Feeding Your Little One – A Good Way To Start

Your 6-months-old baby has a small delicate stomach and will soon learn to chew solids foods when offered. When you introduce a solid food diet to your infant make sure it’s soft, easy to chew and swallow, nutritious and home-cooked. You can offer small meals to your baby or when your baby puts his/her hands in the mouth as it’s the sign that your baby is hungry. Your baby can be colicky, may have some allergies or digestive problems after consuming certain foods. There is no need to worry as you can always rush to the doctor if you notice such signs. You must allow your baby to relish the food and do not force your baby to finish the meal.

In addition to the breastmilk/formula milk feeds, solid foods can be introduced for breakfast and lunch. Try avoiding salt and sugar in your recipes as that can give unwanted stress on your child’s kidneys. Some healthy food options for your baby are as follows:

• Fruit puree- Seasonal fruits should be washed properly then steamed and mashed before offering to your baby. Fruits like bananas, papaya, apple, pear, peaches, and sapodilla (chikoo) can be given to your little one.

• Vegetable puree- You can offer soft/chewy vegetables in a puree form or as a portion of finger food. Steamed /sautéed vegetables like carrots, sweet pumpkin, potatoes, French beans, and sweet potatoes can be offered.

• Pulses soup- A variety of pulses can be boiled with water and the stock/soup can be given to your infant.

• Rice porridge- Broken rice made with formula milk or breast milk can be offered to your baby as rice is a good source of carbohydrates.

• Cereal porridge- Single grain cereals like oats, barley, wheat, millet can be dried and powdered. You can make porridge of one cereal at a time and can offer it to your little one.

• Vegetable soup- You can boil fresh seasonal vegetables in water and can offer the soup to your baby.

• Yogurt- Although you can’t offer cow’s milk to your baby until h/she turns one. But unsweetened yogurt can be offered in moderation.

You can get a diet plan from a certified nutritionist also. For a start, you can add a stewed apple to the breakfast for the first two days of the week. Then you can add lentil soup in the lunch along with the stewed apple in the breakfast for the next two days. If you didn’t notice any allergy then you can change the fruit and soup for the next week and you can offer a variety of foods so on and so forth. You can look out for some amazing recipes on the internet and don’t be disappointed if your child disapproves of your culinary skills. You must not force your child to eat everything you cook for them. For your baby’s stress-free mealtime, you must follow these tips:

• Begin with just one or two spoons

• Introduce one new fruit/vegetable at a time

• Make sure the food is not lumpy or undercooked as that leads to choking

• Avoid distraction and make sure your child is sitting on a high chair while having food

• Avoid feeding your baby in plastic bowls as they can be harmful to your baby’s health. You can prefer to use stainless steel or glass bowls.

• Prefer home-cooked nutritious food as much as you can.

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