Your Baby’s First Taste of Solids

As your baby is growing up you need to introduce suitable food at the right time in addition to mother’s milk to provide required nutrition to keep your baby bubbly and active. The systematic process of change in food is known as weaning.

It is recommended to start with semi solid foods after baby is 4 months old. Depending upon the baby’s health and nutritional needs,  doctor may suggest to begin at 6 months also. Consult your Pediatrician prior to making any change.

• Go slow… when you start new food.
• Pick a time of the day when the baby is active. You need to ensure that the baby is hungry, there is a good time gap for the next frequency of meal. If the baby is fed with formula or breast milk and the gap is less she will refuse to taste even.
• Make the baby sit in a comfortable position i.e in your lap or the baby chair, with good support.
• Normally the baby’s first food is a cereal cooked along with formula or milk. Initially the baby is given very little quantity and gradually based on acceptance level and appetite the quantity is increased.
• You can start with vegetable soups.
• When a baby is on breast milk additional water will not be required. If the baby is on formula milk additional water should be given in small quantities. Try to slowly stop the baby having from a milk bottle as the upper and lower teeth will be protruding forward as baby grows.
• You can give fruit juices, filter all fibrous material and seeds as it may choke and baby will vomit what she had previously also. It is painful to see the little one cough and the eyes become watery.
• Burp the baby after feeds . A good practice for ensuring baby food will not be wasted.
• Keep a towel handy for cleaning all spills. The baby’s lips should be wiped with wet cloth to avoid darkening. The baby should be wet sponged after meals. If baby is not cleaned, the food substances will dry up and could be chance for attracting insects. In India we observe a trail of ants on the baby’s cot due to the sweet smell.
• Dip all baby clothes in Dettol antiseptic liquid (follow label instructions for dilution). This will prevent rashes and foul smell from the clothes.
• Preferably dry baby clothes in sunlight.
• While feeding the baby be close by , do not leave the baby unattended.

General watch outs based on my experience:

• When you are planning to go out with the baby take extra set of diapers, towel, formula milk, water, poly bags to dump in soiled items.
• If weather is cold ensure baby is nicely tucked in warm clothes. Cover ear, head, legs and hands as baby will catch cold if exposed to cold
• If you are out on a hot day, be extremely careful of the scorching heat. Use an umbrella or a nice sunlight protection.
• Ensure medication of baby is kept in a cool place, away from sunlight. Ensure proper labeling.
• I’ve observed mothers carrying small babies and sipping hot tea, the baby will be attracted to the cup or coffee mug in your hand and will want to grab it. Accidently  it may spill also. Beware of such incidents.
• Do not carry baby in the midst of your home chores. For example if you are chopping onion and carry the baby with the same hands, gradually baby will develop a nausea feeling to the smell. I know children who have grown up and detest onions in the food they eat.

Bringing up a baby is a huge responsibility and you can manage it wonderfully with the support of your family.

The right material for baby clothes

It is all too easy to spend a lot of money on baby clothes – especially as there is a tendency for manufacturers at the cheaper end of the market to guarantee itself a profit by spending less themselves on making the clothes. This is regrettable and says a lot about the nastier end of the human condition. Although human beings have made great advances in manufacturing over time, the fact is that synthetic fabrics – though cheaper than naturally made ones – are not as kind to the human skin. If you want to be kind to your baby – who will, it is certain, have softer skin than yours – it is important to buy baby clothes made of cotton, or wool.

Synthetic fabrics are known to be harsh on the skin, and also have a tendency to be more allergenic than natural fabrics due to the chemicals used to make them. Avoid synthetic fabrics.  The processes used to turn natural ingredients into natural fabrics require a little bit more work, and less chemicals, so they will be more expensive. But set next to the medical bills which can result from a child’s reaction to cheaper fabrics, it could be said that the more natural fabrics you clothe them in are an investment.

The right mix to go for, then, is clothes in a natural fabric which are dyed in a relatively gentle way to be brightly colored. It is well known that children react well to bright colors as a visual stimulus, and consequently they will be happier in such clothes.

Getting the most out of baby clothes

A newborn baby, although one of the most incredible joys in a person’s life, can also present something of a headache. The spending that is required to keep a baby healthy, happy and well-clothed is something that can really mount up and make any parent panic a little bit. There is no doubt whatsoever that some unscrupulous individuals will try to take advantage of this by selling baby gear at extortionate prices and trying to emotionally blackmail parents into spending that kind of money – “if you really care for your baby, you’ll pay whatever it takes” being the rather grubby subtext of their sales pitch.

Paying these people no heed can be difficult, but it really is the best option in the long run. Anyone who tries to tell you that your baby needs what they are selling has run out of more inventive sales techniques and is just a money-grabbing ghoul. You can dress a baby in hand-me-down clothes and they will not be adversely affected physically or mentally. It is one of the last points at which you can observe a total absence of direct peer pressure – your baby doesn’t care a jot if their clothes are not designer and you have not spent every penny you have on them. Let your baby’s happiness be the only important factor in all of this – some shyster’s sales pitch will be no help to anyone but themselves. Giving them what they need does not necessitate spending untold sums on supposedly state-of-the-art baby clothes.

Clothing your baby

One of the most frequent gifts given at baby showers would have to be baby clothes. This has come about through many of the guests at showers being parents themselves and knowing how much money can go on clothes for a new baby. There is a fairly obvious reason why this kind of spending becomes necessary – babies grow quickly, and that means outgrowing their old clothes. The expense that can result from this means that the new parent can often be looking at a fairly frightening addition to their monthly budget. Child benefit was designed for this very reason.

Clothing for babies is a huge industry all by itself, and as a new parent you will quickly become aware just how frequently the baby clothing manufacturers think you need to re-clothe your child. There are many reasons why you should think twice before following their wishes – not least the fact that they are exploiting a need for their own financial gain. If you can re-use clothes from a previous child, there is no reason not to. If your friends bestow new clothes on you as a gift, thank them profusely. They understand how much it can take to keep a baby in new clothes.

Asking your own parents how they managed is also never a dumb idea. Think about it – you have reached the point where you have been able to bring a child into the world, so they obviously did OK themselves. They know a lot, and although you may want to do things your way, they will want the best for their grandchild, and will be of endless help to you.