Tag Archives: feeding

Happy Sproutsgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the parents, expectant parents, grandparents, and the rest!

Since this is a holiday weekend, I wanted to publish a quick post for those of you with little ones this Thanksgiving. BabyCenter recently sent out an email listing foods to avoid feeding your baby. Junk food does more bad for your baby than it does for us grown-ups, since their tummies are so small and can easily become filled with non-nutritious calories.

Remember, your baby’s diet (under 1 year) consists primarily of breastmilk (or formula) and is COMPLEMENTED by solids to provide her with new experiences with textures and flavors. Foods should be nutrient-dense, packed with lots of vitamins and minerals. These foods are whole foods, like fruits, veggies, and meats. Over 1 year old, babies should still consume nutritious foods so their bodies and immune systems become stronger.

With the holidays being filled with such excitement and delicious foods, it may be tempting to sneak in a spoonful of pumpkin pie filling, a smidgen of cranberry sauce, or a little buttery mashed potatoes (or sugary sweet potatoes) to your baby. But keep in mind these foods are not healthy for him. Added sugar and fat fill up a baby’s calorie needs with junk and can negatively affect their taste preferences for healthier options for the future. And, when consumed at even this young an age, these habits can lead to Type 2 diabetes and weight problems in the future.

Foods NOT to feed your baby:

Juice
Soda
Crackers
Gelatin desserts
Processed meals

Why Not?

Continue reading “Happy Sproutsgiving!” »

Does Vitamin D3 do a Sprout Good?

I had all intentions on posting about Sleep Training this week. But, as I was feeding Jia her pumpkin puree and held her vitamin D dropper over her spoon to deliver her daily dose of D3 (400 International Units), I remembered a few months ago when one of my friends Natasha asked Facebook for opinions on Vitamin D supplementation for an exclusively breastfed baby. Her holdup was that her first child (non-supplemented) is perfectly healthy and that her breastmilk should be nutritionally complete. I commented back, citing the AAP (here and here) and CDC‘s recommendations supporting vitamin D supplementation. On the other hand, one of my old coworkers Katie made a very good point: her breastmilk should be complete in providing all the vitamins and minerals baby needs, without supplementation.

I continued to give Jia her daily drop of Carlson’s Baby D 400 IU of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) plainly because it’s what our pediatrician instructed us to do, and if the CDC and AAP recommended it, that’s what I would continue to do. I guess you could say I was being a lazy nurse-mom and didn’t do my own thorough research to hear the arguments on both sides.

However, yesterday (pumpkin day) a different feeling overcame me. As we are in the start of flu season (September through March), I started to consider the following: treating a sick baby really only consists of humidified air, fluids, rest, and sometimes Tylenol or Motrin (if baby’s fever is significant enough). Excess medications can unnecessarily do more harm than good on an underdeveloped baby’s system, causing more problems than there were to begin with. Continue reading “Does Vitamin D3 do a Sprout Good?” »

My Little Non-Soy Non-Dairy Sprout

September 11, 2014 marked the day I was able to finally eat and drink dairy products again. It felt like a long time coming and I was craving a multitude of dairy-filled treats, from cheesecake, lobster rolls, Popeye’s, to Thai Tea.

Whoa, Whoa – Back up! Why Dairy?

Jia, like many infants, was unable to tolerate the dairy and soy that I ingested, that passed to her through breastmilk. In reality my non-soy and non-dairy diet hasn’t been ALL THAT long, but for the past 4 months, I had to restrict my diet of anything containing soy or milk ingredients. For Jia, her intolerance manifested in blood-streaked diapers resulting from the inflammation in her gut when I ate these foods. For other babies, it can mean a lot of spitting up, gut pain and discomfort, wretching/vomiting, and even baby developing a fear of breastfeeding.

When she was about 1 month old (in March), Jia was a heavy spitter and even threw up (think: projectile) a couple days in a row either in the day time or even at that 3 AM feeding. I decided on my own to start cutting out dairy, advice that I found through a quick google search on reflux in new babies, and at the advice of one of my close friends Berry (who is a NICU nurse). Her baby was so scared to nurse because it was causing her so much belly pain, and poor Berry even had to cut out gluten, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish, fish, corn, and other nuts. (MAD props to Berry for going that distance for her adorable little baby!!!). She said that a (+) hemoccult (lab test) was confirmation for her baby, who didn’t have any visible blood in her stools, and that testing this sooner rather than later was beneficial to baby – they hadn’t realized Maddie’s allergy until she was 3 months old. Continue reading “My Little Non-Soy Non-Dairy Sprout” »

Introducing my Sprout to Solids

As a dietetics major in undergrad, we were well-versed in maternal and infant nutrition since this was one of our core requirements come our senior year in the program. We learned about theories behind maternal nutrition throughout pregnancy and postpartum, as well as what baby needs to thrive. What was always hammered into our Maternal and Infant Nutrition course was that baby should know how to support her own head, have an interest in the food of those around her, and be 6 months old.

Six months, six months, six months!

Baby’s iron stores are only good enough to last 6 months out of the womb (as well as zinc, protein, vitamins B and D), so by the time baby reaches 6 months of age, iron-fortified cereal has long been the recommendation as a first food for baby for as long as I can remember. Breastmilk alone is nutritionally complete for the first 6 months of life. I also learned early exposure to solid foods can have a negative impact on baby, mostly because baby’s gut hasn’t fully matured enough to handle solid foods without possible inflammation, allergies, constipation, and/or diarrhea. However, before I even had Jia, I noticed on my Facebook newsfeed that a lot of my friends were starting their babies on solid foods right around the 4 month mark. Despite all of the adorable pictures of babies with food all over their faces, in my head I questioned this since it went against what I learned all those years back in college. Continue reading “Introducing my Sprout to Solids” »

Tooth Decay and Long-Duration Breastfeeding?! Not Even Close.

I apologize for the length of my first real entry on Little Sproutings. I am very passionate about this topic so I felt it was my job to address it very thoroughly!

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I recently came across an article on Parenting.com titled, “Breastfeeding Longer than 2 Years Associated with Tooth Decay,” where they cited a research study that claimed there was an association with long-term breastfeeding – that of which lasts longer than 24 months of age – with tooth decay. As a happily breastfeeding mom and a huge champion of moms being able to breastfeed as long as they are capable, I was deeply disturbed by this claim.

Not only was this statement irresponsible and dangerous, but I was also disappointed to have this article pop up from another one of their tweets during World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7).

First of all, breastfeeding is the best choice a mother can make for her infant/toddler (if she is not experiencing any physical problems with the ability to breastfeed). It provides the best immune system antibodies, great bonding opportunities, and helps reduce the risk of SIDS by developing a strong airway by utilizing a stronger sucking mechanism, among many other benefits that I will address in a later post. So, any attempt to find any negative association with breastfeeding leads me to criticize the source. Second, throwing a claim out there to the public – in a parenting forum – is likely going to make many families question the great decision that they have been making: breastfeeding as long as the baby will do so.

As with any alarming or suspicious conclusions or conversely, anything that seems “too good to be true,” make sure you look into what research article they are referencing. Continue reading “Tooth Decay and Long-Duration Breastfeeding?! Not Even Close.” »