Hello,

• Swipe at and reach for objects within view?
• Turn their head and look in the direction of a new sound?
• Respond to their own name?
• Smile and babble when given adult attention?
• Vocalize pleasure and displeasure? (squeal with excitement or grunt with displeasure)
• Seem to respond to some words? (daddy or bye bye)
• Make sounds while you are talking to him/her?
• Roll from back to side?
• Push up on hands when on tummy?
• Sit with support? (pillows)
• Use hands to reach, grasp, bang and splash?
• Bring toys to mouth?
• Pat and pull on your hair, glasses or face?
• Sleep and feed at regular times?

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Introducing solid foods

• Offer your baby iron-rich foods first, such as meat and poultry, wild game, fish, peas and beans, tofu, egg, nut and seed butters and lentils, or iron-fortified infant cereals. Work up to offering iron-rich foods two or more times each day between six and 12 months.
• Offer your baby a variety of soft textures and finger foods (not only purées) starting at six months.
• To prevent choking, always supervise your baby while they are eating, and do not offer solid foods that are hard, small and round, or smooth and sticky. These foods can cause choking.
• Do not add cereal or other foods to a bottle—this can cause your baby to choke.
• Offer drinks in an open cup instead of a bottle or “sippy cup”. Offer water between meals. Sugary drinks like 100% fruit juice and chocolate milk increase the risk of cavities and can fill your baby’s small stomach, leaving less room for other foods. If you use well water, test it for bacteria at least three times a year.
• Sharing spoons with your baby can transfer bacteria from your mouth to theirs. This can be a cause for cavities in your child.

Foods to avoid:

• Honey, in any form (for the first year), as it could cause infant botulism.
• Raw or undercooked eggs, raw or undercooked fish or seafood, raw or undercooked meat or poultry, raw or unpasteurized milk, raw sprouts, and unpasteurized fruit juice and cider should be avoided. This is because they can cause food poisoning for children five and under. Learn more about preventing food poisoning. 
• Some foods need to be avoided because they are a choking risk (e.g., whole grapes, hot dogs, marshmallows, popcorn, gum, hard or sticky candy, whole nuts, seeds, nut butters on a spoon, dried fruit, and hard or raw fruit or vegetables. You can modify some foods to make them safer, such as grating raw vegetables, and cutting whole grapes into quarters.

Foods to limit:

• Fish high in mercury such as swordfish, tuna steak, and albacore tuna
• Foods that are high in sugar or salt
• Rice-based cookies, crackers, rusks, and puffs, especially those containing brown rice syrup or brown rice flour. These foods sometimes contain arsenic and the sugar can lead to cavities.

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