What you feed your child during the first two years of life matters a lot for his/her future development and success. So weaning should be done at the correct time and age with nutritious food in the right quantities.
Importance of breast milk
A baby should be fed exclusively on breast milk during the first six months of life. Breast milk contains all the nutrients which the baby needs for growth and development of the body and especially the brain. 90% of the brain develops by the age of two. Breast milk increases the baby’s immunity and also strengthens the bond between mother and child.
If exclusive breast feeding for six months is difficult for the working mother, she can express her milk and the carer can feed that milk to the baby while the mother is away.
Expressed breast milk can be kept at room temperature in a clean container for six hours or stored in a fridge for 24 hours. However, before feeding, keep the container in hot water to warm the milk.
Never heat breast milk directly on a stove. Feed expressed breast milk using a clean cup and spoon and not in a bottle with teat. If the mother cannot express enough breast milk for the day, it is important to start weaning after completion of the fourth month.
Weaning and supplementary foods
Once the baby completes six months he should be started on additional foods. Infants grow very fast, so after this time breast milk alone may not provide all the nutrients that the baby needs for growth. So it is important to start supplementary feeding along with breast feeds. Ideally breast feeding can continue until the child is two years.
How do you start supplementary foods?
Start one food item at a time. The food should be in thick form and not watery even at the beginning.
You can start with overcooked red rice, mashed well before feeding.
At first 1 -2 teaspoons is enough, with the quantity gradually being increased over the next two-three days before adding another food item. The rice could be mixed with a little breast milk to make it more palatable.
What foods can be given to your baby and how does one prepare them?
When the baby gets used to the rice you can add various other vegetables and green leaves. Add one item at a time, so that if the baby develops an allergy you will be able to identify which item the baby is sensitive to.
Add yellow vegetables like carrot, pumpkin and pulses like dhal, beans, long beans, soya, cowpea, and green gram, dark green leaves like kathurumurunga, gotukola, mukunuwenna and also spinach. Introduce them one at a time and gradually increase the quantity and variety. After 1 -2 weeks of starting complementary foods you can add animal proteins.
Add fish or sprats every other day, chicken or chicken liver once a week. Sprats could be washed, dried, ground to a powder and stored in a bottle. You can add one teaspoon to the meal while cooking.
While preparing the meal add oil, butter, margarine or coconut milk to increase the nutritional value. This also increases the taste and provides more energy to the baby.
Give the baby freshly prepared food and do not add salt or sugar until he is one year. Spices and chillie are not necessary for babies.
How many meals
should be given?
At the beginning that is after completion of six months you can give 1 -2 main meals along with breast milk in between. After 2 -3 weeks you can increase the number of meals to 3 main meals and 2 short meals gradually.
Continue breast feeds in between meals. Do not breast feed just before a main meal. Have a gap of at least 2 hours prior to a main meal. If not you will notice that the baby refuses food. Naturally when the tummy is filled with milk the baby will not feel hungry for another meal.
How much food should you give your baby?
From the beginning of weaning, for the first month give fully smashed (particle free) food 2-3 teaspoons per meal. Gradually increase the quantity and variety. From the eighth month give smashed food with small particles. From the beginning of the ninth month, it can be increased to half a cup and by the completion of the 11th month to ¾ cup. Feed till the baby is satisfied and don’t worry if he does not finish every thing that you prepare.
Around 11 months you can give food items which the baby can hold, like rusk, hopper edges, bread crusts, boiled carrot, potato pieces etc.
At around one year, increase the quantity to one cup per meal or a bit more. Now you can gradually introduce adult foods to your baby. By two years of age the child should be able to eat adult foods but avoid junk foods, processed foods like sausages and ham. Spices and chillies can be given gradually after the age of one.
Speak to your child while feeding him. Teach him the various foods and their colours. Present the food in a colourful and pleasant manner to generate an interest towards food. Focus on your baby while feeding and do not get distracted by phone calls etc or baby will also lose interest.
Have a specific place / feeding chair to feed your baby. Do not walk around while feeding.
Continue to breast feed in between meals until the child is 2 years.
What other foods can you give?
Yoghurt or cheese as a snack can be given around seven months of age. Fruits can be started during the same time of starting the supplementary foods. They can be given as a smashed pulp or as juice without sugar. Add fruits to the rice mixture as the main meal. Papaw, banana, mango, avocado pulp and lime, orange, mandarin, water melon and king coconut water as juice are all suitable.
Gradually increase the quantity and variety of fruit given to baby. Start first with 1 teaspoon of fruit pulp/ juice then increase. Ripe fruits can be given once or twice daily.
When older you can increase the variety of vegetables which are added to the rice mixture. You can gradually introduce beetroot, ladies fingers, drum stick, ash plantain etc. Egg yolk can be given after seven months and then egg white after one year of age.
After six months you can give boiled and cooled water to your child after a meal or in between if necessary.
You can use the time table above (please see graphic) to assist you in spacing out the meal times
When the baby is fed well according to a proper routine he / she will sleep peacefully throughout the night, and wake up for breast feeding once or twice in the night. If baby wakes up more than twice a night after six months, it is likely that he is not fed well during the day or the routine is unsatisfactory. If you have a problem in feeding your baby, talk to your mid wife.
Remember to take your baby for regular clinic visits where his weight will be checked and marked on the record book. If your baby is gaining weight adequately you have weaned him successfully. If the weight gain is not adequate seek advice from a qualified medical practitioner or your midwife.
(The writer is attached to the Health Education Bureau) |
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