Real food? (Baby Food Hints/Tips)

Member Name: Place

Product:	Baby Food Hints/Tips
Date:	17/03/03 (524 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: natural eating patterns, baby gets to chose what to eat, it's less messy it you leave weaning till later

Disadvantages: you have to spend the money on other things, you don't get to play 'aeroplanes' with the spoon, Your kied could be the first on steak and chips

What to feed your baby? Aarh interesting thought - Food. But hold on there's loads out there, tins, packets, jars, plus the purists will be saying 'home made'. But why 'baby' food? The idea of weaning is to 'wean' your baby from milk to food, so why do we wean from milk, to baby food, to real food?

What is the rush to get your baby onto food? Some 'might' be hungry, some might be 4,6,8 months old, or 16/17/18 pounds some might want to copy you eat - but do they need it?

So, what's my point? Babies being fed on milk (mothers milk especially), shouldn't be given any other foods until around 6 months (many are given it at 4 or 5), some are not even ready till 8 months, but still we seam to be in a rush to see who's kid is on steak and chips first.

Until about 50 years ago, babies had milk and when they were ready to eat they were introduced to food (real food) and gradually dropped the milk. We seem to have a preoccupation for having this 'middle ground' of 'baby'.

So what should we do? Wait, wait and wait a bit more until the baby is showing signs of readiness to eat. This isn't when they start waking up at night after having previously slept through, so therefore must be hungry (that is a developmental sign of awareness); or trying to copy you eating - afterall do they copy you styling or drying your hair or poking your tongue out? yes - that doesn't mean they want their hair styled - it's a copying phase.

Signs of readiness to eat are being able to sit up unaided - afterall when was the last time you ate propped up - don't answer that one! ;-); having lost their natural tongue thrust reflex - meaning when you put some mush into their mouth they don't spit or push most of it out again; having a tooth or two; being able to pick up something and putting it into their mouth, afterall how would they be able to eat without feeding thems
elves? - so forget about you spoon feeding mush and them spitting most of it out, - the ability to 'eat'.

When babies show all the signs of readiness to eat - it means they can. They are also able to digest, the only slight problem may be lack of teeth to chew - but the hard gums come in pretty handy there.

My answer? - leave the babies on milk until they are really ready to 'eat', then give them food. This isn't mush or spoonfeeding, but having bread solders, carrot sticks, apple slices even sausages - so proper food that they can feed to themselves. Shortly after learning to use their hands to eat 'sticks' they very quickly learn to use a spoon by themselves - so they can have shepherds pie, peas, baked beans etc. and then guess what? - you miss a whole stage of feeding mush and go straight from milk to 'lumpy', therefore less transition or mess.

So, none of the mush, but real food and at the right age and time. There is only one thing that you MUST do - and that is not put any salt on the babies portion - there's enough natural salt anyway, and stay with the baby when he's eating ideally up at the table with the rest of the family - a real social event with real food.

And, do you know what? Babies that learn to eat this way are normally the first kids to be on the steak and chips.

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