What our customers are saying!

"From the easily distracted, day dreaming little girl I had 2 weeks ago, I now have a super star student! My little girl is now concentrating at school for most of the day - her teacher cannot believe the transformation. Last week she received a certificate for 100% improvement in concentration at school and I'm just about to head off to her school assembly where she will receive "Star of the Week" for her class.

"

Pregnancy Updates

Get free tips on natural pregnancy and natural childbirth

Enter your due date:

Mother & Baby

When to introduce solids

This protocol is based on multiple sources and aims to minimise reactivity and food intolerance/allergy, while promoting optimal health and vitality in your baby.

When to introduce solids? - This does differ from one baby to the next and depends on the weight of your baby and their interest in watching you eat. Most babies are ready to start eating solids when they start showing an interest in you eating, when they once were sleeping well at night or in the day and all of a sudden have started waking and wanting more milk. This can happen anywhere from 4-6 months.

How to start

Begin with one small meal a day, introduce lunch first. Breakfast second and dinner third
Slowly build up to the three meals over a period of 2-4 weeks.
Do not over do the fruits versus the vege as baby will get a liking for sweet flavours.

Foods to start with

Fruits - Apple, Pear and Melons
Vegetables - Carrot, Avocado, Courgette, Kumera and Pumpkin
Avoid potato, rice cereals and muesli's until at least 10 months

How to avoid allergies
When introducing a new food, use it for three days in a row and observe any reactions. If you do not notice any reactions still only use it one day in four. still don't use it every day, rotate foods and use it only one day in four. Many food reactions develop due to overexposure. Introduce one food at a time.
Signs of reactivity include ANY changes that you notice, these may be skin changes (eczema, rash, nappy rash), puffy eyes, irritability, runny nose, cough, sneezing, mucous, or digestive upsets beyond what may be expected (remember the digestive system has a lot to get used to, and changes are inevitable, but excessive discomfort or diarrhoea are not).
New foods can take up to ten tastes before they are accepted by your baby.
Never add salt, butter or sugar to your baby's foods.
Keep it simple! Don't be too concerned with variety at first, your baby doesn't know what its missing out on and has a lifetime to try all the foods in the world! Variety becomes more important once your baby is fully weaned.
Highly reactive/allergenic foods to be avoided until 10-12 months: wheat, dairy, citrus, kiwifruit, strawberries, fish, eggs, potato, tomato, chicken, gluten-grains, nuts.
A note on grains: wheat should be avoided until 9 months if not 1 year. Most sources say to introduce non-wheat, non-gluten grains from 6 months, while the sources more concerned with allergy say all grains should be avoided until 10-12 months of age.
Dairy: In any babies with a family history of allergy, dairy should be avoided until at least 12 months old. Goat's milk is closer in make-up to human breast milk and has less lactose than Cow's milk. Nut and seed milks are a great way to get extra minerals and protein into your baby, these should be made fresh at home, see recipe below.

To start: 4-6 months

ripe non-acidic fruits, pear, avocado, melon, mango, pawpaw, stone fruit.
kumara, pumpkin, carrot, yams.
All food pureed totally smooth

6-10 months

apples (apples can be reactive, and should be avoided until later in sensitive babies. Cooked is best)
bananas
berries, blueberries
steamed/pureed veges; broccolli, spinach, silverbeet, courgette, beetroot, cauliflower.
gluten-free grains: baby rice (eg Ceres brand brown rice cereal), amaranth, millet, quinoa, buckwheat.
Food can be more textured, mashed.
The arrival of teeth change things!

10-12 months

meat; lamb, beef (start with the broth only)
hummus
pesto
gluten-grains: oats, barley flakes, rye.
Nightshade family (start slow!): potato, tomato, eggplant, capsicum.
Egg yolks
Crushed nuts and seeds, added to cereals or as butters, tahini, almond butter etc.
tofu/tempeh

1-2 years

Wheat may be introduced now.
Legumes and beans, mashed chickpeas, lentils, etc
Dried fruits (organic only, avoid preservative 220, sulphites)
Milk/Dairy products
Eggs
Citrus
Poached fish
Chicken
Strawberries
Kiwifruit
Mushrooms
And any other healthy yummy thing you can think of! See Food Ideas for 1-2s Info Sheet for inspiration!