Baby Feeding Schedule.Second half of the first year.

If your baby has become adept at eating baby cereal, you can begin to vary her diet. Some pediatricians recommend fruit before vegetables; others recommend vegetables before fruit. Anyway use single ingredients first.
At about the same time you start fruits, you can try juice too. Offer juice in a sippy-cup rather than a bottle - again, a bottle should contain only formula or breast milk. Juice in a bottle can lead to tooth decay, so don't offer juice at bed time.

baby-feeding

At first, your baby will probably need lots of help with the cup, but with some practice he will get the hang of it. Cups have a faster flow than nipples, which require active sucking.
Now is a good time to add meats.If you are raising your child as a vegetarian,you can find alternative sources of protein.Other sources of protein include ricotta cheese, mashed cottage cheese, and plain yogurt.
You can use commercially prepared baby food meats, or you can make your own as follows:
• Boil, bake, poach, stew, or braise meat until tender. Avoid frying.
• Remove all fat, bone, and skin from meat after cooking.
• Puree in blender until smooth, using cooking liquid, breast milk, or formula.

By the time your baby is around eight months old, you will probably be feeding her a schedule of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You will still need to give her plenty of breast milk or formula, too, though. You can give her milk with her meal, or you can give her juice if she is over six months old. Refrain from giving her citrus juice, however, until she is older.
As your baby continues to grow, you can begin to add more food items, and these can include baby food dinners. Dinners are great because they mix meats with vegetables and/or pasta or rice. Because your baby still doesn't have many teeth, you will probably want to stick with foods that are labeled "first foods" or "second foods".
In fact, you may begin with first foods, but you should progress to second foods by the time your baby is at least ten months, so that he can become accustomed to the different textures of food.

By the time your baby is ten months old, you should be able to give him foods from your own plate as long as you can mash them up. You do need to avoid foods that are choking hazards, such as nuts, peanut butter, grapes, hard candies, hot dogs, etc.
Once your child reaches his first birthday, he should be eating almost anything that isn't hard for him to chew and swallow. You will have gradually dropped some of his bottle feedings or breast feedings, and many pediatricians tell parents that they can switch their children to whole milk at one year.

When your baby can sit alone without support, pick up little things with the thumb and forefinger, and has a few teeth, you can start to offer table foods:
• Offer your baby a spoon or give finger foods with more texture like unsweetened dry cereals, toast, cooked grains, mashed vegetables, soft fruit, ground or mashed meat, beans, and strips of cheese.
• Let your baby feed himself as soon as he is interested. This is messier than you doing it, but it's important to allow the child feeding independence for his development.
• Offer foods with different colors, textures, and tastes. Offer food without added sugar or salt.
• Hot dogs, nuts, chips, raisins, popcorn, seeds, granola, and hard vegetables (like raw carrots) can be dangerous for babies and toddlers - they can cause choking.

Here is an example of a sample meal plan for eight-twelve month old babies:
• Breakfast: 6-8 tablespoons baby cereal or cooked iron-enriched adult cereal, 2 tablespoons soft fruit, 6-8 oz milk feeding
• Mid-morning: 2-4 oz unsweetened juice (in a cup) and toast, 1/2 to 1 slice
• Lunch: 2-4 tablespoons soft vegetables, 1-3 tablespoons pureed or chopped meat or mashed beans, 6-8 oz milk feeding
• Mid-afternoon: 2-4 tablespoons soft fruit or toast, 2-4 oz water
• Dinner: 3-4 tablespoons soft yellow or green vegetable, 3-4 tablespoons soft vegetable or fruit

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