Quick Guide to Feeding a One Year Old
In less than two short weeks my baby will be one! I can hardly believe how fast time has flown and I’m definitely getting baby fever for kiddo #3… And then Josiah doesn’t sleep through the night and I remember I’m not ready for #3 yet. All of a sudden I’m realizing that my baby isn’t such a baby anymore and I have to start thinking more toddler style thoughts like how to go about feeding a one year old!
Obviously, as kids get older they need more food. DUH! A one year old needs about 1,000 calories a day, typically divided between three meals and two snacks. I get forgetful about the fact that Josiah needs so much food and often meal times come and I’m shocked by how much he consumes! A great reminder that he’s certainty not a tiny baby anymore!
As I remember to keep my kiddo fed, I’ve been realizing that, not surprisingly, there isn’t one way of feeding that works best for my little monster! Little man has his opinions but he also likes a little bit of everything! Thankfully there are so many healthy ways to feed one year olds and finding the mixture of ways that works best for your little one is key!
Guide to Feeding a One Year Old
Nursing
Some babies are weaned from nursing or from bottle feeding by the time they are one. That has not been the case with either of my boys. They both love nursing (so much so that they refused bottles) and I don’t mind it either so we keep at it past the year mark. It’s totally fine to be nursing or bottle feeding at this stage of life but remember that your little one is too old to only be sustained by breast milk or formula. He needs other food to nourish him and help him grow into a healthy little person.
Related Post: Thoughts of a Mama Who’s Baby is Weaned
Whole Milk
At a year it is usually safe to begin introducing whole milk to babies. A word of caution here – children between the ages of one and five should drink no more than three eight-ounce glasses of milk per day. We learned this the hard way when Caleb adored milk and we gave him as much as he wanted. He became incredibly anemic and sick which is actually common in children who consume too much milk. Caleb’s symptoms were exasperated since his body has an extreme intolerance to dairy protein but, even so, learn from us and limit the milk! Limiting milk is also good because milk tends to fill little ones up so they don’t want to eat. They need to consume food from every food group, not just dairy.
Related Post: What Do I Do When My Child is Diagnosed with a Food Intolerance?
Baby Led Weaning
We are huge baby led weaning fans in my house. Caleb absolutely refused anything pureed so baby led weaning was where it was at! Basically baby led weaning is allowing your child to feed herself solid food at age ability appropriate levels. This allows your child to try whatever everyone else is eating and learn to enjoy a variety of food while also learning fine motor skills that will carry on through life.
Baby Food Purees
While Caleb absolutely refused purees, Josiah loves them! He’s a fan of baby led weaning but, when he wants food fast, he happily munches down on purees. In order to get him to sleep through the night we give him a container of baby food purees before bed and it works so well!
While I wish I had time to make my own baby food, that is simply not something I currently can make work with our lifestyle. Since I don’t make our own baby food, loving Gerber 2nd Foods® Apple and Carrot purees! I love that they are just like homemade! They look like homemade, taste like homemade (yes, I tried them), and have the texture of homemade – so thick and scrumptious! Caleb REFUSES to eat anything that could be considered baby food but he can’t differentiate apple baby puree from apple sauce (since it literally is the same thing as long as the apple sauce is unsweetened) and that’s a win in my book!
Don’t just take it from me, try out Gerber 2nd Foods® Apple and Carrot purees for yourself using this coupon!
Your Turn:
How do you go about feeding your one year old?
Do you make your baby food at home or purchase it? Will you be trying Gerber 2nd Foods® Apple and Carrot purees?
