Sweet Pea Post
what to feed YOUR SWEET PEA
Below is info I found at both Baby Center and Baby Cubes...
When Should I Start Feeding My Baby Solid Foods?
Your baby's body in its first few months was designed to digest breast milk, or something similar to it. And, calorie for calorie, no solid food has the nutritional quality of breast milk or formula for your young baby. If you feed your baby solid foods too early, her milk intake may decrease. You'd be replacing milk, the best food for your baby, with foods that are nutritionally inferior and not as digestible. Solid foods should not replace breast milk, they should complement it.
Why You Should Wait Until At Least 6 Months ...
Your baby is not physically ready to eat solid foods until he is around 6 months old. Although your mother or grandmother will strongly disagree, saying that she gave her babies solids when they were only 2 weeks old, there are several reasons to wait at least 6 months before starting your baby on solid foods.
Reason 1. Your baby's digestive system is too immature for solid foods before 6 months. Although he can suck very well, he does not have a lot of saliva to help digest food. Until he is at least 3-4 months old, his system lacks certain digestive enzymes, such as an enzyme called amylase, needed for digesting cereals (starches or complex carbohydrates). His body has trouble digesting some fats before he is 6 months old. Some foods will pass through him undigested and end up in his diaper. And some high protein foods, like eggs, meat, and even cow's milk, given too early may cause problems with your baby's immature kidneys.
Reason 2. Your baby must have a way of telling you that he is satiated. He lets you know that he is finished breast or bottle feeding by stopping his sucking or by falling asleep. But until he becomes able to turn his head to refuse food, which occurs at around 4 or 5 months, he has no way of letting you know he has had enough solid food. Because of this inability, some people consider feeding solid foods to a too-young baby a method of force feeding. This practice can interfere with the body's self-regulating eating mechanism and lead to overweight later in life. As with adults, your baby should eat only when he is hungry.
Reason 3. Solid foods will not make your baby sleep through the night. Studies show that of all babies sleep through at 3 months of age, whether or not they are eating solid foods. Even if solid foods will help your baby sleep longer, that is still not a good reason to begin solid foods early. I know sleep deprivation is hell, and most of us have been there. Hang in there. One night he'll sleep right through, and then you can start feeling normal again.Reason 4. If you are breastfeeding and give your baby solid foods too early, your milk production may be decreased.
Important Date...March 10th Early Pick Up...4/09-Closed
Remember...
I go to Lynn Rd Elementary every day at 9am & at 4pm to drop off & pick up Grace.
What foods to avoid...
Salt---Don’t add any salt to the foods you give your baby because a young baby’s kidneys can’t cope with it. Some foods, such as cheese, sausages and bacon, are high in salt, so remember to limit how much of these foods you let your baby eat.
Baby foods aren’t allowed to contain added salt. But any foods you buy that aren’t aimed at babies, especially sauces and ready-made porridge, can often be high in salt, so also limit how much of these you let your baby eat and remember to check the label.
It’s best not to encourage a liking for salt at any age, so when you’re cooking for the family, leave out the salt so your baby can share the food. This is healthier for the rest of the family too.
Most of the salt we eat comes from the food products we buy, so check food labels so you can compare products. Food labels often give figures for sodium rather than salt. Choose lower salt (or lower sodium) versions for your baby whenever you can. Babies under a year should have less than 1g salt per day, which is less than 0.4g sodium. You can use these figures as a guide when you’re checking food labels.
Honey---Don’t give honey, even for easing coughs, to your baby until they are a year old. Very occasionally honey contains a type of bacteria that can produce toxins in babies' intestines. This can cause a very serious illness called infant botulism. Honey is also a sugar, which means, like sugar, it can encourage a sweet tooth and lead to tooth decay.
Nuts---Don’t give any whole nuts, including peanuts, to children under five because they could cause choking. Also see peanut allergy. Low-fat, low-calorie and high-fiber ---It isn’t advisable to give ‘low-fat’, ‘low-calorie’ or ‘high-fibre’ foods to babies (also see the advice in Drinks). Babies have small tummies, but are growing fast. They need foods that provide lots of calories and nutrients in a small amount of food, rather than bulky high-fibre foods.Fat gives them energy and provides some vitamins that are only found in fat. So choose full-fat dairy foods.
Don’t give your baby high-fibre versions of foods, especially those with added bran. It stops babies from absorbing important minerals such as calcium and iron. It’s better not to give your baby brown rice, wholemeal pasta or bran-enriched breakfast cereals until they are older, although you can give some brown bread.
Fish--Avoid giving any shark, swordfish or marlin. This is because the levels of mercury in these fish can affect a baby's growing nervous system. You should also avoid giving raw shellfish to babies to reduce their risk of getting food poisoning.
Don't forget how Helpful the Le Leche League is for nursing moms...
