Good Nutrition

For Babies

Breast or formula feeding

There is a multitude of advice out there with regards to the best nutrition and wellbeing of your baby. The Department of Health recommends breastfeeding until your baby is six months old. During this time your baby is receiving important nutrients through breast milk and formula milks. Did you know that Omega-3 DHA occurs naturally in a mother’s milk, which is why it’s often added to formula milks?

After six months, breast milk alone doesn't provide your baby with enough minerals and nutrients, so other foods are needed. During this time, iron, as well as vitamins A, C and D are particularly important.

Give your baby or toddler Haliborange Baby & Toddler Multivitamin Liquid every day, containing a balanced range of vitamins A to E, essential to your child’s healthy growth and development.

Weaning

One of the advantages of waiting until 6 months to introduce solids is that it will reduce the likelihood of your baby developing adverse reactions to certain foods. This is even more important if you have a family history of allergies.

However, no two babies are the same. If your instincts tell you that your baby needs to start solids before six months, discuss it with your health visitor first. This timing is particularly relevant if your baby was born prematurely. The Department of Health states that solid foods should not be introduced before the end of your baby's fourth month (20 weeks). If you decide to wean your baby onto solids before six months, remember there are a number of foods that need to be avoided, such as those containing gluten, wheat, liver, eggs, soft and unpasteurized cheeses, dairy products, fish and shellfish.

Omega-3 remains important once the weaning process begins. To introduce Omega-3 into your child’s diet from an early age, a natural plant source of Omega-3 can be added to your baby’s food such as Haliborange Baby & Toddler Omega-3.

Later, between the ages of 10-12 months a baby should be having 524 mg calcium per day. The following foods each contain approximately 200 mg of calcium:

• 1 small carton of yoghurt (150mls)
• Half a large can of creamed rice pudding
• A quarter of a pint of milk

For Toddlers

Blink, and your baby will have become a toddler. Day by day they’ll become more active and aware of their surroundings. During this time they’ll continue to learn, become more inquisitive and begin to absorb what is happening around them.

Having been on solids for some time and because they are now much more active, the demands on their body and mind are increasing as well. Toddlers need about 1000 calories a day (just to give you an idea, the daily intake for adult women is 2000 and 2500 for men) from across all the major food groups:

• meat, fish, poultry and eggs – working towards 2 portions daily
• bread, cereals, rice, potatoes and pasta – working towards 5 portions daily
• fruit and vegetables – working towards 5 portions daily
• dairy produce and other calcium-rich foods – working towards 4 portions daily

Toddlers vary quite a lot in the amount they eat – anything from a quarter to half an adult portion size. As their stomachs are small, they may prefer to eat little and often rather than have three larger meals a day.

Essential Nutrients

Calcium is essential for strong bones and teeth. Milk is the most important source, which should be full fat up to the age of two years old.

Fats play a vital role in providing energy, carrying vitamins around the body and helping build cell membranes. A low-fat diet is not appropriate for toddlers, it’s important to include good fats. Good fats are unsaturated fats or polyunsaturated fats which should make up the majority of fat intake and include oily fish; olive, vegetable and nut oils and spreads; avocados and seeds.

Vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium. The most obvious source is sunlight; food sources include oily fish, eggs and spreads.

Vitamin C helps support the immune system. It’s found in citrus fruits, berries, blackcurrants, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and green leafy vegetables.

Iron Without iron, the body can’t make haemoglobin, which carries oxygen around the body. Red meats contain plentiful supplies of iron, but getting younger children to eat red meat may be difficult, so supplements may provide a good alternative for mums with fussy kids.

For more information about Baby & Toddlers visit these great pages

• Baby & Toddler Healthy Diet
• Baby & Toddler Good Health & Growth
• Baby & Toddler Brain Development
• Baby & Toddler Fun and Games