Nutrition, Diet and Health Tips

The only difference between an overly sickly baby and one who rarely gets sick is good nutrition and healthy habits.

In my experience as a dietitian, the common challenge I’ve seen is parents really have no clue on what to feed their babies and even those that do are usually overwhelmed by the many sources of information from our parents, peers , the internet or even the many ‘health experts’ on what to feed their infants that they end up doing unnecessary things without knowing.

In this article, I’m going to give very practical and scientific based guidelines on what to feed your infant from 6-12 months. Before we get started, kindly consider subscribing and make sure you check the child’s Nutrition playlist for additional information after reading this.

Now, proper nutrition Habits and Practises Within the first few years of life (0-5 years) have been to shown to have serious implications either positively or negatively to your baby’s health and Nutrition status in the future. For instance, babies who’s moms Practised exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life and continued to support breastfeeding with Adequate, dense and Nutritious feeds for the first two years had better health indicators as teens and even in adulthood.

Metabolic disorders like obesity, diabetes, childhood and other cancers have their genesis from poor nutrition and lifestyle practices during childhood. I hope you now understand why it’s so important for you as a mum to ensure that you practice good nutrition habits for your child from the moment you decide that you want to be a mom.

After 6 months, the baby’s nutritional demand’s increase and this means breastmilk is no longer sufficient enough to meet them. Even so, they’re experiencing developmental milestones like teething and speech and they therefore need more usage of their mouth area to ensure proper development.

As you plan to initiate complementary feeds, you need to have the following things in mind;

1. The frequency of breastfeeding– if you’re a stay at home mom, it’s easy and more practical to continue with breastfeeding as the main feed and then complement with one or two Nutritious dense meals for the day. But if you’re working, you can continue with expressing and try 2/3 feeds. Your baby’s feed should compriss of a quality protein, some fruits and vegetables and a carbohydrate source.

As a norm or is it culture, we are used to giving our infants porridge, potatoes, malenge, spinach and terere for their first few months. We tend to forget that this baby’s protein needs are so high and they need to be met for good growth and development and this is why I started by saying that everything goes south after 6 months and the cases of Micronutrients and Macronutrient Deficiencies increase because the needs are no longer been met.

Instead of giving your baby uji only, give two to three tablespoons of uji ( not light, make it thick please to also help with chewing and swallowing reflexes) then alternate with something like potatoes, for proteins you can give both animal and plants sources but because of allergens and insensitivites associated with proteins, introduce one at a time checking on reaction.

Nuts are a good source of protein and healthy fats and fibres as well.

The goal in the first few months is to ensure that your baby’s meal is as dense as it can be because let’s remember the quantities they can take in at a time is very limited.

Things like nut you can grind and add the powder to their uji in the morning for taste and to improve on nutrient density.

2. Another thing I want to emphasise here is the consistency of the food. The more liquid a food is the less the nutrient quality per a given amount. For example let’s say you want to give your baby rice and kamande and some spinach or even Avocado but because you’re scared they’ll choke ( we’ll address this shortly) you decide to blend and add in soup or water to make it liquid like. Remember we said their stomach capacity is still very small so they’ll take in reduced nutrients as opposed to a baby who was fed the same meal but in a semi-solid kind of state..

Another thing avoiding giving your babies solids will only slow down their chewing and swallowing reflexes which in the long run will affect Digestion and food intake negatively. Be cautious when feeding the baby, give them well cooked foods, you can mash if you’re scared to avoid choking. It’s better than giving them liquids.

3. After month 6, the frequency of feeds needs to improve from 8-9 months. A slight reminder, because we love so much to give our babies ‘tasty’ things like sweetened milks and yoghurts. We need to remember that artificiality sweetened foods or drinks are discouraged for all infants. Sugar is a cause of all infections and disease ( both Communicable and Non-Communicable). For a growing baby you want to reduce inflammation, cavities and promote a ‘healthy’ metabolic function as much as you can.

4. Taste buds – You need to understand that the tongue usually has different taste buds and it’s your responsibility as a parent to nurture all the four tastes ( bitter, sour , neutrals&  sweet). Give your baby’s all types of tastes to ensure that their life later on is full of flavour. So apart from consistency let’s correct the notion that a baby can’t swallow natural yoghurt or mala.. that’s way behind us ( we thank God for research and improved flow of information)

5.Another thing when feeding your baby’s have in mind that if you don’t support your baby’s Digestion system by promoting their gut microbiome, you’ll deal with stomach Issues Related to indigestion like constipation, too much gas, bloating and even vomiting and diarrhea. Ensure that you support your baby’s Digestion by promoting intake of variety of dense meals that are healthy and Nutritious.

Limit intake of sugar, promote intake of clean and safe water and encourage play. Don’t be scared to give your baby traditional foods, their stomachs and health will benefit more from that than the ultra processed baby foods that we busy moms want to give our foods. It’s not uncool to give your baby ngwaci in the morning instead of bread and blueband. It’s loving your baby .

So, ensure that you practice this and your baby will be as healthy as they can be and you’ll reduce hospital visits significantly. The only difference between an overly sickly baby and one who rarely gets sick is good nutrition and healthy habits.

In conclusion remember to;
✅ Include Diversity and Variety in your baby’s choice of foods,
✅ Whole Traditional foods are better in terms of nutrient quality and Density,
✅ Give fermented foods and microbiome friendly foods to support digestion, absorption and utilisation of nutrients,
✅ Avoid over- blending and overdiluting your baby’s feeds,
✅ Avoid and Stop giving your babies synthetic sugars, artificially sweetened foods and drinks,
✅ Give both souces of Proteins ( Animals and plants),
✅ Adequate water consumption,
✅ Encourage play and movements,
✅ Timely Vaccination and Immunisation,
✅and lastly work with a dietician to ensure that your baby gets the best. As a registered dietitian, I offer personalised care plans for you and your baby to ensure you two get the best postnatal care. Reach us through 0723899429 and follow us on Instagram @muminawellness for more.

Thank you so much for taking time to go through this article. Please give it a like, subscribe and remember to watch this playlist in my YouTube channel next on child nutrition for more; https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ0GV68JBlTHxB_V6nx-vR9MXYwelMp2W&si=5_0RoMdnWwVpZaOF

As always,

Signed with love

Lilian Mutanu Mumina

Registered Dietitian

Mumina Wellness Solutions.