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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Nutrition and Health
By now your baby is likely to be happy taking solids from a spoon and is probably enjoying a varied diet. As they get better at holding things start giving them finger foods. Eating finger foods can give your baby more independence at meal times. It’ll also help them to develop hand eye coordination skills. Cut the pieces of food into finger seizes to make it easier for your baby to pick up and hold.
Breast milk or formula is still an important part of their nutrition but it is important that at this stage you offer food before their usual milk feeds. This means that your baby will begin to get more of their nutrition from food than in the earlier stages.
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Lumps and finger foods: a growing diet
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What about Heinz: Colour coded foods
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How much to feed your baby: 8 months and over
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Introducing a cup: 8 months and over
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Feeding your baby: 8 months and over
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New foods for your baby: 8 months and over
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Breastfeeding: 8 months and over
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Just the right mix: the importance of a balanced diet.