Dear Readers

'Lindy' is a youthful new mother who is concerned about what is best to give her new son to eat now that he is more than four months old. Some family members have advised her to introduce fruits and someone else suggested a watery cereal. She will shortly be returning to work so she does have to make some changes apart from breastfeeding.

The first year of a baby's life is critical time for introducing the child to healthy eating habits. A healthy diet not only promotes normal growth but encourages healthy eating patterns later on in life and can prevent obesity and other related problems.

Between birth and four to six months, an infant is breast-fed or bottle-fed with formula, as needs requires.

As a guide, at about the time most babies sit up by themselves (four to five months) and have, at least, doubled their birth weight, it is also time to consider introducing semi-solids into their diets. However, babies will develop at their own pace. They should not be forced to a schedule.

Breast milk is the most perfect food for babies and mothers should breast-feed for as long as possible during the first year of life to give the child a natural protection against infections. However, at times this is just not possible and modern infant formula does a good job with providing an adequate substitute.

With breastfeeding, the infant is exposed to food flavours from the food the mother eats and this familiarises the baby with the food he/she will be exposed to later and increases the likelihood that he/she will accept these food types when it is time to wean him/her.

By about the fourth month, additional fluids can be offered to the baby, water and apple juice. Within a week or two, pureed single-fruit preparations can also be offered.

If a decision has been made to introduce solid foods, at age four to six months it is best to begin a cereal mixed with a thin consistency with milk or water.

Over a few weeks, the amount of liquid is decreased to give the child a thicker mixture. After about a month, other solid foods can be introduced such as pureed meats, carrots and pumpkin. These foods should be introduced one at a time. A new food should be offered for at least four to five days in a row before introducing another food type.

A reaction to the food such as excessive puking or a rash, will alert the caregiver to possible allergies, and the most-recently introduced food would be discontinued. Infants need frequent small feeds as their stomachs are very small. at first, a teaspoonful of food can be offered five times a day and this amount is gradually increased. At first, fruits, vegetables and meats should be given as single meals before the baby is given a mixture.

first formulas

By six months, most babies need more iron and and zinc to grow than they can obtain from breast milk or first formulas. They will obtain this from additional foods. Research has shown that it takes repeated exposure to new food types (as much as 10 to 15) before babies will accept some new foods.

The advice is that while caregivers can persevere, ultimately, one should respect the child's food preferences. One or two unaccepted fruits or vegetables is not going to result in an unbalanced diet! Ultimately, the child should be exposed to a variety of fruit and vegetables as the more healthy foods a baby eats during the first years of life, is the more likely he/she will continue eating them into growing adolescence and adulthood.

Caregivers should not give babies leftovers from their previous meal at a later time, as this can only promote bacterial contamination and diarrhoea disorders. Refrigerate clean, unused food portions (which have not yet reached baby's dish) and use within 12 hours.

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