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Click here for a
helpful
"First Yummy Spoonfuls"
Feeding Chart
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Always check with your child’s pediatrician if
you have any questions or concerns about your child. Below,
for informational purpose only, you will find some answers to
some commonly asked questions:
1) When should I start giving my baby solid foods?
Babies have different developmental milestones. Some babies
are able to start eating solid foods as early as four months
and others after six months. Typically, this can commence when
your baby has doubled his/her birth weight, can sit up alone,
opens his/her mouth when you are eating, and does not spit out
food.
2) Are there any foods particularly good for weaning?
Pediatricians largely recommend iron fortified single
grain rice cereal since it is easily digestible and gluten
free. It is thus less likely to cause an allergic reaction and
can easily be mixed with breast milk to a thin consistency
that meets baby’s need. Gluten free foods such as pureed
organic carrot, pureed organic potatoes, pureed organic
parsnip, pureed organic apples, pureed organic pears and
pureed organic banana makes excellent first food choices.
Whatever first food you choose to start your child on,
remember to mix it with your baby’s regular milk or boiled
water to a watered-down creamy texture. This would facilitate
easy sucking of the food on the spoon by the baby. |
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3) How much food should
I give the baby?
There is really no rush during the first few weeks of weaning.
It is all about introducing your baby to a completely new
concept of feeding (eating from a spoon) and not the quantity
consumed. Until this point, food to your baby had always been
a continuous flow. Your baby also starts experiencing new
tastes and textures of foods other than milk. Remember though,
that baby’s milk is still the main source nutrients at this
stage.
4) Is there a best time to offer first foods?
With my child I tried a couple of different meal times and
after some frustrations on both our parts we finally got
into our rhythm. Lunch time was what worked for us. By lunch
time, my baby would have had about three feedings already
and was consequently not too hungry or too full. Take it
slowly and will find a time that works well for you and your
baby that will have you both at your best.
5) When can I introduce other foods?
Always apply the five day rule when introducing new foods
(introduce 1 food item for 5 days before giving baby the next
item). This will ensure that allergies and food sensitivities
can easily be traced. As a rule, only combine food items that
your baby already tolerates well or add a new food to one that
allergic reactions and other sensitivities have been ruled
out. In the event that there is a reaction, it makes it easy
to tell where the problem is coming from.
6) How much milk should I give to the baby?
You should still nurse your baby on demand; the guideline is
about 26 oz to 40 oz from 4 till 7 months, and about 26 oz to
32 oz from 7 till 9 months.
7) When can the baby eat the same foods as the rest of the
family?
At age 1 your baby is ready to eat the same foods as the rest
of the family without all of the added junk i.e., salt, sugar,
honey, sweeteners, etc. Depending on your child’s history,
your pediatrician might ask you to put off certain foods or
have others introduced with caution.
8) What foods are common choking hazards?
Nuts, candies, grapes, jelly beans, raw vegetables, popcorn,
hotdogs are just a few. Be aware of the size of the
piece of food you offer your baby.
9) What about allergies?
It is so vitally important if you or your spouse have a family
history of allergies to work with your child’s pediatrician.
This might help avert some misdiagnosis that might easily be
allergy related. The good news is that most children usually
outgrow their allergies as early as age 1. We often overlook
the fact that when nursing, all that we eat directly affects
our child.
When my baby was about 4 months old, I went out with my
girlfriend to an ice-cream parlor to celebrate motherhood, had
a large bowl of ice cream with some caramel that was just to
die for, and little did I know that my baby had a cow’s milk
protein allergy. I nursed him later that evening and he got
sick; luckily enough our pediatrician was able to trace it
back to me, and recommended that I no longer consume cow’s
milk.
Common allergy triggers:
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Cow’s milk
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Peanuts
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Egg whites
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Wheat
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Seafood
There are common allergy
symptoms like running nose, vomiting, itching, swelling etc,
but there is also an often overlooked indicator that parents
are not usually looking for such as a tiny streak of blood in
baby’s stool.
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