Baby Nutrition Care

This article was written by referring to Yahoo Answers.

Many parents are concerning about their babies. A question has been brought up in a discussion :

Like did you give them rice cereal at morning and night? How many jars of baby food a day did you give them and at what times, do you still give bottles and how many times a day. My doc said shes old enough now to eat rice cereal and then fruits and veggies, but I don’t know the process of how to do it. Please tell me your babys experience, and she is 4 months old.

Here are the comments and suggestions :

1. We started at about 5 1/2 months old with our twins. We did a few spoons of rice cereal mixed with formula at night. We did it about an hour before their last bottle of the day. We did this for a few weeks.
   At 6 months, we added a few spoonfuls (about 1/2 a jar) of veggies to the rice cereal. We started with sweet potatoes, then green beans, squash, peas, carrots . . . alternating our orange and green vegetables. We also stayed with the same vegetable for 3 – 4 days to be sure that there was not an allergic reaction. Our pediatrician actually told us to start with vegetables. Not all kids, but some kids, do not like the vegetables once they have acquired a taste for the sweet fruits.
   After getting through the vegetables and feeling secure that they were not allergic, we added another solid feeding. At noon, which is between their 2nd and 3rd bottle of the day, they have a bit of rice cereal with fruit. We did the same thing with the fruits – tried the same one for 3 – 4 days in a row.
   Some people skip the cereal but our kids like it and it seems to thicken the very watery stage 1 foods.
   Here is their current schedule:
   6:30AM Bottle
   10:00AM Bottle
   Noon – fruit and rice cereal
   2:00PM Bottle
   5:30PM Bottle
   7:30PM – veggies and rice cereal
   8:30PM Bottle and off to bed.
   I would start with one feeding for a while and work your way up to two. We did not discontinue any of their bottles as babies up to a year old should be getting most of their nutrients from either breastmilk or formula.
   Hope this helps!
2. I know that you know that all babies are different and Dr guidelines are well to me just a general outline.
   (My daughter started eating cereal off a spoon at 3 months and at 7 1/2 months she is already on graduates and 3rd.)
   I give her a bottle 4 times a day still. 8oz in the morning when she wakes and right before bed. 6oz thru out the day, and cereal for lunch with a 4 oz bottle and a fruit and veggie. At dinner I let her finish her fruit/veggie (around 5-6) followed with that 8oz around 8pm. She is growing great. And she has fruit juice 2 times a day (3oz)
   I dont do the rice, she does not like it… she seems to like the single grain oatmeal (try if the baby wont take to the rice or mix the cereal with some juice)
   When you do start, wait 4-5 days before introducing new foods, to make sure no allergies. But honestly (Im not gonna say dont listen to the Dr) but I noticed my baby stayed hungry from their guides.
   7 1/2 months old 16lbs.
   *at 5 months I introduced a juice sippy*
   Good luck.
3. I would feed my baby as often as he seemed hungry. I actually made sure that I waited until he was able to hold up his head on his own in order to start giving him cereal and stage 1 baby foods in order to make sure he didn’t choke and as soon as I noticed that he was eating so much food and not having any problem swallowing or digesting it (also making sure you notice any changes in the stool/or pee-pee; just incase some specific thing that I was giving him doesn’t cause diarrhea or he could possibly have an allergy to the food I was giving him.
   My baby is now 8 months old and he should be able to eat stage 3 food, but for whatever reason he doesn’t like the chunks within the baby food, but he loves chunks of actual food and whatever he sees us eating he looks at us and almost pouts and opens his mouth like to say “what about me” I am ready to eat too. Kids will usually give you signs and cues that they are ready or not ready for new food/things and also if something causes them either an allergic reaction or makes them sick too.
   I still give my baby bottles to help him go to sleep, but to mix things up, I put a bit of chocolate or strawberry syrup in his bottle of formula, but as soon as he really started showing interest in food, he really started not wanting the bottle and he prefers drinking from an open cup, not a sippy cup (and I bought the best sippy cup, the flexible plastic easy grip gerber sippy cup that is leak proof, but he still prefers an open cup). As for the fruits, what I did for my son and all of my kids (I have 5 children), I took a semi-ripe banana and scraped the banana off onto a soft baby spoon and put it near his mouth and if he was interested, he would open his mouth and that also usually means that the baby’s body/digestive system is also ready to start softer easier to digest things like baby cereal, fruits and vegetables. The only vegetable that should be avoided until a baby until they are at least 6 months are carrots because of the beta carotene, but other than that everything else is fine when your baby is ready.
   I tried to give my baby, baby cereals and all the fancy ones that have yogurt and fruit and cream and such, but my baby (as many of my other children) just didn’t fancy the taste and I just supplement the grain in other fruits, vegetables and foods.
   Kids don’t come with instructions and all are different and if you pretty much listen to your specific baby’s needs and wants (within reason) then you should be just fine. Usually the foods that have known to cause allergies in babies are milk, some grains, soy in some children, peanuts, fish (other seafood) and eggs, therefore, these such foods should be avoided as long as they can be (grain, soy and milk should be fine, unless a baby is like lactose intolerant, soy intolerant, or grain intolerant and their body will let you know; usually too much (excessive vomiting) or diarrhea way too often which can be dangerous in excess because it can cause severe dehydration.
   Well I hope this helped some,,,
   Good luck to you and your angel.

This article was written by referring to Yahoo Answers.

Many parents are concerning about their babies. A question has been brought up in a discussion :

How come your not supposed to give a baby salt, but you could give them things such as cheese, which is you look at the ingredients salt is an added ingredient, and its loaded with it? some insight please thanks a million!

Here are the comments and suggestions :

1. Personally I would not give my baby cheese, at least not large amounts. Baby’s drink breast milk or formula till a year! I always wait till a year old to start things like milk, cheese and treats like ice cream. I would think it might make their stomach upset along with causing some constipation for baby. Constipation for baby is bad too. Nothing is worse then a baby who cant go number 2 other then maybe colic. They get cranky , fussy and it just plain hurts! As far as salt I believe it has more to do with introducing food without added flavoring. That way they will begin to like foods for what they taste like and eat things like green beans. Otherwise a baby would possibly begin to only like food with additives such as salt, pepper, and sugar. They even could develop a preference and decide they do not want to eat the vegetables and babies need the vitamins for growing and having strong bones! Hope that helps and good luck!
2. I just talked to my pediatric specialist about this earlier today since my son is 7 months old (premie). And he explained that a babies stomach is unable to digest Milk or derivatives of milk, and can cause bleeding otherwise know as an occult, not sure if that’s how you spell it. He also told me that in his 44 yrs of work that it is ok after they are 8 months and 1 week (he has never seen a child past that age suffer from one) to then give them milk products but not milk alone. This allows the digestive system to get used to the enzymes and breakdown the food. Milk alone shouldn’t be given until the baby is 12 months or older. Hope this helps!!
3. Good point! The thing is with cheese is a little goes a long way, and it’s a dairy product that is okay for under 12 months – but yes cheese has a lot of salt, but a whole lot less then canned vegetables or chips.
4. They need it for the calcium.that is toddlers not babies.you give a baby cheese and you might constipate them.their system isn’t able to process it yet.not to mention the choke factor.
5. I thought babies weren’t supposed to have any dairy products until they are at least 1 year old because the stomach can’t handle digesting it…

Fish oil, which contains Omega-3 fatty acids, is one of the supplements that can provide us with a number of benefits. Its benefits on the heart have been proven by the Eskimos, whose diet comprises largely of the fatty fish found in their Arctic habitat. It has been found that heart disease and cholesterol problems are practically non-existent amongst the Eskimos, a fact that has been attributed to their Omega-3 fatty acid rich diet.

There has been a lot of information in the press regarding the lack of omega 3 fatty acids in our diet. Omega 3’s are present in oily fish such as tuna, mackerel, salmon and sardines. These fatty acids are essential, as the body cannot produce them itself and has to obtain them from dietary sources. They are particularly important in the last 3 months of pregnancy for the healthy development of baby’s brain, eyes, immune system and nervous system. Some researchers also maintain that a lack of Omega 3’s during pregnancy can increase the chances of suffering from postpartum depression or the baby blues after baby is born.

The benefits of fish oil for the baby’s brain development do not end with childbirth, either. Many very well-controlled, double-blind studies have confirmed that babies who receive breastmilk enhanced with the brain-buillding omega-3 fat, DHA, will have higher IQs and a much lower incidence of learning disabilities, including autism and mental retardation, compared to babies who consume only “standard” breastmilk. The lack of DHA in infant formula is also believed to be the primary cause of higher rates of cognitive delay among formula-fed babies.

For the best growth and development of our babies, pregnant and nursing women need adequate amounts of omega-3s. This means encouraging pregnant and nursing women to eat fish regularly. It also means that young children need to consume foods with omega-3s. Infant and baby foods must include a source of omega-3s.

Vegetables are great solid food options for babies.  Pureed or cut up as finger items, they deliver high amounts of nutrition that your baby needs for physical and mental development.  While most babies take to new food extremely well, quite a few will probably refuse to eat them.  It’s hard to figure out why they won’t either – could be the taste, the smell, the texture – there’s really no way of knowing for sure since your baby won’t exactly have a verbal opinion about it.

If you’d like to entice your baby to consume some of those greens and other healthy options, there are a few things you can do to alter the presentation to hopefully find that magic preparation that gets them to change their mind.

1. If your baby won’t eat the pureed vegetables you’ve prepared for their meals, try stirring reasonable amounts of it into some other food items that they like such as pasta, soups or cereals.

2. Instead of preparing your baby’s food with water, try a tastier broth like chicken stock.  It should both smell and taste more appetizing, increasing the likelihood they’ll take to it.

3. If your baby likes muffins or similar soft breads, try using grated vegetables as part of the baking ingredients.

4. Babies love finger foods – it’s plenty of fun, after all, to take food yourself and pop it down your mouth.  You can try slicing your cooked veggies into bite sized pieces and serve them before their actual meals.  Let them play with it a couple of times and see what happens.

5. Top vegetable meals with grated (even melted) cheese.  Babies usually enjoy the taste of cheese (perhaps  a few of your other dressings will work as well) and might be persuaded to eat their veggies that way.

When you find your baby taking well to a particular vegetable preparation, don’t keep serving them the same thing. Babies greatly benefit from experiencing and learning about different tastes and textures so do provide them with variety occasionally.

Generally, cheese is not only safe, but is a healthy food for babies.  It’s packed with calcium and is a great source for vitamins A, D and B12.  For vegetarian families raising children on a meatless diet, cheese can prove a great alternative source for vitamin B12, a nutrient commonly derived from meat sources.

Babies like it too.  Most cheese products come with a rich and full flavor, allowing it to be incorporated into many tasty meals.  Even better, it’s very easy to prepare.  You can:

• cut up firm cheeses and serve as finger food or mix them into meals
• grate it and stir into rice, pasta, soups, cereals and other dishes
• grill it and serve with bread
• mash it and mix with fruit purees like avocado
• incorporate when baking soft snacks like cookies and muffins

Most babies should be able to handle cheese made from pasteurized milk as early as the sixth month.  If a history of dairy allergy is present in your family, however, make sure to consult your child’s pediatrician first.  Bear in mind, though, that cheese is usually free from the milk protein that causes dairy allergy so it might not even be that big a concern.

Great cheeses you may want to consider for your baby’s diet includes swiss cheese, cheddar, parmesan, romano, colby, mozzarella, cream cheese, cottage cheese and romano.   Heavily processed cheese products found in groceries, while fine, usually has plenty of emulsifiers, additives and enhancers.  During their early years, it might be best to focus their diet on full-flavored “real” cheeses.