How Long to Continue Baby Cereal

How Long to Continue Baby Cereal

September 1st, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

How long your child should continue to eat infant cereals depends on a number of factors. Your child’s diet, timing of weaning from breast-feeding or formula, and your doctor’s opinion are all considerations when deciding at what point to stop infant cereal and switch to more grown-up baby food.

Why Infant Cereal?

It may seem like oatmeal is oatmeal, but there is a difference between baby cereals and those meant for adults. Baby cereals are designed to meet the nutritional needs of infants, which differ from those of adults. Because most babies are not able to eat the same varied diet as a grown person, they require extra nutrients. They are also growing and developing at a rapid rate, which means their little bodies need certain things more than an adult might.

The main difference between a baby cereal and the average box of oats is iron. Cereals designed for babies have been fortified with this important mineral, which helps your baby’s growing body to create new red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Some infant cereals are also fortified with DHA and ARA, which are thought to support eye and brain development. In addition to these, baby cereals contain a number of other vitamins and minerals to help your baby grow.

At a certain point, when your child has become proficient at chewing and swallowing other foods, it will be possible to get the entire spectrum of required nutrients from a varied baby food diet. Particularly during the first two years of life, however, most children need an extra boost in the nutritional department.

Other Sources of Iron

Fortified infant cereal isn’t the only way your baby can get extra iron. Most doctors will recommend a liquid vitamin and mineral supplement for your baby, especially after weaning from the breast or bottle is complete. Some of these supplements contain iron – be sure to check the label to be sure before you buy.

If you are planning to breastfeed into the second year, your baby will get more iron than if you switch entirely to whole milk. This still may not be enough, especially as your baby nurses less often over time.

Keeping Infant Cereal in The Mix

As your baby gets older and enjoys thicker, chunkier foods, infant cereal might not be as interesting, especially as it tends to be bland. There are a number of ways to make infant cereal a bit more interesting to an older child, Mix it with chunkier fruits or vegetables, or add raisins and a touch of honey for taste – but don’t do this until after a year old, as honey is not safe for babies under one. You can also blend it with a thicker oatmeal that might be more interesting to your older child’s palate.

If you can’t get your older child to eat infant cereal, don’t despair. There are many other ways to get enough iron in your little one’s diet. Be sure to use iron supplements, and offer iron rich foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, green vegetables and beans. There are also some cereals on the market meant for adults that have been fortified with iron, such as instant oatmeal. Check labels to look for added iron before you buy.

If you are concerned about your child’s iron intake, talk to your pediatrician. A simple blood test can check for anemia to make sure your little one is healthy.

Why Whole Grain is Best for Baby

Why Whole Grain is Best for Baby

August 31st, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Carbohydrates make up a large portion of our body’s nutrition needs. Of the three macronutrients required by the body every day, carbohydrates form the largest percentage of recommended daily intake, more than protein and more than fat. Although it doesn’t surprise anyone that we need more carbs than fat, many people are surprised that we need more carbs than protein.

Recent diet crazes that have instructed people to cut out carbohydrates have caused a general belief that carbs are bad for you, and will cause obesity. This isn’t accurate. Your body needs carbs, and so does your baby’s body. The key is to choose the right kind of carbs to provide nutrition and avoid empty calories.

The Types of Carbohydrates

Carbs come in two main forms: simple and complex. Simple carbs are high in sugar and refined grains. Some of this occurs naturally, but much of it is the result of processing. White bread is a perfect example of a simple carb. It is made with wheat that has been processed and stripped of the portions of the grain that contain the fiber and most of the nutrition. While “enriched” grains have had the nutrition added back afterwards, the fiber can’t be replaced, and you are left with the type of carbohydrate that is broken down quickly by the body. This can cause spikes in blood sugar levels

Complex carbs are foods that contain a lot of fiber, and take longer for the body to digest. They maintain a steadier level of sugar in the blood, and thus more sustained energy and fullness. Whole grains are complex carbs. The grains have been left in their natural form and not refined to remove any part of the grain. They are a great source of fiber as well as other nutrients.

The Benefits of Whole Grains

Eating whole grain foods regulates the digestive system and keeps the good bacteria in balance, meaning less gastrointestinal problems and a healthier immune system. This goes for both babies and adults. Whole grains have been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, and also help to regulate cholesterol levels. Starting your baby on whole grains is an investment in future health.

Whole grains are also full of nutrition in its natural state, which is always better than vitamins and minerals that have been added synthetically.

Whole Grain Baby Foods

With the recent push towards whole grain foods, it isn’t hard to find them on the shelves of your local supermarket. When choosing infant cereal, look for brown rice rather than refined white rice. Oatmeal is usually a whole grain, but check the label to be sure. Barley is also a great whole grain for baby, but again, be sure to read the label to make sure the barley infant cereal you choose is made with whole grains.

When your baby is ready for foods like bread, choose a whole grain variety rather than white. Children who start on whole grain breads and aren’t introduced to white bread are less likely to reject it than those who start with white. Bread labels can be tricky, and not every wheat bread actually contains whole wheat grains, so read the ingredients no matter what the label says.

You can also add whole grains to foods like soups. Both brown rice and barley make great additions to your favorite soup. Whole grain pasta is now widely available, and is a smart choice and a great finger food for baby.

Why Your Baby Needs Iron

Why Your Baby Needs Iron

August 30th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Iron is a vital mineral to life, for people of all ages. Babies, however, have a special need for iron as their bodies are growing and developing at a rapid pace. Many babies are not getting enough of this essential nutrient, and serious health problems can result.

What Iron Does

Iron helps the body to create hemoglobin, which is what keeps red blood cells healthy, and makes them red. It carries oxygen throughout the body and provides it to muscles and organs, all of which require oxygen to function properly. As babies are growing quickly, their bodies require iron to create new red blood cells.

Dangers of Iron Deficiency

Babies get iron from their mother in the womb, but after birth it must be included in baby food diet for healthy weight gain and development. Babies who do not get enough iron can develop iron-deficiency anemia, a condition which can cause numerous problems including poor weight gain, fatigue, dizziness, rapid heart rate and decreased appetite.

Iron deficiency symptoms can be slow to appear, as the body’s stores of iron are depleted over time. If they are not replaced, the symptoms will start to manifest. Most cases of anemia are caught prior to symptoms developing thanks to routine testing for hemoglobin levels in babies between 9-12 months of age. Rare serious cases of iron-deficiency anemia do occur, however, resulting in hospitalization.

What Leads to Iron Deficiency

In most cases, a lack of enough iron in the diet is the reason for a baby or toddler to develop anemia. There are other potential causes as well, however.

When your baby makes the switch to cow’s milk at around a year old, the risk of anemia from low iron increases due to two factors. First, your baby is no longer receiving the extra iron found in breast milk or iron-fortified formula. Second, too much milk can actually block iron absorption. This is a big reason why babies under a year old are not advised to drink cow’s milk. Too much milk can damage the lining of the stomach and result in internal bleeding that can further deplete iron supplies. To prevent this cause of iron deficiency, keep your baby’s milk intake to no more than 24 ounces a day. If your baby is taking an iron supplement or multivitamin with iron, serve it separately from milk.

Periods of rapid growth can also deplete iron stores, as the body is using them up at a quicker pace than normal. If you see signs of a growth spurt in your baby, try to add extra iron either in the form of supplements or food in order to replace the stores that are being used up.

If your baby was premature or had a low birth weight, the risk of iron deficiency anemia is increased. Because larger babies who spent longer periods in the womb were able to absorb and store more iron, their supply will last longer and not need to be replenished quite so quickly. A premature or low birth weight baby will need extra help to build up iron stores and avoid anemia.

If you suspect iron deficiency anemia in your baby, talk to your baby’s doctor. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, your pediatrician will be able to guide you in the right steps to take in order to bring iron levels back up.

Age-by-Age Feeding Guide for Babies

Age-by-Age Feeding Guide for Babies

August 29th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Not sure when to start solids, or when you can introduce meat? Follow this simple age-by-age guide to what, when and how much to feed your baby, from birth through age two.

Birth to 6 Months

From birth through 6 months of age, the AAP strongly recommends that you breastfeed your baby exclusively. If breastfeeding is not possible, formula should be your baby’s source of nutrition. Although you may hear recommendations to start your baby on solids as young as 4 months old, the newest research has prompted organizations such as the AAP and WHO to recommend waiting until 6 months old to ensure your baby is developmentally and physically ready to begin solid baby foods.

6 to 8 Months

At 6 months old, your baby may be ready to begin solid foods. Look for such signs as ability to hold her head up easily, ability to sit up with minimal support, and interest in food. When your baby is ready, sometime in this time period for most babies, you can start once daily feedings of the following foods:

  • Infant cereal mixed with breast milk or formula to a thin, smooth consistency. Start with rice or barley before moving on to oatmeal or mixed grains.
  • Finely pureed fruits such as bananas, apples, pears, peaches, mangoes, avocadoes
  • Finely pureed vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans and squash.
  • Finely pureed meats
  • Whole milk yogurt

You should continue breast or bottle feeding as usual and always serve solids as a secondary feeding after breast milk or formula.

9 to 12 Months

During this time, you can thicken baby’s food and start to leave small chunks in it for baby to chew. Depending on how many teeth your baby has cut, you can try chewier and crunchier foods as well. Your baby’s diet can be expanded to include:

  • Infant cereal mixed to a thicker consistency and mixed with fruits or vegetables
  • Thicker, chunkier fruits and vegetables, expanded to a wide variety of options.
  • Soft, small pieces of cheese
  • Finger foods such as Cheerios, small pieces of soft fruits and vegetables such as bananas and cooked carrots, and well-cooked pasta
  • Small chunks of well cooked meats
  • Eggs, scrambled is best
  • One small serving of fruit juice a day
  • Toast with peanut butter, cut into small pieces
  • Whole milk yogurt mixed with thicker fruit purees

During these months your baby will add a second feeding, probably around 9 months, and then a third by 12 months. During this time, however, breast milk or formula remain the main source of nutrition, and about 75% of calories should come from that source. Solids should be served in small portions after breast feeding or taking a bottle.

12- to 24 Months

During the second year your baby will cut the rest of his teeth and expand his chewing ability. He will also start using a spoon or fork to bring food to his mouth, albeit clumsily. At this point your baby’s foods should look a lot like what you are eating, but cut into smaller bites and in some cases, cooked more thoroughly. Add to the menu:

  • Soups with lots of well cooked but chunky vegetables
  • Crackers that dissolve fairly easily when chewed
  • Whole cooked bite-sized pieces of vegetables
  • Whole uncooked bite-sized pieces of softer fruits
  • Whole milk, as baby weans from the breast or bottle
  • Whole milk yogurt mixed with small chunks of fruits including berries.
  • Infant cereal mixed with small chunks of fruits or berries.

By the end of the second year, your child will be able to eat just about anything you eat. Remain cautious about bite sizes however, as choking is still a hazard. Your child should be eating three meals a day along with two healthy snacks, and taking no more than 24 ounces of whole milk each day.

How Much Sugar and Salt is OK?

How Much Sugar and Salt is OK?

August 28th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

As adults, most of us know the pull of salty and sugary foods. They comprise most of our favorite snack foods, and we can’t help loving them even though we know they are bad for us. The foods that aren’t a part of our healthy diet aren’t a good part of a child’s diet either. Unfortunately, with added sugar and salt popping up everywhere, controlling your child’s intake isn’t easy. With vigilance and attention to food labels, you can keep your child’s salt and sugar intake under control.

Avoiding Excess Salt

Sodium is a mineral that is required by the body to maintain a balance of fluids and avoid dehydration. Fortunately, it isn’t difficult to get the required amount of sodium. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to get too much, which can be just as bad as or worse than too little.

Sodium is added to all kinds of processed foods, from canned vegetables to frozen foods. It’s especially prevalent in things like canned soups, which are a popular quick meal option for busy parents. Happily, the food industry has recognized the problem with excess sodium and is offering low-sodium or even sodium free versions of canned foods. Canned vegetables are now available packed only in water. Soups are now available with much lower sodium content.

While home cooking should be safer because we control the amount of salt we put into our foods, we often don’t realize that sodium at home doesn’t just come from a salt shaker. Condiments, seasoning blends, and popular cooking flavorings all contain more sodium that most of us realize. By trying to cook healthy foods at home, you could be serving your child more sodium than is healthy. Again, reading labels is important!

The Sweet Side of Life

The good news is, there is no evidence that sugar really causes children to be overactive, nor does it necessarily lead to obesity – in moderation. The real problem with sugary foods in a child’s diet is that they tend to replace healthier foods, and provide empty calories instead of options full of nutrients.

Sugar is added to all kinds of foods, even those aimed at children – perhaps especially those aimed at children. It’s well know that kids like the sweet stuff, and manufacturers are tuned in to your little one’s sweet tooth. Candy isn’t the only culprit, in fact it isn’t even the main culprit. Fruit “drinks”, yogurt, cereals, granola bars and more all contain large amounts of sugar. While some of these foods might also offer nutritional value, usually due to being fortified, it doesn’t make them the healthiest choice. Nutrients that appear naturally in foods are better absorbed by the body and healthier for kids. Try sweet treats that appear in nature, like fruits and berries, instead of processed sugar for a treat that is both sweet and healthy too.

Everything In Moderation

You have heard it before, and it applies here. Denying kids the odd treat will make them more likely to gorge on it when they do get the chance. And what’s life without a little fun? As long as you keep the sweet and salty treats to a minimum, there won’t be a lasting impact on your child’s health. Making a regular habit of it, however, will set your child up for potential health problems in the years to come.

Tips for Feeding your Toddler

Tips for Feeding your Toddler

August 27th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Toddlers are notorious for finicky and strange eating habits. Even if your child was a great eater as a baby, you may suddenly find yourself confronted with a whole different person when the toddler years come along. With a new desire for independence and a newly discovered ability to voice opinions, feeding your toddler any kind of healthy toddler diet can be a difficult challenge. Try these tips to make it a little easier.

Mix It Up

Pairing a food your toddler refuses to eat with one that he likes might encourage him to actually eat it all – but not if you let him pick and choose. The best way to get a toddler to eat a food he generally refuses is to mix it in with the one he likes. If he wants a great big bite of that macaroni and cheese, there’s no way to get it without a few French-cut green beans along for the ride. That spaghetti sauce he loves, well, there are now grated carrots and finely chopped spinach inside. And no way to avoid them.

Mix up all kinds of healthy foods with toddler-friendly favorites: finely chopped vegetables are easily added to meatballs; soups are a great place to add more veggies too. Add extra fruit to oatmeal and yogurt, and even ice cream. Blend bananas, berries and other fruits into pancake batter.

Fun Finger Foods

Toddlers love foods that are fun to eat, so serve up finger foods with interesting options for dips. Vegetables are suddenly a lot more interesting with a choice of dips, such as a cheese sauce or ranch dressing. Take the meatballs out of the spaghetti sauce and serve them as a finger food with marinara on the side for dipping.

Pieces of fruit can be served this way too; use vanilla yogurt as a tasty dip for apple, pear and banana slices as well as fresh berries.

Use dinner rolls to make sliders for little hands, topped with small slices of tomatoes and piece of lettuce. Then put mustard and ketchup on the side to dip the slider into. When you up the fun quotient of a food, you make it a lot more interesting to a toddler.

Work With, Not Against Your Toddler

Sometimes the best you can do with a toddler is to wave the white flag and make peace. Dinner time power struggles don’t get anyone anywhere useful. You will wind up frustrated and your child will not learn anything. Try to find a compromise. If she really doesn’t like broccoli, there is likely nothing you can do to make her eat it. Try to substitute other foods that offer similar nutritional value. Explain to your toddler that you know she doesn’t like broccoli, so you aren’t going to make her eat it. Instead, she can try this spinach, which you think she will like a whole lot more.

If your toddler has that common obsession with foods staying separate on the plate, don’t get frustrated because you don’t understand it. Instead, show her you get it by letting her choose a plate with separate compartments for all her foods.

Feeding a toddler can be frustrating, but if you keep your cool and find ways to make foods more interesting, you will have a lot more success than with demands and ultimatums. When your toddler feels you are listening and understanding, you will get more cooperation than when you try to lay down the law.

Getting Into Good Eating Habits Postpartum

Getting Into Good Eating Habits Postpartum

May 24th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

The baby bump was cute while you were pregnant. Everybody loves to see a pregnant woman and they revel in just how cute that adorable little baby bump. When you’ve already had the baby however, that cute little baby bump that is left over isn’t so cute anymore.

Though there are certainly exceptions to the rule, most women are left with some unwanted weight and body changes after they have their baby. They say that it takes a year to get your body back to what it really was before pregnancy. Considering that it took you nine months to put the weight on, you do have to be a bit realistic with what and how long it will take to get the weight off. Though you do have to be patient and you want to ensure that you go about things the right way, there are most certainly some measures you can take to ensure you get into the right eating habits postpartum.

Think of Food as Energy

Women tend to go one of two ways here-they either go into starvation mode to try and melt the fat away or they keep eating as if they were still pregnant. Don’t go to either extreme because both can result in bad things. You want to be certain to eat healthy and above all consider food to be a main energy source right now. Though food should always be used for energy, the reality is that it turns into so much more.

You aren’t pregnant anymore and therefore you should eliminate any bad eating habits that you may have adopted while you were. You also need to be mindful however that you do need to keep your energy up. If you go to the other extreme and limit the food that you eat to a bare minimum, then you are going to be left feeling more exhausted than you already are postpartum. So be sure that you remember this if nothing else-postpartum is not a time for extremes.

Start Fresh and New

When you look at these guidelines, you quickly see that it’s all about taking care of yourself. That’s what you should remember above anything else because that’s what matters the most. When you were pregnant, it was all about taking care of yourself for the sake of your baby. Now it’s all about taking care of yourself for the sake of caring for your new little baby.

Keep your energy up but do it with the right foods. Consider eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This will help you to feel full longer and avoid the temptation to overeat. It will also ensure that you keep your energy up and keep your body nourished. You want to turn to a healthy balance of foods to provide you with energy and nutrients. Many of the same foods that you ate during pregnancy are important to eat as your body repairs after having a baby. So keep that in mind as you plan for your new transition to motherhood.

Different Requirements for Different Considerations

If you are breastfeeding, then you need to continue to put the well-being of your baby first. You need to plan on consuming an additional 500 calories per day to keep up with the needs that breastfeeding puts on your body. This should be accomplished through the right foods, but it’s important to reach for this. Your body goes through a lot and expends a lot of energy to provide the nourishment that your body needs, so remember that when you make your food choices. Every woman and every consideration has different requirements. Just keep yours in mind so that you make the right food choices for you and your lifestyle.

Enjoying Meals Together

Enjoying Meals Together

May 6th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Eating a meal together has a number of benefits for your family. While sitting down to a meal together can be a challenge with busy schedules, it’s worth the effort to get your family to the table at the same time for at least one meal a day.

Teaching Good Habits

Sitting down to a meal together helps your children to form good habits that will last a lifetime. This includes both healthy eating habits and table manners. When you sit down to eat with your family, you have an opportunity to teach them how to behave at the table. If they learn good manners at home, you won’t have to worry about how they will behave at a restaurant, or if they are invited to a meal at a friend’s house.

Eating meals together also encourages healthy eating habits. Seeing you eating the same healthy foods you have been encouraging your kids to eat will make them more likely to give it a try. They will also learn to slow down, and enjoy their food, rather than rushing through a meal which can cause indigestion.

Seeing you prepare a meal every day will give your child a better appreciation for what goes into the food you serve. Making everyone a part of the meal preparation and clean up process will also teach your children responsibility. And when everyone has a share of the responsibility for making a great family meal, they will enjoy the food more and dinner time battles will start to disappear.

Time to Talk

Family meal time might be the only time you are all in the same room and not focused on something else. Make it a time to talk, catch up with each other, and get to know what is going on in everyone’s busy life. Even for the youngest child, it’s a great time to see mom and dad interacting and chatting about something other than the bills or who is driving carpool this week.

This daily opportunity to reconnect will foster a sense of closeness and security in the family. Your children will start to open up to you more when it becomes normal to spend this time talking. You might hear about things going on in their lives you would otherwise never have known about. Once you have get in to the habit, you will find everyone looks forward to meal time as a chance to spend time together, not just a necessary break for food.

Starting this habit early in life has ramifications for your children as they grow older as well. Research shows that kids who eat meals with the family regularly have better grades and are less likely to get in trouble with drugs and alcohol down the road.

Better meals, Better Budget

Eating at home has many benefits, but the two most important are better meals and saving money too! Eating out can be very costly, and it usually means a less nutritious meal.

When you prepare your own food at home, you know what goes into it. You can use fresh produce, choose organic ingredients if you prefer, and watch the salt and fat content. You can also control your portion sizes, which is difficult to do at a restaurant. Making an effort to eat meals at home will save your family money, which can be spent instead on something everyone can enjoy, like a family vacation.

Do You Have a Picky Eater?

Do You Have a Picky Eater?

January 6th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Nothing frustrates a parent more than preparing a delicious, healthy meal for the family only to have a child take one look at it and prepare to leave the table. Living with a picky eater isn’t easy, but most children will go through a phase of picky eating at some point. While some outgrow it, others may remain in the phase for a long time, leaving parents at the end of their rope and out of ideas for how to get their child to eat better.

If you have a picky eater on your hands, you can take comfort in knowing you are not alone. This common frustration of parenting happens to just about every parent at some point.

Good Eaters Gone Bad

Most picky eaters don’t start out that way. Babies who ate anything put in front of them through the early stages of eating solids often take a turn for the picky side as they grow older. This is a normal part of development, and the effort that you put into providing a balanced children diet wasn’t in vain. A good eater will often go through a phase of picky eating and come out on the other side ready to eat again.

As children grow, their taste buds change and they change the way they feel about certain foods. Although many children still love sweets, the baby predisposition towards sweet will gradually fade as the palate starts to enjoy other flavors. While baby might make a face at a salty baby food, toddlers generally find salt quite enjoyable, as evidenced by their love of French fries.

Developing a sense of independence is also to blame for the changes in your previously good eater. Toddlers quickly come to realize that of the very few things they have any control of in their lives, eating is the one they can exert the most power over. They learn that there is really nothing you can do to make them eat what they don’t want to, and as part of learning to be independent, they will use this ability to find a sense of control over their environment. As independence develops and your child begins to feel more freedom over daily activities and actions, the picky eating may fade into the background.

Picky From the Start

Some children are simply picky eaters from day one. They never seem to develop an interest in many of the foods you offer and carry these habits over into toddlerhood and beyond. A consistently picky eater may well stay that way into adulthood without a great deal of effort on the part of the parents.

Some people merely have stronger taste buds than others and find certain flavors overwhelming. There are certain foods that it is very possible your child will never like. This doesn’t mean healthy eating isn’t possible, but merely that you will have to be a lot more creative.

One of the best advantages of the toddler years is that you can start to serve foods in much more interesting forms. Rather than bland purees, your child can now try all kinds of cuisine that will take the foods they might not like and flavor them in such as way as to make them more acceptable.

Dealing with a picky eater isn’t easy, but it certainly isn’t uncommon. Whether your child was picky from the start or developed the pickiness over time, there is always hope. Don’t give up on serving healthy foods. One day, your persistence will pay off.

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