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When should you introduce red meat to your baby?
Iron is very important for your baby’s mental and physical development. A baby is born with a store of iron that lasts for about 6 months. After this it is important that your baby gets the iron she needs from her diet. Iron in foods of animal origin like red meat or poultry are much better absorbed than iron in foods of plant origin like green vegetables or cereal.
When should I introduce fish to my baby?
It’s hard to find jars of puree containing fish, however, oily fish like salmon, trout, fresh tuna and sardines are particularly important for the development of your baby’s brain, vision and nervous system. A baby’s brain triples in size in the first year and so its important to include oily fish in your baby’s diet from 6 months. Ideally your baby should give your baby oily fish twice a week.
Should we follow the same healthy eating guidelines for adults when feeding babies?
Babies and toddlers needs are different from an adult’s – a low-fat, high fibre diet is good for adults but not appropriate for babies or young children as they need more fat and concentrated sources of calories and nutrients to fuel their rapid growth. They shouldn’t be given too much fibre either as it tends to be bulky and can fill them up before they get all the nutrients they need for proper growth and development. Excess fibre can also remove valuable minerals and can cause other problems like diarrhoea. Babies should eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables to make sure they have plenty of vitamins and minerals in their diet. After the first few weeks of weaning, make sure that as well as fruit and vegetable purees, you give foods that are higher in calories like mashed avocado, fruit mixed with Greek Yoghurt or vegetables in a cheese sauce.
My baby keeps on bringing up her food and seems to be in pain when she eats what can I do?
Its possible that your baby has reflux. This is when a weak valve at the top of a baby’s stomach allows their feed along with gastric juices to come back up , causing symptoms including vomiting and heartburn. You should take your baby to your GP and if she is diagnosed with reflux there are some ways to help her for example Hold your baby in an upright position during and about 20 minutes after each feed. Raise the head end of your baby’s cot a few inches off the ground this will mean that gravity will help keep the feed down. Try giving smaller more frequent feeds so as not to overload your child’s stomach In more severe cases you may need to give a p[rethickened formula or some antacid medicine. What sort of finger foods should I give my child, she is 9 months ? I like to give fruit and vegetables as finger foods. To begin with I would steam veg like carrot sticks as although a baby might be able to bote off a chunk , he may not be able to chew and swallow it and could choke. Steamed cauliflower and broccoli florets are also good. Introduce soft fruits to begin with like banana or pear and then move onto apple and other hard fruits but don’t give whole grapes or fruits with stones or pips . Dried fruits like ready to eat dried apricots, raisins and a0ple rings are also good. Babies who are teething will like chewing on chilled cucumber sticks as something cold helps sooth sore gums. Fingers of toast and rice cakes also make good finger food. You can also make mini sandwiches with fillings like mashed banana or cream cheese. Good protein foods are sticks of cheese.. I also like to make mini meatballs, chicken balls and fish balls as some babies get to a stage where they will only eat with their fingers.
My baby suffers from eczema – does she need a special diet?
Infant eczema is pretty common but many children grow out of it. Oily fish like salmon can help with the inflammatory aspects of eczema. You may find that some acidic foods like oranges or tomatoes can irritate eczema, The cow’s milk protein in your baby’s formula can trigger eczema so speak to your GP or health visitor to see if you would be better off using a different formula. You may also need to limit dairy foods so use sunflower oil or olive oil instead of butter. And bad news, chocolate can also aggravate eczema
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