The First Foods To Introduce To Your Infant
January 27, 2010
Deciding about how to introduce your baby to foods and making the right choice about the first foods to be given to your baby is an important decision and it’s something that needs due care and attention. After all, as a mother you are the only person who has the biggest say in all matters concerning the wellbeing of your infant. As the baby grows up, breast feeding and formula milk may not just be sufficient to take care of your baby’s nutritional requirements, and so from time to time you need to change your baby’s food menu to accommodate the growing nutritional needs of your infant.
For the first three months the mothers breast feed is just about enough for the infant, but as the baby progresses into the fourth month you need to begin giving formula feed to the baby. And once the baby is six months old, you need to begin introducing your baby to some solid foods. However, it’s still best to check with your pediatrician to know when exactly you should begin giving solid foods to your baby.
Market bought cereal feeds are a good way to start your baby on solids and with a wide range of cereal feeds available in the market you shouldn’t find it difficult to get something which suits your baby’s taste. But when you go shopping for cereal feeds, look for ones which have been fortified with vitamins and minerals. These are usually a bit costlier but definitely worth investing in, since it’s something on which your baby’s health and development is directly dependent.
Once the baby is comfortable with market bought cereal feeds, you can safely begin experimenting with natural homemade baby foods. Vegetable and fruit purees are the safest to begin with. All that you need to do is to boil some fresh vegetables and fruits and then puree it all in a blender. Add in a pinch of salt to it and it’s ready, however you must avoid adding any spices and flavorings to the baby’s food.
After your baby is about eight months old you need to begin introducing the child to some coarser foods. So instead of pureeing all the fruits and vegetables in the blender, just mash them with a fork, but be sure that no pieces are big enough to choke the baby. At this stage you can introduce more varieties of foods to your infant, like oatmeal, dairy, whole grains, eggs and even poultry, with the only caution that the foods are well cooked and mashed to a proper consistency.
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