Baby Care

How to bring up and educate a child? This question certainly disturbs each parent. One thing is certain: without love and affection no parent will have success.
Question of balanced nutrition of children from birth is of great importance. It’s enough to say that man can not go to college just because he/she did not receive enough dietary iodine, a woman can not breastfeed because in childhood she ate irrationally. Zinc deficiency in food may cause the boy’s problems of growth and puberty, and calcium deficiency in childhood forms osteochondrosis among adults. The imbalance of diet on selenium can cause dysplasia infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, etc.

- Let’s talk about modern and scientifically sound principles for feeding infants.

- In recent years, the nutritional status of children of the first year of life has changed. In particular, the dates of the introduction of complementary food have been changed. Let me explain that research supported by the recommendations on this issue is provided only in the territory of the former Union institutions – Institute of Nutrition of RAMS. So, if even a few years ago, pediatricians recommended to give infants fruit juices from a month, but today it is considered to be done not earlier than three or four months.

- Why?

- First, a drop of juice gives the baby’s body a miser amount of vitamins and minerals, while significantly increasing the risk of allergic reactions. Secondly, some children have dyspeptic disorders. The digestive system of a baby is not ready for processing anything more than milk, and the early introduction of juice brings much more harm than use. According to the latest recommendations of the Institute of Nutrition of RAMS, the baby is ready to absorb fruit juice and puree only in the third or fourth month of its life.

- Why they have overestimated?

- Previously, we recommended giving children cow’s milk from eight months. Today it turns out that cow’s milk and yogurt cause diapedesic intestinal bleeding, which is often the reason for the reduction of hemoglobin and anemia. So now we recommend adapted milk formula with the number “2″ – so-called “Follow”.

Greatly has changed attitude to the curds. Previously, pediatricians were encouraged to give it to children from five-six months. Today, however, if the child is healthy, you can give him/her curds from a year. Cheese has much protein product, and the child takes enough protein from mother’s milk or infant formula. After all, if the protein in the diet is too much, there is a big burden on the kidneys. Of course, this does not always lead to the development of kidney disease, but nevertheless there is nothing good.

- Young mothers usually can not wait and introduce solid food early. What is wrong with the early introduction of “adult” products?

- Meat, eggs, fish, cheese, whole milk are also protein products, and including them into the baby’s diet should be done slowly. And since there is no universal advice, including complementary food and dishes is better to discuss with the pediatrician. After all, if, for example, a child grows weak or sick often (and in such cases, the body requires much more protein), the diet is calculated individually and completely different than a healthy child’s. Perhaps the doctor will recommend meat, cheese and other products.

What is wrong with the early introduction of complementary foods for a healthy baby? Suppose you decided to give the baby meat or cheese in three or four months. At this time, his/her gastrointestinal tract is not yet fully formed. However, the earliest solid food provokes its rapid development to the detriment of other systems. According to the natural maturation of the child program in three or four months are formed the cardiovascular, but not the digestive system. And once the program is broken, then, sooner or later the child will have heart problems.

The most important is to avoid the universal advice: each child requires individual attention. Choosing the best for your baby timetable for the introduction of complementary food will help a qualified pediatrician. A rough scheme is as follows. If the child is healthy, from birth to four months, he does not need anything except breast milk. In the absence of aggravated heredity for allergy from four months you can begin the introduction of juices. However, if there is an allergic reaction or any disorder, stop it up to six months. Give just a few drops of juice for the first time gradually increasing the quantity and eventually bringing it up to 10hn, where n is the child’s age in months. If in the process of introducing juice still appears mild allergic reaction, you must do two-week break, and then begin with a different juice, watching its portability.

In five months, first you can give your baby vegetable puree. We usually suggest you start with squash or potatoes.Gradually increasing the amount, two weeks later it is brought to 150-180 g. In the puree you can add vegetable oil.

Preparing vegetable purée you need to preserve vitamins.

A month after this comes second complementary food – porridge. Here we recommend rice, buckwheat.

- There is a huge variety of cereals. Which one we should choose? Or is it better to cook ourselves?

- It’s up to you. It is very convenient to use instant, soluble ones which do not require cooking – their preparation takes just a few minutes. In porridge should be added some butter. The recommended amount of cereal in the six to seven months is 150 grams, from eight months to a year – 180-200 g. The mixed porridge of a few grains you can give your child when he/she becomes accustomed to each grain separately.

After six months, you can start feeding your child with meat, fish, hard-boiled egg yolk, curds.