Healthy Babyfood Matters!

Healthy babyfood sets the template for lifelong eating habits and affects a baby's health
and relationship with food for the rest of its life. During baby food, babies develop their taste for good food, they lay down fat cells, and go through important stages of physical development in a very short space of time. It is vitally important that we feed babies what is good and natural to their metabolisms during this formative period.

When you have a baby, you should start as you mean to go on, in order to set down an early pattern of good food habits for your child. If you want your child to grow up liking good, healthy food, you need to start her off with healthy babyfood. Breastfeeding is unequivocally the best possible start you can give to your baby in terms of her future health and eating habits. It is simply the best, the healthiest babyfood and should always be the first option to consider.

If you are pregnant, or are currently a breastfeeding mother, I would highly recommend this specialist breastfeeding site, www.breastfeeding-magazine.com where you will find a wealth of helpful information and resources and an online community of like-minded people, which is so important.

Baby food habits

If you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint making organic baby food is a great way to go. Plus homemade baby food tastes great. Who knows?

Your baby may grow up to love brussels sprouts and mangoes! As a new parent, you want to provide your baby with the best possible start in life. Studies show healthy eating habits begin to develop with your baby's first foods.

Starting early by educating yourself and to introduce your child to fresh, all-natural foods, you are creating the foundation for your child to make healthy food choices.

Healthy eating habits play a key role in preventing obesity, a serious issue that will affect more
of all babies born in 2004Child obesity rates are rising at epidemic levels, so quickly, that some researchers predict this new generation of children will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. 10 Healthy Eating Habits.

Teach your baby about different fruits and vegetables

Talk about what your baby is eating. Make it fun.

Be a role model. Your baby learns by mimicking you.

Encourage drinking water. Offer it at each meal.

Don't give up. Your baby's tastes will change daily.

Your baby needs a balanced diet. Offer plenty of variety.

Don't be in a rush at mealtimes. Relax and enjoy the time.

Set times for breakfast, lunch snacks and dinner.

Homemade food chart

Making baby food is a great gift to give the environment and your baby. Consider the GREEN facts:

ORGANIC - Organic fruits and vegetables are the best choice for making baby food. They are the most natural ingredients and organic foods drastically reduce harm to the environment.

LESS WASTE - When you make your own baby food, there are no jars, labels or metal lids to dispose or to recycle.

NO FACTORY REQUIRED - Just a little energy to steam foods and run a blender is all you need to make your baby's meals! Did someone say near 'zero' greenhouse gases?

LOCAL - Your baby's food does not need to trucked to you from a factory thousands of miles away. Instead you can simply buy organic produce from your local farm market and get started.

HEALTHY - Homemade baby food is safe & nutritious. Baby food jars are often lined with Bisphenol-A, a controversial hormone disruptor that should be avoided. In addition, homemade baby food has no preservatives, additives, or chemicals - it is pure and natural goodness.

Vitamin chart for Mother and babies

1 Vitamin A Fortified milk, eggs, cheese, liver, fish oil, carrots, margarine. Growth; night vision; protects the linings of the digestive, urinary and respiratory tracts; antioxidant.

2 Vitamin D Fortified milk, oily fish, egg yolks. Helps absorb calcium and phosphorus for healthy bones and teeth.
Vitamin D is important in helping the body absorb and use calcium from food and supplements.

3 Vitamin E Vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, wheat germ, green leafy vegetables. Helps form blood cells; antioxidants.
Also contributes to a healthy circulatory system and aids in proper blood clotting and improves wound healing. Some studies have shown that vitamin E decreases symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and certain types of breast disease.

4 Vitamin K Spinach, Broccoli, milk, eggs, cereals. Help blood to clot.
Water-soluble vitamins
Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting. Without it, even a small cut would cause continuous bleeding in the body. Vitamin K also plays an important role in kidney function and bone growth and repair - some studies have even shown that it may help prevent osteoporosis.

5 Vitamin B1 Pork, seeds, nuts, fortified bread, cereals, yeast extract. Needed for muscles and nervous system to function; aids digestion.

6 Vitamin B1, also known as thiamin, helps fuel your body by converting blood sugar into energy. It keeps your mucous membranes healthy and is essential for nervous system, cardiovascular and muscular function.

7 Vitamin B2 Milk, yogurt, meat, nuts, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, lentils. Aids hormone production; keeps eyes, skin and nerves healthy.
Vitamin B2, also called riboflavin, works with other vitamins in the B complex to process calories from carbohydrates, protein and fat. Your body needs it for growth and red cell production, and adequate riboflavin intake promotes healthy skin and good vision.

4 to 6 month baby food

Cereals: Cereals, like, rice, barley, oats can be given to the baby in paste form or mixed with the water of legume porridge. You can also try to feed him rice or oats cereal mixed with breast milk, water or formula.

Fruits: Apples, bananas, pears, avocado are the fruits that can be given to the baby. Banana can be smashed easily, however, apples, pears and avocado has to be processed in the food processor along with milk, to make milkshakes of the fruits. Preferably, filter the shakes to so that no big pieces of the fruits are accidentally fed to the baby.

Vegetables: Potato or parsnip, cauliflower, carrot, acorn squash, sweet potato, green peas, broccoli, butternut squash. Boil these vegetables and smash them to make a soft paste. Do not add any spices, salt or sugar to it.

Crying is the only way for a four month old baby to indicate that his stomach is upset. Generally, many mothers prefer to give Gripe Water to their babies after meals to prevent these stomach upsets. Gripe water is an European remedy that always works for gas problems or any other stomach related irregularities.

Gripe water is nothing but herbs-fortified water. These herbs are proven to help calm the stomach and even the intestines. For a baby aged 4 months, one teaspoon of Gripe water, 2-3 times a day is recommended. If the baby continues to feel distressed, it is better to consult the baby's doctor immediately.

Iron Calcium vitamins and minerals for mother and baby

The increased need for iron during pregnancy is especially great. Iron is needed to deliver the oxygen required by your baby as it grows.

Foods must be chosen carefully to meet this need. Protein foods, dried beans and peas, and some dried fruit, whole grains, and fortified cereals all contribute iron. It is also important to eat a vitamin C-containing food at each meal. This helps your body use the iron.

Calcium is vitally important for bones and teeth for both you and the baby during pregnancy as well as in the years to come.

Calcium and iron are nutrients that will be stolen from your body if they are inadequate in your diet to meet the needs of pregnancy. Be sure you include a good supply of these important nutrients.

Baby food chart 4to10 months

Precautions to be taken while feeding solid food to your four month old baby for the first time.

* First and foremost, whatever you feed the baby, make sure to follow a strict timetable for his meals. By this, you are setting a routine for the baby's appetite from an early age.
* Before starting any solid food, consult your doctor and get a baby food specifications chart done for him.
* Maintain a balance in the baby food diet and in the amount of nutrients, so that your baby neither lacks any nutrients nor gets an overdose of any one nutrient.
* If you are feeding a new solid food item to the baby, feed him only 3-4 spoons initially. If he can digest that item without vomiting it out or without causing any stomach disturbance, you may continue with that food
* Make the baby sit while feeding him. A four month baby can be held in the lap or can sit in a baby chair, with some support. Sitting position will help him digest his food faster and better.
* Use a small spoon to feed the baby and feed him tiny morsels.
* If the food is made warm, you should taste it before feeding it to him, to avoid burning the baby's mouth.
* Maintain a happy and playful environment during the meal.
* Do not make the baby lie down immediately after the meal.
* Make the baby taste a new food item during his meal time, before he drinks his milk so that the baby is not very tired or hungry.
* Homemade baby food is more safe, however, if you are feeding canned food to the baby, check the expiry date as well as the ingredients and avoid food containing 'added salt' or 'added sugar'.
* Do not feed directly from the jar. Remove a small amount of food on a clean dish and place it in front of the baby. This may encourage the baby to finish the meal since he is watching the others at the table finishing their own dishes.