Feeding Your 9- to 12-Month-Old

If your baby has conquered jarred food but doesn't have the teeth for chicken nuggets -- we're talking about "tweens," who are 9 to 12 months old -- what are your options? Don't worry. You can come up with fun, simple meals three times a day. The following ideas will get you started:

A little common sense goes a long way -- babies need the same variety of nutrients adults do. For instance, they should get five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, though their serving sizes are tiny (for a 6-month-old, a tablespoon or two can be a serving; for a 1-year-old it's more like 1/4 cup).

Those fruits and vegetables can feel like the toughest things to work into a diet, but they're vital nutritionally. A good phrase to remember is "Eat the rainbow." Over the course of a day, serve lots of different colors, including green (peas, green beans, spinach, asparagus, zucchini), orange (sweet potatoes, cantaloupe), yellow (squash, bananas), and red (cooked tomatoes, red peppers). Although it's tempting to count a cup of juice as a fruit serving, juice is not as nutritious as you think -- there's often added sugar and zero fiber. Plus, if juice replaces breast milk or formula, your child may not get the protein he needs, says dietitian Lauren D. Massey of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville. Ask your pediatrician for guidelines on how much juice you should serve your baby, if any.

Breads and grains -- the base of the food pyramid -- are no-brainers. Babies readily eat cereal, cooked noodles, soft breads, and rice. It's just as easy to give them enough dairy, since babies this age are still drinking 16 to 24 ounces of breast milk or formula a day. But don't forget to serve extra protein in the form of chicken, fish, beans, or eggs.