Baby Food Recipes: How to prepare for mealtime
Managing your baby’s mealtime can be overwhelming. The key is to be patient and prepare ahead of time. These are things you should consider when preparing your baby’s first meal:
Find a comfortable spot to feed your baby
Childcare is all about routine and familiarity. Choose a spot at your dining table and a chair where your child can sit comfortably and securely. Make it a permanent place for eating so that your child will associate that spot with mealtime.
Also, it is important to show love and care while feeding your baby. Do this by establishing eye contact and making the meal experience for them a pleasurable one. No distractions (e.g. ipad/television) please!
Encourage your child to explore
Expect mealtimes to be messy. Let your baby pick up food with his or her hands. Make him wear a baby bib to protect his or her clothes and prepare a rug for easy clean-ups.
Introduce your child to utensils
Handing your baby a spoon while eating can encourage him or her to learn eating by him/herself.
Start introducing baby cups for sips of water
You can also start encouraging the baby to sip his or her milk from a cup. This will be a good practice to wean the baby from feeding bottles and learning to drink from a cup on their own.
Puree your baby’s first meal to avoid choking hazards
Your baby is accustomed to milk and will just swallow anything you put in his or her mouth like he/she does when drinking milk. Your baby may not have teeth yet and does not know how to chew the food. Mashing bits of fruits and vegetables will allow your baby to swallow easily. You can gradually add texture and chopped finger foods as your baby gets older.
Start with little servings of food
It’s normal to boil and mash too much baby food that your baby will not finish. One way to store baby food is to put it in clean jars or containers. Do not feed your baby directly from the jar of homemade or store-bought baby food. Saliva on the spoon can quickly spoil left-overs; serve the baby food in a small bowl or plate instead.
Avoid power struggles. Do not force your baby to eat
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