New born babies experience hunger fluctuation within minutes or seconds sometimes. At the same time parents are confused what to feed their infants. Some babies experience early growth and their diet includes solid foods other than breast milk. Some babies might take time for solid food intake. It is necessary for parents to look out for such signs and feed their baby accordingly. Also parents should consider the opinions of the pediatrician and discuss your baby’s food patterns or any specific habit you observe while feeding them.
Month to month food chart for babies:

Food for new born babies

It is advisable that your new born baby should be given breast milk or formula milk after every 2-3 hours. You should feed them approximately 60-120 ml. As they grow older and their digestive system starts developing, you can increase the quantity to 120-220ml. Many pediatricians advise breast milk as a complete supplement for all the proteins

Food for 5-6 months old

Along with regular intake of breast milk or formula milk your new born baby’s can be given mashed bananas and apples in their breakfast. For their lunch they can have well cooked pureed and strained carrot and sweet potato. If they still feel hungry you can feed them with pulse soup after boiling pulse in sufficient water (water of moong dal)

If you see any allergies then discontinue that particular food and talk to pediatrician regarding possible remedies of allergy. If your baby refuses to eat whatever you are offering then don’t force, just try it next day.

Food for 6-8months old

As babies are more physically active here, it is important to give them iron rich food like Iron-fortified cereal like rice, oats mixed with milk. You can mix two fruits like banana, peaches, pears, plum, and mango together and puree them for better taste. You can try the combination with different vegetables like sweet potato, carrots, beans and potato.

You can also feed them with unsweetened yogurt from low-fat milk (very small quantity) and small portion of Tofu or cheese.

Food for 8-9 months old

You can introduce new grains and millets in your baby’s diet. You can try with amaranth, barley, finger millet, sesame, pasta along with rice &oats. You might like to introduce wheat, buckwheat at this stage. You can cut grapes into small pieces and give it to your baby. Vegetables completely cooked/steamed like Carrots, beans, broccoli, onion, peas, sweet potatoes and cauliflower and onions. Try foods like cottage cheese, fish, and egg yolk.

Beware of foods that can cause allergies in your child. So whenever you introduce it into your baby, monitor your child for any signs of allergic reactions.

Food for 10-12 months old

Babies love different shapes, colors, textures. You can try the same food in different forms. You can introduce spices in their foods too. You can give them pulses to eat like Rajma(kidney beans), White Channa(chickpea), green peas and lentils and also try Dairy products like Low fat yogurt and cheese. Also give them non-vegetarian fully cooked foods like egg yolk, egg white, fish and meat. You can make khichdi by mixing rice & pulses together and add little spices.  

Once you’ve tried a few of these foods and your baby seems to be tolerating them well, you can increase their food intake gradually and consult your pediatrician before introducing anything new. Special precautions need to be taken with certain babies. If your child falls into any of the category which needs to be specially looked at, consult with your baby’s doctor or an allergist to create a customized feeding plan before adding solids to your baby’s diet.

Disclaimer: Every child has a different way of reacting to certain foods; it is advisable to consult your child’s pediatrician before starting a new item of food. The above blog is not medically verified and is opinion only.