When Can You Give Cottage Cheese to a Baby?

If you want to integrate some new textures and nutrients into your baby's diet, you might give cottage cheese a try. With calcium and vitamin D, this smooth delight can get some dairy in your baby's diet that he is currently only getting through formula or breast milk.

Baby's Age

Your baby should be between the age of 8 and 10 months before you introduce cottage cheese to him, according to BabyCenter. At this age, babies should get about one-fourth to one-third cup of dairy a day. However, you may need to delay the introduction of cottage cheese if there is a history of food allergies in the family.

Developmental Stage

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Even if baby is the right age, he may not be developmentally ready for cottage cheese yet. KidsHealth says a baby may be ready for solids if she holds her head up, shows interest in other people's food and has no tongue-thrust reflex that would make her spit out the food. Other developmental signs include if baby has doubled his birth weight and has a growing appetite, according to BabyCenter. She should also be able to grasp so that she can hold her own utensils.

Introducing the Food

When introducing new foods, stick with a three-day rule. Feed the baby the cottage cheese and do not introduce a new food until at least three days later. Your pediatrician may suggest that you wait longer before introducing cottage cheese to your child's diet because dairy is a more allergenic food. Some signs that your baby is experiencing an allergic reaction is if the baby has diarrhea, bloating or an increase in gas or a rash. Other potential signs of a food allergy include wheezing, vomiting or fussing after eating.

Mixing with Other Foods

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Mixing cottage cheese with other foods that your baby has already been introduced to may help ease cottage cheese into her diet. For example, try mixing cottage cheese with fruit, or with mashed pees together for a tasty pureed treat. Mixing it with cooked veggies or with rice or pasta provide other opportunities to integrate this food into the diet.

Considerations

Babies may not like cottage cheese at first because of the unusual texture, compared to smoother dairy treats like yogurt. Due to the thicker texture, babies may prefer to eat it as a messy finger food. If you have exclusively breastfed your baby to this point, you may not be aware that your baby has lactose intolerance until you introduce other dairy products into her diet.