Exclusive breastfeeding or supplement with solids?

Laxmi · Oct 8, 2006

Congrats Nila

Hi Nila,

Did you check this thread,

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2969

You are the winner of the September month Registeration / Refer- A - Friend Contest.
Congrats again for referring your friends to the Indusladies Community.

Shobana Karthik · Jan 7, 2009

Re: Ragi kanji

hello laxmi,

Can you clearly give me the ragi recipe with gms / ml details.

My little daughter just entered her third month.. And i want to start supplementing her diet because of lactation issues. I understand this is the best food to begin with. The doctor has advised two feeds per day, to begin with.

What is the quantity of ragi (in grams) i should use and what is the quantity of water.. Basically, i am bothered about the consistency of the milk..

Please reply

Thank you.

Regards,
Shobana

Laxmi said: ↑

Hi Nila,

I used to give my daughter Ragi kanji right from her 4th month onwards. Ragi is supposed to be rich in Iron and hence helps the baby gain weight. It was told by my kid's doctor. But the process of making Ragi kanji was told by my mother - the traditional way. My mom used to clean up the Ragi removing any stones or other impurities. (Probably you could get the processed and cleaned up Ragi in Indian store near your place. ) I used to stock it in my refrigerator.

Befor going to bed i used to take a spoonful of Ragi and soak it in water. Next morning first thing when I get up in the morning, I wld grind the soaked ragi to extract the Ragi milk. To that i add sufficient water and make kanjiby boiling it in sim for 5 minutes. You could finally add a pinch of salt or a pinch of jaggery depending on your child's preference. I gave my kid jaggery as she liked sweet better and also it is better than sugar.

But avoid giving jaggery when the child is having cold as it would increase the congestion. jaggery also rich in Iron and it enhances the kanji taste.

Then after my kid was 8 months old I started with sathu mavu kanji and till date I give her that once in a day mixed with curd or milk.

Hope u have the patience to try the above recipie.
Yes it might seem to be lot of work but it is a good supplement to start for your baby.

if you do not have the patience or time to extract ragi milk daily, you could always get powdered ragi in any Indian store using which u cld make kanji.

but the first method gives a milky translucent texture that the baby would love it.
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anigajay · Oct 13, 2009

Re: Sathu maavu

hi vandana ,

i am from chennai..can u tell me what is butternut squash in tamil...even i checked ths veggie from wholesome baby food ..seems to be a gud starter for infants..but i doubt whether i could get ths in chennai .my girl baby who s 5.5 months old does'nt have appetite at all..and we ve to force feed her everytime ..she was on breast feeding till 2.5 months..but discontinued as she does'nt gain weight..and so i pumped and gave her. then after i started on enfamil premium as well...for the past 2 weeks i started giving solids..like cerelac rice, gerber oats, home made ragi, home made oats,green beans, brown rice cereal home made...and nothing seems 2 work wid her...she dislikes everthing..am totally exhausted ..she does'nt like lactogen,nan 1 etc..i donno how to make her gain weight...

sorry for the big narration....anyone experienced this sort of baby?suggestions pls?

Vandhana said: ↑

Hi Nila,

Initially stick to the sathu maavu that is made only with rice , barley and sago. Once your baby is 6 months you can add other grains like ragi, wheat , kambu etc... to the mix. What i do is the following:

Roast equal quantities of Rice, Barley and Sago till nice aroma comes. Then powder in the mixie. Use a nice sieve and sieve the flour so the end product is really fine. We don't want to give too much fiber right now to the baby as it may cause loose stools. Use the fine flour to make kanji. Initially start will 1 tbs of the flour to make kanji. Then you can gradually increase it. Also it is good to start with fruits and veggies too. Start with kanji the first week. Stick to the same time in the morning. Then the second week, introduce one veggie to her/him. I find that Beechnut brand sweet potato and butternut squash are the best veggies to introduce to the babies first. I was told this by my nurse and did the same for my two kids. Now they will eat anything veggies and fruits no problems.
You can ask your parents to bring the sathu mavu from india. Once your baby is six months, then start start giving paruppu sadam etc....

Hope this helps.

Vandhana
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tikka · Oct 13, 2009

This sounds worrisome... can you post what her weights have been... .say at birth, 1 month, 2 month, 3 month till date.
I am worried that there may be some underlying medical issue like silent reflux that has gone unnoticed. It seems to me you are saying she has an aversion to food... if that is the case, I will have her evaluated immediately with a paediatric GI.
Butternut squash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia... looks like parangikkai, not sure though.