Download pdf:
Visit 1 - Summary Points
The single act of introducing solids marks the beginning of the Babyhood Transitions when a baby moves from being a passive infant to becoming a mobile pretoddler.
The Babyhood Transitions is comprised of two smaller adjustment periods including:
a. The initial feed-wake-sleep adjustment phase starts around six months of age and includes the introduction of solid foods and the expansion of food options.
b. The second adjustment period starts around nine months of age with the milestone of mobility and requires more advanced parental management and caution.
Babies quickly become aware that their actions can actually produce a reaction from Mom and Dad thereby learning that their actions can influence and control Mom and Dad’s responses.
Signs that your baby is ready for solid foods:
a. able to sit and hold his head upright
b. hungry just before naptime
c. still hungry after taking a full feeding
d. starting to wakeup during his nighttime sleep
e. staring to wake early from his naps
There are five basic Babyhood Transition food groups:
a. Cereal
b. Vegetables
c. Fruits
d. Meats (Protein Foods)
e. Juice
Rice cereal is usually the most common cereal pediatricians recommend because it causes the least amount of allergic reaction for baby. Oat and barley are two other excellent choices.
Introduce vegetables according to color; yellow vegetables, then green vegetables and so on.
Baby foods come in jars which represent three different stages:
a. Stage One: Five to six months
b. Stage Two: Six to seven months
c. Stage Three: Eight months and older
Fruits make up an essential nutritional component in your baby’s diet but are not as important as the nutrition provided through cereal and vegetables.
Pureed meats can be started as early as six months or be delayed until ten months or older.
Juices have limited nutritional value compared to fruits and can be held off until a child is beyond a year of age.
Introduce the sippy cup around 6 months of age and wean to the sippy cup.
Men known for being caring and loving husbands and involved fathers, reflect confidence, trustworthiness and believability to their community of peers.
Visit 2 - Summary Points
The introduction of solid foods opens up a ‘world of choice’ to your baby.
The introduction of solids foods is a new experience for babies. Before solid foods, your baby never:
a. had a spoon placed in his mouth,
b. never swallowed pureed foods,
c. never experienced a food texture or taste other than milk.
When introducing solids remember to wait three to four days and check for any allergic reactions before introducing a new food group.
Rice cereal is no longer the first cereal pediatricians recommend because of the increased concentration of inorganic arsenic, a toxic substance that enters the food chain through fertilizers and pesticides. Oat, barley, and multigrain cereals are now the starting foods.
With the introduction of solid foods, breastfeeding moms must continue with five or six nursing periods a day.
A breastfeeding mother should nurse first before offering solids to her baby. This prevents baby from filling up on cereal and not wanting to nurse afterwards.
Introduce vegetables according to color; yellow vegetables first, then green and continue from there with your vegetable selections.
Mom should hold the baby’s hands when first offering solids. Eventually, train your baby to hold the side of his highchair tray or to hold his hands on his lap.
Be careful not to create a food war between fruits, which are naturally sweet, and vegetables. Offer cereal or vegetables first and then fruits.
Puréed meats can be held off until a child is ten months or older, since formula and breastmilk provide sufficient protein.
Juices have limited nutritional value compared to fruits and can be held off until a child is beyond a year of age.
Waketime provides an active learning opportunity that needs planning and encouragement, and includes blanket and playpen time.
Visit 3 - Summary Points
Avoid any foods that can cause choking. Check any questionable foods by first trying it yourself to see if it dissolves quickly in your mouth.
The three components of training include instruction, encouragement and correction.
a. Instruction is to introduce a training expectation.
b. Encouragement reinforces the value of parental expectations.
c. Correction is to restore the child back to parental expectation.
The three levels of vocabulary comprehension include:
a. understanding vocabulary
b. speaking vocabulary
c. reading vocabulary
Learning to ‘speak life’ is something Moms and Dads can begin to incorporate as a habit of speech.
Because infants are by nature “me” oriented, saying their name while giving instruction draws attention to the specific skill or behavior we are working to accomplish.
Babies can learn the meaning of words through signing.
Advantages of teaching a baby to sign:
a. It can be used for all aspects of training.
b. Sign Language helps curb whining in older children.
Start with the “please” sign around 7 or 8 months and expect results around 11-12 months.
Speaking words of encouragement and praise are “words fitly spoken.” Proverb 25:11
Visit 4 - Summary Points
Correction means to realign or bring back from error. While encouragement keeps a child on track, correction puts a child back on track.
Correction is something you do for a child, not to a child.
Learning is a lifelong process, and healthy learning environments are created by parents.
Playpen benefits:
a. provides a safe environment
b. doubles as a portable bed
c. serves as a structured learning center encouraging the basic skills of sitting, focusing and concentrating
d. promotes and reinforces the development of a longer attention spans
Blanket time and playpen time are not the same thing.
Beware of programs marketed to make your baby smarter or read sooner. What seems to be a promising future is usually only a momentary gain that is off-set by much greater losses.
The use of a timer is very beneficial when first starting playpen training. It is better that a child associates the end of his playpen time with the timer’s ring than with any persistent crying.
All children have a love/hate relationship with boundaries. They challenge boundaries simply because they are there, yet they love the security that boundaries provide.