Re: Nutrition for 13mnth old

The last thing you should be feeling is failure - you are obviously a very concientious mother who is doing her best to give her child a good start in life. 

As you have already found, there are many opinions on the best way to introduce a child to solids.  The fact that you breast fed for 7 months has given your child a great advantage in building his immune system and preparing him for a healthy life.  Dr Christopher taught that a child does not produce his own digestive enzymes until the 'eye' teeth and 'stomach' teeth come in.  These are the pointed, fang-looking teeth on the top and the bottom.  These usually come in somewhere around 18 months.  Until then, a child needs a diet that is pre-digested (such as raw goats milk or breast milk) or are coming from foods with their own enzymes which will easially break-down and become digestible.  Once the child is producing his own digestive enzymes, he no longer has a need for milk and will be able to digest his own foods.  The grains, nuts and meats are difficult to digest and so, would not be a good food to introduce too young.  This, basically, leaves the fruits and vegetables.  Many people believe you should introduce vegetables first so that the child will not develop a 'sweet tooth' from too many fruits.  I do not agree with this philosophy - I believe the fruits are the easiest to digest and  make an excellent food to start a child on.  So, my personal advise would be:  stick to the fruits and vegetables for now (along with raw goats milk).  You can juice them, steam them and cut them up raw.  In this way, he will get the most benefit from the nutrients in the produce.