Exclusive Breastfeeding for a Year

Your daughter is one lucky little girl to have been breastfed exclusively to six months! This is very much in line with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Nationwide only about 14 percent of US mothers are still breastfeeding exclusively at this point. Continuing to breastfeed her for two years or more as the WHO recommends is good for her nutritionally, immunologically, and emotionally.

Most babies begin to show some interest in what the big people are eating at around six months—some a bit sooner, some a bit later. So, just as you have responded to her signals this first half year of life, you are going to want to continue to look to her for cues about what she needs.

The concern that most nutritionists and pediatricians have about an all-milk—even mother's milk—diet beyond six months is that the baby's iron stores may be running low by this point. There's no need to rush her into eating several meals a day but it is important to let her sample what you are eating when she shows interest in it. Your milk does have some iron in it and it is very available to your baby unlike the iron in cow's milk or infant formula, but at some point she will begin to need some other direct sources of iron. So this is where you will want to concentrate her attention. Animal proteins are the easiest source of iron for babies to absorb but there are also vegetarian options. Combining eggs, milk, and plant-based foods with foods high in vitamin C increases iron absorption.

The second half of a baby's first year is dedicated to exploring the wider world beyond your arms and finding her feet—literally—in it. Expanding her culinary horizons is part of that exploration. There are some babies who really are not at all interested at six or seven or even eight months—some of them prove to be allergic, with others, parents may want to make an extra effort to have their baby at the table with them when they are eating and gently encourage them to try what's on offer.

Some babies are still only on the breast beyond six months. The majority of them are interested in family food by nine months—only a tiny minority of healthy babies cannot be persuaded to try something else after this point.