Home made baby foods

Well there is no doubt that babies develop taste buds as they grow and there can never be any standard food that can be said to be the best for babies. However it is important to know you baby’s dislikes and likes and act accordingly. The nutrition of the food you make your baby at home is what matters and you may want to start with fruits and vegetables.  Now the best vegetables for your baby should be fresh and well prepared.

Depending on the age of your child, you will determine what suits them best, either solid or liquid. However for a baby below one year you need to extract the juice in vegetables such as apples, carrots, papayas and melons and feed them to your child. While many parents may consider meat at the second year of the child, the amount should be negligible but child nutritionists will actually advice chicken meat or turkey. While feeding your baby meat you should make sure that it is well cooked and not salted.

 Meat there is no doubt is a very good source of protein but it must be fed to the child in a way that the baby will be able to eat it without problems. Fruits and vegetables should not be cooked but you are supposed to warm the extract a little. For solid foods you should consider mashing them if your baby is not old enough. Normally mashed food is supposed to be taken by children below one year. When preparing a homemade food for you child you need to make nutritious and relatively sweet to the child.

Baby massage ideas

Baby massage is rhythmic stroking of your babies body with your hand as gently as you can. Doctors often advise mothers to gently massage the fingers, ankles and the wrists of their babies during the routine massage process. Mother to baby massage stimulates the production of the Oxytocin hormone that increase your affection to you baby and your baby to you. The benefits of massaging your baby range from helping you have an easy motherhood and also helping your child develop and grow healthily.

The gentle strokes help to relax you child and therefore gives them a chance to sleep more and cry less, this definitely will reduce the burden of parenting your baby at its infancy. On more heath matters for your baby, massage helps in brain development and also it has been proven to have a significant positive effect in reducing postnatal depression for the mother. Massaging your baby should be a routine part of your early parenting and the best time you can do that is when your baby is neither too hungry nor too full.

In case you cannot be able to determine when this time is you can massage your child before bed time probably after a bath. Just like normal massage, you need to get a good massage oil that is recommended by your midwife just to remove the chance of allergic reactions. Baby massage should be gentle and not prolonged probably it should take 10-15 minutes maximum. The benefits of baby massage are very significant in the development of the baby and you need to make it a routine process. 

MMR Immunizations

MMR vaccination is best administered when your child is between 12 – 13 months old. There is also the need to have a follow up booster at pre-school. MMR simply stands for Measles, Mumps and Rubella and is a vaccination that prevents your baby from these three diseases. All the three disease are viral in nature and the combination in the MMR immunization helps to increase the chances of your baby growing without any of them.

 The problem with many mothers is that they find the vaccination unnecessary because they feel their children have already contracted and treated for these three diseases but even in such cases, it is imperative that they get the MMR vaccination. The MMR vaccination is normally administered in two doses. The first dose is administered between 12 – 13 months and the second one which is actually the booster of the first one is done when your child is getting into pre-school. MMR vaccines can be given at any age but it is widely advised by doctors that your child is vaccinated between 0-2 years latest.

 Side effects of the immunization are there but they can be easily handled. Some of the common side effects of the MMR vaccination are faint rashes that develop on your child’s skin 7 -10 days after the vaccination. There can be a mild fever and also in rare cases there will be some marginal swelling of your child’s face. It is important to note however that you should never get an MMR vaccine or booster if you are pregnant.

Antenatal clinic and post natal clinics

Antenatal clinics are designed for women who are pregnant and expecting a child in nine months. For an expectant mother, there is need to have a flexible antenatal program. However the first appointment with a midwife is usually significant but it is wise to attend an antenatal clinic at least three times before delivering your baby. In antenatal care you have to discuss with your midwife very crucial elements of your pregnancy. More emphasis should be placed on an appropriate program of consultations with your doctor in between the pregnancy.  Where and how you give birth will also feature in your antenatal clinic consultations as well as the necessary blood tests that are needed and when they will be taken. Antenatal clinics will provide you with valuable tips on how to prepare for labor pains and the best way to deliver your baby.

In post natal clinics your midwife and other health visitors who you will include in your program will visit you after you have given birth.post natal clinic sessions are important in equipping you with the best practices in bringing up your infant healthily. It is during post natal care where the doctors will asses how well you are recuperating from the birth - you and your baby. Consultancy sessions are arranged at convenient hours and an in-depth discussion of the medical requirements for your child upbringing should be conducted. Post natal clinics and antenatal ones can be done by expert midwives and doctors at your home just to save you the trouble of going all the way the hospitals.