Juice: Why I Don't

Many people have asked me why I am not letting/giving Nora juice yet. Michael and I made the choice early on to wait until Nora was at least a year old to expose her to certain foods including juice. Here's the thing... Juice is just an extra way of getting more water into your baby so that the kidneys can handle the extra sodium from the intake of solid foods. The nutrients from the juice are already in the breast milk or formula the baby already is consuming, so they are not going without those much needed vitamins if you decide not to give juice. In fact here is what was recommended to me:

When, what, and how much juice to give your infant depends a lot on your feeding philosophy and your infant's individual tastes. Here are some healthy starter tips:

When? Resist the juice temptation until your infant is at least six months of age, preferably nine months. Introduce juice when your infant is able to drink from a cup. Juice doesn't contain any nutrients that your baby won't get more of from breastmilk or formula. Consider juice as a delivery system for extra water, which your baby needs once she is eating solid foods, since extra water helps baby's kidneys handle the extra salt from solids.

What? White grape juice is the most intestinal- friendly juice, since it is better absorbed and the sugar profile is easier on growing intestines.

How much? Best not to exceed these amounts:


• 6-12 months: 4 ounces per day
  
• 1-4 years: 6 ounces per day
  
• 4-12 years: 8 ounces per day


To avoid filling your child up with juice and displacing more valuable calories, dilute the juice at least with an equal amount of water.

Hope that helps you understand.