1 to 1½ Years

I’m ready to learn how to eat most of the foods you do.

I need your help to learn how to be a good eater and DO IT BY MYSELF!

WHAT

  • Offer small servings of several foods that are easy for me to eat.
  • I need soft, tender, and moist foods like cooked vegetables and soft fruits.
  • I still love to come to the breast to breastfeed but expressed breast milk in a cup is great too!

HOW

  • Offer me foods from a small plate or bowl.
  • I want to choose if I use my fingers or my spoon. Please be patient if I am messy.
  • Cut my food into small, bite-sized pieces no bigger than your thumbnail.

WHEN

  • I do best with 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 2 or 3 snacks. Let’s eat at the same times every day.
  • I only need water between meals and snacks. This way I will be hungry – but not too hungry – when it is time for the next meal or snack.

WHERE

  • Eat with me. I need your help and I learn a lot during family meals. Our time together is special. I feel so loved when you pay attention to me.
  • Let me eat at the table with everyone else. I need to be safe, sitting up, supported, and buckled in a highchair.
Let me decide which and how much of the foods you offer.
Please don’t force me to eat more or less than I want.

Here are some examples of what meal and snack portion sizes might look like on my plate.

Breakfast

¼ cup diced kiwi

½ slice, cut up whole grain toast

½ cooked, cut up egg

½ cup breast milk or whole milk

Lunch

½ medium, sliced banana

½ cup cooked, chopped green beans

¼ cup cooked brown rice

½ cup breast milk or whole milk

Snacks

½ cup dry cereal

2 to 3 whole grain crackers with cheese

½ graham cracker

water between meals and snacks

Dinner

¼ cup diced strawberries

½ cup mashed peas

¼ cup cooked whole grain pasta

2 tablespoons baked, chopped chicken

½ cup breast milk or whole milk

Daily Suggested Food Group Amounts

FRUITS

2 servings a day
1 serving = ½ cup
(1 cup total)

Cooked or soft, raw fruit.

Mashed, sliced, or chopped.

Offer a variety: red, yellow, orange, blue, and green.

VEGETABLES

2 servings a day
1 serving = ½ cup
(1 cup total)

Cooked and mashed, sliced, or chopped veggies.

Offer a variety: dark green, orange, red, yellow, and purple.

GRAINS

6 servings a day
1 serving = ½ ounce
(3 ounces total)

Bite-sized pieces.

Whole grain bread, tortillas, rice, or noodles.

Dry or cooked cereal.

PROTEINS

2 servings a day
1 serving = 1 ounce
(2 ounces total)

Cooked, chopped meat, poultry, or fish.

Eggs.
Cooked, mashed beans, or peas.

Peanut butter.

DAIRY

4 servings a day
1 serving = ½ cup
(2 cups total)

Breast milk (at breast or expressed) or whole milk.

Yogurt.

Cheese.

Look what I can do!

  • I can drink from a small, plastic cup at meals and snacks.
  • I am learning how to use a spoon.
  • I love learning how to walk with you.
  • I may know how to say some words. Please read, talk, and sing to me so I can learn more.

Keep me safe and healthy

Please DON’T give me foods I could choke on like whole nuts, whole grapes, seeds, hot dogs, or hard candies.

I need check-ups and shots to stay healthy. I should visit the doctor at 12 months, 15 months, and 18 months.

Brush my teeth twice a day with a small, soft toothbrush and water.

Be with me during screen time and interact with me. Remember, to schedule plenty of non-screen time into my day.

Feeding a 6-7 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon and from a bowl, never from a bottle.

Feeding a 10-12 Month Old

Breast milk is the most important source of nutrition for your baby, even after you start offering solid foods.

Feeding a 8-9 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon. Never put cereal in a bottle.

Tips

Mom new born home

Breast milk and formula feeding:

Around 2-3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age, babies may experience a growth spurt when they feed more often.

As they grow babies can hold more milk, so feedings may become further apart and take less time.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Start offering whole milk when your baby is one year old.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months and beyond.

feeding solid foods

Feeding solid foods:

Wait to offer solid foods until your baby:

  • Can sit up and hold up their own head.
  • Opens their mouth when they see food.
  • Can close their lips around a spoon.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Try one new food at a time. Wait 5 days before trying another new food to watch for allergies. Food allergies may include wheezing, rash, or diarrhea.

Introduce peanut butter around 6 months. Spread a small, thin smear of peanut butter or nut butter thinly on a cracker.  Watch your baby for any reaction for the next 2 hours.

Babies under one year should NOT have honey due to the risk of botulism. Also, babies should not have foods that can cause choking like nuts or whole grapes.

All babies are different. Talk with WIC or your baby’s healthcare provider about your baby’s needs.

Feeding Cues

Feeding a 4-5 Month Old

Before teeth come in, wipe gums with a soft, clean wash cloth after each feeding, especially before bed.

Feeding a 0-3 Month Old

Newborns have tiny tummies and need to be fed often. In the first few weeks, you may need to wake your baby to feed if they sleep longer than 4 hours.

Growth Spurts

Many babies are fussy during a growth spurt and will want to nurse longer and more often. This is called cluster feeding. This is your baby’s way of helping you increase your milk supply so that you can keep up with their needs. Remember, the more your baby nurses, the more milk your body makes.

Growth spurts can happen at any time, and every baby is different.

They often happen at these ages:

two-three-weeks

2 to 3 Weeks

6 Weeks

three-months

3 Months

six-months

6 Months

What foods can I get?

Authorized Food List
Authorized Food List

Where can I shop?