Baby Foods in the First Year

The food that you feed your baby with in the first year will be of utmost importance for the future health of your child.

Did you know that babies get enough fluids daily?

Extra fluid will not be required even when you feed your child with baby food. Compensation of fluids will only be required when it is lost in special situations e.g. fever, vomiting or diarrhea.

Here’s our roadmap to the diet of an ideal nutrition during the first year

The complementary feeding

Your baby is learning to eat from a spoon and drink from the cup at this stage. However, the readiness to consume solid food depends on its individual development. Complementary foods should be started no earlier than the 6th month of life. During this time, your baby will start to suck on his fingers increasingly or look interested when you are eating. That is a sign that you can start trying it with the first slurry. Do not stop milk after introduction of complementary food.

Additional drinks will only be required after your child starts on the complementary food diet

Your baby needs extra fluid once your baby starts to consume three porridges a day. Juices are not a good thirst quencher and the best way is to provide your child with fresh tap water. It can now learn to drink from a plastic cup or a mug and may not be successful at the first attempt, but patience is the key to success. 

Time for family meals from the 10th month

Your child will be able to participate in the consumption of food during common meal times of the family when it reaches between 10 to 14months of age. Porridge will now be replaced with ‘normal’ family fare but not every child takes to the solid food right away. The moving from porridge to normal diet is not always easy, so it would be good if the transition to family food was done gently. Bread, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and egg are examples of such foods. 

Food digestion plays a major role in children. Colic may occur as the gastrointestinal tract of your child has yet to mature, leading to bloating. This occurs when your baby swallows too much air while drinking, to prevent this from occurring let your child drink in a calm atmosphere. Heat could also help soother the bloat in your child. You could place a warm bag on the stomach or the abdomen of your child or in the clockwise direction massages its tummy with warm cumin oil. 

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