Weaning Plan and Guidelines for your Baby from 6 months to 2 years of Age

7th Month
After the 7th month, an evening meal can be started and as Ragi is given in the morning, the Cerelac can be shifted to a 6 or 7 PM feed.( You may refer to our previous article on weaning dated 5-12-2020) After 7 months you may use wheat Cerelac and other variations like vegetable and fruit Cerelacs. Till this time we recommend only rice as a cereal grain as it has the least chance of causing allergies.

Fresh apple, scraped with a spoon can be given before or after dinner from 7 months onwards. It is a waste to stew apple or juice it. Scrape the pulp carefully from a freshly cut apple and give tiny amounts in a spoon. Ideally this can be given at 5pm.

8th Month
Egg yolk may be introduced after 7 months. It must be fully cooked and mashed. Half boiled or raw egg cannot be digested and is just thrown out of the body in the motion. Idli, dosa and upma can be given for breakfast from the 7th or 8th month, starting with very small quantities mashed with your clean fingers. Lunch would be a meal of rice, dhal and vegetables which should have been introduced in the 6 th month.

9th Month
Boiled chicken and fish may be added to the lunch in the 9th month. Whole egg can be introduced in the diet after 9 or 10 months. Very small quantities of butter or ghee can be added after the baby is 9 months. This is not necessary but if you want to include this it should be done only after the baby has completed 9 months.

After 9 months, the cerelac used for dinner can be changed to a meal consisting of rice, dhal and vegetables like carrot, beans and potato. This meal should be well cooked and very soft so that it can be mashed with a fork to a soft, semisolid consistency. This meal should not be ground in a mixi.

10th Month
By 10 months small pieces of fruits and boiled vegetables may be given as finger foods cut into finger shaped sticks, which they can hold and eat on their own. Biscuits also may be eaten on their own with supervision so that a big piece is not bitten off which may cause chocking.

Caution!
Great care should be taken to keep all utensils and one's hands very clean and to use properly boiled and cooled water while preparing juices. Please wash hands and fruits thoroughly before preparing and feeding the child.

Diet plan for Infants 1-2 years of age
Morning : Milk 1 glass
Breakfast : Idli 2 + Sambar; or
Dosa 1-2 + Sambar; or
Ragi / Oats porridge with milk, or

Bread 1-2 slices + Egg cooked 1 no.
11 am: Mashed banana 1 no. (small) or Mosambi juice 1 glass
Lunch: Rice ½-3/4 C + Dhal ¼ C + Veg ¼ C + Curd ¼ C, or Non-veg 1 piece
4 pm: Milk 1 glass + Biscuit 1-2 nos.
5-6 pm: Apple ½
Dinner: Rice ½ C / Chapati 1 + Dhal ¼ C + Veg ¼ C, + Curd ¼ C
Bedtime: Milk ½ - ¾ C
Cup= 225 ml or 8 oz

What is the Ideal Weight range for Infants?