Table 1.

General intake guidelines (normal weight): 0 to 12 months. Infants from 0 to 12 years of age have unique nutritional considerations; nutritional recommendations are divided into categories for 0–4 months, 4–6 months, 6–8 months, 8–10 months, and 10–12 months [1,2].

	Birth–4 months	4–6 months	6–8 months	8–10 months	10–12 months
Breast milk and/or fortified infant formula	8 to 12 feedings ∗2 to 6 oz per feeding (18–32 oz per day)	4 to 6 feedings ∗4 to 6 oz per feeding (27–45 oz per day)	3 to 5 feedings ∗6 to 8 oz per feeding (24–32 oz per day)	3 to 4 feedings ∗7 to 8 oz per feeding (24–32 oz per day)	3 to 4 feedings ∗24–32 oz per day
Cereal, breads, starches	None	None	2–3 servings of iron-fortified baby cereal (serving = 1–2 tbsp)	2–3 servings of iron-fortified baby cereal (serving = 1–2 tbsp)	4 servings of iron-fortified bread or other soft starches or baby cereal (serving = 1–2 tbsp)
Fruits and vegetables	None	None	Offer plain, cooked, mashed, or strained baby foods vegetables and fruits. Avoid combination foods. No juice.	2–3 servings (1–2 tbsp) of soft, cut-up, and mashed vegetables and fruits daily. No juice.	4 servings (2–3 tbsp) daily of fruits and vegetables. No juice.
Meats and other protein sources	None	None	Begin to offer plain-cooked meats. Avoid combination dinners.	Begin to offer well-cooked, soft, finely chopped meats.	1–2 oz daily of soft, finely cut or chopped meats or other protein foods

While there is no comprehensive research indication of which complimentary foods are best to introduce first, the focus should be on first foods that are higher in iron and zinc, such as pureed meats and fortified-iron rich foods.