What is it okay to feed my six month old baby?

[bizziebee]

I am just weaning my little girl, she is doing really well - going mad for porridge at the moment. However I am shit scared I will give her something I shouldn't - really don't know what you can and can't give her at her age.

I most want to know can i give her
cow's milk, butter, cheese and bread. Also anything I really really shouldn't give her. (Apart from the obvious things like mars bars and gin )

do you have allergies in the family? if not she can have anything at all except whole nuts, honey and no more than 1g salt a day so no processed food. some people are more cautious and introduce wheat slowly for example. however this is more applicable to allergic families or those weaning at 4 months.

what's wrong with mars bars and gin?
cow's milk is fine in cooking eg sauces. things like unpasturised cheeses are best avoided. with ds, i started with fruits and vegetables, then gradually introduced different cereal groups then proteins. i gave him a new food every few days so it would be obvious if he had any adverse reaction to it. just take it slowly and she'll be fine.

Cheese and butter are both fine but remember they both have salt in them.

cows milk but not as a main drink, can be used in cooking though

yes to cheese & bread unless you know of a dairy or wheat /gluten intolerance or allergy

gin ok for you though !!

cheers guys. So can she have cows milk on cereal / porridge then? Just been using water so far.

yes.

Like Ruddynorah said at the beginning, virtually anything goes.

My ds - 7 mths - constantly surprises me with what he'll eat - experiment away!!

Strawberries and tomatoes can be dodgy and they reccomend not to give until 9 months as some babies can be allergic to them. Also bannanas are hard to digest and can cause colic so also reccomended not to be given until 9 months or only in small quantities before then. Pork is very high in salt so not to be given before a year and no shellfish or unpasterised cheese before 2 years of age.
Gosh that makes it all sound more complicated than it is but its really not that bad. Good luck.

really about pork?
I mean obv suasages, ham, bacon etc are salty, but pork pork?

tulip - she has been having quite a bit of banana and seems okay so far - will keep an eye on it. Is pork really salty? I am veggie so she prob won't have muchc meat anway.

The only things not recommended from 6 months are whole nuts, honey, foods high in salt. Unless you have specific issues with food/other types of allergies then basically anything goes, using a bit of common sense of course!!

Ripe banana is a great weaning food and is easy to prepare - I have never heard of it causing colic (although it can be constipating for some people). My ds has a banana most days.

When is it safe to feed my baby........

The above link sets out the safe age to give foods such as honey, shellfish, nuts, strawberries, citrus, etc

I discovered only after I had set up an ongoing and expensive addiction that they shouldn't have prawns (too much iodine or something - bad for the thyroid). If I had known that, I wouldn't be spending a fortune on king prawns every week 11 years later!

Just go easy on salt, sugar, animal fats and anything artificial. And avoid the most common allergans. Apart from that, have fun. I loved this bit!

I have never seen specific advice to avoid prawns. Cooked shellfish is ok from 6 months.

that weblink is great seona - thanks very much.