You can give rice to your older baby as part of a varied and balanced diet. For most babies, 6 months is a good age to start to introduce solid foods , which can include infant cereals. Breast milk or formula will continue to provide most of your baby's nutrition for the first 12 months. Waiting until this age is important because by this point your baby would have outgrown a natural reflex that all babies are born with that causes them to push their tongue against anything inserted into their mouths.
Most babies grow out of this tongue thrust reflex between 4 and 5 months. Most babies are not ready for solid foods, including infant cereals, until they are about 6 months old, though some babies could be ready a month or two earlier. Experts recommend that babies be breastfed or bottle -fed with expressed breast milk or formula until 6 months of age. Be sure not serve the cereal from a bottle for reasons we mention in the next section. Gradually, you can add less liquid to the dry cereal to find a thickness your baby likes.
Feeding your baby through a bottle can lead to unnecessary calories—she may consume more food than she actually needs. Although rice cereal may have been a popular choice, experts now say there are other infant cereals and first foods that may be safer for your baby. As your baby transitions to solid foods, you deserve lots of rewards for all those diaper changes. There are a lot of reasons you might be tempted to start solids early with infants.
You may worry that your baby isn't getting enough from breast milk or formula. You may have heard that it helps babies sleep better.
Although many grandmothers and neighbors may swear that a little cereal in their newborn's bottle helped him sleep better, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend introducing cereal and other solid foods until four to six months of age. Before that age, young infants need only breast milk or formula. In the first couple of months of life, a newborn generally feeds every 2 hours.
If you're breastfeeding, offer up to minutes on each breast; for formula feeding, offer about ounces at each feeding. As your newborn gets older, she'll tend to eat more at each feeding. If your infant produces six wet diapers a day and is gaining weight regularly, that means she's getting enough food calories.
Discuss your infant's feeding and growth with her pediatrician at each check-up. Once your infant is between four and six months of age, she may start showing signs of readiness for solid foods.
Breast milk or formula is the only food your newborn needs. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months after birth. But by ages 4 months to 6 months, most babies are ready to begin eating solid foods as a complement to breast-feeding or formula-feeding. During this time babies typically stop using their tongues to push food out of their mouths and begin to develop the coordination to move solid food from the front of the mouth to the back for swallowing.
If you answer yes to these questions and your baby's health care provider agrees, you can begin supplementing your baby's liquid diet.
Babies often reject their first servings of pureed foods because the taste and texture is new. If your baby refuses the feeding, don't force it. Try again in a week. If the problem continues, talk to your baby's health care provider to make sure the resistance isn't a sign of a problem. It's recommended that you give your baby potentially allergenic foods when you introduce other complementary foods.
Potentially allergenic foods include:. There is no evidence that delaying the introduction of these foods can help prevent food allergies.
In fact, early introduction of foods containing peanuts might decrease the risk that your baby will develop a food allergy to peanuts. Still, especially if any close relatives have a food allergy, give your child his or her first taste of a highly allergenic food at home — rather than at a restaurant — with an oral antihistamine available.
If there's no reaction, the food can be introduced in gradually increasing amounts. Don't give juice to your baby until after age 1. Juice isn't a necessary part of a baby's diet, and it's not as valuable as whole fruit. Too much juice might contribute to weight problems and diarrhea.
Sipping juice throughout the day can lead to tooth decay. Another reason to avoid giving your baby solid food before age 4 months is the risk associated with certain home-prepared foods. A baby younger than age 4 months shouldn't be given home-prepared spinach, beets, carrots, green beans or squash. These foods might contain enough nitrates to cause the blood disorder methemoglobinemia.
During feedings, talk to your baby and help him or her through the process. To make mealtime enjoyable:. Enjoy your baby's sloppy tray, gooey hands and sticky face. You're building the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free, and stay up-to-date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID, plus expert advice on managing your health.
Error Email field is required.
0コメント