The Pediatrician’s Guide to Feeding Babies and Toddlers: Practical Answers to Your Questions on Nutrition, Starting Solids, Allergies, Picky Eating, and More

Pediatricians Porto and DiMaggio offer a systematically organized, practical, and up-to-date guide to baby feeding from birth until toddlerhood. Their work will leave parents feeling informed but not overwhelmed. Different sections address different developmental stages, including feeding milestones and key issues for each age group, such as how to tell whether a newborn is hungry, starting four- to six-month-olds on solids, and dealing with picky eating in toddlers. Each section ends with a small selection of simple, healthy recipes, created in consultation with a dietician and two chefs; recipes that serve “double duty” as baby food purees and easy family meals will be particularly useful. Porto and DiMaggio address dietary hot topics—including dairy-free formulas, vegetarian diets, organic foods, gluten-free diets, and food allergies—with a calm clarity that accommodates parents’ preferences without giving in to bad popular science. They give strong guidance on determining whether a child is hitting a normal, common developmental challenge or experiencing a more serious issue. Parents will find the chapters useful to read through as their children reach each stage, and well enough organized to use as a reference when particular concerns come up. (Apr.)