Many parents still hear the advice that it’s better to wait to introduce fish to babies until their first birthdays, or even their second. I disagree! And a growing body of evidence suggests that starting fish between 6 and 12 months results in fewer allergies – both in the short run and by the time they become teens.

Giving babies and toddlers fish a couple of times a week, or even a couple of times a month, may be one of the best tips for preventing allergies.

And perhaps today’s babies and toddlers eating less fish is even one of the reasons allergies have been going up in kids overall, potentially from a decrease of omega-3 fats in the diet. This includes food allergies, pet allergies, and pollen allergies.

Babies’ regularly eating fish before the first birthday could also result in less eczema at age 4. Who doesn’t want better skin?

Another study last year found a window from 6-12 months (earlier or later wasn’t as good), where if babies were introduced to eating fish, they were less likely to have asthma or wheezing symptoms later in preschool. Who doesn’t want to breathe easier?

The longest study I’ve seen yet followed thousands of children from their first birthdays all the way until they were 12 years old. It will appear in the June 2013 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Those kids who were already enjoying fish at least twice a month by the first birthday were less likely to have allergies every year thereafter.

My favorite fish for kids is wild (or sockeye, or Alaska, or Pacific) salmon, fresh or even canned, twice a week. You can prepare the pouched or canned salmon as if it were tuna. But check out the NRDC pocket seafood guide for lots of great suggestions. And here are some some DrGreene.com recipes.

• Scrumptious Coconut-Crusted Salmon Recipe
• Quick and Easy Roasted Salmon with Pesto Recipe
• Quick and Easy Chipotle Lime Salmon Recipe
• Broiled Wild Salmon Recipe
• Orange Glazed Salmon Kabobs with Yogurt Garlic Dip

Bon appetit!

Bonus tip: Reduced tobacco exposure and increased eating of oily fish during pregnancy and early childhood are all linked to fewer allergies.

Jarvinen KM and Sicherer SH. Prediction, Prevention, and the “Hygiene Hypothesis”: Fish Consumption during the First Year of Life and Development of Allergic Diseases during Childhood. Pediatrics. Nov 2007; 120:S109.

Kiefte-de Jong JC, de Vries JH, Franco OH, Jaddoe VW, Hofman A, Raat H, de Jongste JC and Moll HA. Fish Consumption in Infancy and Asthma-like Symptoms at Preschool Age. Pediatrics. Dec 2012; 130(6):1060-8.

Magnusson J, Kull I, Rosenlund H, Hakansson N, Wolk A, Melen E, Wickman M, and Bergstrom A. Fish Cosumption in Infancy and Development of Allergic Disease up to Age 12Y. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Jun 2013. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.045377

Oien T, Storro O, and Johnsen R. Do Early Intake of Fish and Fish Oil Protect Against Eczema and Doctor-Diagnosed Asthma at 2 Years of Age? A Doctor Cohort Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Feb 2010; 64(2):124-9.

I have four children who are close together in age. As each child came along, I realized how different and unique their personalities were.  Even as newborns, each child had their own needs; it was just a matter of figuring out what those needs were on our part!  For example, my eldest thrived on a strict routine and any deviation from the schedule would result in a miserable few days afterward, whereas my third could take any changes in stride.

For my family to function well, we quickly realized that we needed to be very scheduled with our kids. From the time my eldest was 3 months old, we would strictly schedule all naps and bedtimes. We continued this with our subsequent children, even though I nursed each of them on demand for up to 18 months.

With our oldest, I kept a spiral notebook full of her daily schedule – wake up, breastfeed, diaper, nap, play, breastfeed, diaper, nap, etc. We went through the entire notebook! In those hazy, sleep deprived days when my husband would ask “didn’t you just nurse her?” I could hand him the notebook. And chances are, yes I just nursed her because that is what newborns love to do! Not too much else going on for them…

Of course, that was way back in the pre-iPhone days. TheiPhonemom.com has reviewed several apps that help you keep track of your baby’s schedule.  Most recently, we reviewed Baby Feed Tracker Plus. With the press of a button you can record breastfeeding, bottle feed, diaper change, nap and expression (breast milk). Each mode also has an option to include notes.  There are many apps in the iTunes app store to help you keep track of your little one’s daily activities.  Make sure you choose one that has been updated recently (shows more app support from developers), has the features you would like, and receives good feedback.

A note about feeding reminders with any of these apps: babies, particularly newborns, don’t know they are supposed to be on the schedule provided by the app (i.e. nurse/bottle feed every 3 hours).  I spent many days over the years nursing little ones every hour on the hour.  This is totally normal for infants!  Don’t be afraid to listen to your baby and not the clock when it comes to feeding little ones.

Last Thanksgiving I announced a bold campaign, spearheaded by an amazing band of volunteers, to upgrade babies’ first foods to real foods – and babies’ first grains to whole grains – and to do this in 2011.

It’s November, and we still have a ways to go, but we also have an exciting reason to celebrate!

Over 10,000 physicians, mostly pediatricians, took part in a July/August 2011 survey by Medscape.com that demonstrated an historic shift in their feeding recommendations this year. The first question in the survey was “What do you recommend for baby’s first food (check all that apply)?” The options were white rice cereal, whole grain cereal, a vegetable, a fruit, egg yolk, meat, or other. Of those who answered as of August 31, the number one choice was white rice cereal – garnering nearly twice as many votes as the next most common.

But after reading an article about WhiteOut Now, our public service campaign the survey results were strikingly different.

Responding to,” What will you recommend for baby’s first food (check all that apply)” only 3% even included white rice cereal among their recommended choices. Physicians were also asked, “Do you think white rice cereal is the best choice for baby’s first food?” About 3% of those who responded had “No opinion” and an overwhelming 93% responded, “No.”

As of now over 12,000 physicians have taken part in the survey, and the change continues to spread. To me this major reversal suggests that the old white rice cereal recommendations were based on well-meaning habit rather than on science or even on careful consideration. When asked to reconsider, an overwhelming majority of physicians were quickly able to see advantages of abandoning the old recommendation.

Evidence is mounting that changing early feeding habits is critical to reversing the childhood obesity epidemic. This stunning survey suggests that first feedings are poised to change. A reason to be thankful indeed!

Yes, you read it right! In this video, Shane Valentine, author of The Baby Cuisine Cookbook, admits that baby food is a made up term and passionately explains how processed food companies have created one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time.

There is a saying amongst lactation professionals, which I learned from I was studying to become a Certified Lactation Counselor: “Flex the hips to open the lips.”  The context was learning about baby’s motor skill and problems that arise from lack of baby skill, such as a baby who does not latch on well, poor milk transfer from mom to baby, poor weight gain in baby, and mother’s engorgement.  Some of the interventions for babies with poor skill are sensory: provide skin-to-skin contact, provide sensory input to the baby’s mouth by stroking their cheeks and tongue, and applying pressure against the feet.  Tickling a baby’s feet is often recommended and many moms try this, but what they don’t realize is that tickling/touching is different than applying pressure.  Pressure is the application of continuous force, applied uniformly over a surface, by one body onto another body.  Hence, applying pressure on the feet, such that the hips become flexed slightly.

Since that class, I have also learned about a new technique for breastfeeding intervention, called Biological Nurturing (BN), which is a breastfeeding in the laid-back position.  The researcher who coined the term BN, Suzanne Colson, PhD, emphasises utilizing primitive reflexes, such as stroking the top of baby’s foot to help them crawl to the breast, as is the case when mom is leaning back and baby is on top.  Regarding the feet, Dr. Colson states that there is a  “strong foot-to-mouth connection” and when the baby’s feet and body are poorly applied to mom’s body, feeding problems are likely to occur.  Although she is primarily interested in the reflexes on the top portion of the foot, remembering what I had learned in my CLC training, that got me thinking about feet and eating in general.  When I went back to my notes, I noticed that I scribbled that the instructor also mentioned that pressure against feet was good for toddlers too.

Since I had a two year old at the time, I was intrigued by this foot-eating connection.  I noticed that when he was in his high chair (which was a high chair that attaches to a regular chair) he would always lift his feet and keep his feet resting on the underside edge of the tray.  Imagine sitting at a bar, chatting with friends, and your feet are dangling.  It’s not very comfortable.

We bought this type of highchair because I wanted something that could be brought close to the table and was not a separate entity so that our child could feel more included at meals.  I knew that there were more expensive chairs, such as the Stokke Tripp Trapp and others, that provide adjustable configurations from baby to teenager and even adult.  But as an employee of Stokke aptly stated “comfort and ergonomic benefits are not well understood by Americans who have a preconceived notion of high chairs as a single use item vs a chair that grows with the child.”  So true.  And I was also insistent that chair was able to get to the table, but oblivious to the feet-comfort connection.

So I was delighted when we inherited a discontinued high chair by KidKraft, a model that looks very similar to the Stokke Tripp Trapp.  Stokke paved the way for the adjustable ergonomic high chair in 1972, designed by Peter Opsvik (The Tripp Trapp was previously knows as the Kinderzeat), but it has not really caught on until now, especially here in America.

Then we had baby #2.  And although I wanted a new chair, we used the same add-on highchair that we already owned.  But when he was nearing one, he kept struggling to find a place to rest his feet, and he also kept climbing into big brother’s chair.  I have spoken to some Stokke owners about what to do for baby #2.  Some told me that they buy another chair, and build a collection for each child, and some told me that big brother or big sister gives the new baby their chair.  Well that does not solve the problem of dangling feet.

So I was pleased when Stokke provided me with a chair to write this article.  Reading about the history of Stokke, I was not at all surprised to learn that it is a Norwegian company and their slogan is “In the best interest of the child,” since Norway is well-known to have the best maternity and paternity leave in the world.  I also found a class project by a group of Cornell University students (suported by Stokke), in which the students discussed various forms of children’s seating: low chairs with children’s feet touching the floor but separated from the table, high chairs and boosters which raise the child but may not provide lower leg support, and the Stokke Kinderzeat, which provides both.  The students designed a research study:

“to test the claim that the KinderZeat’s footrest provides the “basic stability upon which movement is based” and is essential in “alleviating strain and reducing ‘fidgeting”. To do this we devised a series of tasks to be performed by young preschool children while sitting in the KinderZeat with the footrest, or without the footrest, a condition equivalent to the child sitting in either and adult chair with or without a booster. Tasks were devised to test the various reach capabilities and also the task persistence of young children sitting in these test conditions.”

The results showed that children aged 3-4 were able to reach further when seated in the Kinderzeat, had more stability, and less fidgeting.  The students stated:

”When children sat in the chair with no footrest, they seemed to move more because they had less support for their body, resulting in fidgeting as they tried to get comfortable while performing the task. The body stabilization results between the two conditions also showed a statistically significant difference. Children moved more in the no footrest condition because they were trying to stabilize their lower bodies by wrapping their feet around the chair legs or trying to use the small cross bar beneath the seat, whereas in the condition with the footrest they had a place to rest their feet. “

Although this is a not a peer-reviewed research study, and the students (as am I) may be slightly biased due to the support we received from Stokke, based on what we know about infants and breastfeeding, and what I have seen in my own children, I have become a firm believer that children need a proper footrest when they eat or perform activities at the table until their feet can reach the floor.  I am happy that there are a few other companies that have followed Stokke’s lead in creating ergonomically designed chairs for children.  It is both the application of pressure and the fact that their hips are properly flexed that likely leads to better ergonomics, comfort, behavior, and eating.

Now that you have read my previous posts, you are familiar with the benefits of introducing solids with whole-foods.  Many first time parents are terrified of choking and err on the side of caution for many months, only giving their child thoroughly pulverized mush of this and mush of that.  I hope this video will encourage you to learn more about your child and his/her capabilities. Please use your own judgment when feeding your child.

To learn more about feeding infants, please check out my favorite links:
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/blw/engels.html
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babyledweaning.htm
http://baby-led-solids.blogspot.com/p/guidelines-for-implement…
http://www.tribalbaby.org/babyLedEating.html
http://www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/blw_guidelines.pdf
http://www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/blw_guidelines.pdf

Here is a list of foods in order of introduction for my second son.  This is not an all-inclusive list.  There are only so many foods you can introduce during this short time span.  Make the most of it!

First week (5 months): Avocado, scooped out and mashed Butternut quash, roasted and mashed Banana, raw, mashed Grass-fed ground organic beef (stir fried, and processed with breast milk in mini processor)

Foods added in the second week All foods listed above, plus: Homemade rice cereal (Cooked brown rice in food mill and processed with breast milk) Homemade oatmeal cereal (same procedure as brown rice) Flattened pieces of cooked buckwheat Quinoa Organic winter squash, small pieces Steamed organic broccoli and olive oil, mashed with my fingers, fed small pieces by finger

Foods added in the third week All foods listed above, plus: Roasted Asparagus with olive oil, small pieces of the tips Baked potato Lamb shishkabob, small “strings” of meat Spelt “bread” (Baker’s brand, made from just cooked whole spelt) and coconut oil spread on it Baked barley with celery and carrots, mashed small pieces with fingers Peas, defrosted and and mashed

Foods added in the fourth week (6 months) All foods listed above, plus: Ground up meat/carrots/tomato sauce, with thyme and garlic Plain organic yogurt Egg-free whole wheat challah Organic apple sauce Organic steamed cauliflower Chickpeas, cooked and individually flattened/mashed with fingers

Foods added in the seventh month All foods listed above, plus: Beef stew with lots of veggies- peppers, onion, celery, carrots, processed in mini-processor Mashed sweet potato and lime juice Grass-fed organic lamb meatballs cut into small pieces Pieces of roasted dark meat chicken cooked with herbs Mango Chunk light tuna, plain, tiny pieces Egg yolk Kidney beans (Eden organic canned), individually flattened/mashed with fingers Flounder, baked with pepper, wine, and parsley Ricotta cheese Brussel sprouts, roasted with olive oil and thyme, gently processed in electric processor with some brown rice, carrots, and celery Indian chili (chopped meat, onions, tomatoes, dill, cumin, lots of garlic) Whole wheat noodles and spinach Wheat germ (in yogurt)

Foods added after eight months All foods listed above, plus: Cheese Cottage cheese Cucumber Kale chips Flax seeds Pumpkin seeds Sunflower seeds Hemp milk smoothie Whole wheat pancakes made with molasses EVERYTHING ELSE WE USUALLY EAT, TOO MANY TO LIST!

When your child is about four to six months old, your pediatrician will probably recommended an iron supplement.  This is what our pediatrician recommended when my younger son was about 5 months.  However, this nutritionist mom just “happened” to have a copy of the newly published (Nov 2010) American Academy of Pediatrics age-specific recommendations for iron intake, which my doctor acknowledged she had not read yet.

Here are some of the recommendations in the new report:

• Healthy infants born at term have sufficient iron for their first four months. However, breastfed infants should receive 1 mg/kg of an oral iron supplement per day beginning at age 4 months and continuing until iron-rich complementary foods are introduced.
• Infants ages 6 months to 12 months need 11 mg of iron per day. When infants are given complementary foods, red meat and vegetables with high iron content should be introduced. If iron needs are not met by formula and complementary foods, liquid supplements can be used.
• Children ages 1 year to 3 years need 7 mg of iron per day, preferably from foods. Liquid supplements and chewable multivitamins also can be used.

It is clear that iron-rich complementary foods are preferred over synthetic supplemental iron.  But that is not what you hear in most pediatrician’s offices.  Most breastfeeding moms are told to start supplementing or provide iron-fortified cereal.  However, the recommendations state loud and clear that when solids are introduced, they should include iron-rich red meats and vegetables (and I would add legumes too).

If you look closely though, you will see that there is a “gap” between 4-6 months when iron supplements are recommended.  This is due to variations in starting solids and the assumption that breastfeeding infants have a 4-month storage of iron (down from 6 months in previous guidelines).  According to these guidelines, it seems as if the AAP recommends solids at about 6 months.  However, the AAP and Pediatric allergists are now saying that there is no need to delay solids and we may possibly be causing children to become allergic to food if we delay solids until after 6 months.  Most experts are now recommending solids start between 4-6 months, if the baby seems interested.

This is a difficult recommendation for most breastfeeding advocates, because most still recommend delaying solids so as not to deter the breastfeeding relationship.  However, if you nurse first, introduce foods very slowly- mostly just to give them an introduction to food- and let the baby decide if/how much to eat, they really don’t eat much and you will still breastfeed very often.  AND you will be able to provide a natural source of iron for your baby, as well as lots of practice eating!

You might be wondering: “why not just give the supplements to make sure my baby is getting iron?”  The recommendations make no mention of the fact that 1. Breast milk is more bioavailable (gets absorbed better) than iron supplements and 2. Infants have more stored iron if their umbilical cords were allowed to pulse for a few minutes before being cut.  From a public health perspective I understand the committee would rather supplement more infants that may not need the extra iron, than deprive infants who are deficient.  Especially since early cord blood clamping is so rampant and some (albeit malnourished) mothers may have low-iron content in their milk. Iron deficiency can lead to neurological impairments and possibly lead poisoning if there is a source of lead around.

From a public health nutrition perspective, I understand this conundrum. However, from a personal mom perspective, I find it disturbing especially since there is some research indicates that supplementing a breastfeeding baby with iron supplements can make the breast-milk-iron less available to the baby and more available to harmful bacteria that thrive on iron.  In addition, supplemental iron can interfere with zinc absorption and can diarrhea or constipation.  I also have been moving away from supplements and embracing a whole-food diet, since recent research studies using supplements are failing to find they are as effective as food, and sometimes they are downright harmful.  There have also been many reports of supplements containing undeclared ingredients, such as lead.  I wholeheartedly advocate getting vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and phytochemicals from food first and only supplement when it is truly necessary.

So when my doctor recommended iron supplements at 5 months, I showed her the recommendations to introduce iron-rich foods.  Our son seemed somewhat interested in solid food at that point and we already had one child with food allergies who we delayed solids until after 6 months, we figured we would try at 5 months this time if he seemed interested. We planned on checking his iron stores at some point between 9-12 months.

On a daily basis, I offered him iron-rich animal or plant food (NOT rice cereal, which is merely fortified with iron) along with a source of vitamin C to boost absorption.  I let him be our guide, allowing him to choose what was best for his body.  Since he was (and is) still nursing often, I knew he would at least get the bioavailable iron from my milk.  He was also lucky enough not to have his cord blood clamped at birth until it stopped pulsing, so I suspecting he had enough iron stores to get him through 6 months, instead of 4.

I would nurse him before mealtime and then offer him some foods.  We would offer him food once or twice a day for the first few weeks, twice a day for a few months, and eventually three times a day by 10-11 months.  We never forced him to eat anything.  The first month, we mashed food by hand, with a food mill, or in a small processor.  By seven months, most foods were put in front of him on a tray and he was allowed to take it at his own will.

So what did we offer him?  Check back tomorrow for the full list!

And, aren’t you curious how his iron levels fared?  At 11 months we checked his iron levels and stores and they were perfect!  We did it without iron supplements or iron-fortified cereals!

This should not be construed as medical advice.  This is a personal story.  Please seek the advice of a Registered Dietitian when planning your child’s menu.

Baby rice cereal.  The iconic box that can be found in all baby-food sections of the supermarket, most drugstores, and online baby stores.  It’s picture, or an outline of a box with a spout, still appears on most infant nutrition education pamphlets.  Rice cereal boxes usually have “first feeding” guidelines, which instruct the caregiver to mix some of the white flaky stuff with breast milk or formula to make a wonderfully tasteless and soupy first introduction to solid food.  Some doctors recommend keeping the infant on cereals (rice, oats, barley) for one month before moving on to similarly bland and texture-less jarred fruits and vegetables.  It could be many months before infants ever taste or feel the texture of real food.

How did this happen? Innovative companies capitalized on society’s increasing interest in manufactured items as opposed to homemade, likely due to household time restraints.  For example, in 1927, the wife of the assistant general manager of Gerber suggested that the canning company start producing and marketing strained fruits and vegetables as baby foods to end the tedious chore of cooking, mashing, and preparing baby food.  In 1933, Mead Johnson produced Pablum, the first pre-cooked fortified infant cereal.

The first rice cereals were made with wheat, oatmeal, and corn meal and had dried alfalfa, yeast and powdered beef bones added to it.  But when synthetic iron supplements became available, they were used instead to ensure consistency instead of beef bones.

And in fact, because iron deficiency is so prevalent and cereal is such a good medium for fortifying with iron, it became the standard first food recommendation of pediatricians.  Coupled with the notion that simple foods such as rice should be introduced first to prevent food allergies, rice cereal took off with blazing speed as infant’s first food.  And since the benefits of whole grains were not entirely known to the mainstream medical community, and the idea that infants needed something very easy to digest, the rice of choice was white rice.

Interestingly enough, parents are now trying to get back to making their own food, which is what the whole concept of baby food was trying to get away from.  So parents are back in the kitchen, peeling, cooking, mashing.  All in the hopes that they will provide their baby with real food that is healthier and tastier. This of course, led new companies to capitalize on this new parenting stress and manufacture items that are “like homemade.”  These foods are not that different from the jarred variety but often found with organic ingredients, subtle herbs and spices, and ice-cube like trays.  However, they are still limited to the variety that company provides.  In reality, we have come full-circle; from making, to buying, to making, and now buying more expensive baby food.

How can we break this cycle and do we want to?

As I blogged about previously, I think there are 6 problems with baby food: 1. You are spending money that can be spent on real food 2. Kids get used to having special “kid” food 3. Real food can provide more nutrients in their bioavailable form 4. Your child is used to eating the same foods and may not develop an interest in new flavors. 5. Your child may not enjoy eating food with different textures when real food is introduces 6. Your child is nutritionally-limited to the variety that these companies produce

Many parents upon reading this list will want to stop providing their baby with baby food but making baby food seems daunting.  Well, I have an answer for you: Babies don’t need baby food at all!! Not store-bought baby food, not home-made baby food, not fancy-steamer-puree equipment food.  Babies simply need to eat whatever you are eating, mashed for the first couple of weeks, then simply cut small, or sometime even allowed to chew their own gummy bites from soft foods.  Now is a great time for the entire family to incorporate healthy foods into their diet.

In tomorrow’s post check back to see how I fed my younger son with no baby-food whatsoever and no iron supplements, and his iron levels were great at his one year checkup!

A baby’s first bites of solid foods are thoroughly entertaining to watch. New flavors and textures provoke faces that are both adorable and incredibly funny. What’s not so funny is that in some instances, there are invisible contaminants, fillers, and unhealthy ingredients hiding in those tiny spoonfuls of food. And if your baby is eating non-organic food, he’s also eating pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and synthetic preservatives and additives.

While traces of contaminants are tiny, they build up quickly in a child’s diet as children eat more food pound for pound than adults. In fact, children one through five years of age eat three to four (or more) times as much food per pound of body weight as an average American adult. In addition, their developing bodies are more vulnerable and less able to detoxify.

Because there is a growing body of evidence showing these toxins can impair child health and development, common sense compels us to minimize exposure whenever possible. Especially during pregnancy and infancy when their bodies are most vulnerable, we need to take precautionary action – a “better safe than sorry” approach and choose an organic diet for our little ones. Not only does an organic diet reduce exposure to contaminants and synthetic additives, some studies also show that organic foods are healthier and have more antioxidants and added nutrition.

There are a variety of options and many opportunities to take toxins off the menu. Here are some easy ideas for feeding your baby an organic, safe and healthy diet:

1. Store bought. With the growing interest in organic foods, there is also an increase in availability of pre-made organic baby foods. Some are on the shelf right next to their conventional counterparts and other can be found in the refrigerated or frozen food sections. Look for names like Plum Organics, Happy Baby, Homemade Baby, Tasty Baby, or Sprout Baby Food.

2. Delivered. Referred to as “baby food catering”, home delivery services are the pinnacle of convenience. Service providers include Bohemian Baby and Pomme Bebe.

3. Homemade. Not nearly as intimidating as it sounds, homemade baby food is the freshest and most inexpensive option (with the added benefit of having the least impact on the environment). My wife makes all of our son’s food and has been super charged with how easy and enjoyable it’s been. She uses fruits and veggies with a variety of colors and tastes then adds in probiotics and flax seed oil for additional nutritional benefit.

To make your own, pick one time a week to cook and puree selected foods and then freeze in an ice cube tray for handy serving sizes. WholesomeBabyFood.com offers age appropriate recipes, as well as tips for cooking and storing food. You can also get a handy, portable food grinder and freezer storage trays at Fresh Baby. Find local, organic food in your neighborhood using the Eat Well Guide, which lists not only grocery stores, but also co-ops, farmer’s markets, and CSAs (where you buy a share of food from a local farm).

Organic on a Budget: For many parents, buying all organic all the time is a financial impossibility, so keep this in mind: certain foods have higher levels of chemical residues including meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy, as well as apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries – so focus on getting the organic versions of these items. Some foods typically have very low levels of residues and are okay to purchase conventionally grown, including avocados, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, mangoes, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, kiwis, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, and eggplant.

You can also invest selectively. We have committed to trying to feed our son 100% organic for at least his first year (yes, I said “trying,” no one’s perfect). When they get older, choose the foods they eat the most of. If they eat a ton of apples, make sure you’re buying them organic even if you can’t buy everything organic. Overall, just do the best you can and concentrate on consistently providing a healthy, fresh, well-balanced diet for baby and family. Bon Appetit!

^{Sources: • Consumer Reports. Better for Baby? Our analysis finds organic food is safer for children. January 2006. • Landrigan, P. et al. Children’s Health and the Environment: A New Agenda for Prevention Research. Environmental Health Perspectives. June 1998, 106, 3, 787-794. • Virginia Worthington. Nutritional Quality of Organic Versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. April 1, 2001, 7(2): 161-173. • Lombardi-Boccia, G. et al. Nutrients and Antioxidant Molecules in Yellow Plums from Conventional and Organic Productions: A Comparative Study. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2004, 52, 90-94. • Asami, D. et al. Comparison of the Total Phenolic and Ascorbic Acid Content of Freeze-Dried and Air-Dried Marionberry, Strawberry, and Corn Grown Using Conventional, Organic, and Sustainable Agricultural Practices. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2003, 51, 1237-1241.}