When to Start Giving Baby Meats and a Heavy Cream Issue?!

When I was a first time mom, I was shocked at all the heavy cream too but it was a good reminder to me that they need that heavy cream to help their brains develop. It's actually good fat for babies to get. just avoid the preservatives and sugar/sodium.

I started giving my daughter meat at about 7mos. (once a week). She is now 9mo and she eats meat a few times a week. I do not puree it. I cut it up very small and let her use her fingers. She loves to feed herself and I don't want to interfere with her developing that skill. I cook her lean beef roasts, baked chicken, and salmon. I also make pasta (penne noodles) and add ground sirlion to the sauce. That is probably her favorite. I think at 8mo it is not necessary to puree unless you are uncomfortable with your child eating small pieces. At the end of 8mos I started giving her small pieces of cheese and bites of yogurt. They are so processed that dairy products like that are safer than say milk. Good Luck!

S.,

LOL! If baby is nursing, she's living off of heavy cream! Aside from that, I'm totally with you on making your own food for baby. It's not a lot of extra work, and it is healthier for them.

As for meat, there is no reason to withold meat from your baby as long as she can chew it. The touted "iron deficiency" that so many babies suffer from comes largely from parents not serving meat until later. I'm not sure why meat gets such a bad rap, but it's an excellent early food for babies as long as it is cooked soft and shredded small for them to eat. Meat from the crock pot is PERFECT! I have a little one-quart dip crock pot, and I could cook a chicken breast or two in there, shred them, and keep them for a couple meals for baby. In many cultures, meat is the first food that babies receive. The mothers chew up the meat a little, than give it to baby. It sounds kind of gross, but the advantage is 1) it's easy for baby to eat, 2) your saliva starts breaking down the meat, making it easier for baby's gut to digest, and 3) you actually help build up a colony of "good bacteria" in baby's gut, something that is really important when transitioning to food.

I say go for it. My DD's both LOVED meat, and we never had any anemia issues and never had to supplement with iron fortified foods that were likely to constipate. My poor neice is so filled up with iron-fortified food that it is screaming and tears every time she has to poop. Better to use the natural foods.

Here is an article from Kellymom.com about first foods. It addresses meat: http://tinyurl.com/7wsn6
There is also an article about iron supplementation: http://tinyurl.com/5sh38t

Best of luck,
S.

I have four healthy kids. We always get good complements on their height and weight at the doctors office. My last child is almost 3, so it has been a couple of years since I have been all through that. From what I remember you are not supposed to give your child that meat in a jar. I do not think I gave it to any of them. I did chop up little pieces for them when they were around a year. I breastfeed for 11-13 months and that is where they got the bulk of their need protein and fats. They did not start other foods until they were 6+ months (which is the last recommendation that I heard). I also started giving my kids the Yobaby yogurts in the yogurt isle. They are made from whole milk and have great probiotics in them. I do not think there is any need to give your baby meat at this time. I would research it a bit more in baby books before you feed them that meat. I do not think it is the best thing before one.

I gave my oldest, 11 now, stage 3 baby foods from gerber all the time, but my other three wanted real food not baby food. My oldest started eating stage 3 with the meats and everything at like 7 or 8 months, but she cut teeth early. That girl is has been the smallest of any of my children, lol. She is 11 and only weighs 60lbs, my 3 year old son weighs 45lbs. She can wear some of his shorts!!! I say 8 months is old enough and you should not have to puree it as long as the baby can chew. About the heavy cream I guess it is ok cause my oldest ate that stuff for a few months and like I said she was always under weight for her age.

my doctor said you can start at 7 months.

S.-
My son is almost 8 months, and I give him anything he wants to eat (except of course sugary stuff). When we are eating meats, I will give him some. (No steak though, too tough unless pureed). He is at the point where he will refuse any purees, he just likes to feed himself finger food. And I never really worried about the heavy cream in the baby foods, and my son loves the pasta pick-ups from Gerber. Most of them have meat in them, but I'm sure it's not a whole lot. I try to make sure he gets another meal with meat in it to make sure he gets his protein, but he loves them!!! But when we have chicken or hamburger or any kind of meat I just cut it up into little pieces and give them to him, but before he did the finger food stuff I just put everything into the grinder and pureed it. I sometimes had to add some water or formula to it to thin it up a little bit, but unless it was too salty or too greasy, he always had what we had. Good luck with that little one, and I wish we lived closer because peppermint mocha is my favorite too (in fact I just drove all the way across town to get one, and it's great!!!)

Heavy cream is good for your baby at this age. It is essentially the hind milk they get when they are nursing. Babies need lots of fat until age 2 to help with neurological development, and dairy cream is a good fat at that age. Cream is far better for your baby than beef or pork fat.

You can check with your pediatrician for his or her advice, but I don't think you're likely to see issues feeding your 8-month-old meats. Your meat loaf sounds pretty good... just mash it up so it's easy to swallow. A soft white fish is not too hard to eat, and mashed-up egg yolk is good at that age too. (Any allergy concerns are usually with the whites, not the yolks.)

I haven't found a commercial baby food with meat in it that I really liked. I do sometimes get the lentil & rice jars, though, for "emergency" dinners. (I've been making a lot of bean stews, too. My baby loves beans...

I think 8mths is a good time to start meat... if they can pick up and chew Cheerios. I avoided the jarred baby food meats. I went with more like deli turkey and pan grilled chicken breast. Cut in little pieces - - they eat it like finger food. Unless you have an allergy concern - you can also try scrambled whole egg with a little cheese on top or just the whites. It is a great source of protein - - and a good habit to start.

I think the meatloaf is fine, too. Doesn't have to be puree'd. Just small bites alone or mixed with some mashed potatoes and mushed up carrots.

Have fun!

You can start giving meats now. They need the iron and the protein. The sooner the better so they can get used to the texture. I was working full-time, so I didn't have time to make my own baby food. I bought gerber baby food and they even make gerber organic! The ingredients in the turkey dinner were just turkey, water, and cornstarch (makes it kind of like gravy). It doesn't taste that great because there is no salt, but there is no heavy cream!

I hope this helps! Good luck!

I used a small cuisenart chopper to puree grilled chicken, snadwhich meats, hams, whatever. Do be careful of the marinates you use and maybe just add later for yourself if wanted. then i mixed in apple sauce or other fruit puree (buy or make ahead and freeze in sandwhich bags...cut the tip of the bottom to pour it out when thawed.) Just add a little and then more and more. By the time she is one, she might be down to a little fruit puree and mostly meats. I would think the loaf would work but i might puree that a second or two as well to be sure. remebr she is actually swallowing the pieces...not chewing them. PS i couldn't buy those 'dinners" as mine are dairy and soy intolerant.

Hi S.,
Heavy cream is probably the best ingredient in that jar for your baby. Infants need plenty of good fats for proper brain development. An excellent article on what to feed your baby can be found at: http://westonaprice.org/children/nourish-baby.html. Good luck!
B.

It is never too soon if she can digest them and won't choke. The earlier you feed her different spices and flavors the less picky she will be as she gets older. I do a turkey meatloaf that my kids LOVE! It is soft and mushy and if your daughter likes it go for it. There are the gerber meat sticks too that basically dissolve in their mouths if she can self feed. I had both of my kids on meats by 6 mos, they need the protein in meat big time. As far as heavy cream, if it isn't at every meal it isn't any big deal. Kids do need fat especially before the year mark. There is nothing wrong with the heavy cream and most baby food companies put things that are okay for babies in them. It is more being concerned if too much sugar or sodium is in products. I wouldn't worry, as long as she likes it and has no allergies then I say try everything new on her that she will eat. It is great you are doing this now as kids with bland, mushy foods end up being very picky toddlers. Both of my kids had very much grown up type foods by 10 mos and both are good eaters.