Taste Testing

This is when eating starts to become much more fun and a whole lot messier as well. Baby is now sits happily in the high chair or booster seat and actually anticipates his mealtimes. He might not be bored with cereal and fruit, but probably are and now that he is eating confidently, it is time to widen his culinary experience with lots more tastes and textures.

Remember to be flexible as introduce new foods. Baby is quite possibly not going to like every single thing you offer after all, you like some foods more than others. You might also find as you begin to add foods with a little more texture, that babies who happily scoffed a velvety puree will be deeply insulted by the merest suggestion of a lump. Don't force the issue, just proceed slowly and remember that by offering as wide a variety as possible.

Food Intolerance

As a small number of babies find it difficult to digest gluten, it is best to avoid this in the first 6 months. That is why we always start with rice cereal. Egg white can also occasionally cause an adverse reaction so it is best to avoid eggs until 9 to 12 months according to paediatrician.

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It's fun to record baby's first mounthful for posterity. Some babies seem to understand immediately what they are supposed to do, swallow happily and look at you expectantly for more.

Introducing Different Foods

As baby grows, so should the number of different foods being offered. If he fusses when given a particular food for the first time, leave it for a while and continue with foods that have already been accepted. But, do keep trying new foods at frequent intervals.

Young babies don't get bored eating the same things repeatedly because they have no prior knowledge about different flavours or textures. This is also true of salt, the taste for salt is acquired. Although you might think the food tastes bland, your baby will not think this and you should not add any salt to food that you prepare for babies under 12 months, excessive sodium has the potential to damage immature kidneys.

Sugar should also be used sparingly, for the sake of your baby's health, you don't want to encourage a 'sweet tooth'.

4 to 6 Months Babies Food - Ricotta with Pear Puree

Ricotta with Pear Puree

1/3 cup (65g) ricotta cheese,
2 tablespoons pureed pear

Push cheese through a fine sieve. Mix cheese in small bowl with puree pear until smooth. Add a little extra breast milk or cooled boiled water if necessary.

Makes 1/2 cup (125ml)

Storage: Covered, in refrigerator, up to 2 days.

4 to 6 Months Babies Food - Apple Semolina

Apple Semolina

3 teaspoons semolina,
1/3 cup (80ml) cooled boiled water,
1/3 cup (80ml) apple juice

Combine all ingredients in small pans; simmer, uncovered, about 2 minutes or until thickened slightly.

Makes 2/3 cup (160ml)

Storage: Covered, in refrigerator, up to 2 days

4 to 6 Months Babies Food - Blancmange

Blancmange

1 tablespoon cornflour,
2/3 cup (160ml) formula or breast milk,
2 teaspoons sugar,
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence

Blend cornflour with 1 tablespoon of the milk in a small bowl until smooth. Bring remaining milk to boil in small pan; remove from heat. Add sugar, vanilla and cornflour mixture, stirring over heat until mixture boils and thickens. Pour blancmange into small bowl, cover, refrigerate several hours or until set.

Makes 2/3 cup (160ml)

Storage: Covered, in refrigerator, up to 2 days

4 to 6 Months Babies Food - Apricot Puree with Blended Rice Cereal

Apricot Puree with Blended Rice Cereal

2/3 cup (100g) dried apricots,
1 1/2 cups (375ml) water,
2 tablespoons blended cereal,
1/3 cup (80ml) formula or breast milk, warmed

Combine apricots and water in small pan; simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until apricots are tender. Blend apricots and cooking liquid until smooth.

Mix cereal in small bowl with breast milk or formula; serve topped with 1 tablespoon apricot puree.

Puree Makes 1 1/4 cups (310ml)

Storage: Puree, covered, in refrigerator up to 2 days
Freeze: Puree, suitable in individual portions

4 to 6 Months Babies Food - Pureed Potato or Pumpkin

Pureed Potato or Pumpkin

1/2 cup (200g) peeled and chopped potato or pumpkin

Boil, steam or microwave potato or pumpkin until tender; drain. Blend or process with enough breast milk, formula or cooled boiled water until of desired consistency.

Makes 1/2 cup (125ml)

Storage: Covered, in refrigerator, up to 2 days
Freeze: Suitable, in individual portions

Tip: Mashed avocado is an excellent choice for one of your baby's first foods; it's also good blended with a little of the pureed pear or apple.

4 to 6 Months Babies Food - Pureed Apple or Pear

Pureed Apple or Pear

1 medium (150g) apple or 1 small (180g) pear, peeled, cored, chopped.

Boil, steam or microwave apple or pear until tender; drain over small bowl, reserving 1 tablespoon cooking liquid. Blend or process fruit with cooking liquid or boiled water until smooth.

Makes 1/2 cup (125ml)

Storage: Covered, in refrigerator, up to 2 days
Freeze: Suitable, in individual portions

Tip: Mix a little of this pureed fruit with yogurt

Starting Solids

Initially, solid food should be offered after the breast or bottle feed, as milk is still the major source of nourishment.

Alternatively, offer half the milk feed, then solid food. This will take the edge off baby's hunger, but he will still be interested in what you have to offer and will be more relaxed and settled. Finish with the remainder of the familiar milk feed.

Traditionally, the first food to be offered is rice cereal as it is well tolerated, but you can also start with a little pureed fruit or vegies instead, or mashed ripe banana or avocado.

1. If starting with rice cereal mix 1 to 2 teaspoons with 15ml to 30ml expressed breastmilk, prepared formula or cooled, boiled water until it is a thin paste consistency. Using a spoon without sharge edges, offer baby 1 to 2 teaspoons of the cereal mix at the feed of the day suits you. Hold the spoon to her lips and allow her to suck the cereal off. Don't push the spoon back into her mouth, it will cause her to gag. Take you time, remember that up until now, your baby has sucked her food, so having a spoon in her mouth is a very new sensation. Repeat this process once day for a few days.

2. If this step was a success, you can now offer cereal twice a day, for several days, gradually increasing the amount and thickening the consistency to suit your baby, until he is eating up to 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. If he consistency refuses the cereal, then try something else. If he refuses this as well, give up for a week or so, continue with milk only, then try again. Stay calm and remind yourself there are very few fully milk-feed adults!

3. Next, add a small amount of pureed, stewed apple, pear or very ripe mashed banana to rice cereal. Gradually, increase the puree over several days until they are serving equal amounts of cereal and fruits. If this is well tolerated, you can vary one meal by introducing pureed vegetables, usually potato, pumpkin and carrot to start. Offer 1 to 2 teaspoons, slowly increasing the amount over several days to 2 to 3 tablespoons.

4. Gradually, increase the variety of vegetables and other foods to allow baby to become accustomed to new tastes and textures. Introduce new foods one at a time and allow a few days on each new food to ensure that baby has no adverse reaction to it, before starting the next.

5. If baby is happily eating two "meals", then you can gradually add a third, so that she is eventually eating 2 to 3 tablespoons of food, three times a day.

Food Intolerance & Allergies

Food intolerance occurs when food is not digested properly, such as gluten intolerance (known as coeliac disease) or milk (lactose) intolerance. A very small number of babies can also suffer true allergic reactions to certain foods.

Symptoms of allergy or intolerance can include swelling and itching around the mouth or throat, diarrhoea, stomach pain, vomiting, runny nose, coughing, eczema, hives, hay fever or asthma. But since most children will exhibit at least some of these symptoms during their babyhood whether they are allergic or not, you should seek medical advice if you think your baby has a problem. It is important to establish whether there actually is an allergy as you might be needlessly eliminating a useful food from the baby's diet.

A tendency to allergy can be hereditary so if you or your immediate family have a history of food reactions, such as asthma, hay fever, eczema or a reaction to peanuts, you should proceed more cautiously when introducing solids. However, most small children will grow out of their allergy and often, if there is a reaction, it can be very mild.

Eggs, peanuts, cow's milk, wheat, sheelfish, strawberries and artificial colourings are the foods most commonly linked to allergic reactions and intolerance so you should not offer these foods until baby is a certain age: avoid cow's milk (except infant formula) and wheat products for the first 6 months; avoid egg white and strawberries before 9 to 12 months; leave peanut products until baby is 12 months old (or 5 years if a close relative is allergic). When first adding them to the diet, do so one at time and in small amounts, if you notice a reaction, wait a month before trying the food again or seek medical advice.

First Things First

To start, you will need small spoons without sharp edges - plastic are ideal - an unbreakable bowl and a supply of bibs - the one thing you can count on is a mess!

Depending on the age of your baby, you will also need a high chair or something else for baby to sit in which is easy to wipe down.

Older toddlers can have their own little chair and table, unless you prefer them to sit on booster seat at the main table. In either case, it is important to establish a specific location for eating - don't let your toddler walk and eat; make him sit and recognize a meal time and place.

Cooking Equipment
Food processors and hand-held blenders are great assets when preparing food for young babies who tend to like their purees absolutely smooth. However, a potato masher, ricer or food mill will also puree soft foods just as well and are less expensive. You can also push small amounts of soft through a sieve to eliminate lumps.

Kitchen Hygiene
- Make sure you always have clean hands before starting to prepare any food.
- All feeding equipment and cooking utensils should be scrupulously clean, but, unlike bottles and teats, there is no need to sterilize them.
- Use different clean chopping boards for raw meat and cooked foods, for poultry and vegetables to avoid the risk of contamination.
- When preparing dry cereal, make only as much as required for each meal and discard any leftovers.
- NEVER save any uneaten portion of food from the feeding bowl - baby's saliva will have contaminated the remaining food. Throw it away.

Freezing
- Freeze single portions of food in ice cube trays or simply by dropping serving-sized spoonfuls onto a clean tray. Cover tightly and freeze. Once they are frozen, work quickly to place individual serves in freezer bags. Seal, label, date and return to the freezer.
- Do not prepare vast amounts of food, you will never get through it. Ensure that food is rotated so oldest food is used first.
- Remove only the exact number of cubes required for each meal.
- Always thaw frozen portions of food int he refrigerator.
- Never refreeze thawed food.

Reheating and Microwaving
Your freezer and microwave oven are invaluable when planning and making food for young children.

When reheating food for your baby, remember that babies do not like hot food. If food has been refrigerated or frozen, it should be briefly brought to a boil then cooled to lukewarm before serving. Freshly made food can be reheated over a saucepan of gently simmering water or in a microwave oven.

While the microwave is a great timesaver when cooking and reheating baby food, great care must be taken. Microwave food continues to cook after being removed from the oven and can therefore be very hot.

Never serve food cooked or reheated in a microwave oven before stirring then testing it first.

Pause to stir food at intervals during microwave reheating to allow for even heat distribution.

Allow microwaved food to rest outside the oven for several minutes before feeding it to your baby.

What is Weaning?

Weaning

Weaning is the time when parents begin to gradually introduce foods other than breast milk or infant formula to their baby's diet. Specially prepared solid foods may be introduced gradually between 4 and 6 months of age.

Cereal-based foods are usually the first weaning foods offered to the infant. Other foods, including strained or mashed fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, are later added to the weaning diet.

The introduction of weaning foods should not signal the elimination of milk from baby's diet. In fact, breast milk, infant formula, or a follow-on formula designed specifically to meet the nutritional needs of older babies should remain the primary source of nourishment throughout the first year of life.

Weaning is an important stage in your baby's life. It requires much patience on your part, some practice on your baby's part, and a lot of learning by all.

When to start?
Most experts agree that weaning should begin sometime between 4 and 6 months of age. Nearly all babies are developmentally ready to sample their first solid foods by then. At this age, baby can sit up, hold up his or her head, and coordinate chewing with swallowing. He or she is also developing the ability to accept smooth foods from a spoon.

By 4 to 6 months of age, baby's ability to digest and absorb nutrients is virtually mature. His or her kidneys are also able to handle the extra sodium and extra protein present in some solid foods.

The right time to wean should be determined with the help of your health care professional, who can best evaluate your baby's progress and needs.

The problem with early weaning
Introducing foods before your child is 4 to 6 months of age may cause problems. Before the age of 4 months, your baby cannot coordinate chewing with swallowing. Your baby's digestive system may be unable to tolerate a variety of foods. Also, because kidney function is not mature, a young baby cannot handle the extra sodium and extra protein present in some solid foods.

When solid foods are given too early, so little is consumed that it makes an insignificant contribution to your child's diet. Research has also shown that introducing solid food early does not help your baby sleep through the night.

Introducing food too early to an infant who doesn't want it or cannot handle it can result in unpleasant feeding experiences for both parent and infant. Waiting until your baby is ready to handle more "mixed fare" can facilitate a smoother transition.

The problem with late weaning
By 6 months of age, breast milk or formula is unlikely to provide all of your baby's nutritional requirements. To meet increased nutritional needs, you should begin to add more food to your child's diet.

Weaning is also important because it introduces your baby to new tastes and textures that will prepare him or her for a more adult diet. If you wait much beyond the age of 6 months, your baby may be less willing to accept solid foods.

What foods to avoid

Take care to avoid the following foods:

Salt
Babies up to 6 months old should have less than 1g salt a day. From 7 months to a year old they should have a maximum of 1g salt a day.

If you're breastfeeding, your baby will be getting the right amount of salt. And infant formula contains a similar amount of salt to breast milk.

When you start introducing solid foods, remember the following:

• Don't add salt to any foods you give to babies because their kidneys can't cope with it. The baby foods you'll find on sale aren't allowed to contain salt.
• Remember to limit how much you let your baby eat of foods that are high in salt, such as cheese, bacon and sausages.
• Avoid giving your baby any processed foods that aren't made specifically for babies such as pasta sauces and breakfast cereals, because these can be high in salt.

Sugar
Avoid adding sugar to the food or drinks you give your baby. Sugar could encourage a sweet tooth and lead to tooth decay when your baby's first teeth start to come through. If you give your baby stewed sour fruit, such as rhubarb, you could sweeten it with mashed banana, breast or formula milk.

Honey
Don't give honey to your baby until he or she is a year old. Very occasionally, honey can contain a type of bacteria that can produce toxins in a baby's intestines. This can cause serious illness (infant botulism). After a baby is a year old, the intestine matures and the bacteria can't grow.

But remember that honey is also a sugar, which means it can cause the same problems as sugar.

Other foods to avoid up to six months
There are also certain foods that can cause an allergic reaction in some babies. So it's a good idea not to give your baby any of these foods before he or she is six months old:

• Wheat-based foods and other foods containing gluten - including bread, wheat flour, breakfast cereals and rusks. If someone in your family can't eat foods containing gluten (because they have Coeliac disease), talk to your GP before giving any wheat, rye or barley-based foods to your baby.
• Nuts and seeds - including peanuts, peanut butter and other nut spreads. Peanuts can be given from six months old, if you always crush or flake them. Don't give whole peanuts or any type of whole nuts to children under five years old because they could cause choking.
  
• Eggs
• Fish and shellfish

Breastfeed

Breastmilk

It is what nature designed for new babies. It contains exactly what they need in terms of nutrients, comes in perfect gem-free containers, and is always on hand at precisely the right temperature. Given these impeccable advantages, it would have to be the natural choice for a baby's first nutrition, wherever possible.

Feeding your baby is more than just a matter of nutrition, it's also about nurturing and comfort. Using feeding time to make eye contact and hold your baby are great ways to increase that bonding time. It's also a great time to talk to your little one.
Breastfeeding provides you and your baby with many benefits. From a healthier baby with a higher IQ to a mom who tends to lose her pregnancy weight faster and has more time free, breastfeeding is best for everyone involved. It also costs less money than other feeding methods in additon to the health benefits.

Breast milk is easily digested and carries your antibodies to your baby. Breast milk can increase your baby's IQ, protect them from ear infections, respiratory infections and other life long problems like diabetes and obesity to name a few.

Reasons to Breastfeed

1. Increases Baby's IQ
Breastfeeding has been shown to increase your baby's intelligence quotient (IQ). The average increase is about 7 points. While it might not be the difference for acceptance to Harvard, we all need every point we can get!

2. Helps mom lose that baby fat
There are certain fat stores that go on your body during pregnancy that are destined to be for breastfeeding. Breastfeeding helps tap into those stores and reduce the fat deposits laid down in pregnancy.

3. Breastfed babies are less likely to die of SIDS
About 7,000 US babies die every year from SIDS. While we don't know what causes SIDS, we do know what the risk factors are, that includes using formula to feed your baby. Breastmilk is one of the few factors that you can control.

4. Reduced allergies for breastfed babies
Breastfeeding your baby causes baby to have fewer allergies. There are lots of reasons why this happens, but remember - Mother's milk is specific for each and every child. It changes throughout the day and throughout the span that you nurse.

5. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you breastfeed.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that your baby begin breastfeeding within the first hour of life and that they only receive breastmilk until they are older. It's also recommended by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

6. Breastfeeding burns calories
Breastfeeding requires about 500 calories a day to simply produce the milk. You can use those extra 500 calories to add more food to your diet or to help you lose weight after the birth.

7. Formula increases the risk of diabetes (type I)
Infants who are exposed to formula, particularly early on have a greater likelihood to develope Type I diabetes. Infants who were expressly breastfed for at least 5 months with no formula had lower rates of Type I diabetes. The longer they were breastfed, the lower the risk.

8. Postbirth benefits are also many
By breastfeeding your body releasess a hormone that helps your uterus contract, oxytocin. This can reduce your risk of postpartum hemorrhage or the need for other medications. Nursing also helps your uterus heal after birth and get back to its pre-pregnancy size.

9. Cancers decrease with breastfeeding too
Your risk of developing breast cancer and other cancers is increased if you do not breast feed. Breastfeeding can help lower the incidence of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, etc.

10. Breastfeeding lowers the risk of obesity
Not only will breastfeeding make your child more lean and healthy, it will help reduce days missed at work for illnesses, etc. Because nursing lowers the risk that your child will suffer from upper respiratory infections, ear infections, etc.

How to breastfeed?

Getting started

The most important period in establishing breastfeeding is the first week. In the early days, both the mother and baby are learning how to breastfeed.

The earliest days are the hardest, but with a little knowledge you can do it successfully!

The earlier you put the baby to the breast, the earlier the breastmilk should come. Don't wait for the milk to come before starting. The breasts work by "supply and demand".

The early hours and days are also important due to the substance your breasts produce at this time. This thin, cloudy, yellow substance is called colostrum and is of enormous value to your baby.

There is absolutely no substitute for colostrum in doing good for your baby. It gives him or her protection against disease that will last for several months. Don't let it go to waste!

It's important to give new babies nothing other than breastmilk. Honey, water, coconut water, paps and so on should not be fed to new born babies. Apart from making breastfeeding harder, giving water to a new born baby can also be dangerous because the water may have invisible dirt.

If you start feeding a baby other things, you can easily move closer and closer to bottlefeeding even if you don't really want to and your breasts will produce less milk. Once that happens it is usually very hard to get back to breastfeeding again.

Technique

During the early days the nipple is getting used to being taken into baby's mouth and baby is learning how to feed from the nipple. It's important for both of you to be relaxed and comfortable, you may be feeding for an hour or so.

A baby may not yet know how to open his or her mouth widely enough. If this happens, you can squeeze out a little milk from your breast, open baby's mouth with your clean finger, and put a little milk in to start baby off.

Wait for the baby's mouth to open, then guides the breast in - not just the nipple. To suck properly, the baby squeezes the area behind the nipple with his or her whole mouth.

When the baby finishes sucking the first breast, put your finger into the baby's mouth to release the sucking, and offer the other breast. And next feed, start the other way round. When the baby has had enough, he or she will just fall asleep.

Give as much skin contact as possible and stroke baby's cheek. Let the baby's hand stroke your breast in return.Looking into the babies eyes and talking to the baby are all part of breastfeeding.

It's baby's sucking which stimulates the breast to store milk in the first place. That's why sometimes we feel that we have a "lazy" breast, one that doesn't seem to produce as much milk as the other one. Often, it's because it has received less sucking. It's important that, as time goes on, you use both breasts.
Each time you feed, you should stay on one breast until it feels empty - at least ten to fifteen minutes. This is because the milk that comes at the end of a feed is much richer and more satisfying.

How often to feed

What exactly is the sign that baby is hungry? Unfortunately, many mothers think that a baby is only hungry when it cries. But crying is a baby's last resort! Other signs include putting a finger in the mouth, and turning the head from side to side looking for the breast.

Breastfeeding whenever the baby is hungry may be tiring but it's the best thing. It's not 'spoiling' a baby - a baby who has had to wait to feed will only be in a bad mood - and frequent feeding helps to keep the milk flow strong.

Sometimes, particularly in the early weeks, a mother can feel like she is breastfeeding all the time. Many mothers want to be more than just "breasts on legs" for our babies. Many mothers have to go out to work to have work to do in the house. But it's perfectly possible to breastfeed and go out to work. Knowing how to "express" (squeeze out) breastmilk, and storing a day's feeds in sterilised bottles in a fridge, can help busy mothers.

1. Anxiety

It can be easy to get discouraged when you are trying to breastfeed. For example, the baby can be crying or your family can be worried that the baby is hungry or not getting enough to eat.

Probably the most important thing about breastfeeding is what's going on in the mother's head. Breastmilk flow is controlled by the brain. Anything that affects the brain affects breastmilk production; so things like worry, pain, or stress of any form can hinder breastmilk flow.

Many women worry because they think they are not breastfeeding properly. In fact, worry and stress can be the cause of breastfeeding problems. Therefore i's very important to try to be relaxed.

And here, the family have a role to play. People around a nursing mother should be careful about what they say. Saying things like, for example, 'How can you breastfeed, you have such small breasts' can really hinder the ability to breastfeed.

Breast size has absolutely nothing to do with how much milk breasts can produce. However, what realtions say and do around a nursing mother does.

2. Pain

Having painful nipples can be very distressing, but it usually is not serious or longlasting. Perhaps the baby is only sucking on the nipple and not the dark area behind.

Often problems with your nipples will go if you ensure cleanliness and go on breastfeeding, but getting the help of someone who you trust and who knows a lot about breastfeeding is always a good idea.

A time when you should be worried and look for medical help immediately is if you have a tender lump which lasts more than one day, especially if you feel ill too.

3. Engorgement

About four days after birth, a mother's breasts can become big, hard and painful. This is called "engorgement".

This can make it hard for a baby to "latch on" or get his or her mouth around the important dark bit around the nipple. Any engorgement should only last about two days, so try and carry on breastfeeding. Perseverence is so important when breastfeeding. Just offer the breast when baby wants to suckle, stay confident, and let the baby suck when it wants to.