Best Foods For Baby (and What To Avoid)

It’s an exciting milestone when baby is ready for solids. But what should you feed him or her in the first year? The options are almost endless, but you can’t go wrong with these healthy choices.

When it comes to feeding baby, there’s no “Top 10” list of super foods for moms to print out, stick on the fridge and stick to. (Sorry!) But experts agree that limiting your little one to a few “best” foods in her first year (or any year, for that matter) would actually do her a disservice.

Bananas

Bananas are full of carbohydrates, which provide sustained energy, as well as fiber to support a healthy digestive tract. They’re a perfectly portable baby food, as they come in their own easy-to-peel packaging. When serving bananas to young babies, make sure they are ripe and thoroughly mashed. Older babies can eat chopped bananas as finger food, but they should also be ripe so they’re easy for young eaters to mash and chew.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a good source of potassium, vitamin C, and fiber and an excellent source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps prevent certain types of cancer and mops up free radicals. Most babies prefer sweet potatoes over other vegetables because of their naturally sweet taste. When cooked and mashed, sweet potatoes make a smooth puree that’s easy to eat, even for babies who are just starting the to transition to solid foods.

Best Age for Sweet Potatoes: Six months and older

Avocados

Avocados are sometimes thought of as a vegetable, but they are actually a fruit! They also contain more nutrients than any of their food-group kin. Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit and are rich in monounsaturated fat — the “good” type of fat that helps prevent heart disease. Make sure you only serve Baby ripe avocados. Wash the outside, then remove the peel and mash well. Since they’re high in fat, avocados can quickly make your baby feel full, so just serve a little on the side with other foods, such as meat or chicken purees.

Best Age for Sweet Potatoes: Six months and older

Meat

Meat—like chicken, lamb or beef—is an excellent source of protein, as well as iron, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and zinc. Just make sure it’s pureed to a smooth texture. Try mixing the pureed meat with breast milk and a favorite veggie puree if you’re preparing it yourself, or buy plain pureed jarred meats.

Best Age for Meat: 7 to 10 months and older

Yogurt

Plain (not vanilla) whole-milk yogurt is another protein-rich option for baby—plus, it contains calcium and beneficial live active cultures.

Best Age for Yogurt: Nine months and older

 

A FEW FIRST YEAR NO-NOS

Honey

Tempted to sweeten up baby’s bland pear sauce with a touch of honey? Don’t.  The tummies of babies under age one simply can’t deactivate the botulism spores that might be in honey. So avoid this food until baby has passed his or her first birthday.

Nuts and Peanuts

You can introduce small amounts of creamy—not chunky—peanut butter when your child is one year old (try spreading a thin layer on a cracker), but avoid nuts in whole form until he or she is 4 years old to prevent choking.

Cow’s Milk

Babies just can’t easily digest cow’s milk, which is one reason why experts recommend waiting until the one-year mark before offering it.

 

 

NURSERY MOBILES

Baby mobiles are great for both entertaining and calming your baby. In the early stages of life your baby is going to spend much of his time laying on his back. Rather than staring at a boring, flat ceiling, many parents choose to install a baby mobile to give their little baby an interesting and stimulating feature to look at.

There are two main types of baby mobiles available.

Ceiling mounted baby mobile

Years ago this was the only type of baby mobile available. This mobile is attached to the roof of your house by a hook or screw.

The downside of ceiling mounted baby mobiles is that they require a hook or screw to be drilled into your ceiling. When the time comes to remove the baby mobile you will need to patch the hole left behind.

Crib mounted baby mobile

The most popular variety of baby mobile. This mobile attaches directly to your infant’s crib and can be installed in seconds.

Since they are able able to support more weight, baby crib mobiles will have more elaborate hangings than their roof mounted cousins.

Below we have selected some nursery mobiles to help the moms to choose the one, that matches their style. Check them out and get inspired 🙂

 

Baby Knee Pads: The Best way to prevent scrapes and bruises

Bloody knees?

A hard or rough floor can quickly bloody or bruise your baby’s knees as he crawls a few laps around your living room.

Because your baby’s skin is so soft and delicate it does not take much to mark it. Floors like marble and concrete pose a particular problem. Even carpet can rub your baby’s skin red raw. If you have ever had rug burn you will know just how much it sucks.

While your baby may not immediately realize just how sore his knees are, just wait until bath time. When those red and render knees hit the warm bath water your baby will definitely cry with pain.

So how do you stop this from happening?

How to protect your baby’s knees from hard floors

 

We put shoes on our baby to protect their feet but for some reason do not bother with their knees. Fortunately, there are a great range of knee protection products designed to keep your baby’s knees safe and comfortable while crawling around.

 

If your toddler is just learning to walk then chances are he will keep falling over, banging his knees on the floor. Knee pads will provide your little ones knees with a soft place to land each and every time he takes a tumble.

There are two different types of baby knee protection products available. They are as close to knee shoes as you will get:

1. Baby leg warmers

Baby leg warmers are essentially long socks with out feet. Yes, this means that leg warmers only provide as much knee protection as a thick sock.

There are numerous problems with using leg warmers as knee protection:

1. Less protection than knee pads: While they provide enough protection across wooden floors, you may still find that harder floors such as marble or concrete will bruise your little ones knees.

2. Can be slippery: Leg warmers also have the problem of slipping on smoother floors like marble. Your baby will look like he is dong the running man dance.

3. Often slide down: Unless the leg warmers sit incredibly tight you will find that they slide down your baby’s legs as he crawls around. If the leg warmers are not covering your baby’s knees then they certainly not protecting them.

If you want the best knee protection for your baby then you are better off going with:

2. Baby knee pads

For those of you with very unfriendly floors, baby knee pads are your best bet. The knees area is made of a thick padded material and provides your baby’s knees with the maximum protection possible.

Crawling in knee pads will take some getting used to it, since the extra padding on the knees places your baby’s legs at a slightly higher than usual position when crawling. Fortunately, the learning curve is fairly low and before long your baby will be scooting across even the roughest of terrain without cutting his knees.

SHOP FOR THE RIGHT HIGH CHAIR

High-chair shopping might feel as daunting as getting your little one to sit still for a feeding, but choosing a chair you love is worth the effort. Just think about how many meals your munchkin will munch there — and how many hours you’ll spend in front of (and cleaning) that chair. To find a chair that sits right with you both, check out these high-chair shopping tips.

WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS WHEN I’M HIGH-CHAIR SHOPPING?

There are four different types of high chairs to choose from:

• Hook-on high chairs, which clip right onto the dinner table
• Kitchen-chair high chairs (also called booster seats), which attach to adult kitchen chairs
• Basic freestanding chairs, which come with very few bells and whistles
• Full-featured freestanding chairs, which can come with extras like toys, dishwasher-safe trays, and kits to convert the chair into a booster seat later on

You’ll also have a choice of materials:

• Wooden high chairs look great, and the latest models are every bit as functional as their plastic counterparts, thanks to easy-to-clean finishes and lightweight designs.
• Plastic or metal high chairs are extra light, fast to fold, and easy to move around the kitchen.

WHAT DO HIGH CHAIRS COST?

Prices range from about $20 for a hook-on high chair to about $400 for a top high chair with every extra imaginable. For around $70, you can get a nice-looking high chair with plenty of parent-friendly features.

WHAT SHOULD I ASK MYSELF BEFORE I GO HIGH-CHAIR SHOPPING?

Answer the following questions before you set out on your search:

• How much room do I have? If space is tight, a chair that’s easy to fold and stash or a seat that attaches to your table or chair might be the way to go.
• Do I want the high chair to match my kitchen decor? There’s nothing like a honking piece of plastic to un-sleek the look of those sleek granite countertops. Luckily, high-chair styles have come a long way, but if you can’t find one that looks pretty in your pad, choose a model that folds up easily so you can hide the thing after each feeding.
• Who will do most of the high-chair feeding? If you and your partner plan on sharing baby-feeding duties, an adjustable high chair is a must. This way, the seat can simply scoot up (when your husband’s putting the “train” in the “tunnel”) and down (when you’re the one coaxing your sweet pea to eat peas).

WHAT PARENT-FRIENDLY FEATURES SHOULD I LOOK FOR WHEN HIGH-CHAIR SHOPPING?

Some of the top high chairs come fully equipped with extras that make feeding a breeze:

• Storage baskets underneath for holding books, toys, and other distractions to keep your baby busy while you get cooking
• Conversion kits so the high chair can grow as your baby does. Some top high chairs morph like magic (well, magic plus a screwdriver) into toddler booster seats. Helpful hint: Store the instructions in a designated drawer (along with the booklets for putting together the crib, stroller, and other baby gear).
• Dishwasher-safe trays make cleanup a breeze. Make sure yours has a spill-resistant rim (for obvious reasons).
• A reclining seat if your baby or toddler prefers to lean back while he dines
• Vinyl seat covers for easy cleaning. Some are even removable and machine-washable. If you go with a cloth seat cover, get one that’s stain-resistant.
• Adjustable height options, which let you tweak the chair to make it work best for you. Some require tools to adjust the seat height; others scooch up and down with a lever on the side.
• Wheels or gliders to protect floors from scratches (make sure the wheels lock so the chair stays put when your baby’s in it).