New born babies need only mother’s milk for the first six months of their lives. Mother’s milk has all the ingredients needed for the baby to grow up well and healthy. It is when the first tooth erupts or when the baby is six months old that mothers begin wondering when to start them on solid food, how much to give and what to give.

Every new mother is quite worried as to when she should start her baby on solid food. Till the age of about six months, mother’s milk is the best for babies. But after that, the question of when to introduce solids in her baby’s diet becomes a big source of anxiety and worry. What if she can’t digest the new food? What if she falls ill? Suppose her stomach gets upset and she has diarrhea? These and many other questions run through her mind once the baby is about six months old.

One has to introduce new foods one at a time and watch for reactions. The baby should not be allergic, nor should they have any other reaction to a new food. Only then can the mother proceed with more of it and then introduce a new type.

The mother should watch and see if the baby is allergic to any type of food or to see if some type does not agree with her. Then it can be discontinued. If the food agrees and she likes it, then more quantity with more frequency can be given. Well cooked vegetables, mashed fruits, cheese, yoghurt and other food can be slowly started.

By the time the baby is about eight months old, she should have been exposed to many types of food with many flavors. At this age she may want to eat it herself and she should be encouraged to do so. Even if more food is smeared all over her and all over the place, the baby should be allowed to experiment. By the trial and error method, she will learn to succeed in getting the food into her mouth.

By the time the baby reaches the age of eight months she should be able to hold the spoon and feed herself small quantities of a variety of food even though most of it may reach wrong places and she may drop quite a bit of food all over her rather than put it in her mouth. However milk is still the best food at this age and if it is mother’s milk then the chances of the baby being healthy are very high.

Another post on www.newhealthy.com talks of the everlasting question of chocolates. All children love chocolates and parents feel that it is bad for health. Now a research has shown that all chocolates are not bad for health. Only some are. Black chocolates are generally good for health as they are made out of the seeds of the coca plant.

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