Why breakfast for babies is important

From around six months old your little one is capable of sleeping through the night (in an ideal world) and so won’t have had any nutrition for around 12 hours and will need refuelling in the morning. At the beginning of weaning you are probably going to begin the day with a milk feed, and food will come later, but from 7 months or so you want to encourage food first and milk later on in the day. This is so that your baby gets a better range of nutrients more in line with what their growing body needs.

Eating breakfast has been linked to good health outcomes. Did you know when children eat well at breakfast time they grow into kids who do better at school with improved concentration and improved memory? They are also less likely to become overweight too.

Baby led weaning starter foods

At the beginning of weaning, babies use their whole hand to grab pieces of food. What you provide, therefore, needs not to be too wide so that they can close their fingers around the food to make a fist. Foods that are around 5cm long are ideal.

Don’t bother with a plate, it will just get chucked on the floor. Instead put food straight on your Tidy Tot tray or high chair top. It can be overwhelming if there are lots of foods to choose from so start with just one or two.

Softer finger foods that will squash easily in the mouth are good to start with. A general rule is that if you can squash the food in between your thumb and forefinger easily it’s generally going to be soft enough for your baby to manage. Eg. a banana.

Breakfast ideas from 6 months

Here are my top 10 nutritious baby led weaning breakfast starter foods, suitable from 6 months at the start of weaning:

• Banana
• Buttered wholemeal toast
• Eggs – any which way – try hard boiled, scrambled or omelette cut into strips
• Almond butter thinned with a little of your baby’s usual milk and spread on rice cakes
• Wholemeal English muffin spread with a soft cheese like Philadelphia and cut in half
• Cubes of cheese
• Strawberries
• Kiwi fruit quartered lengthways
• Porridge fingers
• Chia pudding with blitzed berries – yes it is OK to give your baby a spoon and see what happens!

Breakfast Ideas 7-9 Months

Here are some baby breakfast foods for 7 – 9 month olds that are nutritionally balanced and include some of the critical nutrients:

• Half a boiled egg, half a slice of buttered toast and a few slices of kiwi
• Spinach and cheese omelette & half an English muffin
• Oat pancakes with chopped strawberries on the side
• Crumpet with almond butter and banana slices
• Whole Greek yoghurt topped with Rice Krispies & sliced peaches
• Cheese scone with chopped tomatoes
• French toast made with raisin bread served with Greek yoghurt
• Half a bagel, leftover cold meat, avocado
• Baked apples with raisins, mashed and served with natural yoghurt
• Slow cooker rice pudding topped with blueberries

Breakfast ideas from 10 months +

At this stage, your baby will have mastered the pincer grip which is where she uses her thumb and forefinger to pick up foods. Her dexterity will be better too meaning you can offer smaller pieces of food. This is great in terms of mastering hand-eye coordination.

If your baby has teeth you can start to offer crunchy ‘al dente’ foods like steamed veggies, if she can’t yet manage these textures she’ll gag and spit them out.

Gagging is completely normal and your baby has to do do this in order to learn how to move food around her mouth. If she doesn’t yet have teeth avoid crunchier foods as they’re still a choking hazard.

Here are some healthy breakfast ideas for 10-12 month olds:

Small breakfast cereals served with whole milk and fruit e.g.

• Cheerio’s (look for the low sugar version)
  • Shreddies
  • Shredded Wheat Bite Size
  •  Raisin Wheat’s
• Boiled egg and toast soldiers for dipping, chopped cherry tomatoes
• French crepe (thin pancake) with crème fraiche and fruit puree
• Kale and feta frittata
• Fruit bread triangles toasted with peanut butter

For more great weaning advice please visit Sarah’s website. Or read her blog on easy BLW breakfasts here. Sarah runs regular workshops which we’d recommend for anyone looking for more support.