Baby Food Chart – mfine Health Blog

When to stop breastfeeding and introduce cow’s milk to babies

A common concern parents have is about when and how to introduce cow’s milk to babies. It is mandatory to breastfeed your baby until they are about one year old because breast milk has all the required nutrients and antibodies for your baby’s growth and protection. However, it is acceptable to feed your baby with infant formula milk. But it is strongly advisable to avoid cow’s milk for babies until they are one year old. This is because cow’s milk contains high amounts of proteins and minerals that your baby’s immature stomach cannot handle all of a sudden and might cause intestinal bleeding.

So, after you have started feeding solids, your baby’s digestive system is slowly getting accustomed to more amounts of nutrients. By the time, they would be one year, you can introduce cow’s milk for babies. Feed small quantities of cow’s milk initially by adding to cereals or fruits. Initially, you can mix the cow’s milk with breast milk to get your baby accustomed to cow milk. Later as the days pass by, you can reduce the proportions of breast milk until you baby is ready to have cow’s milk completely.

There are a lot of benefits of cow’s milk for babies. It is a rich source of calcium that increases bone density and strong teeth. It also helps in the healthy baby weight gain. Milk also provides the necessary proteins and minerals for growth. As parents, it is natural for you to be worried about allergic responses that your baby shows for cow’s milk. Firstly, introduce the cow’s formula, if your baby does not show any allergy, then he/she might not be allergic to cow’s milk. Incase your baby shows signs of allergy to formula milk, it is advisable to get the doctors consultation.

Although there are a lot of benefits with cow’s milk, make sure you gradually introduce in small amounts. Refer a doctor if you are planning to feed other combinations like soy milk or fat free milk. Be patient and give the required time for your baby to get accustomed to the cow’s milk.

For more details about Indian baby food chart – http://bit.ly/2zp6wIN

Postpartum Care

Postpartum stress is not easy to deal with and requires a lot of effort from the new mothers. It is important to be prepared for the physical and psychological stress that it can cause. Although your baby is positive energy for dealing with the pressure, you need to understand the problem and take required initiatives for postpartum care. Many stresses like weight gain, hormonal changes, disturbed sleep patterns and more contribute to postpartum anxiety.

Hormonal changes is the major contributing factor for postpartum stress. Some of the hormones that induce stress are:

Progesterone is an important hormone that helps in the development of your fetus. But, induces moodiness and lowers metabolism that adds to the stress leading to depression.
Next, is the prolactin which helps in the production of milk. However, higher amounts of prolactin reduce energy levels.
Similarly, oxytocin and relaxin are vital pregnancy hormones that cause postpartum stress in new mothers.

Signs that you are going through postpartum stress

The signs that you are going through postpartum stress include fatigue and frequent headaches. Next, if you have disturbed sleep patterns, then you are going through postpartum stress that adds on to the tiredness. Low metabolism is a common effect post-pregnancy that might lead to weight gain, which furthers adds to your depression.

Postpartum care

Postpartum care comes with the external helping hand from your family members. Although, as a mother, you would love to do everything that your baby needs, it is crucial to get enough rest. Take help from family whenever required and talk to them. Talking is the best way to release the stress out of your head and feel better. Make sure to exercise regularly. Start slow with simple exercises and later as your body gets accustomed, you can increase the workout.

As much as parenting a child is essential and requires patience from your side, postpartum care also requires the same patience and perseverance. Stay calm and get the necessary help to come out of the stress.

Also, check out our blog on what food is the most ideal for babies in India. We have prepared a complete baby food chart for that purpose. Here is a link to it – Indian Baby Food Chart

Baby Weight Gain – Food that is most ideal for them

One of the major concerns of parents about their baby is healthy weight gain. Parents always want to feed their baby with enough nutrients for their growth and development. So, parents generally are cautious about what they feed their baby. You can help in your baby weight gain by feeding him/her with homemade foods.

Infants usually weigh around 2.5 to 3kgs. However, they tend to lose weight after about a week. The best food for healthy baby weight gain in breast milk. Breastfeeding not only supplies all the required nutrients but also has elements for weight gain. Consistent Breastfeeding has shown to have significant effects on the gradual improvement in their growth.

BMI (Body Mass Index) is the metric to calculate the body mass to check if your baby is healthy with proper weight. There are ranges of the BMI values that are used to interpret if your baby is underweight, normal or overweight. BMI calculator is vital to track the growth of your child. Doctors generally use this as the mark to analyse how healthy your baby is growing.

By using the online BMI calculator, you can check for your baby’s BMI.Routine checkups are essential to keep a note of your baby’s growth patterns so that it helps you to make changes in your baby’s diet depending on their growth.

Ideal food for Baby Weight Gain

Foods that help in healthy weight gain in babies are fruits that have natural sugars. You can feed your baby with mashed fruits so that it is easy for them to swallow and digest. Eggs are the best source of proteins as well. Lentils, fish, rice with ghee and paneer are also other foods that help in healthy weight gain in your babies.

We have also prepared a Baby Food Chart which will help in understanding what food is best for babies.

Here is a link to our baby food chart – http://bit.ly/2zp6wIN