I need food! (Baby Food Hints/Tips)

Member Name: Autarkis

Product:	Baby Food Hints/Tips
Date:	06/11/08 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Healthy eating, healthy happy child.

Disadvantages: Messy?

Weaning is a very exciting milestone for parents and babies, but some parents find this time to be a little daunting too.

Weaning is a gradual process that requires time and patience. The weaning experience is different with every child. It is always a good time to start when you and your baby are in good health, and are feeling relaxed. It is also best to delay the weaning process if your baby is adapting to anything else such as teething.

Health experts recommend that you wait until your baby has reached 6 months of age, to reduce your baby from getting allergies, and because a baby's digestive system is not ready until this age. However some parents wean their babies before this age.

I think as a parent you know when your baby is ready for food; some babies need extra nourishment when milk alone does not satisfy them so parents decide to introduce food at an earlier age. When to wean is a personal decision you as a parent will know when the time is right.

~Signs that your baby is ready to wean~

*When your baby can sit up and hold their head up unsupported.
*When your baby shows a keen interest in food, copying your chewing movements. during mealtimes and even trying to take some food from your plate!
*When a baby's "tongue-thrust" has disappeared, this is when a baby pushes things out of their mouth.
*When baby is fussy and hungry between feeds, and wakes in the night.

My daughter was weaned at 4 months as that was the recommended age 12 years ago, I started weaning my son at 6 months, and I was surprised he lasted that long really as he has always been a hungry baby.

Your child will usually let you know when they need more in their diet; my son became fussy in between feeds so I knew he needed more than just his milk.

I have never used jars or tins of baby food, as I don't see the point really. In my opinion I think they are expensive, they don't look very appetising and I don't think its worth going onto jars and tins to then have to go onto food, for me I thought it was better to just go straight onto normal food. I have nothing against ready made baby food; it's just not my preference.

Some people may find it easier to give ready made baby food, and some people choose to make up a lot of food and freeze it in ice cube trays so they have enough food made up for the week, I myself just make the food at meal times, as I find it takes no longer to make an extra meal.

I have been lucky with both of my children as they both weaned easily, my 12 month old son loves his food, I was a little apprehensive about weaning him as it has been a long time since my daughter was weaned, my son was much easier to wean and has enjoyed all of the food he has tried so far, he is not overly keen on cheese but I still offer it and he will usually eat it with his raisins or apple that he has.

A good healthy varied diet should be established from an early age, you don't need to give your baby sweet foods, or sweeten the food because you would find it bland. There is plenty of time for them to have these foods; once they start school and go to all the parties they will get plenty of sweet foods then.

~Starting the Weaning Process~

If you are uptight and nervous when you give your baby their first tastes then baby will pick up on this, so you need to relax and enjoy this time.

Salt, sugar, honey and artificial sweeteners, should not be a part of your child's diet, salt can damage your babies liver, only 1 gram of salt a day is recommended for babies under the age of one.

So you don't need to add salt to food when cooking. If you are making your babies food with yours you can always add salt to your food after it is cooked.

It's a good idea to have your baby sit with you and your family at mealtimes, to get used to everyone eating, as they will study you and become interested in eating.

I think it is best to offer food at lunchtime or during the day, to begin with so you can see if they have any allergic reactions or are unwell from the food that has been given.

You don't need to worry about what or how much your baby is eating, as this is just a time to introduce foods, as baby gets all their nutrition from their milk.

It is best to start offering savoury foods first so that your baby will not develop a sweet tooth.

Baby rice is a good starting food, it's easy for them to digest and it is very bland and it can be mixed with baby's usual milk, to get them used to having something different in their mouth. Some people offer milk before the food, and some after it depends on the baby. If your baby is too hungry then they may not take the food from a spoon, as they are likely to be fussy.
You only need to make up a small amount as they only need a couple of spoonfuls to try for the first few days for them to get used to the food, and they won't be able to eat much to begin with as they need to learn to swallow the food, once they have mastered this you can then gradually build up the amount that you offer.

Your baby may look at you strangely when you offer the first taste of food, and they may not even swallow much of the food.
Babies will let you know when they have had enough; they will usually turn their head away, or not open their mouth, or spit it out or even gag.

A baby can only eat as much as they want, they will not eat more than they need so you don't need to worry if they haven't eaten much or if they have eaten more than you thought they would.

If your baby spits a food out, and doesn't seem to like it, offer it again in a week or so, it is always good to give your baby a good variety of food so they don't become fussy eaters. Just because you don't like a certain food, that doesn't mean that your baby won't like it. Both of my children eat better than me and they like a lot more food than what I do.

Once your baby has got used to bland tastes you can then progress onto something with a bit more flavour to it.

It is always best to offer a new food every three days, so you can identify any allergic reactions to food.

Some people use a food blender, I myself have never used one I have always just mashed the food down and either added a little boiled water or milk to the food until I had the consistency I wanted. As baby gets used to eating food, you can blend or mash the food leaving a few lumps in to give it a bit more texture so they can learn to chew, and gradually over time you can give more lumps, and then just cut the food up. It will need to be cut up very small to begin with.

Foods such as potato or sweet potato are an easy first food, as they are easy to mash down and you can add baby's usual milk to potato, until it is at the right consistency.

Other vegetables that have a mild taste are broccoli or cauliflower, after you could try parsnips, courgette, carrots, and butternut squash.
I always mixed the stronger tasting vegetables with potato, so my son could get used to the taste. Frozen Veg. is also good to use if you don't always have fresh. You can also use tinned Veg. although not many come in just water alone.

Once your baby has tried several different foods you can then combine foods. You can add a vegetable to potato.

Once your baby has tried a variety of different vegetables then you can try fruit.

This can be offered instead of Veg. at a mealtime, as you are just letting your baby try the foods at first. Banana is my favourite weaning food, as this is so easy to prepare and can be taken on trips out as it's already in its own packaging. Luckily this is also one of my son's favourite foods too.
Other fruits need to be either boiled or steamed and then the can be mashed down.

Apple or pears are easy once peeled and cubed they take around 6 - 8 minutes to boil until they are soft. You can use the water from the pan to mash down the fruit.

Over time you can increase the amount of food given, once your baby has got used to having one meal a day, you can then add a second meal.

Try offering some baby cereal in the morning, baby porridge is a good starting cereal as this has a mild taste and babies seem to love it. Overtime you can then offer other breakfast cereals to your baby like porridge.

Then once your baby has got used to having two meals a day you can then increase this to three meals a day offering an evening meal.

Your babies feeding routine will fall into place and the milk feeds during the day will be dropped as you offer more food if your baby doesn't take less milk then maybe you need to offer more food and decrease the amount of milk given. Water can be given with meals and in between meals when baby is thirsty. Babies can have juice from 6 months onwards this should be kept to mealtimes to reduce the risk of tooth decay, and also should be given from a training cup and not a teat, however I don't think it is necessary to give juice, I found that my son wouldn't drink much water when I first started weaning him, but over time he increased the amount of water he would drink.

As your baby gets older and they are eating three meals a day, they can have snacks in between meals if necessary, if your child is fussy in between meals and seems hungry then a healthy snack can be offered. Foods such as raisins, fruit, carrot, or toast make a good snack.

Your baby will let you know how much they want to eat, they really do, some days they will eat more than others, same as adults, some days you are hungrier.

They will lean forward to the spoon when they want to continue eating, when they become distracted and are not showing interest in the food then they have probably had enough, also when they turn their head away or as they get older they will push the spoon away. Also if they gag they have more than likely had enough to eat.

I offered my baby finger food after a few weeks of him being weaned, as a parent you know your baby best, so it's down to choice when you want to and when you think your baby is ready for finger foods.

Baby led weaning is messy, but try not to stress about the mess, let your baby enjoy the food, it can all be cleaned up at the end.

You can buy a messy mat to place under your highchair, I think these can be a little bit pricey, you can always just use a cheap plain basic shower curtain (Ikea are cheap for these) it does the same job.

Finger food should be cut up, and in the shape of a chip.

Good finger foods:
Bread sticks
Rice cakes
Carrot sticks.
Raisins - It is recommended that you cut these in half (I did for a while but not long) - also it is recommended that you don't give raisins as a snack until your baby is a year old.
Broccoli stems ('Broccoli flowers')
Cauliflower stems
Frozen Veg.
Chunks of cheese - Full fat
Pasta
Cucumber
Cheerios
There are also some very good organic baby snacks available in most supermarkets I find these nice as an occasional treat.

Also some foods can be grated such as - Carrot/cheese/apple

Give your child a range of textures and tastes.

Whole milk can be added in baby's food when cooking, however not until 1 year of age until this can replace breast or formula milk.

Once your baby approaches their first birthday, you can give them a little full fat cows milk, it took a little while for my son to get used to the cows milk and he didn't drink as much as usual, as I find it lays heavier on their stomach.

Cow's milk can be warmed in the same way as you would heat your formula milk.

Babies can choke on food, and they probably will a few times during the weaning process, you can't stop this from happening, but you need to make sure the food you give is small enough for your baby to be able to manage, a large piece of food can lodge in the throat, it is always a good idea to cut hard foods up very small. Babies have a gag reflex and they will cough up any food. Remember never to leave baby alone with food.

Most of my sons meals are finger foods now, as I find that babies enjoy being able to feed themselves and they know what they want to eat, so they will only eat the amount that they want.

I found the weaning process is a learning curve, for both you and baby, you learn from your baby what they like and when they are ready for more food, and when to increase the consistency and when they are ready to go on to finger foods, your baby will guide you as to what they want.

Always praise and encourage your child to eat. Eating healthy food around your baby and children will encourage them to do the same.

Eventually your child will be enjoying the same meals as you.

Eating out doesn't need to be difficult either, as you can take food with you in a food container with a lid, easy foods I take out are - rice cakes/bread sticks/raisins/banana/yogurt/cheese/
You can also take a bottle of water which can be poured into your babies drinking cup.

I don't think it's necessary to buy books on weaning, or weaning recipes, as you can find a lot of good recipes online, also once your baby has tried a wide range of foods and is able to eat lumps, they can then start eating the same meals as the rest of the family.

One final point don't forget to brush your babies teeth after their mealtimes, as soon as you notice any are coming through is the time to start brushing with a baby toothbrush.

It is recommended that you only use water until your baby is able to spit the toothpaste out. Most areas of the country have quite high levels of fluoride in the water anyway.

Weaning is a fun time for both you and baby, so enjoy it!

Summary: Enjoy the weaning proccess.