How to Know When a Baby is Ready for Yogurt
Knowing when a baby is ready for foods is difficult. There are so many foods, and it is hard to tell which ones the baby can have at what age. Yogurt is a great food for babies when they are ready. It has plenty of calories and fat, which babies need to develop properly. Read on to learn how to know when a baby is ready for yogurt.
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Instructions
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Wait until he is at least eight months old. If the baby is healthy and there are no family medical problems, eight months is when he is ready for yogurt. Yogurt can be tried earlier than plain milk, due to the fact that the bacterial cultures in the yogurt make it easier to digest.
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Keep in mind family allergy history. If hay fever, asthma or food allergies run in the family, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology suggests holding off on trying yogurt until the child is 12 months old.
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Know whether the baby is lactose-intolerant. Lactose-intolerant babies cannot have yogurt.
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Select yogurt that is made from whole-milk. Children need the fat and calories found in whole milk until they are at least two-years-old.
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Note any signs of lactose-intolerance. Any rash around the child's mouth, diarrhea, or unusual fussiness are signs of milk intolerance.
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Watch for food allergy signs. Diarrhea, vomiting, swelling of the lips or tongue, wheezing, rash on the skin, face swelling or abdominal cramping are all signs of food allergy. The doctor should be called as soon as possible if any of these signs occur.
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Choose a fruit the baby has tried and liked, if choosing a fruit-flavored yogurt. This way, the yogurt alone is what the baby is trying, not the yogurt and the fruit. This also makes food allergies easier to determine--if the child has a reaction to yogurt with fruit, but not to the fruit alone, the allergy is obviously the yogurt.
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Tips & Warnings
Try adding pureed fruit or hand-mashed fruit if the baby doesn't like the bitterness of yogurt.
Avoid yogurts with artificial sweeteners. The exception to this rule is children with Type 1 diabetes. For these children, artificial sweeteners are fine.
