Feeding Your Baby
Charlaya Campbell, M.D.
For at least the first six months of a Baby’s life, breast feeding is best. Nature’s way is free, convenient and no preparation necessary. Mother’s milk is full of infection fighting cells and uniquely formulated to meet your child’s nutritional needs. In addition, children who are breastfed are less likely to have vomiting, diarrhea, reflux, ear infections and allergies. However, even with the best of intentions, some mothers cannot accommodate their baby’s nutritional needs. In that case, there are a number of commercial formulas available. Here are a few feeding tips:
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Feed your newborn on demand or at least every three to four hours
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Don’t introduce solid or pureed foods until after six months. (rice cereal may be introduced a little sooner.)
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Introduce one food at a time for several days. This will help you identify allergies. (Signs of allergies include gas, bloating, rashes or diarrhea.)
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Whole cow’s milk should not be introduced until 12 months.
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Bee spit (honey) contains spores which may cause botulism in infants. Do not introduce until at least 12 months.
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Tracking your child on a growth chart provided by ZÖe will alert you to whether you are overfeeding or underfeeding.
Finally, your refined taste buds are not a good guide to what will taste good to your baby. While culture dictated your food preferences, you may want to direct your children’s food preferences away from “salt, sugar and fats”. These are the three “bad” things about our current diet. If you want your children to enjoy a long healthy life, then limit these three items. Are you aware that in Japan, the candy that children crave are either bitter or sour- not sweet or salty?
You may also want to wean your entire family from “salt, sugar and fats” by removing then from your diet. It takes only six weeks to break a habit. After that, you may join your children in eating healthy---without sodas, doughnuts, candy, chips, bacon, and/ or sausages. It will not be easy, but try cereal, fruits, yogurt and granola for breakfast instead. And yes. Grits and oatmeal are good choices. Make a commitment to give your entire family a “healthy lifestyle” with smart food choices and lots of exercise. Your kids will thank you when they grow up.
