Baby Food Stages and Steps

Baby Food Stages and Steps


Foods that you might first start your 4-6 month old baby on include:
Beech-Nut Naturals Stage 1
Earth's Best 1st Beginner Foods
Gerber 1st Foods
Heinz Step 1 Beginner Foods These include single ingredient foods, like rice cereal, and pureed fruits and vegetables.
Next, when your baby is 7-8 months old, he can eat '2' baby foods, which include single ingredient and combination foods that are strained, instead or being pureed. Examples include Beech-Nut Naturals Stage 2 Apples & Bananas, Gerber 2nd Foods Garden Vegetables, Heinz Strained Vegetables, and Earth's Best Corn and Butternut Squash.
When your baby is 9-12 months old, he should be ready for '3' baby foods. These foods have more texture and small chunks to encourage chewing. Examples of '3' foods include Beech-Nut Naturals Stage 3 Chicken Lasagna, Gerber 3rd Foods Broccoli & Carrots with Cheese, Heinz Vegetables Beef & Spaghetti (Junior Foods), and Earth's Best Chunky Orchard Fruit (Chunky Blend). These jars of baby food are easy to spot because they are usually bigger than stage 1 and 2 baby foods, since your baby likely has a bigger appetite by the time he is ready for these foods.
Lastly, your baby will progress to '4' foods or table food at the end of his first year or beginning of his second year. At this point, you may be feeding your baby the food that the rest of the family is eating, or you might continue to buy commercially prepared toddler foods. These include Beech-Nut Naturals Table Time Peach Dices In White Grape Juice From Concentrate and Heinz Step 4 Toddler Cuisine Chicken & Stars with Vegetables & Gravy.
Baby Food Stages and Steps for Your BabyKeep in mind that the age recommendations for when you start each stage are just general guidelines. Some babies are ready for '2' foods before they are 7-8 months, while others might not be ready for them until they are 9-10 months old. Instead of starting each stage of baby food at these ages, it is usually more important that your baby advances through the different stages in his own good time. Be sure to talk to your Pediatrician if your child gets 'stuck' in any one particular stage and can't handle the foods in the next stage.