Many proud parents wait for and celebrate baby’s firsts. Some of these are quite important as they mark important milestones towards your baby’s proper growth and development. Some examples are the first time your baby rolls over on his tummy (about four months old), sit without support (about six months old), and of course his first step (about a year and a month, give or take). There are other firsts that look really good on camera, such as his first smile, first babblings, and first bath.

But there is one important first that should also merit considerable attention and that is your baby’s first meal.

Baby steps
“In the first six months, breastfeeding is recommended as the primary source of nutrition for babies. In fact, if the baby is exclusively breastfed for the first four months, no water, no vitamin supplements, no juice is given. Breast milk in itself is sufficient enough to meet the nutritional requirements of a baby,” says Dr. Felizardo N. Gatcheco, a pediatrician specializing in gastroenterology and nutrition and clinical epidemiology, during the launch of the Promina infant food line.

It is after four months that parents can start exploring the world of food with their babies. 

“There are several things that parents should look for to determine if a baby is ready. First, the baby should already have head control because babies should be fed while they are seated to avoid choking. The inborn reflex that has to do with tongue thrust (a reflex that causes him to thrust his tongue forward whenever the back of his throat is stimulated) should also be diminished because your baby would only gag or push the food out of his mouth.

If your baby is ready to eat, attention should be put on the food that he should be fed with.

“Surprisingly, the first food usually served to them is “am” or “lugaw” probably because people think that this is easier to digest. But if you think about it, these foods have little nutritional value. They have no iron, and no zinc. What parents can do is to include nutrient-rich foods into the mix, such as malunggay and flaked fish.”

And lest parents get overexcited about baby’s first meal, Gatcheco advises starting small, as in really small – about one half to one teaspoon, and build up from there. Foods should also be introduced one at a time, allowing for oral tolerance and allergy checks. He says a wide variety of foods should be given too. Delaying the introduction of certain foods might make them even more prone to allergies. And on the subject of food meet and greets, he adds that fruit juice may be given by the seventh or eighth month, and finger foods can be given by the eighth too. “And by one year, most of the calorie intake of the baby should come from the table.”

Table manners
Feeding your baby right also means feeding him the right way. Aside from giving babies proper nourishment, Gatcheco says that feeding is also behavioral. “You have to teach them how to eat properly from the start. That is because as you are teaching babies to eat, you are teaching them to be self-reliant.”

The dining area should be an all-access area to members of the family, he says. “The usual case is that the whole family takes their meals at the dining room, and then baby is fed by yaya in front of the TV somewhere else. The baby should join the family at the table too!” The main complaint when it comes to bringing babies to the table is that they make a mess. “But you really have to expect that with babies who are still uncoordinated. If the messy eater is a grown-up, then that should be an issue!”    

On getting children to eat more veggies and fruits, parents’ motto should be “never say die.” According to Gatcheco, a study published by the University of Pennsylvania found that it should take kids 15 to 20 exposures to a certain food before parents should give up. “Usually, by the third exposure, tanggap na ng bata.” Parents should also model healthy eating, to get the kids munching on the good-for-you stuff.

Also on nutrition, he adds that “the trend before was supplementation, but now, it is about fortification.” To maximize each mealtime, go for foods that have already been fortified with vitamins and minerals. An example is the Promina infant food line,  which is fortified with prebiotic FOS (Fructo Oligo Saccharide) to help the digestive system.