llowing the ingestion of colostrum, the ideal food for a baby is mother's milk. The protein found in human milk is easily digested by babies unlike that of cows milk (Worthington-Roberts and Williams 353). Breast milk also contains higher levels of cholesterol than formula or cows milk. Cholesterol is necessary for myelin synthesis in t he central nervous system and for promoting the development of a system for degradation of cholesterol later in life (Worthington-Roberts and Williams 357).
Young infants may begin to eat semi-solid, single grain infant cereals between 4 and 6 months of age, when they have developed the motor skills to consume them. These are followed by strained fruits and vegetables (Pipes and Trahms 101). Nitrate containing vegetables should be delayed until after the child is at least 4 months old to avoid methemoglobinemia, a result of nitrite in the stomach (Pipes and Trahms 102).
1.c. In later infancy, between 6 and 18 months of age, a child begins to eat solid food. At this point in the child's life, chewing is being learned. Solid foods should be introduced. The child will be able to eat cereals,
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