Breast is best
Breast milk is the best milk for babies. Breast milk provides the ideal balanced nutrition and protection for your baby. Maternal nutritional requirements increase during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Therefore mothers’ diets should include a wide variety of nutritious food and healthy snacks.
If you are considering bottle feeding, always seek professional advice as once bottle feeding has commenced it can be difficult to revert to breast feeding. Partial bottle feeding may also adversely affect breastfeeding by reducing the supply of breast milk. Always use and prepare infant formula as directed by the manufacturer; unnecessary or improper use of infant formula can be hazardous to the health of your baby.
Before using infant formula, always consider the social and financial implications, such as issues of convenience and cost to the household of using infant formula for at least 12 months. If you are considering using infant formula, it is important to discuss this with a health professional.
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How to start feeding your baby solids
Eating solids is a brand new experience for your baby, so be patient - you can expect messy mishaps in the beginning. Don't worry about going gourmet at this stage - your baby has four to five times the tastebuds that you do, so even bland food will have a distinct taste for them. You don’t need to add salt, sugar or other condiments to their food.
Here are some suggestions on how to get started:
Get comfortable - choose a time when you and your baby are both feeling relaxed, maybe after a mid-morning or mid-afternoon feed.
Consistency – To begin with, you may like to try Farex Instant Rice Cereal. You can prepare it as per the instructions, with the right levels of breast milk, formula or cool boiled water, to make it the right consistency to get your infant started.
Start small - only feed a tiny bit at first. Use a small teaspoon or baby spoon with a little food on it, just half to one teaspoon can be enough on the first day. Gradually increase the amount offered - let baby guide you. Some babies really love food from the start so let them take what they want.
Go at your baby's pace - let your baby taste the food. They might make a few odd faces and spit food out while they're getting used to the taste and texture.
The gag reflex - don't panic if your baby gags and coughs a fair bit to start off with. These inherent reflexes are there to protect them - it stops them from choking or getting food stuck in the back of their mouth. This can happen quite a bit until they get used to chewing their food. Always stay with your baby when they are eating to prevent choking.