Introducing Baby Food to your Baby
Baby foods are yummy. But you might have a hard time introducing new
taste and texture to your little one when they reach the stage that you
think they are ready. This is not just your dilemma but a problem of all
parents who are still introducing baby foods to their children.
Solid foods can be introduced to you babies from four to six months old.
But as long as your baby has not reached this age yet, it is recommended
that you only feed your baby the breast milk or formula advised by the
paediatrician. You must also assess your baby if you think he is ready
for solid foods before giving any kind of mashed fruit or vegetable.
One of the major signs that your baby is ready for solids is when he can
already control his head. He must be able to keep his head in an upright
and steady position. Another thing is that your baby must seat well when
he is supported. Although you can’t leave him in the highchair yet, as
long as your baby can already sit upright, he is now ready for solid
foods. You will also know that your baby is ready to eat solid foods
when he becomes curious with what you are eating and keeps on eyeing
what is on your plate.
To start introducing your baby to solid foods, it is advisable that you
first try giving him rice cereals instead of mashed vegetables and
fruits. Although rice cereals don’t have much flavor, it is one of the
safest foods to feed your baby since it would not trigger any allergic
reaction. You may mix at least one to two tablespoons of rice cereal to
the formula or breast milk. Stir it well to create a semi-liquid
mixture. The spoon that would be used by the baby must be made out of
rubber or silicon. Ordinary utensils may harm the gums of the baby. Let
the baby smell first and give him just a taste of the cereal before
feeding him. You can demonstrate how the food is being eaten.
You may try feeding the baby at least once a day. He will eventually get
used to the whole eating experience so there is no need to rush or get
frustrated if the baby keeps on spitting the food. By the time that he
is ready to eat some more, you may feed your baby a few more tablespoons
every day.
Your baby will gradually get bored with the flavour of rice cereals if
you only feed him the same food over and over again. This is one of the
reasons why babies keep on spitting their food even though they have
been introduced to solids for several weeks already. Try creating
homemade baby foods such as mashed fruits or vegetables. This must be
done after introducing semi-liquid rice cereals so that their gums and
their jaws had already experienced munching some foods. Use sugar to
sweeten the foods so that the baby will be enticed to eat some more. |
