How Do I Start My Baby on Baby Food?

Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock

Breastfeeding has been shown to meliorate infant, child and maternal health outcomes and help command healthcare costs, only how long should breastfeeding terminal and when should parents innovate solid foods?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend exclusive breastfeeding, meaning the infant receives only breast milk, during the starting time 6 months of life for optimal nutrition and health benefits.

Once solid foods are introduced, wellness professionals recommend continuing breastfeeding through 12 months of age and, after that, every bit desired by female parent and baby. Introducing your baby to solid foods is an exciting milestone. When you start introducing children to the world of solid foods, you are helping them shape their relationship with food and found a healthy eating style. The timing for introducing solid foods will depend on the infant, only it is non recommended before the historic period of four months or after the age of six months.

Non sure how to become your infant started on solid foods? Consider these helpful tips.

Is Your Baby Gear up to Transition?

Each kid's readiness for solid nutrient depends on their ain rate of development. Signs a baby may be ready to outset solid foods include sitting up with minimal back up, demonstrating good caput control, bringing objects to the mouth or grasping at minor objects. Check with your pediatrician before starting solid foods.

Getting Started With Solids

Solid foods may exist introduced in any order. However, puréed meats, poultry, beans and atomic number 26-fortified cereals are recommended as first foods, especially if your baby has been primarily breastfed, since they provide key nutrients. Just i new single-ingredient food should be introduced at a fourth dimension.

Softer textures are very important when first introducing foods. Infants usually start with pureed or mashed foods around half-dozen months. As infants develop chewing and motor skills, they are able to handle items similar soft pieces of fruit and finger foods. As the child ages, a variety of healthful foods is encouraged.

Weaning From Breastfeeding

When deciding if you should wean your baby to a canteen or a cup, consider their developmental readiness. Between 7 and eight months, most infants will drink small amounts of liquid from a loving cup or a drinking glass when someone else holds it. Older babies and toddlers often have the coordination to drink fluids from a cup past themselves.

If your baby is under 12 months of age and you are not continuing to breastfeed, wean from breast milk to fe-fortified infant formula. If your baby is 12 months or older, whole moo-cow'south milk is advisable.

Food Condom Do's and Don'ts

Food safe concerns for infants and toddlers include food allergies, choking and risks for foodborne disease. Go on the post-obit safe tips in mind:

Practise talk with your pediatrician about the adventure of food allergies. Introducing 1 new food at a time, every several days, allows fourth dimension to monitor for allergic reactions. Current bear witness does non indicate needing to expect beyond 4 to 6 months before introducing potential allergy-causing foods such as eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts and fish. In fact, introducing peanut-containing foods as early on every bit 4 to 6 months of age may help prevent a peanut allergy. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends introducing potentially allergenic foods when other complementary foods are introduced to an infant's diet. Parents with concerns about food allergies should talk over how to include these foods with their pediatrician.

Don't feed your baby solid foods from a bottle. Information technology can be a choking hazard and despite a popular misconception, putting cereal in a babe'due south canteen won't help with sleeping through the night. Other foods that are considered to be choking hazards are listed below.

Practice supervise your kid while eating. Infants should be able to sit upright and confront forrard when you beginning introduce solid foods. This makes swallowing easier and choking less likely.

Don't feed straight from the jar of food merely instead spoon some nutrient into a carve up dish first. Feeding directly from the jar may introduce bacteria from your baby's rima oris to the spoon and back into the food, creating a food safety issue.

Don't feed dear to children under 12 months of age due to the risk of foodborne disease.

Examples of appropriate solid foods listed by historic period:

vi months:

• Well-cooked and pureed meat, poultry or beans
• Ground, cooked, single-grain cereal or infant cereal with breast milk or formula
• Cooked and pureed vegetables
• Mashed assistant or avocado

nine months:

• Well-cooked, minced or finely chopped meat, poultry or beans
• A variety of cooked vegetables cut into pocket-sized, ½ inch pieces, such every bit squash and light-green beans
• Sliced and quartered bananas or small pieces of other soft fruits

12 months:

• Soft, shredded meat, poultry or fish
• Small pieces of cooked vegetables
• Small pieces of soft, easy to chew fruits
• Mixed food dishes the family unit is eating in appropriately sized pieces

Not recommended for those under 4 years of age due to the risk of choking:

• Popcorn and whole kernel corn
• Nuts and seeds
• Large chunks of meat, poultry and cheese
• Candy, gum drops and jelly beans
• Difficult, raw fruits or vegetables such equally apples, celery and carrots
• Whole grapes and red tomatoes, unless cut into quarters
• Hot dogs, unless cutting into strips and age appropriate, bite-size pieces
• Sticky foods, such every bit peanut butter, which tin can go stuck in the back of the rima oris – peanut butter is okay if spread thinly on breadstuff

For toddlers and preschoolers, chop grapes, meat, poultry, hot dogs and raw vegetables and fruits into small pieces (about ½ inch or smaller).

Nurturing Healthy Relationships with Food

Establishing a positive feeding relationship during infancy can have lifetime benefits. Proceed in mind that children are responsible for how much and whether they eat so always await for your baby to pay attending to each spoonful before you lot feed them. Don't be afraid to let your baby impact the nutrient in the dish and on the spoon. Yous wouldn't want to eat something if you didn't know anything nigh it, would you? In improver, know the cues that your baby is done eating. A common cue babies are full is caput turning.

Whatever happens, don't get discouraged and enjoy the feel. With a fiddling patience and inventiveness, you lot tin make your baby'due south kickoff solid food eating experience fun for everyone involved!

ruffreer1946.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/eating-as-a-family/dos-and-donts-for-babys-first-foods

Share this post