Your Baby’s 12th Month – What Do You Need To Know?

In this phase of your baby’s life, your little one is more fascinated than ever when it comes to trying new foods. Nevertheless, it is very important to ensure that your baby is 12 months old and fed a healthy diet.

In 12 months of age your baby will begin to understand something. During this time, it also becomes more selective in terms of eating habits.

Therefore, one should choose foods that contain all the nutrients important for the baby. These nutrients support the healthy development of your baby from the age of 12 months and contribute to better growth.

Diet is crucial at this stage. Babies begin to change their eating habits around the age of 12 months.

To improve your baby’s diet, you can include whole grain cookies, ham, eggs (eggs are high in protein), fish, cheese, and some canned foods (like tuna).

You can also introduce new vegetables like cauliflower and beets. This means your baby can now digest gas producing vegetables that you avoided in previous months.

Spinach and cabbage are also good choices. These vegetables should be avoided until they are 12 months old as they can cause methaemoglobinaemia due to their high nitrate content.

The nutrition of your baby in the 12th month of life

As your little one’s first birthday approaches, you can use a fork to chop up their food. Pureed foods may seem convenient, but this is the time to give your baby the opportunity to chew.

Chewing is an important part of early stimulation.

Professionals recommend introducing solid foods without hesitation. Also, let your child sip water to make eating easier.

• Tomato. You can add tomatoes to your baby’s meal and should wash them well beforehand. It’s best to peel them too. Tomatoes have a high nutritional value. They provide vitamin C, a range of antioxidants, and are high in fiber.
• Dry legumes. These include, for example, lentils, chickpeas and beans. You can cook them with vegetables and add a little rice.
  • These foods provide your child with a decent amount of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Once your little one is 18 months old, they can eat whole legumes with their skin on.
• Yogurt, cheese and cow’s milk. You can serve these products for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is important that your child consumes 500 ml of milk or its derivatives per day.
  • Milkshakes are a good change, as are yogurt or cheese with any type of fruit. This gives your baby an even greater variety of vitamins and minerals.
  • Avoid fatty cheeses and yogurt with added sugar.
  • Added sugar is not a necessary part of your child’s diet because fruits are naturally high in sugar. These three ingredients are n’t actually necessary, but limited amounts can be used: salt, sugar, and honey. Your baby can now consume these ingredients in very small amounts. When it comes to salt, you should opt for an iodized product.

Suggestions for the baby in the 12th month of life

Your baby will likely start having tantrums by the time they are 12 months old. It is completely normal.

At this stage, your baby’s language development and verbal interaction begins .

As for toys, avoid toys with small parts so your baby can’t swallow them.

Building blocks that can be stacked to form a tower are popular toys for children in the 12th month of life.

Certain toys – like buckets with geometrically shaped holes and blocks that fit inside one – can be fun and educational at the same time. The best way to help your baby distinguish shapes and colors while playing.

You can also give your little one a toy phone with sounds and lights.

More suitable toys for the 12th month of life

There are many ways to encourage your child to learn from an early age.

It is good to buy quality toys that meet the latest safety standards so that your child is not exposed to danger.

Here are some suggestions for toys from the age of 12 months:

• Small books to touch or with music and pictures.
• Dolls and cars of various shapes and sizes.
• All kinds of stackable toys and toys that your child can push or pull, geometric shapes, etc.
• Musical instruments. Wind instruments – such as a toy flute – are a particularly good idea because they speed up speech development. Xylophones are also a great tool to aid language development.

Weight and height of babies at 12 months of age

At this age, your child should be around 72.5 to 75 cm, both boys and girls.

A baby aged 12 months usually weighs between 9.3 and 9.8 kg and has a skull circumference of around 46 cm.

Most babies have the first 4 lateral incisors and the first 4 premolars by the age of 12 months.