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