I was told by a friend that feeding any type of dairy products to an infant is not recommended, and that you should wait until the approximate age of one. Is this the case? Are they correct? Thanks in advance!

That’s a great question. While it is recommended to continue providing breast milk and/or infant formula until the age of 1 year before changing to whole cow’s milk, you can introduce other dairy products along with foods at around 6 months.

Full-fat yogurt (consider plain or limited sugar options) is a great source of nutrition and easy for babies to eat. You can also add cheese into your baby’s diet, just remember to cut it appropriately and avoid harder cheeses to minimize choking hazards.

When introducing any new foods to an infant, waiting a couple of days between introductions is important to monitor for allergies. If your baby has a milk protein intolerance or suspected allergies, you may want to delay introduction of dairy and speak with your pediatrician or allergist first.

ABOUT THE EXPERT

Jessica McGee Jessica McGee, MS, RD, CSP, LD, CNSC, was the Food and Nutrition Services Clinical Nutrition Manager at Children's National.

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