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You have probably heard that it is better to offer vegetables before offering fruit to your baby. The reason is that fruit is sweeter, so your baby may not accept vegetables if he starts eating them after fruit. Start with the orange vegetables first — carrots, squash, sweet potatoes. Then try green vegetables such as peas and green beans. Try one new vegetable for 3-4 days before starting another one. Start with one to three teaspoons once a day. You could gradually increase this to four tablespoons a day. Once the baby is doing well with vegetables, you may add fruits to their nutrition. Start with plain, single ingredient fruits such as bananas, applesauce, pears, apricot, peaches or plums, around one to three teaspoons once a day. Gradually increase this to four tablespoons.
Do not feed the baby directly from the jar. Take out the amount needed for a feeding and put it in another dish, and cover the original jar of leftover baby food and refrigerate it immediately.
This way you will avoid mixing baby's saliva with the food, and you'll avoid spoiling the rest of the jar, and that one jar of baby food can be used for a few days, but not more than three.
Do not add salt, sugar, honey or spices to baby foods and never give honey to a child that is less than one year old because honey can give a baby Botulism, a type of food poisoning that can be deadly.
Help your child develop healthy food habits and a relaxed feeling about eating, so offer appropriate foods at regular times.
Sit down and eat with your child because he will enjoy your company while eating. You decide what foods to offer but let your child decide how much and whether to eat.
Safety Tips
Always stay with your baby while he or she is eating or drinking and avoid foods that can cause choking such as popcorn, peanuts, nuts, hard candies, and raw carrots.
Try to avoid other hard raw vegetables, whole Marshmallows, jellybeans, globs of peanut butter, ice cubes, and chips. Hot dogs and grapes should be sliced lengthwise first, then into small pieces.
Avoid high allergenic foods, such as nuts, strawberries until after your baby is one year old.
Make sure milk, juice, and soft cheese, such as feta, brie, and camembert are pasteurized. Feed only breast milk or infant formula until your baby is at least four months old (or preferably six), and after that age, you may begin to introduce solid foods.
Start with single grain iron-fortified cereals such as rice, barley, and oatmeal. Next, you may start orange vegetables, then green vegetables and fruits should be introduced last.