Understanding the nutritional needs of a 6-12 Month baby

At around 6 months, your baby's natural iron stores--which are vital for brain development--start to deplete. Aptamil's 6-12 months baby Follow On milk and breakfast cereals are nutritionally tailored to help you increase your baby's iron levels. The Aptamil range for 6-12 months contains:

Aptamil Follow On milk: Suitable from 6 months, Aptamil with Pronutra+? is a Follow On milk that is nutritionally tailored to complement a weaning diet.

Aptamil Multigrain breakfast: Contains Pronutravi+? and is made with high quality grains and fortified milk, for a delicious taste and a thicker texture. This is suitable for babies from 7+ months. Aptamil Multigrain & Berry Breakfasts: Contains Pronutravi+? and is made with high quality grains, fortified milk, and three different fruits. This is suitable for babies from 7+ months.

What are the benefits of Aptamil for a 6-12 Month baby?

Hearing and Speech (your baby's brain): From 6 to 12 months you will start to see your baby become more attuned to sounds that are around him. He will start to recognise familiar sounds and perk his ears at the sound of your voice. He will begin to look around when he hears noise and when you call his name.

By 9 months, he will become more deliberate about making noises to communicate with you. He might shout to get your attention and babble repeated syllables. As your baby grows, the more he hears the more the language-related brain regions will become active. When you provide your baby with positive early experiences and external stimulus, like speech sounds, you can have a major influence on the development of your baby's brain.

The brain processes information by forming a network of cells, which are called neurons that communicate with each cell in the body. When these cells interact with each other the connection is called a synapse. A strong synapse contributes to the connectivity and efficiency of the network that supports things like learning, memory, and other cognitive abilities.

Aptamil nutrition for baby's brain, hearing, and speech: Iron plays a key role in the development of your baby's brain. By the time your baby reaches 6 months, the natural iron stores in his body will begin to deplete, hence it is important that you replenish them with iron-rich foods in their diet. Aptamil with Pronutravi+? Cereal is a helpful as a first solid food for your baby as it provides an excellent supplementary source of iron and other nutrients!

Immune System: The body's immune system is a complex network of cells and cell components that work together to protect the body from viruses and infection. When a baby is born the components of their immune system, though present, are only partially developed. This makes them much more susceptible to infection. Because breastmilk contains high levels of the mother's antibodies, breastfeeding helps to naturally strengthen your baby's immune system. As baby gets older and starts to wean around 6 months, getting antibodies from additional food sources is vital in promoting a healthy, fully functioning immune system.

Aptamil for Baby's Immune System: Natural breastmilk has many different benefits for your baby. Some of these are:

There are over 200 oligosaccharides, two of which are GOS and FOS. Breastmilk prebiotic oligosaccharides play an important role in strengthening your infant's immune system and are a key component of breastmilk, which feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut. If it's time for your baby to move on from breastfeeding, or you want to start him on solids, you can use Aptamil's Proutra+ FollowOn milk which contains a healthy blend of GOS and FOS.

Digestion: When babies are first born their digestive systems are immature and for the first few months (usually 6 months) they need to rely on their mother's milk or other chosen milk to meet their nutritional needs. A baby's stomach capacity is usually very small at birth and is around 20ml in size. That's similar to the size of a Brussels Sprout! By the time baby is 1 week old, his stomach capacity will be approximately 90ml, or the size of a plum. By the time he is 6 months old his stomach capacity will likely be 10 times what it was at birth--usually around 200ml, the size of a small apple.

Aptamil for baby's digestive development:It is important that your baby's friendly bacteria are encouraged to thrive for the development of the gut. This aids the digestion and processing of food. Aptamil Pronutra+ Follow On milk contains special carbohydrates, GOS and FOS, to help encourage healthy bacteria.

Between 4-6 months, babies have what is often termed as ?open gut?. This refers to the spaces between the cells of the small intestines that readily allow intact macromolecules, as well as proteins and pathogens, to pass directly into the bloodstream. By the time baby is 6 months, his body will start to product antibodies on its own. At this time you can start to plan for the process of weaning.

Weaning can be a very exciting time for both mommy and baby. This is when you get to introduce your little guy or gal to the different feeling of solid foods in the mouth. Weaning and learning to chew also is important for the development of muscles in the mouth that will later help with speech development. Moving from a bottle to a beaker will also help your baby learn to use his mouth to sip and not suck.

A useful food to start off with when you are weaning your baby is cereal. Aptamil cereals with Pronutravi+Multigrain can be used for babies from 7+ months and is high in quality grains and fortifiedmilk that gives a delicious taste and a thicker texture.