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Parenting Tips on Weaning your Baby

photo credit: abbybatchelder

If your baby is your first, you may need all the parenting help that you can get. A lot of the things that you need to know are best learned through experience but some tips from here and there can prepare you better. There are several aspects of parenthood to consider, from bathing to handling to weaning.? What is weaning exactly? Some parents describe it as that point in time when you start giving your child solids. You gradually hold back on the breast milk or formula to make way for the foods that your baby will eventually be eating more of when he becomes an adult.

When is it time to wean?

Pediatricians seem to give out conflicting advice when it comes to when you should start weaning your baby. You may even hear different points of view when you ask other mothers for parenting help and tips. Some believe that once your baby starts showing interest in solids, you can already serve him some pureed fruits or vegetables. This can be as early as when he is four or five months old. Other babies are actually fed a bit of cereal with their milk even earlier on to make them full enough to sleep through the night. If you want to keep things safe, however, you have to wait when your baby turns six months old. Most baby foods are marked ?from six months onwards? anyway.

What are the best first foods?

The best first foods are those that contain a single ingredient. This way, you can figure out what the culprit is if your baby has an allergic reaction. Stick with fruits and vegetables. Your baby should learn to have a taste for healthy foods. If you start your baby with sweets at a very young age, he may develop diabetes or obesity.

What should your baby stay away from?

Babies should stay away from foods with too many preservatives, salts or sugar. As much as possible, your baby should eat natural foods. If your baby is drinking formula, he is also ingesting some sugars. Do not indulge him with more sugar. Do not feed your young baby with honey. Honey can cause infant botulism and should be avoided in the first year of your baby?s life. Check other parenting help sites for more information about botulism.

How should leftovers be stored?

Your infant will most likely not be able to finish a whole jar of baby food. You can only make adjustments in the portions if you are preparing the food at home. With store-bought foods, however, your baby will more likely have some leftovers. Baby food with some meat can only last a day while those with only vegetables or fruits can last for two days after opening even if you keep them refrigerated. Throw the leftover foods after the one or two day period.

Taking care of a baby is a full-time and difficult job. The whole weaning experience, however, can be very rewarding especially if you manage to teach your child to eat healthy.