Help Me Be Healthy – 6 to 12 Months

Feeding is our special time

I should drink breast milk or baby formula until I turn 1. You can still breastfeed me after 1 year.

I know when I get hungry or full. I let you know by the way I act. Please feed me when I act hungry. Let me eat until I act full.

I might drink breast milk or formula 4 or more times a day. My tummy can hold about 6 to 8 ounces at a time.

Hold me when you feed me. I feel safe in your arms.
Sometimes I stop eating to talk with you or look around. I am not full yet. Please talk to me. I love our time together.

Help me learn to eat other foods

At 6 months, I may be ready to try new foods. Please go slowly. Talk with my doctor and WIC if our family has allergies or I was born early.

I must be ready to eat other foods.

You will know I am when I can:

Sit and hold my head steady.
Show I want food by opening my mouth.
Show I don’t want food by closing my mouth or turning my head.

Offer me only one new healthy food at a time. My body must get used to each one. Start with a single food. It could be baby cereal, vegetables, fruit, or meat. I might only eat 1 or 2 spoonfuls each day. Wait 1 week before you try another new food. If I throw up, wheeze, get a rash or diarrhea, stop feeding me the food. Call my doctor right away and tell WIC.

I will move through 4 stages of food

Smooth: strained or puree
Mashed: smooth with a few tiny lumps
Chopped: more lumps
Tiny pieces of food.

Each stage gets a little harder. Be sure I can chew and swallow food from one stage before I try the next one.

Foods taste new to me.

I might spit it out or make a face. If I keep my mouth closed, don’t force me to eat. Try again some other time.

Give me safe food

Wash your hands and mine before you fix my food or feed me. Do not heat my food in a microwave oven. It could burn my mouth.

Put my food in a dish and feed it to me with a baby spoon. Throw out any food left in the dish and breast milk or formula left in the cup or bottle after feeding me.

Do not give me foods I can choke on or get sick eating:

hot dogs or meat sticks
peanuts
raw vegetables
whole grapes
bacon
potato or corn chips
fish with bones
nuts
bologna or deli meats
honey or food made with honey
popcorn
hard candy
raisins

Teach me to drink from a cup

I can try to sip from a cup at 6 months. Use a small cup that does not break. It does not need a lid. Pour a little plain water into it. Lift the cup so it touches my lips and I get a taste.

I need practice! Put breast milk, formula, or water in the cup. Hold the cup while I drink.
Do not give me punch, tea, or soda. The sugar hurts my teeth and is not what my body needs.

Let me eat food with my fingers

By 8 or 9 months, I want to eat some food with my fingers. Fix safe foods I can’t choke on:

Tiny pieces of cooked vegetables or soft fruit.
Tiny pieces of cooked meat, chicken, or turkey.
Mashed cooked beans, egg yolk, or tofu.
Chopped noodles or rice.
Bite size pieces of toast, plain crackers, or soft tortilla.

Make pieces of food no bigger than a small square

Let’s play

Put me on a blanket on the floor. Put a toy just out of my reach so

I can move to get it. Roll a ball to me.

I love to learn from you. Read and sing to me. Play peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. Take me for a walk and talk about what we see.

How much should I eat?

Make sure I have breast milk or formula at least 4 times a day.
Start giving me 1 to 2 tablespoons of baby cereal, vegetables, and meat at some of my meals. Give me more if I am still hungry.
Let me eat until I act full. I might close my lips, turn or shake my head, or raise my arm.
Eat with me at our family meals. I eat better when you are with me. Let’s turn o all our TVs and cell phones so we can talk.
I am eating enough if the doctor says I am growing well.

Look what I can do!

6 to 9 months

I can sit up and roll over. I creep and crawl. I like to shake things and drop them to see what happens.

9 to 12 months

I like to use my hands. I can hold my cup. I like to point and wave “bye-bye.” I say “da-da” and “ma-ma.” I can pull myself up to stand. I can walk if you hold both my hands.

Keep me safe and healthy

I need checkups and shots. Take me to the doctor at 6, 9, and 12 months.
I must sit when I eat. Never leave me alone when I eat or when changing or bathing me.
Clean my gums and teeth with a clean, wet, soft cloth after I eat.
Never put me to bed with a bottle. I could choke, get an earache, or ruin my teeth.
If other people feed me, be sure to ask what and how much I ate.
Let me explore and learn but make each room safe for me.
Keep me away from tobacco smoke. Smoke hurts my lungs.
Buckle me into an infant car seat in the car. It’s the law! Install my seat in the car’s back seat, facing backwards.

WIC Utah Women, Infants & Children

Utah WIC Program 1-877-WIC-KIDS

or 1-877-942-5437

USDA Non-discrimination Statement

Current and design adapted from Maryland WIC Program