Diet for 6-12 month infants

It’s every mother’s concern, what kind of food can be introduced to baby starting to eat supplementary food. What is good for my growing baby and what can benefit his long term health. It’s true that nutrition in first year has long term consequences affecting health throughout life. An adequately nourished infant is more likely to achieve normal mental and physical development.

The nutritional requirements in terms of body weight are highest during the first year of life because of the rapid growth and development.During 6-12 months the energy requirement is 98kcal/kg body weight. An average infants double his birth weight by the age of one year and triples by the end of first year. Satisfactory weight gain is one of the simple indication of successful feeding of baby.

Dt. Farzana Chauhan of All About Diet says, "There is increased trend of bottle feeding due to convenience which results in increased sickness and childhood obesity. Infants are ready to take supplementary feed by the age of 4 to 6 months. Before that exclusive breast feeding is advisable."

Why exclusive breast feeding till six months is recommended?

The breast milk is nutritionally adequate.
It contains substances that can protect infant against infections and provide immunity.
It’s safe and hygienic.
Its helps in developing bond between mother and child

Diet for 12-18 Month Old Baby

Diet for 18-24 Month Old Baby

7 Milk Recipes for Toddlers

5 Yummy Snack Recipes for Toddlers

Know more about Introducing Solid Food to Babies.

No Salt and Sugar For Babies Till One Year !

Tips to increase appetite in babies and kids


Dietary guidelines for 4-6 months baby
 
After six months along with breast milk gradually supplementary feeding can be started. Supplementary foods are the foods introduced to supplement breast milk. The foods should be pureed and strained properly before giving it to child. To start with rice kanji and dal water is preferable. Other options include, vegetables and fruit puree, non-wheat cereal and unsweetened curd. The quantity, consistency, flavour and potential allergen needs to be considered. The aim is to accustom the infant take food from spoon. Increasing the quantity of solid foods and frequency depends upon the infant’s willingness to take the solid. Food should be bland and smooth. The common food allergen includes, cow’s milk, egg, nuts, citrus fruits, meat and fish.

Some suggestions:

Mashed/ strained fruits: apple, banana, pear, peaches etc.
Pureed/ blanched and mashed vegetables: potato, spinach, carrot, green peas
Thin dals and soft rice khichdi
Rice kheer
Germinated cereal porridge
Start with small portion say 2-3 tsp at a time, then gradually increase it to ½ cup (i.e. 7-9 tbsp.) two to three times a day.

Recipe suggestion:

Dal water

Ingredient

Moong dal                 3tbsp.

Method:

Pressure cook moong dal in cooker by adding 1 cups of water. Cook for five minutes on low flame and give to child using spoon.


Dietary guidelines for 6-9 months baby

During this period baby develop the grasping ability and tries to pick objects from thumb and forefinger, can transfer the things from one hand to another, put whatever in front of them into his mouth and try to chew it by moving his jaws.

At 8 months or more there is increase in baby’s appetite. Baby should be introduced to three big meals and three small meal pattern. Consistency should change from soft lumps to a mashed texture. Small amount of slat in cooked food items should be added. Avoid adding too much of sugar to foods.Finger foods like small banana, boiled eggs, potato sticks, small piece of cheese, paneer can be given. Protein rich food like properly cooked and mashed meat, chicken and fish can also be given.

How much to be given per day?

Half cup cereal

One fourth cup dairy product

Half cup vegetables and fruits

One fourth cup lentils and beans, mashed.

And 2 tbsp. of non-veg food items can be given per day.

Recipe suggestion:

Mix flour porridge

Ingredients

Ragi                        1tsp

Wheat flour              1 tsp

Milk                         half cup

Sugar                      1tsp

Method:

Combine all the ingredients and cook it for one minute after boil.


Dietary guidelines for 9-12 months baby

After 9 months a pattern of three meals a day should be followed. Food form should progress from mashed to mince to a finely chopped texture. More of finger food should be given at this age so that he can pick and eat by himself. By this time infant strengthen their ability to swallow food easily and have developed more teeth. They can now eat food using spoon, and notice what others are eating, and wants to eat same.

By this age they can eat cut fruits and vegetables, can bite soft vegetables like peas cucumber. Can eat soft cheese, curd, macaroni, eggs, paneer etc.

How much to be given per day?

¾ cup cereal

½ cup dairy product

½ cup fruit

½ cup vegetable

¼ cup non veg items

½ cup pulse

Recipe suggestion:

Muthia

Ingredients

Bean               2tbsp

Methi             1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method:

Make a dough out of above mentioned ingredients. Using hands make a cylindrical shape of it and steam. This muthia can a nutritious finger food for your child.

Tips:
Start with introducing single food at a time. Carefully notice if baby is able to tolerate it or not. Watch out for any food allergies baby is experiencing.

Babies should be breastfed exclusively for 6 months

Breast milk is nature’s perfect food for babies.

Think about it: mother nature has had more than 2.5 million years to figure this one out.  Breast milk contains the perfect mix of fat, protein and carbohydrate for the babies developing physiology.  It contains protective substances that give her immunity to diseases.

In the early stages of a baby’s life, breast milk meets all of her nutrient needs.  No other foods or fluids – including water – are necessary.  (Breast milk itself is 88% water, which more than satisfies an infant’s thirst).

A report called Infant and Young Child Feeding issues by the World Health Organization summarized research indicating that infants should be breasted exclusively for the first 6 months of their lives.  

Babies exclusively breastfed for 6 months have 8.6 times lower risk of diarrheal illness.  A study from India found that deaths from diarrhea and pneumonia could be decreased by one-third if infants were exclusively (rather than partially) breastfed for the first 4 months.  Sadly, only 35% of infants are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life.

Breastfeeding also confers intermediate- and long-term benefits on both the child and the mother, including helping to protect children against a variety of acute and chronic disorders.

Infants not breastfed are between 6 and 10 times more likely not to survive the first months of life.  Formula-fed infants also have increased risk of long-term diseases with an immunological basis, such as asthma, type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and childhood leukemia.

Other studies suggest that obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease are more common later in life in kids not breastfed, and that kids that are formula-fed on average have cognitive scores 3 points lower than those breastfed.

Breastfeeding should continue (with solid food) for at least two years

In the same WHO report mentioned above, the authors recommended that breastfeeding continue along with the introduction of solid foods (i.e. “complementary feeding”) for at least 23 months (two years).  This is the minimum period required to adequately nourish the growing baby.  Some parents may wish to continue breastfeeding beyond this point.

At six months of age, the increased energy needs of the infant start to exceed the energy provided by breast milk, so that’s the time to begin to introduce foods.  It is not okay to continue to breastfeed exclusively at this point.  At the same time, breastfeeding should still continue on-demand throughout the complementary feeding period (up to 2 years of age).  Breast milk continues to provide higher quality nutrients than complementary foods, and also protective factors that guard against childhood illness and reduce the risk of chronic diseases later in life.

The WHO recommends that breast milk provide at least 50 percent of calories for a child between 6 and 12 months of age, and one-third of calories between 12 and 24 months of age.

How To Safely Smoke Cigarette In Front Of Your Baby

A baby's health is considered above other parental responsibilities as always supreme. But this safeguard on their health is always constantly threatened by parents who smoke the traditional cigarettes.

Traditional cigarettes are well known to have within them tobacco and tar which are a threat to a baby's health making it at great risk of getting fatal chest problems amongst other diseases. On the other hand, the emitted smoke, its odor is plainly offensive to the child and may be the main reason why it cries as often as it drives you nuts. Moreover their always is in this cigarettes a residue of a foul acrid smell that irritates the baby's senses and eyes.

Whereas, traditional cigarettes posses cancer causing agents; termed as carcinogens, there as appeared a new sensation in the nature of electronic cigarettes. This may give sufficient answers to how a smoker may safely smoke a cigarette in front of his or her baby.

 It is generally agreed by all and sundry that as far as traditional smoking goes, there is no way it would ever be safe to smoke in front of a child without directly exposing him/her to fatal danger. Nevertheless, electronic is said to be safe in many ways.

No Chemicals.

Electronic cigarettes don't emit the usual traditional chemicals that are carcinogenic and that consequently cause cancer. So as you smoke it, it is safe for the baby and also safe for you. Besides, tobacco and tar that are the basic component of traditional cigarettes are just nonexistent.

Harmless smoke

We've so far established that the smoke from the traditional cigarettes is dangerous to the baby's sleeping, seeing and sense abilities. However, the electronic cigarettes yes emit smoke but this fumes are simply and basically harmless vapor that end up evaporating to thin air and so fast you wont even realize leave alone the baby. In addition the smoke is not visible and doesn't irritate the eyes.

Smoked anywhere

Smoking is very addictive. In this regard by extension, addicted smokers have perfected the uncanny habit of smoking dangerously in front of their babies even when it is legally not accepted. To help such people, who refuse to quit smoking or are willing to leave but the withdrawal symptoms scare them away, presented is a harmless electronic cigarette that can satisfy their attachment to smoking and still retain its safety especially towards their babies. It is even examined and disclosed that the same sensational, emotional and physical pleasures are inherent in the cigarette.

Non offensive

Ask the parents how they feel with babies who incessantly cry denying them their hard earned sleep. The answer will be universal, hell on earth. A contributing factor to a baby's irritability may be the odor, acrid smell which can be taken care of by using electronic cigarettes.

Safe

Safety is paramount, as mentioned earlier, to a baby's wellbeing. After considering the factors that reduce the health risks through the use of electronic smoking, no cancer causing agents, no acrid smell irritating smell and senses, no chemicals causing other maladies, not flammable, it is easy to therefore say it is safe.

Author,

John

Baby Health - Understanding SIDS

Perhaps the most frightening time for a new parent is the first few months as you discover about general baby health and understanding SIDS. Mainstream health professionals do tend to paint a bleak picture if you don't follow their advice. But how good is their advice?

SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome, is a comparatively new problem and it's worth doing some investigation yourself to discover the possible causes. It only started to become common after mass vaccination was fully established.

In Japan, when the minimum age to vaccinate a child was raised from two months to two years, SIDS disappeared. So let's examine this.

Babies are born without an immune system. They get passive immunity from their mother's milk. When babies are weaned, their immune system starts to develop. But this only happens when they are exposed to pathogens - virus', bacteria and the like.

This means that they are likely to succumb to the pathogen, to a lesser or greater extent. This is how their immune system learns. So, on the surface, it looks as if your baby is unhealthy. But, in fact, they are creating a potentially healthy immune system that will stand them in good stead all their life. An analogy would be learning to ride a bicycle - you fall off a few times before you get the hang of it.

The idea behind vaccination is to stimulate the immune system. If there is no immune system as yet, at two months, then the vaccine can't act.

Statistically many, perhaps most, cases of SIDS occur soon after a vaccine, as Japan discovered. Vaccines don't come without their side effects. The ingredients would be considered highly toxic in any other, less emotionally charged, area of health - aluminium, mercury, other species tissue, adjuvants to mention just a few.

The medical profession consider this 'wastage' acceptable because they feel that the benefits far outweigh the downside. As a parent, you may beg to differ.

So what can you do to support the healthy development of your baby's immune system without risk?

1. As a pregnant and breast feeding mother, make sure your diet is healthy, natural, balanced, without processed food and limit animal protein. This will increase your level of immunity, which is then passed to your baby.


2. Only consume plant based supplements, rather than the common isolated and synthetic ones that currently flood the marketplace.


3. Make quality time for your baby, showing patience and devotion. Let other aspects of your life that prevent this go, at least for the time being.


4. Mentally stimulate your baby with trips in nature - the park, the beach, woodlands, etc.


5. Limit exposure to synthetic stimulation, such as TV.


6. Use homeopathy as the main treatment for your baby. Homeopathy is natural, risk free, without side effects and above all, gentle. Homeopathic treatment is energetic, elegant, effective and economical.

Madeleine Innocent is a full time consultant homeopath based in Perth, Western Australia. She also coaches people, both on- and off-line, on how to use some of the common home prescribing remedies. For more information, visit: Homeopathy

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6349732