In her book, LINK, Sara Lewis gives uthoritative advice on topics such as equipment;hygiene and food preparation; when to begin weaning; batchcooking; nutrition; fussy eating and much more. Here are some tips we extracted from this excellent book.

Till the baby is 4 months old:

Feed only breast milk. Do not feed your baby any solid food since the baby’s digestive tract is in process of development.

For 4 to 6 months old babies:

You will know that your baby is ready for solid food if:

  • Your baby is able to hold his/her head up.
  • If he acts as if chewing something.
  • Is keen to have food.
  • If the mouth of the baby closes around a spoon.
  • If the movements of his tongue are not restricted and can move it back and forth.
  • Seems more hungry than usual.
  • If the baby begins teething.

 

Feed your baby breast milk as well as semi-liquid iron fortified cereals. Other cereals like oats or barley can also be given if the baby is capable of chewing.

Offer solid food to your baby in this period even if he is not able to eat it at the first time.

For 6 to 8 months old baby:

Continue feeding breast milk and iron fortified cereals like rice, barley, and oats.

Also try to feed the baby fruits which are pureed or strained. The fruits can include pears, applesauce, peaches and banana.

Pureed or strained vegetables like avocado, cooked carrots and sweet potato are also a good choice for your baby.

When you introduce some new foods be sure to keep a gap of three days between two new introduces. This will let you make sure that your baby is not allergic.

For 8 to 10 months old baby:

Your baby shows readiness for new solid foods if:

  • He can handle items using thumb and forefingers.
  • Tries to put everything in the mouth.
  • Has got refined jaw movements.

Continue feeding breast milk to your baby.  Feed soft pasteurized cheese, yogurt and other dairy produces in small quantities.  If you want to feed frits and vegetables like bananas, peaches, carrots, potatoes etc, the best way is to mash them or give it to the baby in semi liquid form.

Cereals, breads, tofu, teething crackers and pureed meat can also be fed to the baby.
Start giving non citrus juices. Apple or pear juice is the best choice for your baby.

For 10 to 12 months old baby:

You will notice that now the baby is able to swallow food more easily. More teeth are now visible in the mouth. The baby now doesn’t use tongue to push out food. Feed the same food as mentioned for 8 to 10 months old babies.

Whatever you feed to the baby, just take care that it is pure and would not lead to any kind of harm. Make sure that you feed your baby nutritious food.

 

You may also find interesting:

  1. Introducing Solid Food To Baby
  2. Baby Gags, What To Do?
  3. Introducing Solid Foods To Infants
  4. Nutrition Tips for Breastfeeding Mothers
  5. Comparing Breast Milk And Formula For Feeding Infants

Filed under: Feeding & Nutrition For Infants

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