Good Baby TipsTips for keeping your baby happy and healthy

A few baby strollers products I can recommend:

Weaning From Breastfeeding Guide
A Guide To Help Moms Wean From Breastfeeding Gently, Safely And Painlessly. Perfect For Breastfeeding Moms Who Would Like To Know How To Express Breast Milk, Stop Lactation, Feed Solids Or First Foods To Baby, And Overcome Weaning Problems.
Weaning From Breastfeeding Guide

How to Prepare Your Dog For Your Baby Book and Baby Sounds Audio Files
If you want to save time training your dog read this book. Once you know how dogs see the world, the training is easy. Bonuses Gifts Included: Training to Heel/Come/Stay/Meet and Greet (No Jumping). Google the Author – ‘John Wade Dog Training’
How to Prepare Your Dog For Your Baby Book and Baby Sounds Audio Files

This isn’t exactly a good BLW video, considering that’s a jar of pureed baby food, but the boy wouldn’t take anything else tonight–his teeth hurt and he just wanted the mashed butternut squash. And daddy’s silly delivery method, apparently! Please visit the blog: mamacoyote.blogspot.com

When to wean is a question facing all breastfeeding mums. How does a new mum know when to introduce solid food into her baby’s diet and what sort of food can a baby eat?

At present the World Health Organisation recommends that all babies be breastfed exclusively for six months. A long time, you may think, especially in the middle of a colic episode or growth spurt! However, there are real concerns for the welfare of babies that have led to this advice.

In the past many babies were fed solid foods at very young ages. It is now believed that their bodies were unable to cope with the demands this placed on them; a dramatic increase in the incidence of allergies and food intolerances meant guidelines were reviewed and altered.

The main danger that comes with introducing solid food too early is that babies may receive too much salt in their diets, leading to potential kidney problems in later life.

So, if you follow the advice of the World Health Organisation, you will see that it makes sense to put off giving food other than breastmilk for the first six months.

So how do you encourage a six month old baby to eat solids? The main thing to remember is that you should introduce solids gradually.

When your baby is ready for solid food he will begin to demand feeds more often, and may never seem satisfied for very long. He will start to take an interest in your meals and may even try to help himself! He will begin lip-smacking and chewing as he mimics you. A real sign that solids are imminent is the development of teeth.

Speak to a health-visitor if you think your baby is very hungry. If your baby is under six months you may find that he is just going through a prolonged growth spurt. If this is the case, his hunger will normally settle down after a few days when your milk supply has increased.

When your baby reaches the six month target, and you are sure that he is ready for solid food, try a teaspoonful of watery baby rice or baby porridge. Try to keep foods very bland and runny at the beginning.

Once he is used to solid foods, and is no younger than six months, you can quickly move onto adult cereals like Weetabix and Readybrek.

It is wise to only introduce one food at a time so that you can identify any intolerances or allergies. Sometimes these can take several days to take effect, so stick to one food for a few days before moving onto another.

Some babies are happy to have one solid feed a day at the beginning of weaning, whereas others require more frequent feeds. It is a good idea to offer the breast before and after each feed to maintain a good milk supply.

Cows milk and dairy products, eggs, fish particularly shellfish), nuts (especially peanuts), some fruits and foods containing gluten can all cause allergic reactions. So be careful with your choices…

From six months babies can digest protein so red meat, fish ,eggs, cheese, chicken and pulses can all be introduced.

Do not give peanuts to babies under one year old: if there is a history of allergies in your family avoid giving them for at least three years. As well a being an allergy hazard they can also be a choking hazard.

Honey should also be avoided for the first year as babies can contract botulism from it.

Eggs must be thoroughly cooked but can be introduced from six months.

Buy gluten-free baby food at the beginning of weaning, if possible, as gluten can cause coeliac disease. Usually a six month old baby can digest gluten without any problems but younger babies are more at risk.

Some babies react to citrus fruits such as oranges but alternative fruit juices can be given instead, such as apple juice.

Never add salt to food which your baby will eat. If he is ready to eat the same meals as the rest of the family do not add gravy until you have removed the baby’s portion, as gravy can contain a lot of salt.

It is best to introduce savoury foods prior to sweet foods as babies very quickly develop a sweet tooth! They tend to enjoy pureed carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, turnip and parsnip and any combination of these foods. Babies also love stewed apples and pears or mashed bananas and strawberries!

However, many babies dislike potatoes at the beginning of weaning. When the baby is a little more experienced with tastes and textures you can start adding some potato to his meals.

Let the baby decide when he has had enough of any particular meal. Never force-feed the baby. He only needs a little bit of solid food each day. For some babies a few spoonfuls will be enough; for others a main course and dessert are required!

If he refuses to eat one type of food avoid it for a while and try something else. Return to the disliked food after a few days and try again. Some babies can be very fussy, whereas others eat whatever is placed in front of them!

Take it slowly and it will not be such a big change for either you or your baby. Weaning should be a fun experience for you both. After a very short time your baby will look forward to his solid feeds and will even start to let you know that he wants more!

Whether you like it or not, your baby is eventually meant to wean. Breastfeeding may have given him the time of his life – literally, since breast milk has given him life for the past 6 months. It has given him the ability to ward off sickness and infections almost easily. But the time comes when weaning is not an option anymore but a necessity, especially if he reaches his half year without any hitches.

Most babies can eat anything. But there are some foods which should definitely be avoided, especially if you or your partner (or the baby’s dad) has a “rich” family history of allergies and respiratory problems. Unfortunately for baby, allergies can be inherited and may be attributed to a lineage of itches and sniffles.

Here then, is a compiled list of foods that your baby should definitely avoid in his first 12 months of life:

-          Honey, corn and maple syrup. These may contain bacterial spores which may lead to infant botulism – a very rare but extremely debilitating disease that attacks the body’s defenses, leaving a baby paralyzed from the neck down, sometimes even leading to infant death. The disease is so serious that it is highly recommended not to give your baby these products until he reaches 1 year of age.

-          Nuts. Whole nuts should always be avoided for two specific reasons: one, babies may develop allergies to it (especially peanuts), and two, it may become a choking hazard, especially since babies are just starting to develop teeth and can’t really chew too hard substances yet.

-          Cow’s milk. At about 9 months, babies can be given small amounts of dairy products, but never cow’s milk, especially skimmed and low-fat milk products. Your baby needs fat to grow some muscle and helps stimulate brain development, and skimmed milk loses most of baby’s needed nutrients in the processing stage, especially calories which babies need for him to grow better. Also, these supply too much potassium, milk protein (which most babies find difficult to digest and absorb), and sodium – something your baby needs for proper nutrition. Cow’s milk lacks the necessary vitamin E, iron and essential fatty acids. It can even give your baby a tummy ache or too much gas.

The list ends here but there are a lot of foods that should be avoided before he reaches the first year. It will be up to you and (sometimes) your doctor to have a keen eye in observing and preparing what you think may be right for your child.

Weaning is important not only for the baby but for the mother, and not only physically but emotionally. A nursing mother may feel mildly let down and depressed after she stops as if she has lost some of her closeness to the baby or as if she has become worthwhile. This is one of the reasons for making weaning a gradual process.

Weaning from the breast
Weaning from the breast is quite easy when the mother is producing a small amount of milk. It’s usually not necessary for her to bind her breasts or limit her own fluids. She can just stop putting the baby to breast and wait. If the breasts get so full that they are uncomfortable, she can nurse him for 15 or 30 seconds. This will relieve the pressure without really stimulating the breast. If the breasts become uncomfortable again, she can repeat this. If she is producing a moderate amount of milk, she should plan to wean more gradually. It still isn’t necessary to bind the breast or to limit fluids. Try omitting every other breast feed. If, in a day or two, the breasts have not become uncomfortably full, stop all regular nursing, but put the baby to breast for a short period if the breasts then become uncomfortable.

Sudden weaning from the breast
You may have to wean the baby from the breast suddenly if, for instance, you become seriously ill or you have to go out of town for an emergency. (It is not usually necessary to wean the baby because of mild or moderately severe illness in the mother. Your doctor is the one to decide this).One method is to limit the fluids that the mother drinks and to apply a tight binder and ice bags to her breasts. This is pretty uncomfortable. A better way is to relieve the breasts whenever they become uncomfortably full, either with a breast pump or by manual expression.

Gradual weaning from breast to cup
If a mother is producing plenty of milk, how long should she plan to nurse? Best of all, most natural way is to nurse until the baby is ready for weaning to the cup. Most breast-fed babies are bored between 5 and 6 months. It’s a good idea to begin offering a sip of milk from the cup from the age of 5 months, so that the baby gets used to it before he is too opinionated. By 6 months encourage him to hold the cup himself.

If by 5 or 6 months he is nursing for shorter periods .I would assume he is ready for gradual weaning. Now offer him the cup at all his meals and increase the amount as he shows his willingness to take more, but continue to breast-feed him at the end of the meal. Next, leave out one of his daily breast feeds, giving him only the cup. This is usually at breakfast or lunch. In a week, omit another breast feed if he seems willing, and in another week, the last one. His willingness to be weaned may not progress steadily. If he gets into a period when he is miserable from teething or illness, he may want to retreat a little. This is natural enough, and there is no danger in accommodating him. When weaning is carried out this gradually, there is usually no problem about the mother’s breasts.

Most mothers find they are a bit reluctant to end this important emotional tie and some of them will put off weaning, week after week. Sometimes a mother will be afraid to give up nursing altogether, because the baby is not taking as much milk from the cup as he used to take from the breast. This may postpone the weaning indefinitely. I would stop the nursing if the baby is taking an average of 4 ounces from the cup at each meal, or a total of 12 to 16 ounces a day. After nursing is stopped, he will probably increase the amount from the cup up to a total of 16 ounces or more. This is usually enough with all the other things he eating.

I think it is preferable to have a baby weaned from the breast by 6 or 7 months if he seems ready for it. A child seldom demands a breast after that. When breast feeding is continued way beyond the age that child really needs it, it may become a habit that makes him unnaturally dependent on his mother.