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.

Is Your Baby Ready for Solids?

Is Your Baby Ready for Solids?

August 24th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

The transition to solid baby foods is the first major transition your baby will face, and everyone has an opinion on the subject. Knowing when your baby is really ready for solids can be a bit tricky, but there are some signs to look for. There is also a great deal of misinformation regarding the transition to solid foods that can cause mothers to add solids before baby is ready. Check your knowledge and find out if your baby is ready to try!

At What Age Should Solids Be Started?

Although traditionally the answer to this question has been anywhere from 4-6 months old, the AAP now officially recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life. Every baby is different, however, as you have heard on so many subjects, and there are better indications than age to determine when a baby is ready. While the 6 month mark is a good place to start, your baby might not be ready until 7 months, so don’t stress it! Eventually, your baby will get there.

What are the Physical Signs of Readiness?

There are some physical abilities your baby must master in order to be ready for solid foods. Until baby is physically ready, you won’t have much success and you risk choking. Watch for these signs your baby is good to go:

  • Able to sit up with moderate support, such as in a high chair. This means that baby isn’t just propped up in the chair, but can lean forward as well, and really only needs the chair to prevent falling over.
  • Able to hold up the head well – this should go along with sitting up, most babies who can sit up well enough to start solids have developed their neck muscles enough to hold their heads up well.
  • Losing the tongue-thrust reflex. Babies have a reflex that helps to protect them from choking by causing the tongue to push out foreign matter in the mouth. By 4 months old this reflex starts to fade, but it often isn’t gone entirely until 6 months old. This reflex will make it difficult to get baby to swallow any solid foods. Also around 6 months old, baby will start to master the ability to use the tongue to push food to the back of the mouth to be swallowed.

What Other Signs of Readiness are There?

In addition to the physical development needed to eat solid foods, there are a few other signs you can look for in your baby to tell if it’s a good time to start solids.

  • Baby shows interest in how the others at the table are eating and may reach for your food. The best way to watch for this sign is to bring baby to the table. Pull the high chair up when you are eating, so that your baby can watch what is going on and develop an interest.
  • Baby mimics your eating behaviors, such as bringing food to the mouth or opening up for a bite.
  • Baby has the ability to indicate yes or no either through gestures or simply opening or closing the mouth.

What is Not a Sign of Readiness?

There is some misinformation out there, mainly perpetuated by well-meaning friends and relatives, regarding a baby’s readiness for solids. Just because you have a large baby does not mean you need to start solids earlier. No matter your baby’s size, breast milk or formula are all that is needed for the first six months. Also contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that starting solids earlier will help a baby sleep at night. Night wakings are not a sign of readiness.

Watch for the above signs of readiness to make sure that your transition to solids goes smoothly for everyone!

A Healthy Immune System for Baby

A Healthy Immune System for Baby

April 29th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

A healthy immune system is vital to helping your baby’s body to fight off infections and avoid illness. To keep her immune system working at peak performance, baby needs a little help from you.

In the womb, antibodies are passed to baby from her mother via the placenta. But after birth, their power will start to wane, and unless they are replace baby will be vulnerable to illness. A baby won’t start to produce her own antibodies until she is a few months old. In the meantime, there is a way to help her out.

Breastfeeding and Immunity

Breast milk is the only way to get vital antibodies to your baby in the first months of life. The AAP recommends that new mothers breastfeed for at least the first four months, but preferably exclusively for the first six months. This isn’t just because breast milk contains antibodies. It also gives your baby the optimum nutritional content she needs to be healthy. A body that is receiving all the nutrients it needs is a body that supports immune health.

Baby’s Diet and Immune Health

When your baby starts on solid baby foods, make sure to offer her a wide variety of healthy foods, especially fruits and vegetables. The nutrients in these foods will help to support her immune system and keep her healthy. Look for foods high in vitamins C and E, which are known to have immunity-strengthening properties. These foods include choices like applesauce, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli and more. Also, be sure to include foods high in zinc, which also supports immune health. This important mineral appears in proteins such as chicken and eggs.

Probiotics have recently been recognized as playing a major role in immune health. They are the good bacteria that our bodies need in order to fight off any number of illnesses. Probiotics can be found in foods like yogurt, but use caution. Many commercial yogurts have been flash heated to maintain shelf life – which kills many of the good bacteria. Look for an all natural yogurt that has not been heated. You can also use probiotic supplements; talk to your baby’s doctor about how to implement them into baby food diet.

The Importance of Sleep

It might not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of a healthy immune system, but making sure that your baby gets the sleep he needs is actually vital to supporting a healthy immune system. In the same way that adults can get run down and become vulnerable to infection when we aren’t getting enough sleep, babies need sleep to stay healthy – and they require a lot more sleep than we do.

During sleep, the body repairs and rejuvenates itself, making it better able to fight off illness. A newborn requires upwards of 16 hours of sleep, and in the first year of life that need won’t go down much. Make sure baby gets enough rest by sticking to a bedtime routine and a nap schedule as much as you can. If baby seems to be sleeping more than usual, he might be fighting something off. Let him get his rest, and watch for further signs of illness. Sometimes all the body needs is a little extra down time to let the immune system kick in and do its job.

A healthy immune system means a healthy baby, so do everything you can to support it from the day he is born. If you pay attention to his body’s needs, your baby’s immune system will stay strong and keep him strong too.

How to Prevent Choking and Gagging

How to Prevent Choking and Gagging

February 20th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

One of the very real dangers that comes with the introduction of solid baby foods in babies is choking. In fact, gagging and choking are among the most prevalent dangers for children of any age. It is impossible to prevent all risks associated with gagging, but you can be prepared and take steps to minimize the likelihood.

Get Trained

Your first step is to take an infant CPR and choking course. Food is by far not the only item that will go into your child’s mouth, so a course on how to handle any object in a choking situation is well worth the time. You can take the course while preparing for your child’s birth or soon after, but it is extremely beneficial to all parents.

A course will show you the correct way to handle a gagging or choking baby – and the procedure changes as your child ages. Knowing what do to in an emergency is just as important – perhaps more so – than attempting to prevent it from ever occurring.

The Difference Between Choking and Gagging

There is a substantial difference between choking and gagging. Many children gag as they learn to control their tongues and swallowing mechanisms. Gagging happens with alarming frequency for many children, although once a month is frequent – not once a day or week. Choking is a situation where an obstruction has entered the airway and can not be easily dislodged. Choking is life-threatening as air supply is being cut-off and knowing how to handle the situation can save your child’s life as there is often no time to wait for paramedics to arrive in a severe situation.

Avoiding Gagging and Choking

Both gagging and choking occur when objects or food obstructs or come too close to the airway. Gagging is a reflex when food comes too close to the back of the throat without swallowing and choking is a true blockage. Gagging is usually resolved by the child coughing or moving the food away from the back of his mouth on his own – interfering too early can make gagging more serious than it is, so watch your child to see if he can clear the problem on his own first.

Feed Small Bites

When spoon feeding your child, offer him small bites. Loading up a spoon might make the meal go faster, but it will also give your baby more food to handle in his tiny mouth. Small bites are easier to handle and allow them to swallow safely.

Avoid Thick Foods

Thick cereals such as rice or oatmeal and other foods such as peanut butter are thick and tend to be sticky inside the mouth. When feeding your baby cereals, make them creamy – not clumpy to be sure they won’t be too hard for your little one to handle. Peanut butter should be avoided for at least one year and then spread very thinly to avoid thick clumps that can be potentially dangerous.

Cut Finger Foods

Finger foods are the first food stage where true choking is a very real possibly. The two worst foods for choking are two childhood favorites – hot dogs and grapes. To make these a finger food, you should cut them, but avoid cutting them across only. Making circles out of the food just makes it more perfect for filling up an airway. Cut the food across into circles and then lengthwise as well to make smaller pieces which are both easier to eat and less likely to exactly fill your child’s airway.

Skip Hard Items

Children and even adults can have difficulties with hard foods such as nuts, popcorn, and hard candy. These items should be avoided ideally until your child is closer to six or seven and then eaten sparingly to reduce risk under close supervision.

Making Your Own Baby Foods

Making Your Own Baby Foods

February 20th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Preparing homemade baby foods is not as difficult as it looks. The good part of preparing your own baby food is that you can control what ingredients that go in. Besides, you can include limitless variety of flavor and texture in the home-prepared baby foods.

When it comes to making your own baby foods, the following tools can be handy.

  • A food processor or handheld blender
  • A wire sieve
  • A potato masher
  • Ice-cube trays
  • Freezer bags

Preparing Homemade Fruits or Vegetables

Most of the ripe fresh fruits, such as banana, avocado, mango, pear and melon, can be served once they are pureed or mashed. You do not need to cook them. Unlike ripe fresh fruits, you need to cook the vegetables before you pureed or mashed them. Here are the steps that will guide you on how to prepare your homemade fruits and vegetables for your baby:

  • Before you cook your fruits and vegetables, make sure you clean them properly. Peel, seed and slice them once they are clean.
  • Place the sliced fruits and vegetables in a small saucepan and cover them with water.
  • Cook the fruits and vegetables until tender.
  • Drain and reserving the cooking liquid.
  • Puree the fruits and vegetables until smooth, or mash using potato masher for a lumpier consistency. Add water or cooking liquid if needed.
  • Place in ice-cube trays and freeze. Transfer individual cubes to freezer bags.

Preparing Homemade Meat

  • Place a piece of meat in the saucepan. Cover the meat with water and bring it to boil.
  • Reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is tender.
  • Drain and reserving the broth. Remove the skins and bone from meat.
  • Puree the meat until it is smooth using a food processor. Adding the broth or water as need to achieve desired consistency. You can use wire strainer to achieve a smooth texture.
  • Place in ice-cube trays and freeze. Transfer individual cubes to freezer bags.

Pureed baby food can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you need to use the food, defrost the frozen baby food overnight in the refrigerator or in a container of warm water.

When preparing your baby food at home, please avoid adding sugar, salt or honey.

Types of Solid Foods

Types of Solid Foods

February 20th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Solid baby foods must be introduced gradually. During the initial transition period, breast milk or formula will continue to be your baby’s primary source of nutrition. As you introduce more solid foods, your child’s intake of breast milk or formula will decrease accordingly. Once they have learned how to swallow solids, the solid food will provide a nutritional complement to his liquid diet.

The chart below shows different types of solid food (in order of introduction)

Foods Birth to 6 Months 6-9 Months 9-12 Months
Breat Milk

Formula

 Feed on cue

Bottle feeding on demand.

 Feed on cue

Bottle feeding on demand.

 Feed on cue

Bottle feeding on demand.
Iron-fortified single-ingredient food NONE Iron-fortified infant cereal (2-4 tbsp / 25-60 ml twice per day) Continue with variety of cereals
Vegetables NONE Pureed or mashed cooked vegetables of all color. (4-6 tbsp / 60-90 ml per day) Mashed or diced cooked vegetables (6-10 tbsp / 90-150 ml per day)
Fruits NONE Pureed or mashed cooked fruits or very ripe mashed fruit.. (6-7 tbsp / 90-105 ml per day) Soft peel, diced fresh or canned fruits. (7-10 tbsp / 105-150 ml per day)
Grains NONE Dried toast or unsalted crackers Cereals, bread, rice and pasta (8-10 tbsp / 120-150 ml per day)
Meat and alternatives NONE Mashed or strained meat, fish or poultry, mashed silken tofu, well cooked legumes or egg yorks (1-3 tbsp / 15-45 ml per day) Minced or diced cooked meat such as fish or chicken. Tofu, beans or egg yorks could be included. (3-4 tbsp / 45-60 ml per day)
Milk products and milk NONE Plain yogurt, cottage cheese or grated cheese (1-2 tbsp / 15-30 ml per day) Diced/grated cheese, yogurt (2-4 tbsp / 25-60 ml per day)

Note:

Please avoid honey, added sugar and salt.

Please consult your physician about when to start nut products.

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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