Dear Hetal,

I needed your advice on my daughters diet. She is 13 months and weighed 20 pounds at 12 months (sorry dont know how much she is now). Her birth weight was 6.11 pounds. She has not started teething hence I am forced to give her food in pureed form. Her routine is as follows:

8.00 am : Mixed cereal/Ragi/Cerelac
10.30 am: 1 glass milk
1.00 pm: Khichadi made with rice, moong dal and mixed vegtables
5.00 pm: 1 whole fruit steamed and pureed (apple or peach)sometimes gerber fruits.
6.00 pm: 1/2 glass milk
8.00 pm: Khichadi with vegetables
I also nurse her 3-4 times a day and atleast 3 times in the night.

Could you suggest if this routine is alright. I have seen that you mentioned feeding pasta could you pls tell me how to prepare the dish. Is it ok to give mild spice like pepper powder in the khichadi.

Do u think that my daughters intake of milk is less and thats why she has not got any
teeth yet. She does not seem to like biscuits so I have not given any teething biscuits to her. Last week she showed some signs of teething like she had slight fever, gums were swollen and potruding with slight whiteness inside the gums, but then it stopped there. The teeth has not yet come out. I read your reply to one lady abt eating a calcium enriched diet while BF, I am scared that probably i did not take care of myself properly. During all her pediatricians visit they have said nothing to be worried abt.

Can u also tell me how do i gradually start giving her bite size food or should i wait till she gets her teeth. Also how much ghee can i give her with her lunch and dinner.

I know that you must be very busy with your daughter and your pregnancy but would really really appreciate if you could help me.

Thank you very much.
Preeti. Preeti replied. Dear Hetal,

Thank you very much. I will surely try to follow your advice and keep trying.

Thank you once again and take care.

Preeti. Hetal replied. try giving her roti soaked in milk,dal or ne gravy of your curries,,a good start for introducing wheat.some mothers have also said that offering roasted whole grain bread and soaking in milk or kids fav fruit purees have given their babies a good start to lumpier foods....
then try pastas,,there are diff types available in market,,like whole wheat, whole grain,,and multigrains,,you can try them too,,these both are the best for introducing wheat !
other is sheera or halwa,,,roast the flour with lil ghee, add in a sprinkle of cardamom, add in mashed banana(if you want to avoid sugar or jaggerry or else put in sugar or jaggery,whatever are your preferencesSS),,add some water and let it boil nicely until smooth and cooked nicely...
the other way of making this is with lots of ghee, but i will not recomnd that for kids,,they dont need that heavy food,,as far as flour is cooked nicely ! no problemooo...

this is also loved by many babies and a real wheat meal,,but give this only after you see your baby is comfortable after trying first line wheat products,,like roti,pastas,,,
one of the members suggested wheat dosa as well,,you can try that,, see if that works for you,,,,here is the link :
http(:)//www(.)indiaparenting(.)com/boards/showmessage(.)cgi?messageid=5741&table_name=dis_feeding

if your baby sleeps around lets say 4 evening,,try feeding her the fruit serving and then let her sleep...see if that helps,,babies fuss and mess the schedules but tryin to maintain a proper schedule from your side will help her develop healthy eating habits in future...so keep trying.1 year is just the right time for you to start doing that..it will also help regulate her bowels and schedule,,at the same time you can offer other varieties when she wakes up.
about fruits juices,,she does eat fruitts right,,offer in the middleof the fruit spoon,,,once a while,, a mashed fruit,,see how she eats it,,,and then once a while give the juice itself,,see if she takes it that way or not,,,keep trying,,,also offer other fruits to her,,wherein juices are packed,,like sweet oranges or, mosambis,or bannana,,grapes and such othres,,these help them to suck juices and eat at the same time,,a good habit to start eating fruits.
about texture, if she seems to be vomitting just after her meals,,, its because after meals she is playing excitedly and she needs to settle down,,start giving her habit of walking after meals,,its a good way to make them walk and digest food well and at the same time, give her body time to settle the meal in stomach for digestion process,instead of throwing up,,play a game of march forward...give this habit after main meals like lunch and dinners and let them do left right left,,this way they will learn as well,,wat is left and right,,and its a fun game !! do it for 4-5mins and then divert her to her toys or ne independent play,,,
if she seems to be vomiting during your servings of mashed food or like you said while feeding,,it happens once a while,,,when you finish some 60% of her serving, give her couple tsps of water,,to clear her throat,,just like we need water once a while during eating,,it clears our throat,,,see if that helps,,
and go slow if your baby is still not comfortable with textures,,you have to respect her preferences,,and dont worry she has entire life to eat whole,bites or raw foods,,so give her own time,,,but at the same time, keep trying !!!! nothin wrong if she is able to eat and chew foods..

once the child has developed sufficient muscular co-ordination, involving the tongue & swallowing reflex to be able to eat real solid foods or texturesss, they themselves show readiness to eat certain foods,,,and our job is keep trying !!

so keep trying and you take care,,
good luck to you. Preeti replied. Dear Hetal,

I cant thank you enough for spending so much time in answering my questions.

Well I give my daughter Cerelac which is wheat and milk and also some cereal which has 7 diff grains in them. But other then that I have not given her anything specifically made with wheat. Can u suggest anything.

She has scrambled eggs once in a while. Infact I started giving it to her only last week. But i will make sure that she has it atleast 3 times a week.

The gap that u see between lunch and evening fruit is coz, after her lunch she plays for some time and then takes her nap. So after she gets up i feed her fruit.

She has shown no interest in fruit juices everytime that I have offered it to her. Basically i think i have just given up. But i will try to give her that too.

About textures - I dont know what the exact cause is but in a week atleast 3 times she throws-up her lunch or dinner while I am still feeding her. I feel very bad after that. I guess thats probably one reason why i am still giving her pureed food. But as u said she better not get used to it otherwise its going to create trouble for me later on.

I will try to make the pasta dish as u have mentioned.

Thank you once again for your advice. May god bless you and your family. Lots of love to your daughter.

Bye, Take care.
Preeti.
Hetal replied. with birth weight,6.11 lbs,and 20lbs at 12months,,her weight at 12months is good !! keep it up !

teething has nothing to do with texture of food, please understand that,,what imp is how good baby has been able to control his tongue muscles with respect to moving food in his mouth and is able to have chew foods with his strong gums..,,you know the best example of people eating without teeth are the old people,,they most of the times dont like their custom made teeth so they remove it and start eating with gums,,,thats how powerful human gums are !! and for babies gums are strong enough that they have given sore,torn or totally cracked nipples to their mothers during breastfeeding,,,many mothers had to run to er to stop the bleeding,,,guess what theey will be doing with food when given properly with care and yes with acceptance !

her schedule looks ok to me,,but why is there such a big gap of 5 hours from lunch to fruit serving ! try offering your baby breakfast/brunch/lunch/snack/dinner/desserts at every 3-4 hourrs,,for best results and ensure positive healty growth.once a while is fine though !
a 13month old is expected to eat around/approx 1/4th of an adult serving per food item...
you are breastfeeding which is good, if you are happy with it and its not tiring for you and your baby njoys it,,continue it,,but waking up 3 times at night for breastfeeding is not needed..
a 13month old should not be getting at night for nursing,,first he doesnt require, secondly, he is doing this because of either habit of nursing(which often by 1 year, toddlers get into attachments with mothers breast or bottle nipples),,and the other is he is not getting enough food to eat and enough liquids to drink,,thru out the day time,,,so it makes him feel empty in night and wants to nurse frequently..
now about addins to your schedule..i dont see wheat ?? where is wheaT ? if he is allergic to wheat,,where is soy flour product ??
where are other sources of proteins/eggs,,sprounts, tofu..
where is curd,cream cheese, or sour creme,,i mean the extra serving of calcium ??,,i was looking for these...
include them..i couldnt find fresh fruit juice as well,,i was looking for that in later part of day/afternoon snacks with fruit puffs(good idea for introducing bite sized foods)..
make sure the gap of milk and solids feeds is atleast 1.5hour and 2 solid feeds is atleast 3-4hours..if your baby will eat well, dont expect him to take the milk feed,,thats y brunch and late after noon snack time is the best time for you to give him milk when the food/solid is less qty...

add in those,,baby at 13months need grains/ wholegrain and multigrains,,,
yes pastas are great finger foods to start with..will post you links in the end for all the tips,,i m sure it will help you.
about giving pepper,,it dpends on quantity of it,,a lil goes a long way,,if your baby is accepting it, go ahead,nothing wrong,,1 year is just the right time to start with mild spices,,keep an eye on ne reflux or ne discomfort or ne kind of burning sensation while feeding,,if so eliminate it,,try after sometimes.
intake of milk at 1year is expected to be around 3 feeds of 5-6oz of cows milk,,one oz here and there is ok,,,consider that...
other is teething has nothing to do with milk intake,,it has more to do with baby own health as far as calcium and bone density is concerned...and its not understood much practically and is often considered as a process that follows hereditary patterns to some extent,,so consider that.it is ok for babies to be without teeths for upto 16-18months !!! its after that or before that,,or during that time,,your dr will himself give you signal that he is worried and something can be done !! as of now, no worries..

showing signs of teething is a good start,,but it takes some time for those lil bones to come out !! it depends on how good her growth is, how good her diet is,and how good her bones are,,and so are her gums.. you have to understand that some babies like mine showed signs of teething as early as 3months,,their first lil buds came at 5 months,,but guess what,,they didnt pop out until 6-7months !! so its a long process,,some like in other case,,started teething in 6th month and in month got one teeth totally out !! and the other teeth showed slight whiteline in later 8th month, and came out after9th month !!!
so its not specific understood how the patterns goes, like i said before but,,at some point of time, the teething process becomes very slow and the other time its really fast,,like in my dd case, by the end of 1 year, even though she had alot of breaks,,she had all her front teeth, and was teething with premolars and caniness,,so its all individual growth and is nothin to worry about..but now that she has started teething, its a very good sign and its more of process than showing immediate results...
yes calcium enriched diet does help with bf moms for a good and healthy bones to their babies, but you have to understand that it also depends on mothers body to convert all that totally in milk ! you dont have to feel guilty for it,,you have done your best,,,you are still nursing right,,so give yourself a good healthy diet, drink milk 3 times a day, or replace one serving with curd/yogurt,,and take your supplemnts if at all you are prescribed one,,thats more than enough for a healthy milk supply...
even looking at your baby weight and all, i dont feel the need to worry about,,except that she needs to be pushed a lil bit with textures in foods,,...
ghee a lil dash goes along way,,if your baby is not taking ne other extra serving of fat, lets say cheese or cream cheese, in her other part of meals,,then its ok to give ghee both the times in dinner and lunch,,otherwise is also ok, PROVIDED, your baby is low on fat and body mass..you know your baby acceptance level and her health because she is right before your eyes,,,so you be the best judge,,to me she is ready for it.
about introducing textures,bite sized,,
i liked one of the members advice of giving gerber fruit puffs,,they are great,,you can offer during the snack times,,they melt in mouth at the same time they look like bite sized,,great way to introduce lumpier foods..
other is gerber graduate toddler cereals,,they too are great to start with.there are other options like one day introducing one lil lump in your baby paste,,and see hw she reacts,,,continue that until she accepts it,,once she does,,add in one more,,and by day 7 of her acceptance of lumps,,increase her texture to hand mashed or fork mashed foods,,or so to say overboiled foods with not mashed,,,these are also a perfect startup for lumpier foods...
other is,,soaking roti in dal,many kids have graduated themselves with this dish,,surprising it sounds, but yes it helps,,it makes the roti soft but at the same time no probs if your baby happens to gulp it,,
babies at 9months onwards,,are not in danger of choking unless big chunks are given without proper care or proper sitting or head rest...thats y concept of solids says at that time start finger foods !
hwever respect your baby preferences, his likings and at the same time, keep changing and playing with textures, flavours,,see if with that flavour he likes to eat,,no prob if that makes him eat..
self feeding also makes them interested,,and yes biggest thing is having meal along with family,,,thats the best thing that has worked for most babies when it comes to learning how to chew foods, how to take it in finger,,grab your baby attention and let her watch what you are doing with food, and leave her with her food...some toddlers like mine are great monkeys !! love to copy...and they learn it.once a while keeping overboiled piece of his fav food among his toys clicks them to pick it and eat it !! that might work,,,the last thing,,never let your baby stay in one texture,,as soon as you see the acceptance, graduate him further,,or else babies love to get into habits,,esp above 6months,,and thats it sometimes the process stops there itself !!
so go accordingly,,
some links for you, some recipes ideas,,check these below :
http(:)//www(.)indiaparenting(.)com/boards/showmessage(.)cgi?messageid=6134&table_name=dis_feeding
its the pria post dated back to 15th sept 06, with subject need help urgently.

soon your baby will be 14month old,so you can read this for your reference :
http(:)//www(.)indiaparenting(.)com/boards/showmessage(.)cgi?messageid=6086&table_name=dis_feeding

now about pastas,,here is how i save my time making it..put a cooker,put in some olive oil or ne oil you use,,a lil,,add in watever vegies you are giving, saute them abit, add in tomato sauce/paste/pieces or gravy you are using,,add in some hing, parsley flakes, italian seasonings,and some shredded cheese(if your baby likes), and some pastas,,i also add to this a small piece of jaggery because sometimes tomatoes are sour in taste even though they are fresh,,,fill in water upto twice the amt of whole mixture(including pastas and vegies and make sure they are dipped well and are not seen from the surface of the cooker ) and whistle it upto 4-5-6 times,,good to go,,let it cool,,great pastas to go and you wont need to blend they are so soft and mushy...add in or deduct the ingrediants acc to whatever your baby likes...use multigrain pastas or whole grains,,try using the ones that are not big,,and are small like shell pastas, elbow macroni,Manicotti(small puffs like pipe),Ditalini (\" Little Thimbles\" ,,small version of pipes),,and all small sized pastas,,these cook well, babies like those tiny shapes and they hold the sauces and water well,,which makes them soft and mushy even after they have become cold,,so no worries...throw in tofu if your baby likes,,a great way to give protein ! can be made in advance,,good to freeze or store upto 1 day in your refrigerator top most shelf....while reheating, give a splash of water and micrwave it to 30sec and so on,,before giving baby,,stir it well for hotspots caused by microwave...good to go !

i guess i have answered all,,so good luck to you and you take care ! have a great weekend.....