What to Feed Your Baby During the First Year
Introducing food to your baby is both challenging and fun. You get to understand what makes your baby tick and what food he could be allergic to. From birth until your baby grows into a young boy or girl, milk should always be there to provide the nourishment he or she needs. Physical activities demand strong bones; milk is rich in Calcium that strengthens the human skeletal system. Aside from milk, solid food like rice, cereal, fruits, and vegetables should also be part of your baby’s diet. Milk alone will not be enough to provide all the nutrients your growing child needs. This is where fruits, vegetables and meat come in. They are good sources of proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins that will help nourish your child as he or she goes to one of the most active stages in his or her life.
From first to four months, your baby may only be able to ingest and appreciate milk. During the fourth to the sixth month, semi-solid foods should be introduced. This is also a time when your baby develops a taste for different food. For starters, some experts suggest that babies should be fed with yellow fruits and vegetables. The idea behind this is that yellow-colored food is easier to digest. However, there are those who claim that green-colored fruits and vegetables should first be introduced as yellow-colored ones tend to be sweeter. If you feed your baby with sweet food at the onset, your baby may develop a liking to sweet foods only. This is not good as we all know too much sweet is bad for our health.
Semi-solid food that is good for your baby is rice, oats, barley, mashed fruits and vegetables. Feed the same set of food for several days before changing it to another set. Through this process, you will be able to figure out what your baby likes and dislikes in terms of taste and if any allergic reaction is developed after eating a specific food. Remember to always burp your baby after feeding him. This should be practiced until your baby is strong enough to sit on his own and this starts during the fourth month. This is also the time when your baby starts eating semi-solid food. This means that you baby is already able to support his head and can sit upright on a high chair.
As soon as your baby starts on solid food, there is no stopping there. It would be easy to pick out which food is appropriate for your baby to eat. Ready-to-eat baby food for specific age groups are available on the market. Read the labels carefully and take note of the ingredients. At the age of five to six months, you may already have an idea what food your baby is allergic to. Checking the labels is one way of ensuring that you do not endanger the health, and even the life, of your baby. Make this precautionary measure a habit because your baby will pretty much depend on you on a lot of things for a long time.
Author Bio: Kristy is a work at home mom of 2 and a writer. Need help choosing a new crib mattress? Make sure to check out best crib mattresses. Read reviews on crib mattress at http://www.allcribmattresses.com
Category: Parenting
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