Giving baby juice?
I do not recommend giving juice to babies until they are older than 12 months of age. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that juice should be limited to, at most, 4 ounces daily for toddlers age 1-3. For children age 4-6, fruit juice should be limited to 4 to 6 ounces daily; and for children ages 7-18, juice intake should be limited to 8 ounces or 1 cup of the recommended 2 to 2 ½ cups of fruit servings per day. Whole fruits are better.
Giving baby water?
Babies really do not need water during their first six months of life, because breast milk and/or baby formula contains all the water they need. If you do choose to give baby some water, for babies less than three months old, boil tap water first to sterilize it. Also, bottled water is not sterile and for this age group would need to be boiled first. If children over six months of age want to drink water, you can give them a few sips, but make sure it does not fill them up to the point where they will not be hungry.
Homemade foods?
Many parents prefer making their baby’s food at home as they can choose and control what they’re feeding their baby. It is also cheaper than commercially made preparations and it gets infants used to eating the same food the rest of the family enjoys. When preparing foods, make sure you wash and rinse your hands and equipment, and clean fruits and vegetables well. In general, any fruit, vegetable, or meat (without skin) can be puréed or mashed (for older toddlers). There are many recipes and ideas online. Once you have prepared the food, ensure that you store it in airtight containers that are labelled with the date and the name of the type of food.