Try something new everyday (Baby Food Hints/Tips)

Member Name: aksram

Product:	Baby Food Hints/Tips
Date:	04/06/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: they eat what you feed

Disadvantages: they might throw up if they dont like it!!

I have a 2 and half year old child. As a baby he loved eating but now he's too busy playing and gets distracted from eating!

I breastfed him until he was one year old but started his solids at four months. As all new mums i was paranoid of how he would react to diffrent types of food or if he would be allergic to any. So initially i used to give him ground rice from boots. I did add a little sugar to give him some taste- somthing my mother advised me to. I turned out to be fine so i don't hesitate listening to my mum for any suggestions. Whether you follow them or not is left tp you! Anyways, back to my son's food habits- after shop's ground rice, i started making homemade ones. i cook rice almost everyday so started bledning that finely- sometimes with milk (full fat from tescos), lentils (indian dal without spices) or just with some overboiled vegs. All these i started one at a time and he started enjpoying the taste. I am sure babies would love anything (or atleast try) for the first time- something different than breastmilk!

After around 6 months i gave him freshly made starwberry milkshake and he loved them. so i started the same with banana and apples. He didn't like apples much though. For semisolid food- you could try just mashing bananas with hand instead of a blender and just add some yogurt or milk and a little bit of honey. For snacks i gave hime biscuits soaked in milk.

At about 7-8 months i started with some spices in his food- mild spice but since i cook spicy indian food at home i didnt want him to be used to just potatoes and pasta. As i had noticed it with one of my friend's kid she doesnt eat anything otherthan mashed potatoes or plain rice with milk- she can't tolerate spices- not even cardamom. For mashed rice (just overboiled rice mashed with the back of the spoon) i added the very mild curries that i made at home- i used to add yogurt along with the curry just to be sure that it doesn't get too spicy for the baby. He was good at eating- its just different tastes that he likes. He would even grab some finger foods- like biscuits, slices of boiled potato/carrot, or even some soft cheese slices.

Slowly then i started giving him soups with chunks and spices and the started soon serving him his food in his own plate. i would eat with him in my plate with similar food. He loved to see that he has his own plate on his table. I would wait for him to eat as much as he can even if it meant that half his food is on the floor. Only after he leaves his table i would make sure he has eaten enough and if not i would distarct him with some toy or tv show or stand near window and fill his tummy. This habit has made him able to eat food from his own plate very efficiently now- even rice with curry.

I advise that when you try and introduce new foods to babies, do them at a very slow pace- dont give them too many things to try in one day or two. let them taste one new food per day- it's like going to different reastaurants on differnt days- if you go to the same one everyday you are bent to hate it. but give it a break and try it after a while and you will enjoy it again. This is the same with babies. Anyways i didnt have too much trouble feeding my baby and hope you will have a good time with yours too. But make sure everything is fresh and healthy.

Summary: Babies are not that hard to handle- you just need the tactic.