What foods to offer your baby now to encourage healthy eating later?

After six months, your little one’s need for energy and some important nutrients (such as iron, zinc, and protein) can’t be met with breast milk or formula alone.

Experts agree breast milk is best for babies. Not only is it the most nutritionally complete food your newborn will ever have, but it also benefits you and your baby in other ways, some that will last a lifetime.

By Dr. Ted Jablonski, family physician

Your baby’s growing (so fast!) and his digestive system is developing, too.

Whether you want to express breast milk or you’re thinking of supplementing with baby formula, try these 13 tips on how to introduce a bottle.

Did you know? Both pressuring your baby to eat more, or restricting how much they eats, can interfere with their growth.

How will you feed your newborn?

By Dr. Dina Kulik, pediatrician

The way young children are fed may be as important as the food offered

Around the six-month mark, your baby will probably show signs of being ready for bites of their first food. This is unofficially called the “om-nom-nom” stage because it’s among the more common sounds you’ll hear from them around this time. Read our step-by-step guide for introducing solids to your baby. 

It may seem like a whole new world now that your little one is starting to eat solid foods. Look out for signs your baby is hungry or full, and let them lead the way with how much they want to eat.

By now you've noticed that everything seems to make its way into your little one’s mouth. Once he’s able grasp small objects, eating those little goodies is exactly what he'll try to do. His tiny teeth are ready to be put to good use. Although he's only using them for cutting, not really chewing, that doesn't mean your child is ready for just any food you offer.

By Dr. Jeff Habert, family physician

Did you know? Guidelines have changed for when to introduce your baby to eggs, wheat, fish, and foods containing peanuts. Offering your baby these foods early, from around six months of age, may actually help prevent food allergy.

The ways you feed your baby are as important as what you feed them. Find out what to watch for, and what to do, when your baby starts eating complementary foods. Check how many of the following responsive-feeding approaches you use, each day, with your baby.

There is growing evidence that factors in the environment, including baby's first foods and the time of their introduction, can play a critical role when a child develops allergies.

Did you know? Now that your baby is six to eight months old, exposure to a variety of nutritious foods, flavours, and textures can help shape your baby’s likes and dislikes when they’re a child.

Recent research on food allergies has led to new recommendations for the introduction of commonly allergenic foods once babies start eating solid food. Confused? Read on for some common questions and answers that explain the latest guidelines.

Did you know? As your baby reaches six to eight months old, some vitamins and minerals are especially important for their health.