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| Babies & Toddler Information |
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How to Make Your Own Baby Food and Save a Fortune!
Baby in a highchair, mom in front with a small spoon and a jar of baby food. It looks like something right out of a parenting magazine, and it's a scene that is played out several times a day in the majority of homes with small babies. Unfortunately, it's also a powerful marketing image that can cost a family a great deal of money in the long run. The Convenience Factor Most parents would say the main reason for using commercial jarred baby food is the convenience aspect. After all, with the busy lifestyle many of us have today, no one has time to specially prepare a meal for each member of the family. It doesn't have to be a special event to create your own baby food, however. Baby can usually eat what the rest of the family is eating with very little special preparation. Good Nutrition Everyone worries about proper nutrition for growing babies. Iron, calcium, and vitamin D all of these things are legitimate concerns in children's nutrition. However, fortified and processed foods aren't necessarily better than whole foods. Homemade baby food, created from fresh ingredients, offers your child superior nutrition as well as encourages a taste for simple, unprocessed foods a taste that will possibly prevent obesity-related problems later in life. It's not necessary to offer commercial baby foods in order to have a healthy child. Economics Why pay more for an inferior product? Beginning baby food often runs between forty and seventy cents for two ounces. It's entirely possible to purchase half a pound of produce for the same amount, and baby will reap the benefits of eating fresh, nutritious food. Buying produce in bulk can result in even more savings, and even frozen produce is preferable to what you find in the jars. Getting Started It's important to know when baby is actually ready for solids. Introducing solids too early can lead to an increased likelihood of food intolerances and food allergies. Most medical associations agree that starting solids around six months of age is ideal, and many people find delaying solids for allergy-prone babies is even better. Signs of readiness for solids include:
What About Allergies? Experts recommend introducing new foods between three days and a week apart. This helps parents and caregivers identify signs of a food allergy or intolerance. Common signs of food allergy/intolerance are:
Ideally, it is best to introduce foods that are less likely to produce an allergic reaction in baby. Avoiding foods such as egg whites, certain nuts such as peanuts, cow's milk, corn, wheat, and some berries such as strawberries is recommended, as they are more likely to cause reactions. Instead, start with foods that are easier on baby's system. Some good ideas include:
Tools of the Trade Fancy equipment isn't necessary to make healthy food for your baby. Things that might be helpful include a blender, a food mill, a steamer basket and ice cube trays if you want to freeze small portions. Most people have blenders already in their kitchens, and a food mill (or baby grinder) isn't necessary if you have a good blender or food processor. Steamer baskets can be found in most grocery stores for only a few dollars, and fit easily into saucepans. Many beginner foods require nothing more than a small pan and a fork. Sequencing Many doctors recommend starting your baby on rice cereal first. Many parents find, however, that fruits go over better for beginning eaters. It is a myth that babies will prefer sweet things if they are given fruits first nature's first food, breast milk, is naturally sweet, and that is what baby is accustomed to. Banana is a wonderful first food, as its creamy consistency is similar to mother's milk. After introducing banana, try another fruit or vegetable. Continue adding fruits and vegetables until baby has a wide variety of tastes. Then consider adding whole grains in the form of cereal. Many whole grains have naturally occurring iron, so there is no need to supplement baby's iron unless there is a medical indication for doing so. Brown rice, oats, and barley are all good choices. Next, introduce a meat or poultry such as beef or chicken. If you are a vegetarian, introduce another protein source such as tofu or lentils. As time goes on, introduce a combination of tastes, such as cereal mixed with applesauce or peas and carrots. This is also a great time to introduce finger foods, especially if baby has teeth. As baby learns to self-feed, you can move away from making purees and offer small baby-sized portions of the family meal. Getting Started Bananas make an ideal food for a baby starting solids. To serve, let bananas ripen well (the more ripe, the better brown spots are desirable), cut into small chunks and mash with a fork. Pears are an excellent source of fiber and can be cooked like apples: peel and cut into chunks. Place in small saucepan and just cover with water. Cook until tender. These can then be mashed with a fork, run through a food mill, processed in a blender or food processor. They can also be offered as finger food if they are cut into small enough chunks. Carrots, another popular first food, should be scraped with a vegetable peeler, sliced and steamed or boiled until soft. Process in blender or food mill. Carrots can be a choking hazard for children, so do use caution if offering as a finger food. Sweet potatoes are extremely easy to make, and one potato can last a long time if frozen after cooking. Place sweet potato in a microwave for about eight minutes, remove and let cool. Open up and serve right out of the peel the potato is very soft and needs no further processing. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of B6. Winter squash such as acorn or butternut makes an excellent first food. Cut squash in half and clean. Place in one half inch of water in a baking pan and bake at three hundred and fifty degrees for half an hour. Use a spoon to scoop out squash and feed directly to baby. Avocadoes are an extremely nutrient dense food and offers important vitamins and minerals such as iron and potassium. Cut avocado in half around the pit, grab each half and give it a twist. Scoop out meat and mash or dice. Making cereal for baby is very easy. Take a cup of the whole grain if your choice such as brown rice, oats, or barley and process in the blender until the desired consistency is reached, usually about two minutes for very young babies. Store in an airtight container. To cook, mix with liquid of your choice and heat over medium heat on stove until thick. Enjoyment Enjoy this fun stage in baby's development, and rest assured that baby is getting superior nutrition and developing good eating habits which will last a lifetime! About The Author Meredith Edwards-Cornwall owns and operates Attached Mamas at http://www.attachedmamas.com, which caters to families looking to achieve health naturally. Remedies for colic, morning sickness, infertility and more. She is also a designer for the web and print and owns Beach Designs Studio at http://www.beachdesigns.net.
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Alternative Medicine Theory of Child Cognitive Development Jean Piaget has allowed us many insights into child cognitive development and his valuable research made great inroads concerning brain functioning in general. According to Piaget and his theories on child cognitive development, children are born with a great desire to interact with and understand the world around them. Healthy Baby Food - When is the Best Time to Start Consuming Juice? Mother's milk is the best choice for healthy baby food. However, there will be a time when the baby needs much more nutrients as they grow up and mother's milk can not accomplish it anymore. This will be the time your baby needs some soft food from cereal, fruits or vegetables. Your Little Gourmet: Babys Fifth Month Guide Baby smiled her real smiles at you and you were so charmed, you decided nothing could be better. But baby has more in store for you in her fifth month. Endless entertainment coupled with increasing interest in her surroundings makes your five month-old baby an ideal playmate. Babies Suffering For Colic About one quarter of babies will suffer from colic from around age 3 weeks - and you will suffer too! All babies cry of course, but those with colic will cry relentlessly for at least three hours several times a week, usually in the evening when your partner gets home from work. This can be a stressful time for you all, but it will go away of its own accord once baby reaches about 12 weeks. In the meantime there are some things you can try to ease her discomfort and the decibel level. Potty Training Boys - How To Potty Train Boys - Do You Teach Them to Sit or Stand? I am asked this question by many parents - they all want to know whether to start potty training boys to urinate standing up or sitting down. Five Ready Signs to Start Potty Training Starting new things for your child sometime difficult, but you still have to do it. Potty training is one phase that your child has to go through. So, find out when is your child ready for potty training. Here are those five ready signs: Baby's First Year What to Expect As a new Mom, you are probably wondering about many things: how will he react to his new surroundings? when will she sleep for more than 2 hours? what can I expect in the following year? an so many other questions..... The Mystery Around Colic You are a proud parent of a happy and healthy 2 week old baby. You and your spouse have both now gotten into a routine that is comfortable concerning nightly feedings, changing and enjoying your new little one. Your life seems perfect. The Best Way To Give Medicine To A Baby So you carefully fill a spoon with medicine for baby, move it near her mouth and the mouth doesn't open! Maybe it's the smell, but there's no way she is going to open her mouth. Frustrating isn't it. Where can you rest the spoon without spilling the contents! You haven't got a hand free to try to open baby's mouth. There's only one winner in that battle, and it's not you! Shared Dancing has Benefits for Babies and New Moms Alike Every parent knows the calming effects on their baby of rocking and gentle motion. After all, who among us has not paced the floor at 2 am trying to entice a little one back to sleep by rocking, bouncing or swaying? Baby Bedding Wants Vs. Bedding Baby Needs If you walk into any baby store or online baby site you will find a multitude of styles and designs of baby bedding available. There is something for every nursery dcor ever thought of by a new mother. If it's animals you want, there's everything from apes to zebras. If you want an angel motif, there are a hundred styles of angels. If you want nursery rhymes, just pick one and you will find a matching motif. How Toddlers Can Benefit From Using Computers It's a fact of life that we live in an electronic age and computers are a bigger part of our lives than ever. It's unlike anything we've seen in the past and kids are learning to use computers at younger ages. There are steps a parent can take to ensure that their toddlers receive important skill-building benefits from their computer experience. Language Development In Your Baby From birth to one year your baby will go from crying to cooing to talking. Those are amazing milestones for your baby to accomplishment in such a short period of time as he develops his speech and language skills. How to Save Money on Wedding and Baby Shower Favors Planning on having a wedding or baby shower soon? Getting favors is a nice way of saying thank you to your guests for coming. Here are some tips for saving money when purchasing baby shower or wedding favors. Whats With Celebrity Baby Names? It seems that the days of naming your son or daughter with your own name and adding a second, third or a fourth sign in roman numerals at the end are fading away. This seems to be especially the case with celebrities. The more unique, the better! As to whether celebrities are simply a little loopy, or whether they simply like the attention that a unique baby name will bring, we do not know. What we do know is that the names just keep getting crazier and crazier. Below is a list of some of our favorite celebrity baby names over the years. The Personality Traits of a Leo Baby Your Leo Baby.. The Reflux / Asthma Connection Most babies and kids with reflux will have typical symptoms of reflux (spitting up or vomiting, excessive crying and irritability, etc) but some do not express any outward symptoms. They are referred to as having silent reflux. Their only symptom may then become asthma and many doctors may not realize the link between reflux and asthma so the reflux never gets diagnosed or treated. The child's asthma can then be difficult to control with the normal medications. White Noise and 10 other Soothing Sounds for Calming a Colicky Infant The crying oh, the crying. A colicky baby can really drive you to the edge. Failed attempts to soothe her crying may leave you wondering if you are cut out to be a parent after all. But, don't worry, you are. You just need to arm yourself with some tools to battle each colic-crying outburst. The Personality Traits of a Sagittarius Baby Your Sagittarius Baby.. Baby Gift Guide Having a baby is one of the most amazing things than any couple can possibly do. The parents look at their child and see a little living, breathing miracle. Therefore it is only right that the occasion is celebrated.
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