Good Baby TipsTips for keeping your baby happy and healthy

It is commonly known that nutrition is a critical part of everyday life. However, during pregnancy nutrition becomes even more critical for the health of you and your baby. Not only is nutrition critical during pregnancy, the nutritional needs of your body are different during this period of your life. Different nutritional needs develop because of changes in your body as well as the needs of a developing fetus. Your body is under a lot of physical stress during pregnancy which increases the need for special nutrition and added vitamins.

As soon as you find out that you are pregnant you need to consult your physician. The two of you should develop a pregnancy nutrition and fitness plan, that should be implemented as soon as possible. The first three months of your pregnancy are the most important because this is when most of your baby’s organs and brain are being developed. Proper nutrition during pregnancy can minimize the risk of birth defects, malformations and miscarriage. The first three months are when most miscarriages occur.

You should immediately begin taking special prenatal vitamins to ensure the health of you and your baby. This will help to ensure that your developing baby receives all the right vitamins that are needed. Folic acid is one of the most needed vitamins during pregnancy and women rarely obtain a sufficient amount through their diet. Prenatal vitamins need to replace the vitamins that you are currently taking. Your regular vitamins although sufficient when you are not pregnant, may be detrimental to your developing baby during pregnancy. A pregnancy specific nutrition and fitness plan will help ensure a happy and healthy baby and will also make you feel better during your nine month journey.

Turn on the Water Works

Although drinking 6-8 glasses of water is highly recommended for everyone, water becomes more important when you are pregnant. In fact, during pregnancy many experts recommend that you drink 10-12 glasses of water daily. Water does not include juice, soda, coffee of other types of beverages, it only includes water. You need to keep in mind that everything that you consume during pregnancy passes through to your unborn baby. Not only is water extremely important for a multitude of reasons, you should probably avoid or severely limit your intake of soda and coffee. These beverages, provide numerous chemicals that may not be healthy for your developing baby.

Drinking a lot of water may be difficult and many women find it easier to keep a water bottle with them at all times so they can continuously sip water throughout the day. If you do not like the taste of plain water, you can always add a small amount of juice or a twist of lemon to add some flavor. Extra water is needed to aide in your baby’s development, to remove waste from your system and to help ensure adequate flow of nutrients to your baby.

Drinking alot of water may also minimize or prevent some of the ailments you commonly experience during pregnancy, such as nausea, constipation, and swelling. Severe constipation is a common symptom during pregnancy because your developing baby depletes the water in your system.

Pregnancy Nutrition – Foods to Avoid

Your body and developing baby are much more vulnerable to bacteria and other contaminants during pregnancy. As a result, there are certain foods that you will be advised to either avoid completely or limit during your pregnancy. Here is a partial list of items that you need to avoid or limit:

1) raw eggs, this may include certain dressings or sauces;
2) unpasteurized milk and cheese, this may include certain soft cheeses;
3) raw or rare fish and meats;
4) fish that tend to have high mercury levels;
5) caffeine and alcohol;
6) unwashed vegetables; etc.

Unwashed vegetables are very bad because of the pesticides and bacteria that they may carry. Caffeine in moderation may be acceptable but make sure you obtain specific details regarding the quantity that is advised. Your doctor and a pregnancy nutritional guide should be consulted to develop a complete list for you to follow.

Summary and Additional Resources

Pregnancy nutrition and fitness are extremely important for the health of you and your developing baby. Your baby has special nutritional requirements that begin at the moment of conception. The first three months of pregnancy are the most important because that is when your baby’s organs and brain are being developed. It is also the time that most miscarriages occur.

Proper specialized nutrition can also make you feel better and provide additional energy during pregnancy which is critical because of the added stress that is being placed on your body. You will need to make sacrifices but it will pay off in the long run for you and your baby. When you see your healthy beautiful baby for the first time, you will know that it was all worth it!

There is a lot of information that you need to know about pregnancy and pregnancy nutrition. Although your doctor and loved ones can help, there is too much to learn for this method to be sufficient. We provide comprehensive pregnancy information and recommended pregnancy guides. We review the most popular guides to find the ones that are best for your needs.

Pregnancy is not only most creative and fulfilling phase of womanhood but it teaches you to be more responsible and caring towards yourself particularly with respect to pregnancy diet and nutrition. In the pregnancy period, your baby, whom you are creating with your flesh and blood, is still very much part of your body and for that you need more nutrition intake. During pregnancy, nutritional needs are increased, both to support the rapid growing fetus and to supplement the needs of your changing body structure.

Plan your pregnancy diet in such a way that you are the only supply line for your unborn baby’s nutrition needs. Your eating habits will decide your baby’s health and well-being. Poor eating or rather unhealthy food habits can adversely affect your pregnancy diet and nutrition and result in conditions like anemia, pre-eclampsia, mood swings, fatigue, leg cramps, constipation, etc.

Pregnancy: Celebrate It With Healthy Pregnancy Diet

During pregnancy, every bite counts. Whatever an expectant mother eats or hates to eat, affects her child. According to a recent research, besides physical development, intelligence of a child and his/her mental faculty depends a lot on the diet and nutrition of the mother during pregnancy.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, one does not need extra calories per se in pregnancy diet. However, one needs to have lots of high protein, calcium, vitamins such as Vitamins B12, B6, vitamin D iron, zinc and folic acid (it has been proved after myriad researches that even a simple tablet of folic acid prevents severe neurological- brain and spinal cord disorders). In addition, minerals, essential fatty acids and substantial calories are all-important for the fetus’ all-round development and therefore should be essential components of pregnancy diet and nutrition plan.

As the pregnancy period progresses, one must start eating more of proteins in the pregnancy diet. A pregnant woman needs approximately 300 calories more than normal during last 6 months of pregnancy. In first three months of pregnancy, your weight gain should be 3-5 pounds in per month but in last 6 months, you should not gain more than 3 pounds per month. Your pregnancy diet and nutrition chart should be designed in accordance with these acceptable weight gain goals.

Foods To Include In Pregnancy Diet

You should include fresh, light, wholesome, high fiber foods in your pregnancy diet in form of porridge (minerals and natural fiber); dairy (calcium); red vegetables like carrot and tomatoes (carotene); red and orange fruits like apples and oranges (vitamin B complex). Walnuts, almonds and raisins (vitamin and minerals); leafy vegetables like cabbage, spinach, broccoli (calcium and iron); brown rice, jaggery, lotus stem (iron); sprouts, lentil and pulses (protein), curd, buttermilk, paneer and of course plenty of milk (calcium) are important ingredients of pregnancy diet.

During the pregnancy period, eat five small meals a day instead of three heavy meals. Also, reduce your intake of fat, sugar and salt. Do not indulge in overeating during pregnancy because if you eat too much you will feel uncomfortable.

One basic mantra of staying healthy is to drink lots of water (will prevent dehydration and wash out the toxins of body) as soon as you wake up in the morning and after your afternoon nap It helps clean your digestive system too. You might be scared you would vomit if you drink more water, when you have nausea, which is normal in pregnancy, but the fact is, water helps to flush out the toxins from your body.

During pregnancy, strictly avoid junk food because they just give you empty calories (and extra pounds) without the nutritional benefits of healthier foods also avoid caffeine and alcohol fats, oily food, additives and unpasteurized food.

Besides healthy eating and maintaining a healthy pregnancy diet and nutrition plan in consultation with your doctor, you should do yoga and other light exercises under expert medical advice. Last but not the least, try to remain stress free, meditate and in this period of your pregnancy increase your connectivity with the Almighty. This will definitely shower you and your baby with positive energy.

So, be cool, relax, and celebrate your pregnancy and be a responsible and caring mom-to-be with balanced pregnancy diet and nutrition.

Kalpna Solanki, creator of BOBOBABY demonstrates how to make Quinoa and Apple baby food. She also explains why certified organic kosher food with NO salt, preservatives, sugar, colour, peanuts, nuts, soy, wheat, sesame, dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish, poultry or meat makes your baby healthier. Check out all of our videos at www.dabbler.ca

Every parent wants to provide the most nutritious food for their growing baby. That simply goes without saying. A baby`s system is smaller and more fragile than those of adults. And development of their central nervous system, bones, immune and hormonal systems need optimum nutrients. Babies are also more susceptible to toxins in the environment and poorly processed baby foods. If you`re not a parent with lots of spare time to make your own baby food from scratch (most of us are forced to multi task all day), there are lots of excellent options. Many baby food companies now produce baby food with quality and even organic ingredients. There are so many brands now that cover all the food groups to ensure a balanced diet for your baby. Of course whole grains are an essential and when fed with plenty of fluids, will keep a baby or child regular. Again, be sure to look the word “organic” on the label or box. Organic means that the food is grown without the use of pesticides and in a certain way to insure that that were no chemicals or preservatives used in the processing of the food. Some also avoid foods that have been genetically modified. Many adults prefer eating this way – I know I do. Everyone in my family chooses brands and products that have natural ingredients as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Why not instill good nutrional habits in your baby and children? Especially when too many kids have been acclimated to eating fast food, there`s such a need to steer them away from this style of eating. Look at the statistics of overweight children in the country in recent years. There`s a huge health benefit to avoiding fast food and let`s not forget the packaged foods that are loaded with chemicals, saturated fats, and sodium levels that are through the roof. Just read the ingredient lables and you`ll see what I mean. As an example of finding unprounceable and even unappetizing ingredients in some packaged food items, the next time you are in the supermarket, check out the ingredients in a package of scrapple or spam. That should be enough to convince you to consider foods that are very close to their natural form and made with pure ingredients.

It used to be more expensive to buy natural food products in general but now most supermarkets across the country are jumping on the organic bandwagon, making healthy foods not only very available but also price competetive with specialty and health food stores. You can find them next to the other typical baby food brands on the shelves or in the health food isle or section of the supermarket. Reading the ingredient label, you`ll find that there`s no added sugar, salt, additives, or preservatives. After all, you do want the best and most nutritous foods

Dr. Sheldon H. Cherry, a well-known obstetrician and gynecologist in New York’s Mount Sinal Hospital, in his book Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth, asserts that the decision to breast-feed or bottle-feed a baby should be completely left to the mother’s personal preferences. As she is the one taking care of the baby, it is important for her to feel comfortable with the decision. Being pressured into either method of feeding will only lead to discontentment.

Dr. Benjamin Spock in Baby and Child Care is of the opinion that as a general principle it is always safer to adopt natural ways with your baby unless there is an exception and the mother is absolutely sure that there is another, better way. In recent years, the number of breast feeding mothers is growing, as there are definite advantages known of breast feeding and perhaps others that have not yet been discovered. There are many factors that contribute to a mother’s decision to breast feed her baby. The most important one, perhaps, is the nutritional benefits of breast milk for the infant. The more research is conducted upon breast milk and its contents, the more doctors are convinced that it is the perfect food for babies.

The Nutritional Benefits:

“There are 4,000 species of mammals and they all make different milk. Human milk is made for human infants and it meets all their specific nutrient needs,” says Ruth Lawrence, M.D., professor of pediatrics and obstetrics at the University Of Rochester School Of Medicine, and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. (Click for source) Each species’ milk has specific qualities that ensure the survival of its offspring in a particular environment. This principle is known as the biological specificity of milk. For instance, mother seals produce high-fat milk because baby seals need a lot of body fat to survive in cold water. Similarly, since brain development is crucial to the survival of humans, human milk provides nutrients for rapid brain growth. Not only does breast milk provide the best nutrition for an infant, it is specifically tailored to meet the needs as the baby grows. The milk changes its composition to meet the child’s changing needs. (Click for source)

Does breast milk contain everything a child needs? Does he require any supplements?

Vicki Lansky in the Complete Pregnancy and Baby Book expresses the opinion that as more is learnt about breast milk and its contents it becomes more obvious that breast milk contains a perfectly balanced amount of nutrients for optimal absorption in a baby’s body.

Early researches suggested that breast milk was nutritionally inadequate for infants, for instance, it did not contain a sufficient amount of iron for growing infants, which made doctors concerned about babies becoming anemic. However, it has been proven that these researches were based on inadequate studies and techniques and the small amount of iron present in the mother’s milk is optimal for absorption and enough to keep the baby from becoming anemic.

Some doctors are still concerned about the amount of fluoride present in breast milk and may suggest supplementing the baby with fluoride drops. However, babies have thrived even before the invention of fluoride drops and iron supplements, because breast milk is optimal itself. The doctors’ recommendation of these supplementary nutrients is often attributed to the fact that benefits of breast-feeding are not studied in depth and are overlooked in American Medical schools by summarizing them in one sentence “Breast feeding is best.” (Click for source)

Does formula milk contain all the same nutrients as breast milk?

For some mothers, due to various reasons, breast feeding is not an option and infant formulas have to be used. According to Dr. W. Steven Pray, Ph.D. Professor, School of Pharmacy, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, “Infant formulas have a difficult gap to fill. They must mimic breast milk as closely as possible. Yet it is difficult to produce a formula equal in all respects to breast milk, because its exact chemical composition is not yet known.” As every baby has unique nutritional requirements, according to his age, birth weight and growth rate, breast milk changes to suit these requirements whereas formula milk is a compromise between ideal infant nutrition and starvation. (Click for source)

Infant formula contains synthetic replicas of the nutrients found in breast milk. However, breast milk is so complex that it is estimated that there are still hundreds of ingredients in it that haven’t been discovered yet. Many of those that have been discovered cannot be replicated in a lab. Thus, formula milk is an imitation of breast milk but not a duplication. In addition, many ingredients in formula are as such that they cannot be readily absorbed and utilized by the baby’s body. For example, the iron found in infant formula is not easily absorbed. This can cause problems such as the baby becoming anemic from lack of iron absorption into the bloodstream or constipation due to the extra unabsorbed iron lying in the intestines.(Click for source)