When I got pregnant for the first time, I was really excited. I love reading a lot, so I began to fill my free time reading health magazines and related books. Of course, like every expectant mom, I also had some tensions and anxious thoughts. However, nothing bad happened, and I became the mother of a cute little angel.
I was very particular about the food that I used to give her. Many people told me to give her tinned foods, but as I was not very sure about the quality and credibility of such artificial items, I decided to seek advice from a doctor. Fortunately, for me, our family doctor recommended a good pediatrician. He was a very experienced person in his profession. He gave some excellent advice for me and my baby. From my experience, I would like to share with you some thoughts related to baby health care.
Breastfeeding
The expert’s first advice was about breastfeeding. As we all know, breast milk is the key nutritious product. So at least for two years, you should breastfeed your baby. For the first four months, breast milk alone is all that is needed. You need to feed the baby once in every two hours.
For the production of breast milk, the mother should eat sufficient nutrients. Drumstick leaves are good sources of breast milk production. Include enough drumstick leaves in your daily menu. Have four glasses of milk daily. Eat iron– and calcium–rich foods.
Semi Solid Food
After four months, you can introduce semi–solid foods. You can give raagi, raw banana powder, wheat, oats etc. As per my doctor’s advice, I gave raagi and raw banana powder. I used jaggery instead of sugar. Jaggery is rich in iron and never produces any troubles. I never used cow’s milk to prepare these and only used water and jaggery.
You can introduce steamed fruits like steamed banana, apple, pineapple, etc.
Mashed and boiled vegetables are also very good.
After six months, you can slowly introduce mashed rice and other plain foods like idli, dosa etc.
Drawbacks about Tinned Food
Most tinned foods contain artificial preservatives and a lot of sugar particles. Though they claim many things, these ingredients may cause mucus or other troubles if we give them to babies over a long period. Not only that, as it is very tasty, and it has a lot of sweetness, babies love eating it, but they may not show interest in eating plain foods and vegetables. However, for traveling purposes and so on, we may have to give them tinned foods, but it is better to avoid it for regular use. Remember, it is reported that, in many cities, today’s doctors stopped prescribing artificial food for babies.
