Introduce Solid Foods

Weaning the Baby onto Solids

Weaning should be done gradually only after four months of exclusive breast feeding. Introduction of solids should be done to develop a wide range of tastes in the baby. Outside food should be given along with breast milk. Since breast milk protects the baby from many infections and illnesses, so it should be continued for up to at least one year.

When should solids be introduced in a child's diet

If the mother is breastfeeding the baby, she should give breast milk exclusively in the first four months, and then from the fifth month onwards, start introducing solids (see section on introducing solids).  From the fifth month onwards, breast feedingshould be continued, but you can now start weaning the baby and introduce the other foods in her diet.  Note that as the baby starts having less of the mother's milk, water should also be introduced.
 

If the baby is having breast milk, when should regular milk be introduced

Either cow's or buffalo's milk can be introduced in the child's diet around 8-9 months.  If the babyis breastfeeding well, it can be delayed even more, because external milk often does not suit very young babies. Note that you should continue breastfeedingthe baby, although the number of breast feeds may now be reduced to about 3 times a day.  Since breast milk protects the baby from many infections and illnesses, breastfeeding (along with other foods) should be continued until the baby is at least 1 year old.
 

I have been told that I should introduce only one new food each week

The purpose of weaning is to not only introduce the baby to regular food, but also to develop a wide range of tastes in the baby.  Therefore, instead of sticking to the same diet everyday, it is good to vary the diet with different foods.  However, do not introduce different foods at the same time.  In fact, introduce only one new food each week and try it for a few days.  The reason is that you will know if the child is tolerating that food well, or if it does not suit him.  For the same reason, many of the readymade foods like Gerber have infant foods with only one kind of fruit or vegetable in a bottle.

Introducing Solids  in first Year

Solid items are introduced gradually after four months. Fruits, vegetables, rice, cereals and juices are introduced slowly one by one.Fruits are mashed and given.They are  good weaning food as they are easy to digest. Then vegetables are introduced after boiling and mashing them. Read on to know the weaning foods.

Introduction of fruits, vegetables, rice, cereals and juices

As the items below are added, do not stop or reduce the ones already started.  The object is to foster more tastes and increase the quantity of food to the amount accepted. 

Fruits

Mashed fruits are a good first weaning food.  They are easy to digest and palatable to the baby.

•  Mashed bananas: Bananas should be mashed, and then given plain or mixed with malai (cream) or milk. Start with quarter banana, and increase it every week until the baby accepts it. 
• Boiled and mashed apples: You can also offer apples instead of bananas to your baby.  Take an apple and cut it into pieces, taking care to remove the center core.  Boil it and then mash it either with a spoon or in a mixer.  Start with half an apple and increase it to the limit accepted by the child.  It has been observed that apples causes constipation in many babies.  In this case, try other fruits like papaya.
• Other seasonal fruits: Other seasonal fruits like pears (to be prepared like apples), chikoo (simply mashed), papaya (simply mashed), mango (simply mashed) can also be given.  It has been observed that papaya helps soften stools if the baby is constipated.

Mashed and well-cooked vegetables:
Vegetables can be added to the baby's diet a week or so after introducing fruits. Vegetables should first be boiled, then mashed in a blender, and then strained.  (It is important to strain the vegetables until the baby is about 7 months old.  After the baby is 7 months, straining is not required because vegetable fiber is very nutritious and contains certain useful toxins).  Begin with a couple of spoons and then gradually increase the quantity every succeeding week to the limit accepted by the baby.   Dark green leafy vegetables, carrots and pumpkin are very healthy. 
There is no need to add salt to the vegetables, since there is enough sodium in the vegetables.The baby's system is not ready to handle too much salt in the first few months of life.  Ghee, butter or cooking oil can also be added for flavor as well as for calories.  Vegetables like spinach are high in iron.  In order to improve the absorption of iron into the baby's system, you need to give vitamin C.  Vegetables like tomato and cauliflower contain vitamin C and therefore can be a good complement to spinach.  Multivitamin drops also contain vitamin C and can be given once a day, right after a meal.
 

Porridge

This can be added to the baby's diet a week after starting mashed vegetables.  One to two teaspoons should be given twice a day, between two feeds around 8 am and 7 pm.  Keep increasing every 3-4 days to the amount accepted by the baby.  Home-made preparations are preferred to ready-made cereals.  There are several ways of offering home-made porridge: suji kheer (rava kheer), thin seera with ghee, dalia from broken wheat, ragi (or nachni), soaked bread in milk, mashed boiled rice with milk, phirni, etc.
 

Mashed and well-cooked khichri or dal and rice

Introduce khichri to the baby's diet after a couple of weeks.  You can add half a teaspoon of ghee, butter or cooking oil to the final preparation.  Initially, you should put the cooked khichri in a blender so that it is easy for the baby to swallow.  Then you can gradually increase the consistency to a semi-solid state so that the child's palate starts getting used to regular foods.  You can also add vegetables like carrots or spinach to the khichri.
 

Curds/yogurt

When the child is about 6 months old, curds can be introduced in the child's diet.  Start with about 2 teaspoons and then gradually increase. Avoid adding sugar or other sweeteners to the curds.
 

Soft boiled egg

Egg can be added to the baby's diet when the child is about 6-7 months.  The egg should be boiled in water for three minutes, and then cooled in running water.  First begin with one teaspoon of the yolk (yellow portion), and then gradually introducethe white portion of the egg.  The white is very high in proteins, but can also cause allergic reactions in some babies.
 

Juices

Juices made of fruits high in vitamin C, like orange and pineapple, can be added at around 7 months.  The reason for not adding them earlier is that they often do not suit very young babies.
 

Milk

After the eighth month, as the babytakes less of your milk, she needs to start getting external milk.  Either cow's milk or buffalo's milk can be given.  Do not dilute the milk with water.  If the milk contains too much fat, remove the cream.  External milk does not suit many babies initially.  They either get diarrhoea or start vomiting. They may also develop allergies like eczema (if there is a strong family history of allergies).  Breastfeeding should be continued at least until 1 year.
 

Chapati

Gradually introduce chapati in the child's diet.  One can do so either by adding one chapati in the blender with the child's vegetables, or by soaking it in dal.
 

Fish, minced meat

In the case of non-vegetarians, these foods can also be introduced, in the soup form initially.  It can later be steamed, minced and offered to the child.

Baby's Diet After One Year

After one year the child should be started on variety of foods so that it develops tastes. Cow or Buffalo's milk can be given along with seasonal fruits and vegetables. Chapati made of whole wheat should be given as it is nutritious. Read on to know more.
After the child is a year old, you should gradually let the child start getting used to foods made for the family, in terms of taste as well as consistency. 

Milk

• Start giving cow or buffalo's milk from a glass 2-3 times a day. 
• If the child does not like milk, milk preparations like fruit salad in milk, curds and cheese should be given.

Fruits

• Inexpensive seasonal fruits should be given in abundance.
• Whenever possible, avoid peeling the fruit's skin.  Fruit skins are rich in vitamins and minerals.
• Encourage the child to have fresh fruit juices, but avoid sweetening it with sugar.
• Avoid canned fruits and fruit juices; they have excessive sugar and contain preservatives.

Rice and Chapati

• Chapatis should be made from whole wheat.  (Do not throw away the bran). 
• Polished rice is not as healthy as unpolished or par-boiled rice.

Vegetables

• Green, orange, red and yellow vegetables are essential.  Scrape vegetables like potatoes instead of peeling them. 
• Use the water in which rice or vegetables have been boiled; it contains essential vitamins and minerals.
• Do not overcook vegetables.  If you want to make the vegetables soft, gently mash them with a spoon. 

Dals, Eggs and other protein food

• Make sure foods high in protein (such as pulses or dals, gram, peanuts, peas, beans, eggs) are given. 
• Sprouted gram or moong is very nutritious. 

Chocolates, cold drinks, coffee

• Chocolates, cold drinks, flavoring agents, tea, coffee, etc. should be avoided as far as possible because they contain chemicals and caffeine that can be harmful to the child. 
• These foods can also ruin the child's appetite for nutritious meals

 

Fruits (As Weaning Food)

Fruits are the best weaning foods as they are easy to digest. They should be mashed and then given.Seasonal fruits like papaya, chikoo, apples, bananas are very healthy.

Mashed fruits are a good first weaning food.They are easy to digest and palatable to baby.
 

Mashed bananas

Bananas should be mashed, and then given as such or mixed with malai (cream) or milk.  First start with a quarter banana, and increase it every week until the baby accepts it. 
 

Boiled and mashed apples

You can also offer apples instead of bananas to your baby.  Take an apple and cut it into pieces, taking care to remove the center core.  Boil it and then mash it either with a spoon or in a mixer.  Start with half an apple and increase it to the limit accepted by the child.  It has been observed that many babies get constipation with apple.  In this case, try other fruits like papaya.
 

Other seasonal fruits

Other seasonal fruits like pears (to be prepared like apples), chikoo (simply mashed), papaya (simply mashed), mango (simply mashed) can also be given.  It has been observed that papaya helps soften stools if the baby is constipated.

Salt, Sugar and other Additives

Salt and sugar should not be added to the baby's food.Sugar can be added to some food preparations and salt intake should be limited. Vegetables have sufficient amount of salt or sodium in them so external addition of salts is not advised. Read the tips on baby's food.

Should sugar be addedto the baby's food 

Sugar and other artificial sweeteners should not be added to the child's diet unnecessarily (such as in juices).  It may be added to food preparations like seera, but jaggery is definitely better than sugar, since jaggery is rich in iron.
 

When should salt be introduced

Since the baby's system is not geared to handle too much salt intakesalt in the early months, it is better to keep the baby's salt intake to a minimum.  Most vegetables already contain a sufficient amount of salt (or sodium), therefore additional salt is not required.  As therows, additional salt can be added so that when the child reaches one year of age, he is having regular food prepared for the whole family.
 

Should ghee, butter or oil be added to the child's food

There are mixed opinions on this subject.  Some doctors feel it is better to avoid all fatty additives like ghee, oil and butter until the child is at least 9 months old.  Other doctors  believe these substances are high in calories, calories that are essential for the baby's growth.  Since the child can only eat a limited amount at a time, if ghee or butter has been added to his food, he gets a lot more calories.  Ghee is preferred over butter because butter contains salt.

Rice Preparations

Rice preparations are very healthy for the baby.If vegetables and pulses are added to the rice as in khichri then it becomes a full meal and is very nutritious and filling.Rice should be cooked well till tender. Here ate some recipes.

Khichri (moong dal)

You will require 4 tablespoons of rice and 2 tablespoons of dehusked moong dal.  Prepare khichri by cooking rice and dal together, with a pinch of salt (added to taste). Once khichri is cooked, you can add 2 teaspoons of ghee, butter or cooking oil to the final preparation. You can also add vegetables like carrots or spinach to the khichri and then mash the mixture. If you want to add spinach, first boil, mash and strain it, and then add this puree to the khichri and stir it.  Cool the khichri and serve lukewarm.
When the baby is still young, you should mash the entire mixture in a blender so that it is easy for the baby to swallow.  You can gradually increase the consistency to a semi-solid state so that the child's palate starts getting used to regular foods.
 

Mashed boiled rice with milk (similar to kheer):

This is a simple recipe to ensure that the child gets rice (for carbohydrates) and milk (for calcium).  Mix 1 cup of boiled rice with 1 cup of milk and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Cook it on the gas for 10 minutes (keep stirring) and allow the mixture to thicken.  Cool and serve lukewarm.  You can also add badaam (almonds) scapings and elaichi powder for taste.
 

Pulav

First prepare the base for the pulav by sauting onions, cumin and mustard seeds in oil. Then add onions, potatoes, peas, carrots and any other vegetables and cook them with a little water until they are tender.  Once the vegetables are cooked, add boiled rice and heat mixture for a couple of minutes.  Cool and serve warm.

Tips for Making Baby Food at Home

Homemade baby food is very good for the health and right growth and development of your baby. You need to be extra careful while preparing food for your baby at home. Read on to find some useful preventive tips for preparing baby food at home right here.

Making baby food at home not only helps in saving money but also keeps you relaxed that your baby has received what is good for him. Instead of buying packed food, it is good and healthy to prepare food for your child at home. It makes the baby get adjusted with the type of food that your entire family has. 

Just keep in mind that making of baby food is not a difficult job. You simply have to take care of the freshness and nutrients of the food and the cook taking necessary precautions. When you give your little one the homemade food, you know exactly what you are feeding your child.

Benefits of Making Baby Food at Home

Here are some benefits of making baby food at home.

• Since you prepare the food, you know what is in the food and how was it prepared. You are sure that the food is safe and healthy.

• It is economical. Homemade food is cheaper as compared to the tinned and packed foods. You can save a lot if you prepare food for your little one at home.

• You can give varieties of food whereas the tinned food will be of the same taste all the time. Perhaps your child may get bored with that taste or may be he will not get adjusted with the homemade food if it is started too late.

Tips and Precautions for Making Baby Food at Home

Read About Baby’s Diet

First, you need to prepare yourself. If you know how to cook food for babies that are less than one year of age, it is good. You can start without any problem. If not, try to read and find about what is good and healthy for your child.

Keep Your Hands Clean

Before cooking food for your child, wash your hands with warm water and soap and keep a clean towel to wipe your hands. Do not forget to wash the utensils before using them even if they are washed and kept.

Always Wash Fruits and Vegetables

Preparing for food making is also different and essential. Wash the fruits and vegetables thoroughly. It is good to peel and dice after washing and then cook the vegetables. Remove any hard or chewable piece before and after cooking also.

Take Care While Blending Food

It is good to blend the baby food after cooking. Make sure your blending jar is clean and free of any kind of spices and seasoning.

Cook the Food Properly

You should steam and cook it for more time than you do for younger kids. This should be done at least till the child is 10 months old.

Put Right Amount of Water

When you are cooking food for infants, make sure the water level is medium so that you do not have to drain the water or there is any shortage of water while cooking. Balance your cooking between undercooking and overcooking. When cooking spinach, carrots, beets and turnips, you should always boil them because the nitrates are potentially harmful. It can be removed only by boiling them.

Avoid Additives

Try to avoid adding salt, sugar and fat to the baby food when you cook it at home. These are unnecessary additions and should be avoided as far as possible.

Cooking baby food at home is not a different activity. You simply have to take some extra precautions and be careful while cooking food for your little one. After all the child below 10 months is very delicate and slight carelessness can lead to serious problems also. Just keep in mind that you prepare food keeping in mind the age of the child and see that the child is readily taking and likes the texture of homemade food.