For When Your Baby is Ready to Eat Solid Food
As you probably already know, you shouldn’t force your baby to eat. If she turns her head away from the food, clamps her mouth shut, or some other indicates to you that she doesn’t want food, don’t force the issue. If you do, you could inadvertently produce long-lasting food issues for her. Moreover, some experts say that babies with food allergies instinctively know that they have allergies and thereby decline solids as a way of postponing the introduction of potency allergens. So again, don’t force baby, but if baby is older than six months and you want her to eat solids, try enticing your picky eater with some of the following steps.
Your baby will be ready to eat solid food around the age of six months. This is because around the age of six months is when your child’s mouth will change to cope with swallowing solid food. Another good way to tell if your baby is ready is when your baby has reached double its birth weight. Before this your baby’s digestive system had not been ready to digest the solid food.
Before you start feeding your baby solid food you first need to have many bibs, bowls and spoons that are not breakable, and a food processor.
The very first solid baby food to try is rice cereal, it is low in protein and will not be likly to cause any allergic reaction. Mix the rice with breast milk or with formula and be sure that it is mixed thin, it will be simpler for you baby to swallow. After your baby is used to the rice you can try to add some vegetables to it, then fruit. Vegetables before the fruit because your baby may not like the vegetables after trying the fruit.
Any dairy made from cows milk needs to be avoided until your baby is one year old. After your baby has had cows milk for a month or more you can add other dairy products. It is best to put your baby on solid food gradually do not be in a hurry wait at least twenty four hours before you introduce a new food, this is to be sure that your baby is not having any reaction.
It is a good idea to let your baby be in charge when it comes to trying new foods. Also remember that your baby may need a top up with a bottle, it will let you know.
More Baby Care and Health.
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For When Your Baby is Ready to Eat Solid Food
Different Baby Bottle designs and uses
There are different designs of baby bottle to choose according to the baby and mother’s need and convenience. The plain feeding bottles with a simple design with a rubber teat or nipple can be used to start with so the baby can get used to external feeding. The curved or printed feeding bottles can be used as the baby grows and gets used to drinking from a bottle. Most baby bottle are designed and marked with measurement in ounces so mothers will know exactly how much they are feeding the baby.
The material for the baby bottle has been a controversial topic with some people insisting glass is the best because they do not contain harmful chemicals that can get mixed up with the baby’s milk or formula. But since they are heavy and breakable most mothers find them inconvenient though now glass baby bottle with silicon sleeves that prevent breakage when dropped are also available. Some parents may prefer stainless steel baby bottle because of their durability and also again they do not have chemicals but cleaning and sterilizing stainless steel bottles is quite a tedious process and if not cleaned properly can cause more harm to the baby.
Plastic baby bottle on the other hand is easy to handle are more durable and easy to clean and sterilize. But care should be taken while buying plastic baby bottles because plastic bottles made of polycarbonates contain Bisphenol A or BPA which may leak into milk or baby food and is quite harmful to the health of the baby and no parent would want their baby to be ingesting it by mistake. The best option is to go for branded and reputable plastic baby bottle manufactures. The teat or nipple of the baby bottle is equally important and comes in several varieties like latex, rubber and silicon.
They also come in different shapes and mothers need to experiment a bit to know what shape the baby prefers. Baby bottle nipple condition also needs to be monitored and replaced on a regular basis – the moment there is change in the color or the nipple is deteriorated in any way. Sterilizing the baby bottle is one of the most important tasks since babies are very sensitive to bacteria and virus and are prone to infection.
It is also better to wash and sterilize the baby bottle separately instead of using the dishwasher. It does not matter whether glass, steel or plastic baby bottle is used as long as it is cleaned and sterilized properly the baby will have healthy food.
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Different Baby Bottle designs and uses
U.S. Gets High Rate Breastfeeding Signs for Newborns
U.S. Gets High Rate Breastfeeding Signs for Newborns
Breastfeeding is the right of a new born baby. Milk is produced in a woman only when she is pregnant. Breastfeeding brings nearness of a baby to a mother Breastfeeding, a natural and healthy option for newborns, infants, and toddlers can provide not only nourishment but long-term benefits, for both mother and baby. And yet, while many mothers start off with a breastfeeding routine, many migrate to the bottle earlier than is best for the child.
Three million babies in America, 75% of the ones born in 2007, started off on breast milk; 43% were still breastfeeding when they were six months old, according to CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s) 2010 Breastfeeding Report Card. The three-quarters (75%) breastfeeding initiation rate meets the country’s Healthy People 2010 target. Half of all US states had rates of over 75%.
The report reveals that the percentage of babies that started off on breast milk ranged from 52.5% in Mississippi to 90% in Utah.
Breastfeeding is considered to be the only best start to every infant’s life. Mothers are advised to breastfeed their infants exclusively for six months ( minimum) and give appropriate complimentary foods, and continue breastfeeding their baby until one to two years of age. The most important health benefits for children include a reduced risk of respiratory illnesses, asthma, ear infections, stomach problems, as well as a decreased risk of diabetes and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Breastfeeding has also shown to potentially ward off allergies, diabetes, and even obesity later in life for breastfed babies.
However the annual” Breastfeeding Report Cart” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention give statistics that seem quite high for the first few months of life and then drop severely as time marches on. The good news is that we are trying. In fact, the Report Card shows that 75 percent of babies born in the United States in 2007 – over 3 million – started life breastfeeding, which meets one of the nation’s Health People 2010 goals. However, after 3 months, the rates fall and then take a real tumble at the 6-12 month stage.
The southern part of the country seems to fall particularly short at the 6-month stage, with many of the states logging less than a 30 percent breastfeeding rate. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and West Virginia trail the country, while their Western counterparts—California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado—all boast rates above 50 percent.
Several factors usually play into the lack of breastfeeding, (i)most importantly hospital practices in promoting breastfeeding postpartum,(ii) familial support, and (iii) the workforce. According to the report, birth facility policies and practices significantly impact whether a woman chooses to start breastfeeding and how long she continues to breastfeed. Several specific policies and practices, in combination, determine how much overall support for breastfeeding a woman birthing in a given facility is likely to receive and how likely her baby is to receive formula in the first 2 days.
Once a woman is at home, breastfeeding requires a dedication, essentially being a food source on demand 24/7. This may not be possible given a family situation where there are multiple children or elders to care for. Likewise a swift return to work can make it difficult to continue the practice of breastfeeding, although it is certainly possible. There are laws mandating support for breastfeeding mothers who return to work by requiring a minimum level of breastfeeding support from the employer. Such laws support the economic goals of employers and employees as well as the well-being of mothers and children.
The medical director from the Breastfeeding and Human Lactation Study Center in the University of Rochester has said, “Every newborn should be breastfed as this would provide the best nutrition, the greatest infection protection, the most illness prevention, and the greatest food security and psychological protection for the infant.”
Breastfeeding offers many benefits for both the baby and the mother:
- It is easy to digest
- It contains antibodies that protect the baby from infections – a study showed how breastfeeding transfers immunity to babies
- It reduces the risk of becoming overweight/obese later on in life
- It requires no measuring and careful preparations – it is the ideal way to feed on demand instantly.
- Breastfed babies are less likely to have diarrhea compared to formula fed babies.
- Some studies have linked breastfeeding to higher intelligence later in life.
- A mother who breastfed her children has a considerably lower risk of developing Diabetes Type 2 when she is older, compared to a woman who had children but never breastfed.
- Women who breastfeed appear to have lower risk of inherited breast cancer.
- Children who are breastfed are less likely to suffer from behavioral or mental health issues than those who are not breastfed, research has revealed.
- Breastfeeding may prevent or delay allergies in high-risk children.
U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina M. Benjamin,said in August 2010:
“I am committed to promoting and supporting optimal breastfeeding practices with the ultimate goal of improving the public’s health. This is because breastfeeding is the best source of infant nutrition, and it provides immunologic protection and health benefits both to breastfeeding mothers and to the children they nurse.”
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