Eating is one of the fundamentals of life. it is basically almost impossible to live without food although ancient wise men said water is life, so is food. From as early as birth, the first instict a newborn gets is sucking. Infants do not need to be tutored on suckling, it is as natural as can be.
In the first three to six months of a baby’s life, they are normally breast or bottle fed milk. This is because their digestive system requires time to fully adjust to processing food to useful minerals to be absorbed in the body. It is also necessary to feed children milk alone as their digestive tracts are susceptible to acquiring infections easily. In addition, infants have weaker immunity hence avoiding exposing them to numerous germs and possible contamination from utensils is an added advantage.
After 3-6 months of milk, the child will more likely be interested in something new. They might look at you longingly as you bite on a steak of take a sip of your yummy milkshake, they might even cry. This are just some hunger-cues that they may use as an indicator that they are hungry since milk is not that sustaining.
As you embark on the journey to weaning your child, readying them for adulthood, there are a few things you should get in mind;
- Avoid using fat/ cooking oil.
- Avoid spices.
- Do not use shouting flavours.
- Make sure your food is cooked thoroughly
The above are to make sure that your food taste as neutral and natural as possible. I normally just boil mine and blend, with little of no salt. Flavours may be used later in life as they may put off the child if they are strong.
Below is a list of foods that would be advisable to begin with;
Pumpkin puree(boiled pumpkin and potato)
Sweet potato puree(sweetpotato boiled and blended)
Banana puree.( banana or any other fruit blended)
Always remember to give the meals at room temperature, preferably put a bowl of hot/warm water beneath the bowl of food to make sure it does not go cold. Water is also a mandatory after every feeding to avoid constipation.
Wevolving 