Introduce Baby Food

How To Introduce Baby Food To Your Baby

As your little one reaches the age of five or six months, it's time to start thinking about introducing semi-solid foods into his or her diet. Before then, mother's milk is the best food for a baby. Breast milk is easy to digest and provides a rich supply of vitamins and disease-fighting antibodies for the baby. It also fosters a close bonding experience between the baby and his or her mother.

While most mothers have enough milk to satiate their little one's hunger, the decision to breastfeed is a deeply personal one. Breastfeeding may not be preferable to all women. For mothers who can't breastfeed or who decide not to, baby formula is a healthy alternative.

Babies should be fed with semi-solids only after the rooting or sucking instinct leaves them. This happens by the fifth or sixth month. At first feeding time will be messy, and probably frustrating, as your baby gets used to the unfamiliar taste and texture of baby food. Some babies will cry because they cannot get food fast enough, while others will spit out the alien texture of semi-solid food. Lots of patience is needed until your baby develops a taste and appetite for the new kinds of food you are introducing into his or her diet.

It's a good idea to keep the use of store-bought jarred or tinned foods to the minimum. Many of them have additives, extra starch and high levels of sugar. If you decide to make your own baby food, hygiene should be your first concern, followed by nutrition.

- Rinse all equipment with hot water.

- Boil utensils such as spoons, knives and mashers.
- Do not store cooked food in the refrigerator for prolonged periods.
- Discard any leftover baby food, as bacteria forms quickly in unfinished meals.
- Make sure that you introduce new items slowly and in small doses.
- Start with baby cereal; then introduce vegetables and fruits; and then start introducing meats.

When you start introducing semi-solid foods to your baby, he or she should be reasonably hungry by mealtime, but not overly hungry. The first semi solid food all my children started with was iron-fortified infant rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. After that I started introducing vegetables; then fruits; then meats.

At the beginning, babies should have finely pureed foods, as they get a little older and have both upper and lower teeth for chewing, introduce foods that are a little chunkier. As your baby grows, introduce a wider variety of food. If he rejects something, replace it with something else. You can introduce the rejected item after a few weeks or a month.

Although the baby food you make yourself at home is best, not all parents have the time to make homemade baby food. There are some good commercial choices on the market today. Baby food manufacturers understand parents want wholesome baby food for their parents. There are several all natural and organic baby food choices now available to parents – foods that are a safe and healthy alternative to homemade.

Baby vaccinations

Baby vaccinations

The vaccinations also called immunizations are very effective and give infants power to resist contagious and serious health conditions. This will protect the babies against many diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, mumps, polio virus, hepatitis B and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.This immunization and vaccination schedule may vary depending upon where you live, your child's health, the type of vaccine, and the vaccines available. Ask your doctor about which vaccines your child should receive. Check with your doctor or nurse to make sure your baby is getting immunized on time. Also make sure you ask your doctor or nurse to give you a record card with all the dates of your baby's shots and be sure to bring it to every visit.

Your baby need vaccinations or immunizations due to the following reasons. Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material in the infant's body. The importance of immunization is that it helps to protect the infant's body against any infectious disease. It offers the life- long protection and security to the infant against deadly diseases which might invade its body any time through out its life.

Your baby's vaccination and immunization schedule may recommend the following vaccines:

* Birth- Hepatitis B
* 1-2 months- hepatitis B
* 2 months- DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine, Hib vaccine, polio vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)
* 4 months- DTaP, Hib vaccine, polio vaccine, PCV.
* 6 months- DTaP, Hib, polio (6-18 months), PCV, hepatitis B (6-18 months)
* 12 months- MMR (12-15 months), Hib (12-15 months), chicken pox (12-18 months), PCV (12-15 months)
* 15 months- DTap (12-18 months)


1. Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis Vaccines (DTaP): Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis are serious diseases caused by bacteria. Diphtheria and Pertussis are spread from person to person. Tetanus enters the body through cuts or wounds.

Diphtheria causes a thick covering in the back of the throat and nose. It can lead to breathing problems, paralysis and heart attack.

Tetanus (Lockjaw) Vaccine: Tetanus causes painful tightening of the muscles, usually all over the body. It can lead to locking of the jaw so the baby cannot open his mouth or swallow.

Pertussis (Whooping Cough) vaccine: Pertussis causes coughing spells so bad that is hard for babies to eat, drink, or breathe. These spells can last for weeks. It can lead to pneumonia, seizures and brain damage.

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTaP) can help prevent these diseases. Most babies who are vaccinated with DTaP will be protected throughout childhood.

Babies should get 5 doses of DTaP vaccine or immunization, one dose at each of the following ages:

* 2 months
* 4 months
* 6 months
* 15-18 months
* 4-6 years

Teeth brushing and care -Baby

Teeth brushing and care

As soon as your baby has teeth, they’re going to need care and attention to keep them in good condition. Well cared for milk teeth play an important role in determining the health of permanent teeth, so it’s vital to look after that first set of twenty baby teeth.

Make brushing more fun

It’s natural for your baby to want to resist having his teeth brushed. To make it more enjoyable for you both, try cleaning your teeth first to show him that it’s something normal. Use a colourful brand of toothpaste and a novelty toothbrush if it helps.

If you’re in front of a bathroom mirror, try and get your baby interested in their reflection to keep him entertained. You can also try cradling your baby in your arms to make it easier for you to reach to his teeth and create a more comfortable experience for you both

Your baby may be experiencing growth spurts at this time and will demand more frequent feeding. This is when you’ll be thinking about starting solids. Everyone from your mum, to your friends and family, will have an opinion – which is why we’ll give you straightforward advice from our experienced nutritionists.

Healthy Babyfood is Simple, Pure and Natural

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 babyhood, 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.

Introducing Solids
Around six months of age, is the recommended time to start introducing solid foods to your baby. You can begin at four months, but it is generally believed that this increases the risk of your child developing food allergies
. Waiting that little bit longer gives a baby that little bit of extra protection, as its digestive system has had a little more time to develop.

When the time is right to start your baby on solids, start introducing well-chosen, healthy babyfood, one at a time. Certain foods are not suitable at this stage and should be avoided

Healthy Babyfood is Simple, Pure and Natural

In general, the food you give to a baby should be as natural and unprocessed as possible. Choosing organic food for your baby is hugely beneficial to a baby's health. This is because your baby has a less developed blood-barrier system to protect it from food chemicals.

And, a baby's body, being smaller than an adult's, gets a proportionately higher dose of whatever chemicals are present in food. The so-called 'safe levels' of agri-chemicals have been tested as safe for adults, not for babies, or children.

Also, a baby has all of its physical development to go through until it reaches adult maturity. This entire developmental process comes under the influence of whatever chemicals a baby consumes in food.

Human breastmilk

Human breastmilk is the only pure, unprocessed, natural food for a human baby. There are so many commercial interests, who wish to convince us that bottle-feeding is the norm, we have forgotten what a new phenomenon it is. Baby-formula was invented a mere one hundred years ago, and it was then considered such an abnormal thing to give a baby that you had to get a doctor’s prescription for it!

Breastmilk is the perfect food for a baby, designed by nature to have the exact balance of fats for the baby’s brain development and lots of mother’s antibodies. (A study completed in 2007 proved this point, showing that the fatty acids produced in breastmilk are absolutely crucial to a baby's brain development and can result in increasing its intelligence by as much as seven points!) Also, during this time, a baby will lay down the fat cells it will have for the rest of its life. The food a baby is fed during this period, affects the baby’s relationship with food and its metabolism, for the rest of its life.

Introducing Solids

Around six months of age, is the recommended time to start introducing solid foods to your baby. You can begin at four months, but it is generally believed that this increases the risk of your child developing food allergies
. Waiting that little bit longer gives a baby that little bit of extra protection, as its digestive system has had a little more time to develop.

When the time is right to start your baby on solids, start introducing well-chosen, healthy babyfood, one at a time. Certain foods are not suitable at this stage and should be avoided

Healthy Babyfood is Simple, Pure and Natural
In general, the food you give to a baby should be as natural and unprocessed as possible. Choosing organic food for your baby is hugely beneficial to a baby's health. This is because your baby has a less developed blood-barrier system to protect it from food chemicals. And, a baby's body, being smaller than an adult's, gets a proportionately higher dose of whatever chemicals are present in food. The so-called 'safe levels' of agri-chemicals have been tested as safe for adults, not for babies, or children.

Also, a baby has all of its physical development to go through until it reaches adult maturity. This entire developmental process comes under the influence of whatever chemicals a baby consumes in food.

Chemicals used in food are poisons. Many of them are known cancer-causing compounds. They are permitted in food because they are in very low concentrations. But logic dictates that if you eat a poison, while you may not eat enough to kill yourself, or make yourself sick, it cetainly is not going to be good for you. Over time, continued, low-level exposure to toxic substances will take their toll on your health. The longer you can hold-off exposing your baby to these chemicals, the more beneficial it will be. The less chemicals that are present, the healthier your babyfood is going to be. Everything that applies to food for children and adults, also applies to babyfood. Pure, unprocessed, natural food is what is best to feed a baby. Before a baby is ready to eat solid food, this means breastmilk, which is such a perfect, complete meal for a baby that it should really be called 'breastfood', or 'motherfood'.

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.