Archive for the 'Feeding & Nutrition' Category

Infant vitamins are the essential organic substances that are required for growth, functioning of the baby and maintenance.

Food supplies the necessary vitamins because the body cannot produce it.

Vitamin D is exceptional to it as it is produced by the sunlight when our skin is exposed to the sun.

Infant vitamins also contain the four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and water soluble vitamins i.e. vitamin B (folate, niacin, biotin and pantothenic acid) to ensure proper nutrition.

Vitamin supplementation is not needed for the healthy infants taking the formula, unless or until directed by the pediatrician. High doses of certain vitamins cause adverse effects on the children’s health.

High dose of vitamin A causes vomiting, head ache, brain swelling, bone abnormalities and liver damage. High dose of vitamin D leads to heart and kidney damage, and high levels of calcium in blood.

So the high dose vitamins should not be given to children and infants without the advice of the pediatrician.

Premature babies and infants with low birth weight should be supplemented with infant vitamins and special formulas. The specialized formulas should contain more calories per ounce than that of the routine formula.

Toddler food consists of ½ to ¼ portion of the adult food.

It is better to give some portion of food and let your child ask for more food.

Appetite may vary, sometimes they may eat more and the other meal he may eat like a bird. Children can know how much to eat. Keep this in mind.

Toddler food may not be more as their stomachs are small and they cannot eat much. They need along with the meal one or two snacks during the day. About midway between the meals, offer the healthy snacks. The child has to be fed with the snacks when he is hungry and not for entertainment.

Juice and milk are the good snack items but do not give over quantities of them. As these foods are sweet they should not be given very often. If your child drinks more soft drinks, then he will not eat the solid food. Other drinks like pop, fruits, tea or coffee should not be given to the toddlers.

To wean your toddler from bottle to cup:

By the end of first year, the child may be given off the bottle and well on the cup. Introducing the cup can be done slowly by giving the water and juice in the cup.

In infant feeding, the milk is fed by breast feeding.

For the first six months of life, the breast milk is the best food.

The babies who are breast fed will be healthier through out their lives.

The first milk produced by the breast is known as colostrums that are rich in antibodies and other substances that protects from illness and infections.

Breast feeding in infants:

If you eat well more milk will be produced. When the baby is fed, the body produces more milk to replace it. If your baby is fed with other fluids, then the milk remains in the breast and no more milk is produced.

Infant feeding in the initial days should be breast milk. If the infant has jaundice, he will be recovered quickly with breast feeding.

Breast feeding prevents illnesses like diarrhea, chest infection and ear infection. Mother is also benefitted by infant feeding through breast. Osteoporosis, ovarian cancer and breast cancer are much less among the women who breast fed their babies.

Positions in breast feeding: When you are a new mother the following things should be observed carefully:

• Sit down comfortably

Proper nutrition is essential for your toddler because he will be growing day by day and necessary nutrients are essential for them to obtain proper growth.

Let me tell you the daily menu that should be followed by you in order to provide required nutrients for your toddler.

Toddler nutrition-Daily menu for your toddler:

Breakfast:

• Cereal bread/toast
• Milk

Morning snack time:

• Piece of fruit
• Milk

Lunch:

• Sandwich containing meat, chicken, fish, cheese, baked
• Beans or egg
• Yogurt/milk

Afternoon snack time:

• Slice of bread
• 1 glass of juice

Dinner:

• A small portion of chicken, fish, meat or an egg.
• A small portion of potato /rice or pasta and 1 or 2 other vegetables.

If you follow this menu daily then you can able to give the required toddler nutrition essential for the growth of your baby.

Tips that should be followed by you for feeding your toddler to attain complete toddler nutrition:

• Try to offer meals and snacks for your child at regular time schedule by allowing 2 to 3 hours gap between meals and snacks.

Giving proper food for your baby is the essential aspect. The growth of your baby can be enhanced with necessary proteins essential for your baby. Here are some of the baby food products by Gerber, which will provide necessary proteins and vitamins for your little one.

Gerber 1st foods

Gerber 1st foods consists of two categories namely fruits and vegetables.

These foods should be given when your baby is ready to progress beyond cereal. These foods are the perfect introduction for fruits and vegetables.

The fruits are fortified to meet 45% of the daily value of vitamin C and vegetables used in this product are 100% natural. The various flavors present in fruits are bananas, applesauce, pears, peaches, assorted fruits 4-pack and prunes.

The various flavors present in vegetables are green beans, carrots, squash, peas, sweet potatoes and assorted vegetables 4-pack. To know more on these products of 1st foods have a look at the given website.

http://www.gerber.com/

Gerber 2nd foods

These Gerber second foods should be given to the little baby when he can eat easily with a spoon. Before going to these foods you must have tried all single ingredient varieties. Usage of these second foods must be a time to introduce new tastes to your little child.

You can find a great vulnerability to disorders of the stomach and bowels of the child at the period of weaning baby.

Great care and judgment must be taken in effecting this object.

The bowel disorders are the result from one of these causes:

• Affecting from breast milk in the early infant stages
• Weaning baby too early
• Over feeding your baby
• Use of improper and unsuitable food

Weaning baby from breast milk and the substitution of artificial child diet for the breast milk of the mother can cause bowel disorders. At this stage the digestive organs of the infant are too delicate for this change.

The attempt to weaning baby when she is only six months old will inevitably be followed by disorder of the stomach and bowels.

At the period of weaning baby from breast milk and substituting artificial food, you have to take certain rules and regulations to effect weaning safely.

Effects of artificial food after weaning baby from breast milk:

• If you give too large quantity of food at each meal time or the meals are too frequently repeated, in both instances the stomach will become oppressed, wearied, and deranged.

It is very difficult for a mother to wean her infant baby from the bottle and transit to a sippy cup.

Though it is difficult, it is very important to do for many reasons. It is hard to know when it is the right time to make this transition.

Most of the children when they are 9 months old have the motor skills needed to drink from the sippy cup.

If you think your infant baby is ready to make the shift from bottle to sippy cup, try filling a sippy cup with water and allow your baby try and drink from it. Don’t expect perfection with the first attempts.

If your child has a habit to bed with a bottle, it makes your infant baby dependent on the bottle and this will make it much harder to take it away. If your child lays down with a bottle, it makes your child more susceptible to cavities at a younger age.

The main reasons to move an infant baby from bottle to sippy cup:

• If your child drinks from the bottle for longer period’s everyday there is a greater chance of developing tooth decay and improper dental development.

Most of the mothers cannot successfully breastfeed. Those mothers can use infant formula for their babies’ nourishment to develop and thrive.

Infant formula is the second best nutritious food after the breast milk for your baby. It acts as the best substitute for breast milk.

If your baby is not thriving on breast milk then you can switch to infant formula.

You can choose any type of infant formula; because they can be prepared according to FDA regulations and it can be nutritionally complete and safe for your baby.

Make sure that you should not use low iron formula.

Selecting the type of infant formula:

Choose an infant formula from regular cow’s milk based formula, soy formula or an elemental formula. You can also choose lactose free formula.

Infant formulas are mostly differing in the type of sugar and protein that they have. Some of the regular iron fortified formulas, such as Similac Advance, Enfamil Lipil, and Nestle Good Start Supreme are made with lactose and cow’s milk based proteins.

Infants who are not breastfeeding exclusively should be given a cow’s milk based iron fortified formula. Cow’s milk based infant formula is not recommended for premature and sick infants.