When Do Babies Need Meat???

Our pediatrician said to begin meats around 6-8 months but because we waited until 6 1/2 months to start solids that meant to start her on meat around 8 1/2 months. Meat has building block nutrition that cannot be gotten from vegetable or dairy type proteins. I am not too keen on the pureed stuff myself but my feeling is they need it at least for a while because they are building their little bodies right now. After the one year mark, you can offer your daughter eggs which is a wonderful source too. Hope this helps!

Hey there,

My 4 1/2 year old son has never eaten meat. I'm a vegetarian myself, and my husband is by default. My child is incredibly healthy, rarely gets sick, and gets protein in other forms. We eat fish, although getting him to eat fish can be challenging. He eats dairy products, lentils, chickpeas, and gets good protein in those forms. So, it's not really necessary, it's a choice of how to get them protein.

Good luck!

I also used Super Baby Foods. It is a vegetarian book for the first year, but it is a great resource whether you feed your child vegetarian or not. There is a lot of information regarding what to offer when, and how to keep nutrition balanced. In my memory, they suggest you can start offering meat around 8 months and beans around ten months. Almond butter is a great source of protien as well as iron, fiber and other stuff I can't think of right now, and my son loved it mixed with plain yogurt and banana. Egg yoke (no whites until 1 year!) are also very nutritious, and mash up nicely (mix with some breat milk, and maybe some fruit). If you are still only feeding fruits, veggies and a bit of cereal, it is probably time to branch out. Your baby needs iron for one thing, and breat milk is relatively low in iron.

I'm a single working mom too, very challanging!

All the best
C.

Exactly what Ellen said. I lived by the book by Ruth Yaron. Beans and cheese area great source of protein!!! Buy this book and read it ........... you will be happy you did!!!!

She should definitely have sources of protein in her diet now and she is old enough for meat if you want to give her some. If you decide not to, she can still have a balanced diet. Yogurt, cheese, legumes and soy are all good sources of protein. For all vegetarian options, pick up the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. (http://www.superbabyfood.com) For a diet that includes meat, get The Family Nutrition Book by Dr Sears. http://www.askdrsears.com/

i see that you have some good suggestions for meatless meals here. one thing that i know is important is that babies get enough iron after they turn 6 months. as long as your daughter is eating infant cereal (they are all fortified with iron) she will have that covered. as long as she is getting complete proteins in her diet from other sources, the only thing that i can think of is that the texture of meat is unique so she may want to be exposed to it periodically. being a fan of the meals that don't require cooking myself, i sometimes stop in at whole foods and pick up an already roasted chicken. my family will eat it hot that day and then cold for a couple of days following. so, if preparation is one of your main concerns, that'll cover that. also, i can suggest that you contact a pediatric dietician/nutritionist if you get really concerned about her protein intake... they will definitely have many menu ideas for your specific lifestyle.

As long as babies are getting their milk, they get plenty of protein (whether it's breast milk or other). I am vegetarian and my children have never had meat. Through milk, whole grains, cheese, and tofu, they get more than enough protein -- and my very meat-oriented pediatrician agrees.

Soy is best if eaten in "traditional" forms such as tofu, rather than in the various faux-meats made from soy.