Welcome to this learning session
This article will get to guide you on what to feed children from 6_12 months.
Enjoy
Starting Solid Foods: 6–12 Months old babies.
Introduction
As we all know a child should be introduced to solid foods until it reaches 6 months and above .
Here a child is able to be introduced to such foods but not that much since your baby's nutrition need are changing time to time.
"Mtoto anafaa kuanzishwa vyakula kulimgana na umri wake na kwa hivyo wazazi tuwe making huku"
Get to learn what foods and textures to offer to this children of this age, and also get to know the quantity.We’ve got the information you need to get off to a good start with solid foods. Don't forget your baby is exploring and learning how to use their mouth, tongue and throat in a new way note that.
There are several changes in feeding a child from this point
Starting health foods
Healthy food choices
What,when,which food to give to the child..
There are several changes in feeding patterns ie
Changing nutrition needs
Using a cup
Weaning off the bottle
1 Changing of nutrition needs.
Your baby's nutrition needs will change during their first year. Along with infant formula, here most babies are ready to start being introduced to solid foods when they’re about 6 months old. YOUR baby will start to eats more solid foods, start to drink less infant formula.
Breastfeeding
After 6 months, your baby will still be breastfeeding to about 5−6 times a day. Do not stop to breastfeed the infant please despite it eating solid foods . The longer you breastfeed, the your baby will benefit by growing healthy. If you’re breastfeeding, there is no need to give any other milk to your baby. "Tafadhali"
Between 9−12 months, the number of times your baby feeds will go down, but the amount they will want to drink will go up.
2 Using a cup
When your baby is about 6 months old, try offering it a cup with small amount of infant formula or water in to make it getting used to other things. Using an open cup without a lid "kifuniko" helps with the development of your baby’s teeth , mouth and speech.
When introducing the child to a cup use, fill it with small amounts of liquid in the cup as your baby is most likely to spill it down. It will take alot of time for them to learn to tightly hold a cup so it's good to help them until they’re able to use it on their own.
Some of the things to think about when offering drinks to your baby using a cup
Get your baby used to the taste of water . This will enhance them to want to use a cup whenever they see you holding one.Try offering them a few sips from an open cup if you think your baby is thirsty.
Note. Don't dare give your child juice.
Drinks such as pop, fruit drinks, lemonades, vitamin or flavoured water, sports drinks, coffee, tea or herbal tea may have added sugar or caffeine and should not be given to your baby.
Choose a no-spill cup with a straw or a lid with an opening that doesn’t have a spout or nipple. Use them even while traveling.
Add water to juice whenever you trying to give it to a child, because most of the juices from the supermarkets are very sugary therefore not recommendable to children of this age.
3 Weaning off the bottle
Give them sips of water from their own cup throughout the day let the cup not be used by any other person not even the sister or brother to avoid some sickness.
Decrease the number of bottles you offer during the day.
Many babies, a bottle is a source of comfort to them in terms of drinking.
For good dental health, try to have your baby off the bottle by 12−14 months of age.
If you have any concerns about weaning your baby off of the bottle, talk with your health care provider the moment you takes the baby to clinic be free with the specialist ask questions about weaning off the child or any other.
Signs that show your baby is ready for solid foods
The baby starts to swallow solid foods different from milk. Solid food are introduced gradually at this point.
They can sit up with little help. The child start to try moving without help .
They have good head and neck control and are able to turn their head away if they don’t want to eat.Their braveness starts to show to an extent they can ignore any given foods at some point.
They can open their mouth when food is offered most probably when they are angry.
Its time to begin introducing solids foods to your child if it's around 6months old
Feeding relationships with the child
A healthy feeding relationship with your child during the early years is very important. This helps them develop healthy eating behaviours . Here is where you start teaching your child eating manners which will use for the rest of the life.
Tips to get off to a good start for your child
Timing your child in starting solid foods is important.
Introduce these solid foods to your child when your is ready helps them to accept new foods and flavours more quickly.
Have an easier time eating new textures
Get all the vitamins and minerals they need, such as iron , calcium
Remember, they’re exploring and learning how to use their mouth, tongue and throat in a new way so don't forget it may take several miles before your baby adjust to eating solid foods.
Introducing solid foods to your child might be fun though mess at times . Babies like to touch their food and try to feed themselves—this is how they learn to feed themselves.Use a wide bib and keep a warm, wet washcloth close by to make clean-up easier.
Tips to get your baby off to a good start when starting solid foods around 6 months
Start introducing your child to iron-rich foods like meats, baby cereal with iron, beans and lentils.
Introduce common food allergens next. Once your baby has tried an iron-rich food, introduce egg as the first common food allergens. Give them these foods in a safe texture for your baby.
Give them solid foods once a day. Don't stop providing them with breath milk . Breast Milk or formula will still be your baby’s main source of nutrition for the next few months.
Keep trying new foods and flavours. Offer new foods when your baby is relaxed they’ll be more likely to try them. If your baby ignores taking the food at that particular time it doesn’t always mean they don’t like the taste. If they continue to reject a food, just try again another time don’t force them to take it. Let your baby explore new foods more than once so try again some other time when they relucent. They may need to see it, touch it and smell it many times before they try it. When you offer your baby a new food item.
Be patient. Babies will make a mess as they learn to feed themselves and that seems fun to them, don't scold them, first with their hands and then with a spoon. Being able to use a spoon is an important developmental step to your child. Eating with a spoon helps them move from sucking to chewing and biting themselves. It helps your baby learn the skills they need to be able to feed themselves when they’re older age. It’s also very common for babies to like a food one day and refuse it the next, I repeat never force them to take foods but continue to offer small amounts of the food to your baby and let them decide when they want to try it.
When Your baby starts to eat solids, their bowel movements may become softer or more solid.
It's time to get messy
Let your baby touch and explore new foods and try to eat with their own spoon or even hands .
Feeding cues
When you first start solids, wait for your baby’s mouth to open and feed them with a spoon as slowly or as quickly as your baby wants. Stop feeding them when they show signs of fullness.Note
How do I know my child is angry?
When they lean forward.
When the child want to reach for food by themselves when they see a plate.
When they smack or suck their lips this is a sign that the child is angry.
When the child by themselves open their mouth when food is offered.
When you see a child put ut their fist in their mouth probably they are angry and yawning for food.
How do I know my baby is full ?
When they start turning their head away when food is offered.
When they close their mouth when food is offered to them.
When they start covering their mouth with their hand.
When they fuss or cry.
Children should be introduced to healthy foods ,and here are some of them
1 iron
Babies need iron for growth and development. Your baby was born with a supply of iron, but around 6 months old, it’s nearly used up. However, your baby needs to get iron from their solid foods which they take.They need iron-rich foods every day, offered at each meal—breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The moment you introduce solids, gradually increase the different types of iron-rich foods you offer to your baby. Good sources of iron include: baby cereals with iron, such as: oat, wheat, barley, quinoa, millet, amaranth, and buckwheat
Animal sources, such as: beef, shellfish, wild game, chicken, pork, fish, and egg
Plant sources, such as: lentils, soybeans, tofu, chickpeas, nut butters, cooked spinach, sesame seeds, and ground chia .
Once your baby has started solid foods, offer a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains . Your baby will enjoy many of the same healthy foods that your family is eating. Offer different new foods, flavours, and textures as your baby learns to eat with new different skills. Change the texture of food as your baby grows and develops better eating skills.
2 Common food allergens
Offer your baby different common foods allergens when starting solid foods, and aim to offer them weekly, to help prevent allergies to these foods.
When your baby has tried an iron-rich food, introduce peanut and egg as the first common food allergens to them.
Offer the food in a smoothie texture and size that matches your baby’s development to prevent them from choking.
In a day introduce only one common food . This makes it easier to tell if your baby may be allergic to that food or not.
Signs of a food allergy can happen right away or a few hours after eating a food.
Signs of a food allergy in babies are:
The child may start showing welling of the face, eyes, or lips.
They start throwing up.
The child starts unusual crying.
The child start having trouble in swallowing foods.
Noisy breathing or trouble breathing.
The skin changes it's color and becomes pale blue .
Sudden tiredness or limp body.
Common food allergens are:
peanut, egg, cow’s milk, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame, wheat, and soy.
3 Milk
When your baby is 9−12 months old, you can start giving them pasteurized, homogenized whole milk as long as they’re eating iron-rich foods at each meal. Unpasteurized milk is not safe for your baby. By the time they’re 1 year old, offer your baby 2 cups of milk each day. Drinking more than this amount of milk may take the place of iron-rich foods. Breastfed babies can continue to get all their milk needs from breast milk.
Soy and other plant-based beverages such as rice, oat, almond, potato, hemp or coconut should not replace cow’s milk in the first 2 years of age of a child.These beverages don’t have enough protein, energy and healthy fat to help your baby grow and develop.
Healthy foods to give to your baby
1 Vegetables and Fruit
Fresh, frozen or canned vegetables and fruit without added salt or sugar children this age should not be introduced to sugary foods.
Broccoli, kiwi, mango, strawberry, peppers and sweet potato are good sources of vitamin C.
2 Grain Products
Start with a store-bought, single-grain baby cereal with iron such as barley, oat, rice or wheat.
Add foods such as barley, couscous, rice, quinoa, roti and toast strips when your baby is ready for these textures.
3 Meat and Alternatives
Such as Beef, chicken, fish without bones, lamb, pork, turkey and wild game are good sources of iron.
Fish such as Atlantic mackerel, herring, rainbow trout and salmon are a good source of healthy fats.
Meat alternatives such as black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, split peas, eggs and tofu also have iron.
Limit processed meats such as hot dogs, salami and bologna as they’re high in salt.
4 Milk and Alternatives
Give your child yogurt plain or with fruit.
Cheese such as cheddar or cottage cheese.
When your baby is 9−12 months old, you can start giving them pasteurized, homogenized whole milk (3.25% milk fat), as long as they’re eating iron-rich foods at each meal. Unpasteurized milk is not safe for your baby. By the time they’re 1 year old, offer your baby 500 ml (2 cups) of milk each day. Drinking more than this amount of milk may take the place of iron-rich foods. Breastfed babies can continue to get all their milk needs from breast milk.
Low-fat milks such as 2%, 1% and skim don’t have enough fat and energy and are not recommended until your child is 2 years old.
Soy and other plant-based beverages such as rice, oat, almond, potato, hemp or coconut should not replace cow’s milk in the first 2 years. These beverages don’t have enough protein, energy and healthy fat to help your baby grow and develop.
5 Food textures
Babies need to try different textures to help them develop their eating skills over time to time. Start with smooth or pureed food—most babies only need pureed food for a short time before they move on to other textures. Start to offer lumpy textures before they’re 9 months old. If your baby stays on pureed textures too long, they may resist different textures later.
Babies don’t need teeth to start eating foods that are not pureed.
Baby foods
You can make baby food at home. There are many things to think about when feeding your baby solid foods, such as making sure that it’s the right texture and that it’s healthy for your baby.
Homemade baby food
Making baby food at home is a healthy way to feed your baby as it can be made without added salt or sugar.
Making baby food at home can be easy. Use simple kitchen tools such as a fork, potato masher, blender or grater to prepare food in a way that matches your baby’s eating habits.
Homemade baby cereal does not have the iron your baby needs to grow and develop, so use store-bought cereals that are fortified with iron.
Store-bought baby food
If you’re buying baby food, choose foods without added salt, sugar or trans fats this is really not recommendable but be careful.
Keep all foods and leftovers safe
Do not use the food if the safety seal is broken or if the safety seal button is up. They should be placed in a safety place to avoid germs into the bowl. And incase you feel it's not safe to use just throw it away.
Feed your baby from a dish not directly from a jar or squeezable pouch. Food that has been in contact with your baby’s saliva will spoil more easily. Make sure the plate it's clean and not shared with anyone but the child only.
Always check the foods labels
Always read the ingredient list to make healthy food choices. The expiry date should be your first concern.Ingredients are listed by weight from the most to the least.
Squeezable food pochies
These pouches encourage babies to suck purees—they don’t help them learn to accept lumpy foods or to chew. If you choose to give your baby a squeezable food pouch, squeeze the food onto a spoon to encourage development of spoon feeding skills. This will also ensure that any leftover food can be safely stored in the fridge and eaten at a later time.
Honey "asali" is not for babies
Do not give babies under 1 year old honey or foods with honey — even if the honey is cooked or pasteurized. It can make them sick with botulism.
Food safety
Compost or throw out any leftover food from your baby’s dish after they have finished eating don't keep them for later use they might have contaminated.
Finger foods
Finger foods are foods that your baby can pick up and put into their mouth themselves. At first, finger food needs to be grated or cut into small pieces or strips. By 8 months old, most babies can pick up foods with their fingers and feed themselves.
To prevent choking, only give your baby food while they’re sitting down not while they’re playing .Babies: 6-12 Months
Your baby’s nutrition needs are changing.
What about we learn something on infant formula..
Your baby need to get all the nutrition they need from the solid foods they eat starting at 6 months. Because of this, the extra calcium and phosphorous found in .
Using a cup
When your baby is about 6 months old, try offering a small amount of breast milk, infant formula or water in a cup. Using an open cup without a lid helps with the development of your baby’s teeth, mouth and speech. Cups with spouted lids or nipples like sippy cups or sports bottles are not recommended.
Start with small amounts of liquid in the cup as your baby is likely to spill. It takes time for them to learn to use a cup—help them until they’re able to use it on their own. Using a cup will help your baby slowly give up their bottle, if they use one development
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