Breastmilk is the best start you can give your baby for life. As you know, breast milk is the perfect food for the first four to six months of life. There are several good reasons why you should wait until at least half a year before adding other foods to your baby’s diet: 1) Since breast milk is perfect, a healthy, full-term baby does not need to be given other foods in the first few months. 2. Giving complementary foods too early can cause allergic reactions because their digestive system is not yet able to accept foods other than breast milk. 3. When the baby starts to eat other foods, he is less likely to suck on breast milk, which will reduce milk production, and your child replaces breast milk, the most perfect thing in nature for thousands of years, with a poorly absorbed food. During the first year of life, breast milk remains an important source of nutrition for infants. Breast milk is the most complete food for infants until they are half a year old before complementary foods are added. For healthy, full-term infants, the addition of supplements is usually unnecessary. If the mother is getting a good source of nutrition from the foods she eats, the milk produced will supply all the nutrients the infant needs. When is it time to start feeding food? If the baby is almost six months old, you probably already know that you should feed according to the baby’s needs rather than the clock. Your baby will let you know when he is hungry and when he is full and doesn’t want to suckle anymore. Likewise, he will let you know when he is ready for a complementary feeding. He will show some signs that he is ready to start other foods. 1. When he is about half a year old, he reaches out to grab something every time he wants to grab it or brings it to his mouth, or likes to grab what his mother is about to eat. 2. The baby’s back has developed to the point where he can sit with a little support, and you may also notice that he is already teething. 3. When your baby is ready to receive complementary foods, the muscles of the tongue and mouth will develop to the point where they can move food from the tongue to the back of the mouth and chew together. You begin to feel that he is suddenly hungry very quickly and often wants to take milk. If an infant is less than six months old but has an increased need for milk, it does not mean that the infant is ready for complementary foods. This transient increase in the need for breast milk as he grows will only take three or five days of regular feeding, and the milk supply will increase and the infant’s needs will return to normal. Conversely to the myth of giving the infant a meal at night so that he can sleep through the night, some studies have compared early supplementation with no early supplementation and found that the age at which the infant can sleep through the night is the same. If someone proves to you that their child can sleep through the night after being given supplements, it is likely that the baby has already started sleeping through the night before. Baby food has a large market In our great-grandmother’s day, preparing complementary foods was very simple. Babies started out with complementary foods made from the foods their families ate, in paste form or in small pieces. Today’s mothers are confused about starting to prepare baby food. Baby food manufacturers emphasize in their advertisements that complementary feeding should begin when the baby has doubled in weight or reached 13 pounds (5.8 kg), which is not an appropriate time to start complementary feeding for breastfed babies. This is because some breastfed infants gain weight very quickly at first, often doubling their weight or reaching 13 pounds by two to four months of age, independent of their ability to digest complementary foods. As mothers become more aware of their babies’ nutritional needs, they are confused about the use of manufacturer-made baby foods, which often contain additives, synthetics, sugar, salt and preservatives. Those baby foods are quite expensive compared to fresh fruits and vegetables. If you are going to use commercially available baby food, be sure to read the label when you buy it to avoid unnecessary additives. How to start feeding At the beginning your attitude in feeding your baby is more important than what others tell you from experience. You don’t need to feed your baby until he or she is full, just a few tablespoons at first and then gradually increase. Of course, the amount should be based on the child’s wishes. Remember that babies are not in the mood to try new foods when they are extremely hungry, so for the first few weeks it is best to feed them after they have eaten, the two most appropriate times being 9 – 10 am and 3 – 4 pm when you don’t have to worry about delaying the cooking time. When you give your baby new food, first of all, only 1/4 spoonful at a time, once or twice a day, gradually increasing the amount each time, so that after a week, if there is no allergy, you can try another new food, babies are easy to allergic to food before six months and cause adverse reactions, and after six months, sometimes it is possible. If there is an allergic reaction to a certain food, such as asthma, skin redness and swelling, pain in the buttocks and other phenomena, then you have to stop eating for a week, so that two or three more times, if it is still the same, then you must stop eating for more than six months. Remember, a little bit of mess is inherently inevitable in every game. When starting complementary foods, the whole process is a game for the baby and he is expected to play with his food, learning to feel, mash, spread and taste it. If you are going to do this, don’t be influenced by the fact that he often has fun smearing all over his face before he finishes his meal. While he is eating you can use a large bib or take off his clothes (only the diaper is left) and take them to be rinsed off after eating. You can use old newspapers or plastic mats under the high chair to protect your floor (especially if it’s carpeted). For the first few weeks, some moms like to use a churn, food processor or baby food grinder to get the food as crumbly as jarred baby food. Usually infants who start eating food at six months of age don’t need to do this; just leave some of the unsalted portion of the food for preparing the family and cut it up into small pieces. Be reminded that infants at this time have a tremendous emotional response to any different approach, and don’t leave your infant alone while he practices grabbing his own food. Make sure there is no food in his mouth while he is lying down so that he doesn’t get stuck in his throat and choke. You can start trying to get some mashed bananas on a spoon or finger to feed your child, you will find that he will soon eat it, sitting in his own special high chair with a tray to eat, then you can put him If he seems to need help (and doesn’t object), then you can occasionally hold the spoon for him, but don’t spoil his preference by bringing the whole thing over and feeding him. If the baby is not interested the first few times, stop and try again after a while, because sometimes babies are not interested in food until they are eight or nine months old. If the baby is healthy, you should not rush because your mother’s milk is sufficient to maintain his nutrition until he receives food. Continue to feed him and keep a cheerful attitude; do not get angry or frustrated that sometimes he refuses to accept food. Be aware that babies are also social, and sometimes he may prefer to eat with his family rather than at another time, and then imitate adults in eating. So you can also sit his little chair next to you and let him imitate it. You can put the banana in his tray or take it as if from your tray, then he will eat more happily. If your baby doesn’t like bananas, switch to sweet potatoes or yams, both of which are also very nutritious, but it’s best to bake the whole thing to preserve the nutrients. Another alternative is avocados, which are as soft as bananas and contain higher levels of iron and vitamins, cut one piece at a time and use the rest with the skin in the refrigerator. 2, corn b chips for babies You may be skeptical about our suggestion that you start with bananas instead of corn b chips. Corn flakes for infants are a delicate process and are virtually non-nutritious without the addition of iron and other vitamins. Although breast milk is low in iron, it is a common misconception that breastfed babies need additional iron supplements or iron-fortified foods. Although breast milk does not contain as much iron as other foods, its iron is more active and easily absorbed. Recent studies have shown that giving supplements too early can reduce the amount of iron absorbed from breast milk. Another main reason why doctors have always recommended corn flakes as the first food for infants is that they do not understand that the iron in breast milk is fully absorbed by infants. 3, meat and other protein foods Meat is rich in iron and protein, and can be given after the start of his food, but in the case of vegetarians, other types of tofu may be used instead. Meat such as stewed meat, ground beef, or chicken, duck, or goose that can be easily shredded or pureed in gravy or hot boiling water are easier to bite into. Consider using a churn, food processor, or baby food grinder when giving meat to your infant. If your infant doesn’t like meat at first, mix a little into his familiar foods or his mashed bananas, mashed potatoes or avocados for him to try. Many babies prefer plain tofu without the harsh taste, which can be cut into small squares for babies to eat on their own in a fun and nutritious way. It tastes better with other foods if it is mixed with other foods that are already familiar. When you try a meat for a child, you only need one a week, and you can pack it in the freezer in small portions at a time, so if there are foods in the family that don’t suit him, you can quickly and easily switch to another. 4, whole wheat bread and wheat flour A small slice of baked whole wheat bread can be easily handed to your baby between meals or when you are cooking dinner and is easy to bite into. Cooking whole wheat b flakes without sugar, fructose or fresh milk is a good food for infants because they have less sense of taste and some prefer tasteless rice and pasta. Commercially available baby wheat flour is expensive and not as nutritious as your own home made. If your family has a genetic allergy to wheat or corn, you can replace it with rice or oats and let him try wheat later, or add a little mashed banana to his new food to make it more acceptable. When your baby is used to whole wheat bread and has no allergic reactions, you can add nutritious peanut butter and cream to the bread (Note: peanut butter and cream can only be spread on bread or crackers for babies to eat, not eaten by the spoonful alone to prevent choking and inability to breathe.) When the baby grows up, you can add cheese or other foods, do not give the baby to eat the so-called help babies teething hard cookies, because this kind of cookie baby eat up to get full of mouth and face, and contains sugar, fructose and preservatives, these are not the baby needs. 5. Fish Fish is another excellent protein. Its rich nutrition is absolutely suitable for infants. If there is often fish in your menu, you can also add it to your baby’s food. Be careful with fish spines and check them on your hands before feeding them to your baby. When the baby is a little older, only add smoked and Z-impregnated fish or shellfish. 6, potatoes If you have not yet tried potatoes for him, now you can start. The whole thing can be boiled or roasted to retain vitamins, then pureed in boiling water or breast milk, which is also ideal. Try not to add cream until the infant starts adding dairy products. If the baby loves to grasp food with his hands, cut the potatoes into small pieces. 7. Fresh fruit Raw peeled apples can be scraped with a spoon and grated into fine pieces for the infant or cooked into unsweetened applesauce, so that soon he will be able to eat heartless, peeled and cut into small pieces pears or fruits such as peach and melon on his own. If the baby is eight months old or older, he can eat other fruits, but he must be careful. Larger babies like grapes, but they should be halved and seeded to avoid hardening. There are also some berries that can be dangerous, and some fruits can cause skin allergies when eaten too early. Willow, citrus, orange, lemon and the like, easily cause allergic reactions, so infants less than a week old is best not to eat. Canned fruit is over-processed and not as nutritious as fresh fruit. If the fruit is not easy to obtain, you can let him eat fruit made of juice, as for raisins, dried dates, dried plums, dried persimmons and other sun-dried fruit must limit the amount, because although these foods are very nutritious but high in sugar, and easy to stick to the teeth, children will eat cavities. 8, vegetables Grinded carrots are good food for infants because they are rich in vitamins and calcium. However, they should not be chopped or cut into strips for infants under three years old because they can choke or have fine pieces inhaled into the lungs. A better food to make into long strips is a pear, which they can pick up and put directly into their mouths. Let the baby try cooked vegetables as well, one at a time, and then give him another one after a few days of eating, vegetables should be cooked, although raw food is more nutritious, but for babies raw vegetables have silk, not easy to bite off and not easy to digest, but cooked vegetables are sometimes difficult for babies to digest, so if you find undigested vegetables on the diaper, do not panic, sometimes that is inevitable. 9, eggs Eggs are also a food that can easily cause allergic reactions, so many doctors want mothers to wait until their babies are a week old before giving them to eat. However, how to eat eggs? First boil the egg and then mash the yolk into a puree, because the egg white can easily cause an allergic reaction. If you are not allergic, you can mix it with water to blend it instead of fresh milk. If you have a hereditary allergy to milk or if your baby has developed an allergic reaction to milk, don’t eat milk, even if you don’t have either of these two conditions, you should not let your baby start eating milk until he or she is a week old, because babies can get nutrients from other foods, and they have been eating breast milk all along. Your breast milk is designed for your baby, even as he grows up. Only humans are mammals who still drink milk after they leave the breast, people in other corners of the world eat food that is just as healthy and nutritious. Cheese and yogurt can be given at nine or ten months of age to provide higher levels of calcium and nutrition, but beware that these are more likely to cause allergies than fresh milk. 11. Other drinks When he is eight to ten months old, he is interested in drinking from a cup. Of course, they can’t hold the cup completely by themselves, and many babies start learning to use cups at this time, so it’s best to use a cup with boiled water (in addition to breast milk). Occasionally you can give him a little natural juice to drink, diluted at first, and not in excess. According to Dr. Sils, “Undiluted juice contains as many calories as fresh milk, but is less nutritious, and the juice lacks the pulp to be as nutritious as the fruit itself.” He also believes that drinking large amounts of juice is one of the causes of childhood obesity. As soon as you start adding juice to your baby, read the label to make sure it’s 100 percent pure juice without added sugar. Many juices have added sugar, artificial flavoring, and coloring, and contain only a very small amount of pure juice. It is better if pure juice can be diluted for infants. 12, other foods Although, butter is not required, but sometimes can be coated with some, and bread coated with cheese will be more nutritious, baby food does not need to add seasonings, such as mustard, ketchup, pepper, etc., because these are very heavy taste condiments, and sometimes high sugar content, the baby will notice that others eat these foods containing condiments also want to eat, then you can exaggerate only give him a little is enough. Do not give babies pudding, cakes, cookies and other desserts, fresh fruit is the most healthy food for the whole family. What baby can eat and what to avoid All foods with added sugar or artificial sweetness should be avoided. “Sugar” refers to reconstituted, over-processed sugars that do not contain vitamins, minerals or proteins, and can lead to obesity, which affects small children throughout their lives, as well as make a person’s appetite affected, as eating sugar makes them not want to eat anything and prevents them from eating healthy foods. Corn syrup, glucose and sucrose are also sugars and are often used in processed foods. Sugar is also found in breast milk or in natural foods and is sufficient for babies (or us). Honey is a naturally sugary food like fruit, but it is almost 100% sugar, so it can cause problems that other sugars can cause. Molasses is also pure sugar, which is also bad, and processed sweet products are not suitable for children. In particular, avoid candy and sweet snacks such as puddings, jellies, cakes, cookies, canned fruit (only unsweetened canned fruit can be used for fruits that are not available), and do not allow him to eat teething cookies, hard cookies, etc., because these are non-nutritive carbohydrates that your child does not need. Instead, babies can chew on the sides of whole wheat toast or chicken thigh bones (ones without bone spurs), or teethers that won’t break without sharp corners. Avoid cool drinks, carbohydrates and the like, as they contain too much sugar or caffeine and are not nutritious, and a diet low-calorie drink should not be allowed. One of the most important principles of starting a baby on food is to eat one at a time, and sometimes with a little soup or boiling water to make a puree, and then, gradually, he will eat the same food as the family, and soon you will see that most of what he eats is food from the dinner table, only finely chopped or ground. When the baby starts to eat, initially, you put a piece or a bunch of food in his tray one at a time for him to eat, then you put the single food on an unbreakable plate, or give 1/3 cup of juice or water (the cup is also unbreakable), but these two cannot be given at the same time. This will make him curious and easy to accept, and finally you can give him a variety of foods at once, eating different foods at once like everyone else in the family. If he shows you what he wants to eat, you can give him food, but if he does not want to eat, you should not use coaxing or force him to eat, if he does not want to eat a particular food, you should try to change to another kind, because for the baby, he will choose the food that he needs to be nutritious. Allergies Some babies are born with genetic allergies to certain foods, so if someone in the family has an allergy to certain foods, the baby may have it too. Parents should be especially careful not to start feeding their babies until after six months of age, and they should pay attention to the foods that babies should not eat during their first week of life. （Other foods most likely to cause allergies are: wheat, corn, pork, fish (including shellfish), tomatoes, onions, cabbage, strawberries, walnuts, spices, citrus, and chocolate, and many parents should not allow their infants to eat these foods until they are at least one year old. Starting to eat is a very important foundation for the baby’s life, and it is important to know how to develop a preference for nutritious foods from the time they are introduced. Try to give your child foods that are as close to natural as possible to establish healthy eating habits at the beginning that will last a lifetime.