As your baby gets ready to begin solid foods sometime around his sixth month, you may be wondering when to introduce meat to his diet. The answer depends on the particular feeding style you are planning on using, how you plan to serve it and the type of meat you want to offer. Meat can be a great source of nutrients that your baby might otherwise be lacking, as long as your are conscientious about when and how to introduce it to your child.
Pureed Meats
While baby cereals and pureed fruits and vegetables are often the first foods introduced to an infant, there's no reason why meat can't be on the menu, too. The American Academy of Pediatrics maintains that there is no real benefit from holding off on meat for any specific amount of time. In fact, for babies who were exclusively breastfed up until starting solids, meat may be the best choice, since it replaces protein, zinc and iron that the infant may be lacking as her intake of breast milk decreases. Lean meats can be pureed just like fruits and vegetables.
Meat as a Finger Food
By around his eighth or ninth month, your baby will master the pincer grasp, the ability to hold something between two fingers. This gives him the ability to pick up and eat finger foods more efficiently, so it's a good time to introduce small pieces of meat, such as cooked chicken, turkey, lamb or beef. Make sure all meats are cooked thoroughly before giving them to your infant. Don't offer whole hot dogs or sausages, since babies can bite off pieces that can lodge in the windpipe and cause choking. Instead, chop foods into small pieces that are less of a choking hazard while also being easy for little fingers to handle.
Concerns
Pork may be more allergenic than other forms of meat, so if you have a family history of pork allergies, you may want to wait to introduce this food. In families without food allergies, waiting to introduce potentially allergenic foods does not confer any benefits. All foods, including meat, should be introduced one at a time and only one new food should be introduced every two to three days so that you can watch for any allergic reaction or intolerance that might develop.
Other Methods
Some parents opt to forgo purees and jarred baby foods altogether and use a system called baby-led weaning. In baby-led weaning, meats are introduced as whole foods, along with other food choices, as soon as the infant shows interest in trying them. Meats are cooked until soft and then cut into small pieces or offered as a large chunk for the baby to gnaw on. In general, babies do not start this process until six months of age.
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