Baby Nutrition - Give Your Child a Healthy Start

All parents naturally want the best for their new baby.Corner stone of all baby things you can get is good nutrition, which allows parents to give their baby a healthy head start in life

Often, parents don't think about how they can influence their infant's health, including their infant's immune system development through nutrition. Below are a few tips for parents to help support the development of an infant's immune system during pregnancy and the first year.

During pregnancy: A mom should remember that what she eats affects her child before and after birth. A good source of vitamins and minerals and proper hydration will help a mom-to-be stay healthy.

To support an infant's immune system development, experts recommend that pregnant women eat protein-rich foods such as soy, lean meats and legumes and foods rich in antioxidants like broccoli, red potatoes and blueberries.

The first year: Before birth, a developing baby receives antibodies from its mother. Maternal antibodies provide initial immune protection to the developing infant, but rapidly decline after birth. A baby begins to develop its own antibodies as the mother's begin to wear off.

One reason why breast-feeding is recommended for at least the first year of life is because a mother's breast milk is the only way she can pass immune-protecting antibodies to her infant after birth.

"These antibodies help keep an infant healthy," said Bridget Swinney, dietitian, mother of two and author of "Healthy Food for Healthy Kids: A Practical and Tasty Guide to Your Child's Nutrition." "But if a mom chooses to feed infant formula or supplement, she should find an iron-fortified infant formula similar to breast milk"

Some infant formulas provide specific breast milk compounds called nucleotides. Clinical research shows that Similac Advance's patented blend of nucleotides helps support the development of a baby's immune system so your newborn can have a the best possible start.

Solid Nutrition For Your Baby – What Are The Right Foods

If your baby is ready to start on solid foods, you may not be sure as to which foods are best. There are a wide variety of foods that can be good starter foods. Here are some ideas to help you get going.

Mixed Grain, Rice or Oat Cereal
This is the typical baby cereal that you mix with breast milk or baby formula . This is a good starter food because it is easily tolerated and you can make it as thin as you like for those first meals. Start with just about a tablespoon of the cereal.

Yogurt
Many babies love plain, unsweetened yogurt, and it is a very healthy first food. If your baby doesn’t like it, try yogurt with the fruit on the bottom, but check labels, and buy yogurt with low sugar content. Very often the grocery store brand will be lower in sugar than the national brands.

Yellow Vegetables
Mild yellow vegetables like  carrots, squash and sweet potatoes are good starters, too. They are easy on the stomach and babies usually love the taste.

Mild Fruits
Applesauce, bananas, peaches and pears are all good choices, and babies love them.

These are some of the best foods to offer first. Many pediatricians recommend offering vegetables, cereals and unsweetened yogurt first and adding fruits and sweetened yogurt a bit later. This is based on the theory that saving sweeter foods for later discourages the development of a sweet tooth.

Introduce only one new food at a time, and wait a week before introducing something new. This will let you determine if there is any food that your child is allergic to or does not tolerate well. Once you have introduced the foods above successfully, you can add other vegetables, like green beans and peas, and meat. It is usually recommended that you wait until your baby is older to introduce spinach and broccoli.

Beware trying to approach those first few solid meals when your baby is really hungry – he is likely to rebel. Give him just a little breast milk or baby formula, and he is likely to be much more patient with the process. Don’t expect much those first few feedings. Your baby will wear more than he will eat for some time. But, it will get better – and these first few meals are more about learning the skill than actual nutrition, anyway!

How To Save Money On Baby Food? Answer Is Internet Shopping

Infant formula has become very costly in some instances, in some areas around the world. Indeed, no matter where you are located on the globe, high quality baby formula is not particularly cheap. Once in a while you can find formula on sale for a reasonable price. However, and as a rule, the better quality products are rather costly overall.

The Internet has proven to be a good resource for a parent who wishes to save money on the costs associated with the purchase of infant formula. Through the Internet, a parent can make the purchase of infant formula in bulk or larger quantities. By making such purchases, a parent definitely can save money on the costs associated with infant formula -- both in the short and the long run.

Once your baby begins moving beyond using infant formula, you will find yourself in the market for other types of baby food products and items. As with infant formula, the costs associated with high quality baby food products. Indeed, many parents shudder when they think about the amount of money that they have to spend on baby food products.

As with infant formula, parents can save a great deal of money on other baby food products by shopping and making purchases on the Internet and the World Wide Web. As with formula, a parent can purchase other types of baby food products in bulk online and save a great deal of money over time.

Another benefit to making the purchase of baby food online is convenience. In addition to saving money through the purchase of baby food on the Net, shopping online is very convenient. By shopping on the Net, you can make purchases of infant formula and other baby food products any time of day, whenever shopping is convenient for you.

As an aside, a growing number of parents are becoming interested in buying and using natural food and formula products for their babies. The Internet is proving to be a tremendous resource for people who are interested in making the purchase of natural food items, including natural baby formula and food products. Oftentimes, a diligent parent can find these natural baby food products online for a price far cheaper than what might be found in a natural food grocery market in the proverbial brick and mortar world.

In the end, when looking for all types of food products for your baby, the Internet very well may be your very best resource.