With young babies, every day brings new joy and surprises. We eagerly watch them accomplish new developmental milestones each month, fall in love with that first smile and our hearts flutter with delight when we hear their first coos. As babies grow every mother look forward to feeding them solid foods for the first time. The perfect food for an infant in the initial stages of life is breast milk, as it contains the right quantities of amino acids and fats for growth, carbohydrates, vitamins A, B, and C for energy, and iron. The mother also passes on protective antibodies to her child through her milk. Ideally breast milk (or infant formula) should be the only source of nutrition for babies for the first five to six months. Many parents mistakenly try to feed solids to their babies at four months. This is too soon as the baby's digestive and immunological systems have not yet fully developed. Early feeding can result in poor digestion, allergies, and obesity. Approximately six months is the best time to begin feeding your little one solid food. Excellent nutrition is key to your baby's mental and physical development. The following guidelines can help you in shaping the healthiest diet for your baby: Cereal Start your baby on iron-fortified rice cereals which is the easiest type of cereal to be digested. Wheat cereal should not be introduced until after seven months because it is likely to cause allergies. Infant cereals supply B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. In the beginning, only provide one meal of solid food a day as the baby's diet should still mainly consist of breast milk. For variety, add a little blackstrap molasses to the rice cereal to boost its nutritional benefits. Blackstrap molasses is very rich in iron and calcium. Other ways to vary the taste and nutritional value of your baby's cereal include: soaking two dried apricots or two prunes or two dates or several raisins in warm water. Then mix the dried fruit with the grain cereal in a blender until smooth. That way you naturally flavor your baby's cereal and you add fiber and vitamins and iron. Make sure the cereal with fruit has no chunks to avoid choking. Fruits and vegetables Ripe bananas, mashed, are most pediatricians' first fruit of choice to give to babies. They taste sweet and the sugar they contain is easily digested. Once your baby becomes more accustomed to spoon feeding you can start giving two meals a day. Now you can prepare other fruits by peeling, removing any seeds, finely chopping, and then blitzing in a blender until very smooth. You can add a little water or breast milk to blend. Puree fresh raw fruits without cooking because heat destroys the B vitamins, vitamin C and beneficial enzymes. Some fruits that most babies like and blend well include: apples, pears, plums, avocado, peaches, and mangoes. Parents should be aware that citrus fruits are likely to be allergenic and therefore should be avoided until one year of age. You may choose to experiment with vegetables either before or after the fruits. Pumpkin is loaded with the antioxidant carotenes and babies will love their sweet taste. Peel a slice of pumpkin and chop into cubes. Simmer for about 15 minutes then puree in the blender with the cooking water. Other vegetables can be prepared in the same way including carrots, broccoli, green beans, squash, zucchini, and beets, but they require a longer cooking time. If you wish to give your baby potato then it is wise to note that sweet potatoes are nutritionally superior to regular potatoes. They contain more fiber, carotenes, vitamin C, calcium and potassium. However sweet potatoes also take more time to cook. If you have liquid left over from cooking the vegetables, you can cook brown rice in it, and then mix it in the blender with the vegetables. Always feed your baby and young children brown rice instead of white rice as the latter is void of the fiber, B vitamins and iron that brown rice contains. Milk Preferably all cow's milk and dairy products should not be fed to your baby until she is one year old. Studies show that cow's milk is the number one cause of allergies in children, so your baby's diet should be free of cow's milk products until after 12 months of age. After that, serve your baby whole fat plain yogurt which is an excellent source of calcium and maintains the healthy intestinal bacteria. You can also give soft cheeses such as cottage cheese and whole fat cow's milk if you plan to discontinue breastfeeding. Broaden the possibilities At eight months your baby has probably started sitting on his own and you can give him a plastic spoon and bowl to play with while you feed him. At this stage you can start adding some meats to your baby's diet. For example, cook boneless skinless chicken breasts and blend a little in with vegetables or brown rice. It is fine to season your baby's food with a little salt, butter, or olive oil. Between seven and nine months your baby can eat well-cooked and pureed legumes (pulses) for extra fiber, protein, iron, and B vitamins. The easier legumes on your tiny one's digestive system to handle are: lentils, yellow split peas, and chickpeas. At 9 months you can feed your baby a boiled egg yolk. The yolk is high in protein and fat that your baby's brain needs, as well as vitamin B complex, vitamins A, D, and E, and calcium, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, and copper. Refrain from giving your baby egg whites before the first birthday because the albumin protein it contains is likely to be allergenic. Give it time Whenever you introduce a new food, you should wait three days before giving a different food to make sure your baby has no allergic reaction to that food. Experimentation with diet reveals what foods the baby likes or dislikes. Allow them to enjoy a full range of tastes from the sweetest bananas to sour nectarines, and slightly bitter broccoli. The more types of food children are exposed to as babies, the less chance of them being picky in later years. Moreover, the food you prepare at home, as opposed to prepared baby food jars, are free of chemical additives and preservatives, lower in sugar and salt, have higher nutrient content and of course, that extra ounce of your love. - SG Amal Al-Sibai holds a Bachelor's degree in Holistic Nutrition from the United States, and has previously worked as a nutritional consultant, helping women and teenagers with weight loss. __
