Now, your baby, who has blown out his or her first candle, or who will soon be doing so, eats everything and is ready to enjoy everything you eat in front of him. Its dietary diversification is complete but this is not enough to cover all these needs: baby must continue to drink milk. And not just any!

From the height of 12 months, your baby gains autonomy: he can now move perfectly, whether on all fours or perhaps even when taking his first steps. At the table, he is curious and ready to taste whatever you want to give him. Especially since he chews more or less large pieces better and better, thanks to his incisors and his first molars.

He also likes to touch foods before bringing them to his mouth to appreciate all their characteristics: texture, consistency, temperature, shape, etc. If possible, let him do his little experiments and suggest that he start eating on his own with the spoon. By dint of practice, he will refine his coordination and will succeed in taking his first spoons alone with great pride.

As for the content of the plate, you can now offer all fruits and vegetables to your child. You will choose them preferably seasonal and fresh. But frozen vegetables can be a great way to prepare baby meals if you are short on time. In this case, opt for plain, uncooked vegetables and possibly fruit without added sugars. The same is true for starchy foods, in particular for potatoes, sweet potatoes, split peas or dried beans, for example. However, avoid canned foods that contain too much salt.

As for proteins, you can offer your child any type of meat (white or red), fish (fatty or not) and both white and egg yolk. This month, you will increase the amount of protein: from 12 months, you will increase to 25 to 30 g in total of meat or fish, or 5 to 6 tbsp. to c. per day or 1/2 hard-boiled egg (white + yolk).

Regarding dairy products, it is rather recommended to delay the introduction of classic cow dairy products to 3 years. Opt for specific dairy products for babies aged 12 months because they are made from growth milk, 23 times richer in iron. Yogurts, fromage blanc or petits-suisse, flavored or not, you are spoiled for choice to vary your child’s pleasures.

Along with these dairy products, milk remains an important food for babies: they still drink almost half a liter per day.

Often abandoned too early for cow’s milk, infant milk remains the ideal food to supplement baby’s nutritional intake, even when his diet is perfectly diversified. Infant nutrition experts also recommend switching from second-age milk to growth milk around the age of 10/12 months and continuing this milk intake until the age of 3.

Because beyond its intake of calcium and essential fatty acids, this milk indeed has an undeniable advantage: it contains 23 times more iron than cow’s milk. This aspect is absolutely fundamental for your baby who, from the age of 12 months, cannot meet his iron needs if you were to opt for classic cow’s milk or any other type of milk instead of growth milk. In practice, it would indeed take the equivalent of 100 grams of meat per day to meet its iron needs. A quantity well above the nutritional recommendations which amount to 20 to 25 g of protein (meat, fish or egg) per day for this age. Plants, even if they contain iron, are not enough to fill this gap.

So of course, some will tell you that their child has never had growth milk and is doing very well. For your part, remember that an iron deficiency is mostly silent with symptoms that do not alert at first glance: the anemic child is simply more tired and prone to infections. The fact remains that anemia is often revealed during a blood test.

You have understood it: even if your child has a perfectly diversified diet, he needs growth milk to be at his best and to ensure his perfect neurological development.

In addition, in comparison with cow’s milk, growth milk is also:

• 6000 times richer in essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6) – essential for its neurological development
• almost twice as rich in zinc essential to ensure optimal growth
• an interesting source of Vitamin A and E antioxidants which intervene in particular in the vision
• rich in calcium and vitamin D, essential for bone growth, which is very important during this period of life.

So continue to give your baby his bottles of growth milk, and ideally choose dairy products specifically developed for his age, made with infant milk (yoghurts, white cheeses, small Swiss, etc.).

The opinions of health professionals are unanimous: vegetable drinks (almonds, soybeans, oats, spelled, hazelnuts, etc.) do not meet the specific nutritional needs of young children and are not recommended up to 3 years.

However from a digestibility point of view, these “milks” or rather these alternative drinks to cow’s milk, are very well tolerated by the baby. However, there is a restriction on almond and chestnut drinks which should not be introduced before the age of three if a member of the family has an allergy to these nuts. Also watch out for cross allergies!

But if their natural side is often advocated, the fact remains that they are not very interesting from a nutritional point of view for the child and even present risks of deficiencies. Vegetable drinks are indeed too low in iron, which is essential at this age given that the reserves produced before birth are reduced. Moreover, these drinks are both too sweet and too low in essential fatty acids, lipids and calcium.

Regarding calcium, here is an example that should convince you to continue to give infant formula to your baby: 250 mL of almond vegetable drink + 250 mL of chestnut vegetable drink provide 175 mg of calcium, while a child from 1 to 3 years old needs 500 mg / day! This solution, which would be considered “more natural” by those who advocate it, induces a significant calcium deficiency: the child receives almost three times less calcium than he should, per day. A precious shortcoming for the young child who is in a period of full growth and therefore has a skeleton that evolves impressively at that age.

Regarding soy, the Nutrition Committee of the Socie´te´ Franc¸aise de P´diatrie advises against the use of soy beverages in children under 3 years of age because of the excessive amounts of protein required. ‘they provide and their low content of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Not to mention the health effects of phytoestrogens contained in soybeans for which we lack perspective.

If, however, you do not want to give your baby growth milk, it is best to opt for whole cow’s milk (red cap) rather than semi-skimmed milk (blue cap) because it is richer in vitamins A, D and K but also in essential fatty acids, essential for the neuronal development of your child who is in full maturity.

Here’s an example of a typical eating day for your one-year-old. Of course, the quantities are given as an indication, and are to be adapted, according to the appetite of your child.

• Breakfast:

Breastfeeding or bottle 240 ml of growth milk with weakly mineralized water

Optional: Infant cereals (in the bottle) or bread + fruit

• Lunch:

Mashed vegetables in small pieces + unmixed but well cooked starch + 1 tbsp. to c. oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds): about 200 g – to be adapted according to your appetite

25 to 30 g of protein *: 5 to 6 tbsp. to c. meat or fish or 1/2 hard-boiled egg (white + yellow)

Fresh fruit, preferably chewable

• To taste :

Fresh fruit, preferably chewable

Milk, ideally with infant milk (yogurt, petits-suisse or fromage blanc)

Optional: dry biscuits (boudoir or Petit Beurre® type) or crouton of bread

• Dinner:

Mashed vegetables in small pieces + unmixed but well cooked starch + 1 tbsp. to c. oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds): 130 to 200 g depending on your appetite.

Breastfeeding or bottle of 240 ml of growth milk with weakly mineralized water

Optional: Infant cereals (in the bottle)

* concerning proteins (meat, fish or egg), you do not have to give it to your only at noon or only in the evening. The important thing is not to exceed the recommended amount of 25 to 30 g of protein per day. This corresponds to about 5 to 6 teaspoons of meat or fish or 1/2 of a hard-boiled egg (white + yolk). You can therefore perfectly divide this quantity in two, between the midday meal and that of the evening!