Is your child eating right?
The topic for this particular write up was suggested by Sonia – a dear friend who is having a tough time getting her kid to eat something. She wanted to know why I didn’t have such a problem with my 2 year old son, Aman. Well, Aman didn’t suddenly begin eating one fine morning. It was a long, slow process of my experiments with different flavors, textures and even colors. So here is a step-by-step guide to make sure your kid starts out with the right nutrition:
The time of weaning is very important
In the place where I live – a very rural one – women continue to breastfeed their kids until the children are old enough to attend school. It is not unusual to find 3-5 year olds still breastfeeding. Since I wasn’t quite sure if this was actually good, I sought the help of my gynecologist. She told me to breastfeed the baby for at least one year. However, she went on to add that I shouldn’t continue with it for over 18 months. A child who is properly introduced to other semi-solid or solid food does not need the mother’s milk beyond the age of 18 months. If you continue even after 18 months, it is going to extremely difficult to wean the child later.
To ensure proper weaning, reduce the number of feeding sessions gradually. A newborn will have to be fed about 10-12 times every 24 hours. Bring it down to 8, then 6, then 3 and so on. By the time my son was 18 months, he was feeding just once a day. So it was easy to wean him. The important thing to remember here is the ‘never offer, never refuse’ rule. That means never encourage the child to continue feeding at this stage and never refuse if the child needs it. The longer you put off weaning, the more hesitant the child will be to try other foodstuffs.
Introducing semi-solid food
My son who used to feed 10-12 times per day until 3 months of age reduced the number of feedings to 6-8 when I introduced him to semi solid foods like ragi and banana kurukku. I did not use a spoon to feed him but instead used a feeding bottle after widening the hole on the nipple. That way he still had the comfort of breastfeeding. The next step was introducing vegetables. I started off with carrot. After cooking a small piece of carrot, I pureed it in the mixer along with some well-cooked rice. My son loved its creamy texture. I also tried potato, beetroot, green peas and egg yolk in the same way. Sometimes I also added a bit of sugar to the mixture.
On to solid food
Once he was comfortable with the semi-solid texture, I stopped pureeing and instead offered him mashed vegetables or egg yolk and rice. Although he didn’t start eating that right away, he didn’t completely refuse to have it either. Gradually, I increased the portions until he finished off a large spoonful of rice and vegetables without putting up a fight. In the meanwhile, he also began eating solid food more often during the day. In the morning, he ate a small share of whatever breakfast the others had – be it dosa, appam, idli, upma, idiyappam or puri. He especially loved wheat stuff like chapatti and puri. It was followed with some baby cereal food. For lunch, he had some rice and veggies. After some more baby food in the evening, he used to wind up with 2 chapattis at night. Naturally, this left him full and nourished that he did not need to be breastfed.
Now
Because he was introduced to a variety of food very early on, Aman was ok with almost anything. He now takes regular portions of vegetables, fish, meat, milk, eggs, fruits, rice and dal. Sometimes he tells me what he wants. If I prepare that, he always eats a bit extra. I also make it a point to ask him what vegetables he wants for lunch. That way he cannot refuse it and say he wants something else when lunch is served. He especially loves carrots, potatoes, beetroot, chicken and boiled egg. Of course, like all other kids, Aman too loves chocolates, ice-cream, noodles and sweets. But I try to keep all that to a minimum and instead offer him carrot halwa, fruit salad or home-made ice-cream. I also go easy on fried or oily stuff.
So that is a summary of my experiments with baby food. While trying out these ideas, remember that your kid needs something more important – lots of water. Make sure your kid is properly hydrated and offer him water after every meal and after play sessions. Whatever you serve, add lots of love to it! Your kid needs it more than anything else!
The time of weaning is very important
In the place where I live – a very rural one – women continue to breastfeed their kids until the children are old enough to attend school. It is not unusual to find 3-5 year olds still breastfeeding. Since I wasn’t quite sure if this was actually good, I sought the help of my gynecologist. She told me to breastfeed the baby for at least one year. However, she went on to add that I shouldn’t continue with it for over 18 months. A child who is properly introduced to other semi-solid or solid food does not need the mother’s milk beyond the age of 18 months. If you continue even after 18 months, it is going to extremely difficult to wean the child later.
To ensure proper weaning, reduce the number of feeding sessions gradually. A newborn will have to be fed about 10-12 times every 24 hours. Bring it down to 8, then 6, then 3 and so on. By the time my son was 18 months, he was feeding just once a day. So it was easy to wean him. The important thing to remember here is the ‘never offer, never refuse’ rule. That means never encourage the child to continue feeding at this stage and never refuse if the child needs it. The longer you put off weaning, the more hesitant the child will be to try other foodstuffs.
Introducing semi-solid food
My son who used to feed 10-12 times per day until 3 months of age reduced the number of feedings to 6-8 when I introduced him to semi solid foods like ragi and banana kurukku. I did not use a spoon to feed him but instead used a feeding bottle after widening the hole on the nipple. That way he still had the comfort of breastfeeding. The next step was introducing vegetables. I started off with carrot. After cooking a small piece of carrot, I pureed it in the mixer along with some well-cooked rice. My son loved its creamy texture. I also tried potato, beetroot, green peas and egg yolk in the same way. Sometimes I also added a bit of sugar to the mixture.On to solid food
Once he was comfortable with the semi-solid texture, I stopped pureeing and instead offered him mashed vegetables or egg yolk and rice. Although he didn’t start eating that right away, he didn’t completely refuse to have it either. Gradually, I increased the portions until he finished off a large spoonful of rice and vegetables without putting up a fight. In the meanwhile, he also began eating solid food more often during the day. In the morning, he ate a small share of whatever breakfast the others had – be it dosa, appam, idli, upma, idiyappam or puri. He especially loved wheat stuff like chapatti and puri. It was followed with some baby cereal food. For lunch, he had some rice and veggies. After some more baby food in the evening, he used to wind up with 2 chapattis at night. Naturally, this left him full and nourished that he did not need to be breastfed.
Now
Because he was introduced to a variety of food very early on, Aman was ok with almost anything. He now takes regular portions of vegetables, fish, meat, milk, eggs, fruits, rice and dal. Sometimes he tells me what he wants. If I prepare that, he always eats a bit extra. I also make it a point to ask him what vegetables he wants for lunch. That way he cannot refuse it and say he wants something else when lunch is served. He especially loves carrots, potatoes, beetroot, chicken and boiled egg. Of course, like all other kids, Aman too loves chocolates, ice-cream, noodles and sweets. But I try to keep all that to a minimum and instead offer him carrot halwa, fruit salad or home-made ice-cream. I also go easy on fried or oily stuff.
So that is a summary of my experiments with baby food. While trying out these ideas, remember that your kid needs something more important – lots of water. Make sure your kid is properly hydrated and offer him water after every meal and after play sessions. Whatever you serve, add lots of love to it! Your kid needs it more than anything else!
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