On the outset, feeding babies is pretty much set in stone. You will either feeding them formula, or you will breastfeed (preferable). Formula is fine for feeding babies, but breast is so much better for them as it helps them along the way in building antibodies which of course help them to fight off illness.

Still, certain foods should be avoided when breastfeeding because what you eat can ultimately be passed along to the baby. Soft drinks that are loaded with caffeine are a definite no-no as the caffeine can be passed to the baby. Likewise there are a number of foods that can create problems for baby by making them “gassy” for lack of a better term. These foods include among others thing:

• Broccoli
• Onions
• Beans
• Even hot dogs or frankfurters

Once we get beyond the stage of just milk for feeding babies, we have to start considering solid foods, working our way up of course. This is an area where the baby’s doctor can guide those of you who are new moms but many people believe that at around 3 months or so you can begin mixing cereal with formula or breast milk for feeding babies. It is said that this will help babies to sleep longer at night and reduce the number of feedings necessary. Others contend that feeding babies anything of that nature should be withheld until about 6 months.

If the baby is crying a lot for feeding, then simply put, the breast milk or formula is not enough to keep them satistfied and adding cereal to the milk will help.

IMPORTANT NOTE – Feeding babies whole milk or any milk other than formula or breast milk before they are 1 year old. This can be dangerous to baby because his or her little body cannot properly break down the proteins produced in cow’s milk. In addition, whole milk contains too much potassium and sodium and makes the baby’s kidneys work harder than they should. This can be a major problem. Among other things that can happen, giving baby cow’s milk before it is time can result in the baby having low iron, and it can in fact cause allergic reactions and internal bleeding. This is not meant to scare, but to inform you of the consequences that may happen.

When you actually do begin introducing solid foods when feeding babies it should be things like the aforementioned cereals, pureed fruits and vegetables, etc. As you introduce each new food to baby, do so one at a time. You want to monitor the baby for any possible allergic reactions, and of course you will want to know what caused the reaction as well.

First introduction of any food should always be mashed well, or pureed. We want no chunks of anything that could potentially cause a choking hazard.

A great many people are beginning to see that producing baby food at home not only saves money, but it’s much healthier. Especially when you consider the fact that organic is better as there have been no pesticides used on them. Another reason being that there are no additives to prolong the life of the food and there are no fillers or artificial colors added either.

Making your own food for feeding babies is easy. The process is so simple in fact a child could do it! (one old enough to operate a stove, that is!) Simply cook the food as you normally would. It’s a good idea to leave out the added salt and other spices that you may use. When it is completely cooked (in the case of vegetables that is) then allow them to cool before moving on to the next process which is basically put them in the blender and setting it to puree. Mixing the puree can be done with water or breast milk if necessary, but in many cases you won’t need this unless you are pureeing meat or something along those lines.

It may seem to be additional work feeding babies with homemade baby food, but really there is only an additional step or two involved, and it’s so much healthier for the baby. Foods can be done in advance as well, and then frozen to use at a later time if you so desire. Be careful of heating however so as to not get it too hot for baby.

The first years of feeding babies are the most important. The baby is growing very fast and they are developing all over, including the brain. Take extra steps to ensure healthy development can set the tone for a healthy life overall. This healthy lifestyle starts at home and will follow baby into adulthood, so the patterns we set for baby now is likely the pattern they will follow as they grow.