Making Baby Food

Homemade baby foods can help you provide low-cost nutritious foods for your little one. Com- mercial baby foods are convenient and safe, but they often contain more water, starch, and sugar than homemade ones.

Most babies do not need solid foods until they are about 4 to 6 months of age. Before that age most babies have not learned to swallow solid foods. The sucking reflex pushes the tongue forward in the mouth and pushes out solid foods.

You can force food down the baby’s throat but the baby is not really swallowing. Starting solids too soon may contribute to gagging and choking. If you wait to introduce solid foods, you will not need to make them too liquid. Babies will be able to handle food that is slightly textured and has small lumps.

Baby’s first foods need to be soft. Some pediatricians recommend iron-fortified infant rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula as a first solid food because rice is less likely than other grains to cause allergic reactions. Foods can be softened or mashed in a blender, food processor, food mill, or grinder. Sometimes just mashing with a fork is sufficient. If you are using foods fixed for a family meal, take out baby’s portion before adding seasonings and spices. Begin with single foods in case allergies are present. Later try combinations of fruits, vegetables, or vegetables and meats.

When to introduce solid foods

Remember food safety

• Special care should be taken when preparing foods for babies because they are more vulnerable to germs than are older children or adults.

• Always wash your hands and equipment thoroughly before making baby food.

• Raw food contains bacteria. Never let cooked food come into contact with raw food. Thoroughly wash cutting boards and utensils that have been used with raw foods to avoid the cross-contamination that is responsible for many foodborne illnesses (food poisoning).

• Do not let baby food sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Harmful bacteria in the food grow very well if given a chance. Refrig- erate or freeze baby food as soon as possible.

How to make baby food

1. Wash and rinse your hands and equipment thoroughly.

2. Prepare fresh fruits and vegetables by scrubbing, peeling, and removing pits or seeds. Remove all bones, skin, gristle, and fat from meats. Do not use leftovers to make baby food.

3. Cook food in a small amount of water until tender. Use the cooking water if the recipe calls for liquid. Food also may be steamed or baked.

4. Don’t add salt or seasonings.

5. Don’t add sugar, honey, or any other form of sweetener. Babies do not need the sweet flavor. They like fruits and other foods just the way they are. Honey and corn syrup are not safe for infants under the age of 12 months because they may carry botulism spores.

The digestive system of a baby cannot destroy these spores.

6. Purée or mash cooked food.

7. Package and label for refrigerator or freezer storage.

How to store baby food

Making several servings is a good use of time, but it also requires careful storage. One to three extra servings may be stored in the refrigerator. Use cooked vegetables or fruit within three days. Raw fruit and meats should be used the next day.

To store more than three servings, freeze the prepared foods in ice cube trays. After the food is frozen, put the cubes in freezer bags. Seal tightly, label, and store up to one month. To serve, heat in a small dish or custard cup set in pan of water. You do not need to heat the food too much.

Warning:  Use extreme caution if defrosting or heating in a micro- wave oven. Microwaves can heat a food unevenly and form hot spots. One spoonful may be cold, yet the next spoonful could burn your baby’s mouth. Always stir the food well before feeding your baby. Most health and child care professionals recommend against using a micro- wave oven to warm baby food.

Baby food recipes

Vegetables (for 7 months and older)

1. Use fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables. Check canned and frozen labels to see that they are low-salt or unsalted.

2. Wash and peel the vegetable, if necessary. If uncooked, cook over low heat in a small amount of water. Cool and purée or mash.

3. Some good combinations are: mashed potatoes and carrots or green beans; carrots and peas; sweet potatoes and squash; green beans and peas.

Warning: Beets and spinach have high concentrations of naturally- occurring nitrates which can reduce the ability of the baby’s hemoglobin to transport oxygen. Use these foods in moderation or not at all until the baby reaches his or her first birthday.

Fruit (for 8 months and older)

Follow the same procedure as for vegetables using fresh, frozen, or unsweetened canned fruit.

Good combinations are: peaches and pears, banana and apricots, or applesauce and peaches.

Banana-Oatmeal Breakfast (for 8 months and older)

1⁄4 cup rolled oats

1⁄2 cup formula (or breast milk)

1⁄3 whole banana

1⁄4 cup formula (or breast milk)

Combine oats and 1⁄2 cup formula. Bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, mash banana and 1⁄4 cup formula. Combine banana and oatmeal mixtures.

Fruit and yogurt (for 10 months and older)

1⁄4 cup plain yogurt

1⁄4 cup cooked, unsweetened fruit

Combine, mashing lumps of fruit, if necessary.

Meat (for 10 months and older)

1⁄2 cup cubed cooked meat

2 to 4 tablespoons water

Combine and purée until smooth.

Combination Meat Dinners (for 10 months and older)

1⁄2  cup cubed cooked meat

1⁄4 cup cooked vegetable pieces

1⁄4 cup cooked rice, potato, or enriched macaroni

1⁄4 cup formula (or breast milk)

Combine and blend or mash until few lumps remain. Some good combinations are: beef, peas, and potatoes; chicken, carrots, and rice; beef, squash, and macaroni; liver, green beans, and potatoes.

Meat Balls (for 10 months and older)

1⁄2 pound lean ground beef or pork

1⁄2 cup mashed potatoes or rolled oats

Combine the meat and potatoes or oatmeal, mixing well.  Form into balls about 1 inch in diam- eter. Place meatballs on a baking sheet and bake in a 350^o oven for 20 minutes, or cook in a skillet until done in the middle. Drain off fat. Offer the cooled meatballs as finger foods for snacks or meals. Label and store the extra meatballs in the freezer. Use within one month.

Warning: Babies sometimes choke on small foods. Make sure the meatballs are large enough not to get caught in the windpipe, and never leave the baby unattended while eating. To protect your baby from the danger of choking, offer only foods that are soft or will soften in the mouth.

After 1 year and at least 20 lbs. everybody would be safest facing backward while riding in a car. Babies are lucky to have seats that work this way. Infants are safest when riding facing the rear, because the back of the safety seat supports the child’s back, neck, and head in a crash. So, whichever seat you choose, your baby should ride rear-facing until about one year of age and at least 20 pounds. Every year you spend much money on buying car accessories but forget small accessory for your new-born baby.

Two kinds of safety seats are made for babies:

1.            Small, lightweight “infant-only” safety seats are designed for use rear–facing only. This kind can be used only as long as the baby’s head is enclosed by the top rim of the seat. The label on the seat gives the upper weight limit (17 to 22 pounds). One seat can be converted into a car bed for babies who must lie flat.

2.            Larger “convertible” seats usually fit children from birth to about 40 pounds. Some new models have weight limits as high as 30 to 32 pounds for rear-facing use. These products are especially good for babies under age one who are growing more rapidly than average. It may be turned around to face the front when the baby is about one year old and at least 20 pounds.

How to choose the best seat for your baby: The simplest and least expensive car accessories models for seats usually will work as well as one with fancy features. Choose a seat that you find easy to use and that fits in your vehicle.

•             Before you buy a seat, try it in your car to make sure it fits and can be buckled in tightly. If you choose a convertible seat, try it facing both rearward and forward.

•             Look for the seat you can use facing the rear as long as possible. Read the labels to check weight limits. If you buy an infant-only seat, you will need a convertible seat later. Most babies need to use rear-facing convertible seats as they get larger, because they outgrow their infant-only seats before age one. Some products are made to carry a baby over 20 pounds facing the rear. Look for a seat with a higher weight limit when you shop.

Practice buckling the seat into your car before your baby’s first ride.

More tips on choosing a seat:

•             You’ll save a little money for your car accessories if you buy one convertible seat to do the job from birth to 40 pounds, but an infant-only seat may be easier for you to use and may fit your new-born baby better.

•             An infant-only seat can be carried with you wherever you go. It can be used at home also.

•             Some infant-only seats come in two parts. The base stays buckled in the vehicle, and the seat snaps in and out. You may find these convenient.

•             If you want to use a convertible seat for a new-born baby, choose one without a padded shield in front of the baby. Shields do not fit small new-born babies properly. The shield comes up too high and may make proper adjustment of the harness difficult.

What about seats for preemies?

•             A baby born earlier than 37 weeks may need to use an expensive car accessories like a car bed if he or she has any possibility of breathing problems when sitting semi-reclined. Ask your baby’s doctor if your baby needs to be tested before discharge for breathing problems.

•             Use a seat with the shortest distances from seat to harness strap slots, and from back to crotch strap. Use rolled blankets to keep the baby’s head from slumping. Never place any extra cushioning under or behind the baby.

What to do if your baby’s head flops forward?

• It’s important for an infant to ride sitting semi-reclined (halfway back or 45 degrees from horizontal). In the car, you may find that the safety seat is too upright for a new baby who can’t hold up his or her head. You can put a tightly rolled bath towel under the front edge of the safety seat to tilt it back a little so your baby’s head lies back comfortably. Do not recline it too far.

Harness straps must fit snugly on the body.

•             Use lowest harness slots for a new-born infant. Keep the straps in the slots at or below your baby’s shoulders for the rear-facing position.

•             It is very important for harness straps to fit properly over the shoulders and between the legs. Dress your baby in clothes that keep legs free. If you want to cover your baby, buckle the harness around him first, and then put a blanket over him. A bulky snowsuit or bunting can make the harness too loose.

•             To fill empty spaces and give support, roll up a couple of small blankets and tuck them in on each side of your baby’s shoulders and head. If he still slumps down, put a rolled diaper between his legs behind the crotch strap. Thick padding should not be put underneath or behind the baby.

Desmopressin

Desmopressin

Desmopressin is the most popular medicine used to treat bedwetting. A dose is given just before bedtime. It comes both in tablet form and as a nasal spray.

(With the nasal spray the medicine is absorbed directly into the bloodstream from the nostril. The spray is not suitable if the child has a cold or runny nose as the medicine will not be absorbed.)

How does desmopressin work?

It works mainly by reducing the amount of urine made at night by the kidneys. Therefore, the bladder does not fill very much with urine in the night.

How effective is desmopressin?

There is some improvement in about 7 in 10 treated children, and about half of treated children become dry whilst taking treatment.

What are the advantages of desmopressin?

Because of the way it works (stopping urine being made), it has an immediate effect on the first night of treatment. This can be very encouraging to the child (and parents). (If it has had no effect after a few days, it is unlikely to work at all. However, sometimes the initial dose is not high enough. A doctor may advise to increase the dose if it does not work at first. Also, it is possible that food can affect the absorption of desmopressin tablets into the body. Therefore, if it has not worked, then try giving the dose at least an hour and a half after the child last ate anything, and don’t give food to your child just before bedtime. Alternatively you could try the nasal spray.)

What are the disadvantages of desmopressin?

It does not work in up to 3 in 10 cases. Also, in children where it has worked, when it is stopped there is a high chance that bedwetting will return. Some children develop side-effects, but these are rare and not usually  serious.

When and how is desmopressin used?

It is generally used only in children over seven years, but sometimes in children a year or two younger. If it works, a common plan is to take it for three months and then try without it. However, when it is stopped the  bedwetting often returns. (A permanent cure following treatment is more likely with bedwetting alarms than with desmopressin. Treatment with bedwetting alarms is discussed in another leaflet.) However, some children remain dry after a course of desmopressin is stopped.

Desmopressin can also be useful for short spells. For example, this may be especially helpful for holidays or times away from home (sleepovers, etc). It may also give encouragement to a child who is fed up with bedwetting to have a period of dry nights. The child should only drink a small amount of fluid before and after a dose of desmopressin.

Desmopressin is the medicine commonly used to treat bedwetting. It works in about 7 in 10 cases. An antidepressant medicine such as imipramine is an alternative which also works well. However, antidepressant medicines are less commonly used as they have a higher risk of side-effects.

Are there any side-effects with desmopressin?

Side-effects are rare. Read the packet leaflet for a list of all possible side-effects. They include headache, feeling sick, and mild tummy pain. The nasal spray may cause a runny or blocked nose and, occasionally, nose bleeds. All these side-effects are not serious and clear away if the treatment is stopped.

The most serious possible side-effect is due to the way the medicine works – it reduces the amount of urine that is made. Very rarely, this can lead to fluid overload (too much fluid in the body). This may lead to convulsions and serious problems. It has to be stressed that this is very rare and unlikely to happen.

However, as a precaution, it is advised that when a child takes desmopressin:

• He or she should not drink too much in the evening. Normal amounts to ease thirst are fine, but not extra drinks for pleasure such as cans of lemonade.
• He or she should drink no more than 240 ml of fluid for eight hours after desmopressin is given. (In effect this means just give small drinks if the child is thirsty in the night.)
• Also, do not give desmopressin to a child who is ill with diarrhoea or vomiting until the illness has cleared. (Children with vomiting and diarrhoea should be given plenty of fluids.)

Tricyclic Antidepressants

Tricyclic medicines

Medicines called ‘tricyclic antidepressants’ have been used for many years to treat bedwetting. They include imipramine, amitriptyline, and nortriptyline. A dose is given just before bedtime.

How do antidepressant medicines work for bedwetting?

It is not clear how they work. It has nothing to do with their antidepressant action. They seem to have a side-effect on the bladder.

How effective are antidepressant medicines at treating bedwetting?

The success rate is about the same as desmopressin. As with desmopressin, there is a high chance that the bedwetting will return when treatment is stopped.

When is an antidepressant medicine used?

They are generally only used in children over seven years. These medicines are not as popular as desmopressin. This is because there is a higher chance that side-effects may occur. Also, these medicines are dangerous in overdose. (So keep them away from children.) However, an antidepressant is an option if desmopressin has been tried and did not work.

What are the possible side-effects?

Most children do not get side-effects. However, they are more likely to occur than with desmopressin where side-effects are rare. They include: dry mouth, constipation, blurred vision, tremor, agitation, anxiety, sleepiness, insomnia (poor sleep). If any of these side-effects occur they will go if the medicine is stopped. A rare but serious side-effect is a heart disturbance. See the leaflet that comes with the packet of medicine for a full list of possible side-effects.

Earning Kids

KIDS SPENDING AND THE NAG FACTOR
Few people take the power of children more seriously than advertising executives. Marketers are interested in children both as consumers and for the enormous influence they have on their parents’ buying patterns.

Kids’ spending is skyrocketing. In 1991, children aged four to 12 spent $8.6 billion of their own money each year.By 1999, four- to 12-year-olds took in $31.3 billion in income from allowance, jobs and gifts, and spent 92 percent of it. In 2001, teenagers spent $172 billion.

Children are exhibiting extraordinary influence over their parents’ spending. Twenty years ago, children aged four to 12 influenced about $50 billion of their parents’ purchases. By 2001, that figure reached an estimated $300 billion. Marketers call this influence the “nag factor” or “pester power.”

WHERE DOES THE SALES PITCH HAPPEN?
Most kids spend the bulk of their time in one of three places — parked in front of a TV or a computer, or sitting in a classroom. Is it any wonder that advertisers make their biggest pitches in these places?

On Screen Advertising
Whether it’s through televisions or computers, American children get a lot of screen time (four and a half hours a day!),8 and these screens are full of advertising. A lot of these advertisements are aimed specifically at children.
Thousands of other ads — both on the web and on TV — are aimed at adults but absorbed by kids.

• The average American child aged 2 to 17 watches 17 hours, 30 minutes of TV per week.
• On average, American children view over 20,000 TV commercials each year, which works out to well over 50 TV ads a day.
• The average American child aged 2-18 spends nearly five and a half hours a day out of school consuming media in the form of TV, music, magazines, video games and the internet, amounting to what Kaiser Family Foundation president Drew Altman refers to as “a full time job for the typical American child.”
• Children between the ages of five and 18 will spend an estimated $1.3 billion online by 2002.

Advertising in Schools
Parents can see how much advertising comes at their kids from TV and the web. What they can’t see is how much advertising kids are exposed to during school hours, a time that is supposed to be set aside for learning. How much commercialism is in our schools? A lot. Over the past decade, advertisers have become much more sophisticated at targeting kids in school.
While there have been some successful cases of communities pushing back, the trend toward commercialized school environments continues. Sports uniforms are covered with logos. Textbooks are filled with brand names. Soda and candy machines in the hallways and fast food vendors in the cafeteria are commonplace. Some school curriculums even contain corporate-sponsored “lessons” that tout the socalled environmental benefits of the oil industry, the timber industry, the nuclear energy industry and the pesticide industry. And millions of children spend part of their school day watching commercials for junk food, teen fashion and violent films via Channel One’s in-school television network.

Captive Kids, Lost Time
Students in schools with Channel One, a twelve-minute news and advertising television program viewed daily in 12,000 middle and high schools across the country, are required to watch the program on nine out of ten school days. In return for requiring students to watch TV during class time, Channel One provides the schools with video equipment.
It’s not so clear that schools profit from this arrangement.
The hidden costs in lost class time appear to far outweigh the free hardware a school might receive. Research reveals that taxpayers in the U.S. pay $1.8 billion dollars per year for the class time lost to Channel One. And even more disturbingly, kids who should be in school to seek knowledge and stimulate critical thinking are instead a captive audience for a company whose prime aim is to coax them to buy.

THE IMPACT ON KIDS
I’m quite concerned that kids (and adults) today are equating money with success and happiness. I was appalled when my nine-year-old daughter asked her grandmother how much her birthday gift cost.” Dave Johns, Oregon. We all want to steer our children toward positive, healthy sources of fulfillment, but it’s not easy. Money can’t buy you love, friends or happiness, but advertisers want us to think that it can, and many children are simply too young to separate the hype from reality. According to a recent Junior Achievement poll, 43% of teenagers associated the American Dream with accumulation of material possessions, and nearly three-quarters of teens expect future job satisfaction to be directly related to how much money they make.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL EFFECTS
“My children are seduced into believing that if they have the right things or more things, they will not just be happier, but also more popular. This culture that sees kids mostly as consumers is creating a future generation of kids that have not felt valued for their character or their contributions to the greater community.” Jane Brolsma, Oregon.

When a society is preoccupied with material things, children and adults lose touch with non-commercial sources of happiness. In trying to fulfill non-material needs materially, we can lose contact with friends, nature and creative play. “Ads have encouraged this generation to have material expectations they can’t fulfill,” says noted author and clinical psychologist Mary Pipher. “This generation is the ‘I want’ generation. They have been educated to entitlement and programmed for discontent.” Studies show that less time in front of the TV and more time outdoors would do our children a world of good. Early experiences with the natural world have been positively linked with enhancing the development of imagination and a sense of wonder in children. Time outdoors in nature also plays a key part in helping children feel comfortable in the world around them. Child development studies are finding today’s kids are increasingly “biophobic” — fearful of the natural world. That is, they only feel comfortable in synthetic, climate-controlled environments. Too much time spent in front of the TV also has been linked with increased violence, low self-esteem and obesity. Both the Surgeon General and a Stanford University study have linked watching TV to excess body weight. In some school districts, over half the student population is overweight. And, unfortunately, many of these children will carry their weight problems into adulthood — overweight teenagers have an 80% chance of becoming obese adults.

Fitness For Preschoolers

Heel Raises- Lifting and lowering the heels is a strength-training exercise even the youngest children can do. It also helps with balance.

• Stand facing your child.
• Hold hands.
  • Slowly lift and lower your heels, encouraging your child to do the same thing at the same time.

Also:

• Pause each time you rise onto tiptoe, counting aloud to five.
• Instead of just raising your heels, you and your child can jump (two feet) or hop (one foot) lightly in place.
• Try all of these activities both slowly and quickly.

Beanbag Balance

When it comes to balancing activities, this

is an all-time favorite for children.

• Place a beanbag or a small, soft toy on your child’s head.
• Invite her to walk from one point in the room to another without dropping the beanbag.
• If she has to, she can hold on to it at first.

Fitness For Preschoolers

Also:

• Ask her to balance the beanbag as she walks both slowly and quickly, in different directions (forward, backward, or sideward), and in different pathways (straight, curving, and zigzagging).
• Invite her to try balancing the beanbag on other body parts, like a hand, shoulder, or elbow.
• Jump the River- Jumping uses the child’s own weight to build strength. If you do this for long periods of time, it can be good for the heart.
• Lay a jump rope in a straight line on the floor – or draw a line on the ground with chalk.
  Ask your child to pretend the line is a river.
• Challenge him to jump from one side of the river to the other.

Also:

• Be sure your child is landing with knees bent and heels coming all the way down to the floor.
• When he’s ready, you can “widen the river” by using two ropes, side by side, or a towel.

Mirror Game- This cooperative game is great for social/emotional development. And it means children have to do with their bodies what their eyes are seeing. This will help later with writing, among other things.

• Talk to your child about looking in the mirror.
• Stand facing your child, explaining that you want her to do exacdy as you do – just like she were your reflection in the mirror.
• Begin making slow movements that you can do in place, like raising and lowering an arm, nodding your head, or clapping hands. Take turns being leader.

Also:

• To help your child be more flexible, do things like bending and straightening at the waist, stretching arms overhead, or slowly reaching for your toes (keeping knees slightly bent).
• To help with muscle strength, lift and lower the heels or do deep knee bends.
• To help with heart health, jog or jump in place, stopping occasionally to rest.

More Ideas for Preschoolers:

• Bridges & Tunnels: Forming different kinds of bridges and tunnels with the body or body parts can help with both flexibility and muscle strength.
• The Track Meet: Invite your child to pretend she’s in a track meet at the Olympics. Can she pretend to jump hurdles, in addition to “running the track? “
• “Simon Says”: Play this excellent body-parts identification game without any elimination! To include fitness factors, have “Simon” issue challenges to jog or tiptoe in place, bend and stretch, or bend and straighten knees.
• Statues: To get your child moving, put on a piece of up-tempo music and invite him to move while the music is playing and to freeze into a statue when you pause it.