bacteria starts to multiply in the bottle.

4 Months to 1 Year

Typically in months 4 through 6, it's time to start solids. Think safety first -- offer food that's small, soft, and smooth to avoid choking as your baby learns the mechanics of chewing and eating.

Although rice cereal has long been the recommended first food, it's time for mush to move over. The latest thinking is that any single-ingredient food -- meat, fruit, vegetables, or cereal -- is a good starting point as long as it covers the bases of small, soft, and smooth. While meat might be a surprise to some parents, it's a good choice because it's high in iron that's better absorbed by babies than that in infant cereal.
Be on allergy alert. Wait at least three days before working a new food into the rotation so you can watch for allergies that can develop immediately, like swelling or breathing problems, or more slowly, like hives or eczema.
Be sure to keep old foods in the rotation to build up a well-rounded menu of flavors and textures.
Hold off on giving your baby whole milk until 1 year. When it comes to introducing yogurt though, most pediatricians recommend waiting until your baby is 9 months or older. It's processed, so the milk protein is more tolerable. Before this age, babies have a limited amount of lactase enzyme (which helps digest lactose).
Routine, routine, routine. Feed your baby in the same place every meal, every day, while she is seated in a secured seat. Don't let your baby eat on the run -- it not only poses a choking hazard, but it also sets the stage for eating battles when she grows into toddlerhood.