Tips for New Parents on Your Baby’s First Year Diet

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.

Baby Tips for New Parents: Cereals – First Solid Foods

Cereals are the most frequently prescribed first solid foods. Cereals are designed to meet the special needs of young infants. They are bland and palatable. Thoroughly precooked and low in crude fiber, they are readily digested.They have a creamy texture and consistency when stirred into milk, formula or other liquid.

Babies have high iron requirements. Milk supplies very little. As usually used, strained foods contribute some but not enough. That's why iron-enriched dry baby cereals have been widely available and prescribed for over forty years. One-half ounce (six tablespoons) of any cereal meets an infant's full daily recommended dietary allowance for iron.

As further aids to your baby's well being, important B-vitamins (thiamine, niacin and riboflavin), calcium and phosphorous are added to cereals. Cereals are good sources of calories and most supply at least moderate amounts of proteins.

Of all baby foods, the iron and vitamin enriched cereals can meet special infant needs for the longest time.They are protective against iron-deficiency anemia throughout the first and even second year.

You will find cereals just as convenient and economical as they are nourishing. They mix with liquids instantly, requiring no cooking or straining. The smallest portion can be prepared without waste of cereal, fuel or time.

In addition to directing when cereal or other solid food is started, the doctor may be quite specific about which one to give first. Definite directions should be followed closely.

Mix the chosen first cereal according to directions on the package. It forms a creamy smooth mixture faster if you stir the cereal into the liquid - not vice versa.

If all goes well, repeat this same food three or four consecutive days before starting on a new one. This is a wise procedure when introducing every new food. Most foods agree with most babies. But if one doesn't, it's easier to spot the offender if it is the only new food given during a few days.

Parenting Tips on Baby's Thumbsucking

It is believed that babies have an instinctive need to thumb-suck to some extent. It is further believed that the underlying cause is the need for more food or more love.

Sucking is the baby's means of satisfying hunger; the baby who suck his thumb may not be getting enough food; or he may be suffering from another type of hunger - he may not be getting sufficient affection.

Using mechanical restraints or bitter-tasting applications on his fingers won't correct either of these basic needs. The important remedy is to remove the under lying cause - whether its the need for more food or more love. Make sure that Baby is well nourished, comfortable and happy. It's likely that he'll stop his thumb-sucking sooner than you expect.

Parenting Guide on Regurgitation and Vomiting

Regurgitation or "spitting up" is the non forceful return of a small amount of milk during or shortly after feeding. This is a common occurrence in infancy which may be due to faulty feeding technique, overfeeding or due to physical or mechanical causes primarily the swallowing of air. The nipple holes may be too small or too large causing the milk to flow too slowly or too rapidly, the bottle may be held at the wrong angle or the infant may be upset because of nervous excitement or over handling. Spitting up may be considerably reduced or even eliminated by burping Baby during and after feeding, by gentle handling and by avoiding the other possible causes. But as long as the weekly weight gain is attained there is no need to be concerned about occasional spitting up or "cheesing". This condition usually stops when the baby starts taking solid food.

Vomiting is a violent emptying of the stomach, usually with one or two strong stomach contractions. Vomiting is also a common occurrence in infancy and may be due to a great variety of causes, both minor and serious. If vomiting continues, consult your doctor.

Guide on Burping Baby

Babies tend to swallow air when they cry and also suck in air while feeding. The swallowed air makes the baby uncomfortable and may cause regurgitation or vomiting after feeding.

To relieve baby of this discomfort, burp him by holding him firmly against your shoulder with your hands securely supporting his back and head then pat or rub his back gently. Another position is to lay him on his stomach on your hand supporting his back. Some babies have to be burped halfway through their feeding, other can complete a feeding without being burped.

Practical Guide on your Baby's First Solid Foods

Pediatrician recommend waiting until baby is around 6 months before introducing solids. Some doctors recommend ride and cereal, mashed or pureed vegetables or fruits. Discuss your options with your pediatrician and ask for the pros and cons of each food group. What's more important is to give baby three to five days to get used to one food before introducing a new one.

What you can do:

1. Take out those bibs! For the baby's first solid meal, he should be made to sit upright.
2. Feed him only when he's hungry. Schedule the meal one hour after nursing.
3. Give him only one solid meal a day.
4. With each mouthful, give only enough food to cover the tip of a teaspoon. Also expect much of the food to ooze out as everything from eating from a spoon to the texture of non liquid is very new to baby.

Ways to help protect your little one from Food Allergy

Food allergy is an abnormal response of the body's immune system to a food trigger. Because babies have underdeveloped immune and digestive systems, they tend to be prone to food allergies. Reactions to food occur most often in infants and children. Symptoms sometimes do not appear on the skin but develop as colic or even lead to problem with growth.

Identifying allergy causing foods and avoiding exposure is the only way to prevent a reaction. Here are some ways to help:

• Breast feed your child for as long as possible. Exclusive breast feeding of infants for the first 6-12 months of life delays the onset of allergy symptoms by postponing baby's exposure to food triggers. Remember that allergic substance may cross over to breast milk, so take care of your diet.

• Visit the doctor. Seek advice from a pediatrician or a pediatric allergologist (a specialist on children's allergies) to get a specific diagnosis and rule out allergy problems. Your doctor will examine your baby and ask about any family history of food allergies. Your baby may have to undergo specific test, such as allergy skin test, to accurately diagnose potential food triggers.

• Keep a baby food diary. Write down everything your baby eats, from milk to fruits to vegetables. Note patterns in the symptoms (such as colic and hives) your baby had how long after eating these occur. This record will help you tell if food is causing the allergic symptoms.

• Switch to hypoallergenic (HA) formula. If for some reason, a mother can't or has decided not to breast feed, switching to an HA formula is the best alternative. Putting your baby on HA formula will help him, should he be allergic to cow's milk.

• Read food labels or ask questions. When your baby is eating away from home, consider ingredients and food preparation methods carefully. Remember that trigger items, particularly peanuts, eggs and milk, maybe present in the food in small doses.

• Learn how to manage your baby if he consumes a trigger food. Ask the doctor for advice on medicines that you can give during an allergy attack. In severe cases of food allergy, such as anaphylaxis, epinephrine may have to be used.

• Post doctor's instructions in a prominent place. Make sure that everyone in the family knows where your cue card is posted and how to go about managing allergic symptoms.