Any parent or baby care expert will tell you that giving birth is not at all a task; the real task lies in bringing up the baby. One of the most technical, yet important, aspects of bringing up that baby under your care is in how you feed them. This is because feeding will determine the baby’s health and general growth. There is therefore the need to adhere to general baby feeding guides to ensure that you do it right.
Just like any building construction, the foundation on which you build your babies health is very important. This means that it is very crucial that you give the basic nutrients the baby needs to them and in the right proportions, in the first year, if good results are to be achieved.
One thing that almost all baby feeding guides have in common is the over emphasis on the use of breast milk to feed such toddlers. This is because it has the right nutrients and is at the right temperature to help your baby grow healthily. However, if you cannot breastfeed, use a milk formula to simulate the same.
The next discussion that should be keenly taken into consideration is that considering when babies should be introduced to solid foods. This according to research should not be done till after the fourth month unless the doctor advices otherwise. This is the time that the baby will be physically developed to accommodate solid food.
Some of the major problems that many baby feeding guides cite to discourage early shift into solid foods is that it can lead to overfeeding hence making your baby overweight and that it also increases the chances of developing allergies to food.
According to most baby feeding guides, the shift into solid food is the one that should be done with detailed care since the contents of such foods are not as controlled as those of breast milk or feeding formula.
Always ensure that the foods that you introduce to your child are clean and prepared in the most hygienic way possible. In addition to this, introduce new foods one by one as a drastic dietary change might be rejected by the baby or their digestive system.
In summing up the contents of most baby feeding guides, it will be in appropriate not to mention the fact that some foods are a no go zone for kids below the one year mark. Such include heavy salting and sugar coatings, iron rich foods and cow milk.
It therefore become very important that you get your hands onto a medically approved baby feed guide so as to ensure that you not only give your baby the best foods they deserve but also ensure that you avoid on stereotype foods that actually do more harm than help.