Your baby's first year diet should be prescribed by a doctor. But you, as parents, have the day in, day out responsibility of carrying out these directions. The job is larger than simply buying and feeding certain foods. It includes making every mealtime a happy time.
Through happy mealtimes your baby's physical and emotional hunger are both satisfied. Since food meets a basic need, it is one of the first means by which a newborn baby can be given security. The young nursing baby, cuddled in his mother's arms, also has the warmth and support which satisfy two other basic needs. These early mealtimes are indeed happy!
Early in your baby's development, mealtimes become more than just a means to physical comfort.The love, expressed through your voice, your smiles and gentle handling, becomes meaningful. Before long, these are as important to happy mealtimes as the food served.
A little later, your baby makes many other pleasant associations with eating. He learns to like the bright color, smooth texture and pleasant odor and flavor of certain strained foods. He begins to anticipate a meal, just by being placed in his feeding table, having a bib tied around his neck, seeing a baby picture on a package of cereal or watching the warming of a dish of strained food. He learns to enjoy the companionship of other family members.
Sometime soon, it becomes impossible to count all the things that make your baby enjoy his meals, although his pleasure is obvious. You will feel it worth much planning and effort to maintain this happy state.
YOU'RE IN CHARGE. From the first feeding you will want to see that you - not your baby - are in control of the situation. This does not have to be accomplished with a battle royal. Arguing with a tiny baby is childish and futile. Calm, gentle, pleasant and patient firmness are earmarks of maturity in parents. As expressions of your love and concern, they give your baby far more security than having his own way.
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES. Your baby's grandparents probably were "raised by the book." Perhaps you were too. Fortunately, the rigid feeding schedules which characterized the first forty years of this century have been abandoned.Modern parents recognize individual differences in food needs. This is true of the amount of food needed and the frequency with it should be fed.
Most babies will set up a rhythm of eating and sleeping, in keeping with their own special needs. "Big eaters" usually space their meals farther apart, while other babies will want less food, more frequently. With a little give and take, both baby and the rest of the family can settle down to a reasonably regular schedule. A recognition of individual differences and a calm, flexible attitude toward adjustments, if indicated, are all it takes.
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