My son is now 11 months old and I believe I have struck the work-home balance well with a three day week. I thoroughly enjoy being at work and equally love the days I can spend with my family.
Baby’s diet and alternative snacks.
Once weaning starts at 6 months, there are two schools of thought to consider. The conventional purees and the relatively new concept of ‘baby lead weaning’. Or, of course, the third option would be to combine both. I chose the latter and think it is working out well as my son is happy nibbling at pieces of avocado and having good size portions of pureed stews and soup we cook for him.
Regarding tooth health, as soon as there are teeth, tooth decay process has the potential to begin. Steering clear of refined sugars is essential. Dried fruit is often used as a snack for toddlers and children without the realisation, that these foods are also very high in sugar, so frequenst consumption will increase the chance of cavities developing. Thus, a healthier snack would be a rice cracker or some vegetable sticks. Please also bear in mind that the crackers aimed at children that have “cherry” or “apple” flavour, will contain powder of concentrated juice, which is quite high in sugar, so plain crackers are best.
When it comes to purees, I chose to start with sweet vegetables (to resemble breast milk, but not to be too sweet like fruit), such as pumpkin and sweet potato. However, I avoided mixing fruit into vegetable dishes in the first months of weaning, as I did not want my son developing a palate for sweet foods. A friend once told me her baby would not eat any vegetable purees without apple being added to it, after he tried it once.
An important tip for keeping decay at bay is to only ever provide savoury snacks for children. Anything sweet, like dried fruit or biscuits, should be given with meals. This way the mouth has a chance to recover from the damaging effects of sugar exposure, which it would not get if the exposures were more frequent than three times per day.
Using minimally processed, freshly cooked food for babies and children is the best way to maintain excellent oral health, in addition to using a Fluoridated, age appropriate toothpaste and brushing with it as soon as the first teeth appear.
And finally, the healthiest drink to give a child is still water, as juice or even diluted juice is a source of unnecessary sugar.
