VEGETABLES/FRUIT/FRUIT JUICE
(About 4 Months of Age)

YOUR BABY IS GETTING:
Breast milk or Formula
Baby Cereal

YOU MAY NOW ADD:

Strained Vegetables — Begin with mild flavored yellow vegetables like squash, sweet potatoes or carrots. Follow these with green vegetables like green beans, green peas, spinach, then beets. Strained Fruits- Add fruits to your baby’s diet after trying all the vegetables (6-7) offered in baby food jars. After trying 2-3 fruits, you have enough foods in the baby’s diet to go to 3 meals a day, and allow a mid afternoon snack of juice. Baby juices (4 oz) are okay, or dilute regular clear juices with water (2 oz juice & 2 oz water). Four ounces of diluted juice one time is all that should be given, throw out unfinished juice. Do not allow sipping throughout the day. Juice is not necessary if your baby doesn’t like it. The afternoon snack can instead be a small formula or breast feeding.

GIVE BABY THIS MUCH:
Offer only one new vegetable at a time for 2 days, looking for allergic reaction or food intolerance (gas, stomachache, loose stools, rash). Check with your doctor or nurse about symptoms of an allergic reaction. When you have emptied one jar (1/2 cup) of a vegetable, try a different vegetable. Begin by offering 1 teaspoon a day. Gradually increase the amount so that by 6 months of age Baby is getting one jar (1/2 cup) of vegetable each day. Only start one new vegetable type every 2 days. Do the same process with adding fruits.

TRY THESE IDEAS:
Offer solids before the bottle or breast milk. You use vegetables you cook for your family with no salt, sugar or other Seasonings, or canned vegetables pureed in a blender. Freeze extra in an ice cube tray and transfer cubes to a freezer bag. Defrost 1-2 cubes for a feeding.

ALLERGIES:
Continue to look for food allergies when trying new foods. Symptoms may be hives or diarrhea. Severe reactions would have swollen face, difficulty swallowing and breathing. These reactions are an EMERGENCY. Children with eczema may see a flare-up. Do Not give whole eggs, chocolate, nuts, fresh berries, shell fish, or cow’s milk until 1 YEAR OF AGE, and then try slowly and separately.

REMEMBER:
Use a cup, saucer, or small bowl. DO NOT feed from the jar.
Throw uneaten food away. DO NOT put food back in the jar. Adding salt, sugar, butter, or margarine to the Baby’s food is unnecessary. Feedings may reduce milk intake after a meal by 1-2 oz, but limit solid foods if necessary to maintain total daily intake of 28-30oz.

Check with your doctor or nurse about vitamins and iron.