Newborns usually stores sufficient Vitamin D in her body if the mother takes good care of herself during pregnancy, such as getting good exposure to sunlight, eating Vitamin D rich food, taking multivitamin supplements.

Once a baby is 3-4 weeks old, it is recommended to give her Vitamin D supplement especially if you live in the northern climate because of limited sunlight. Baby needs at least half hour sunlight each day to maintain her Vitamin D level. In other words, sunlight is the most effective way for baby to boost her Vitamin D level.

However, for the first six months, baby’s skin is extremely delicate. It is very dangerous if you keep a young infant under the direct sun because too much sun exposure may damage her soft skin.  Although sunscreen cream may keep baby relatively safe under the sun, it prevents the rays that helps her skin to produce sufficient Vitamin D for herself.

Many pediatricians suggest giving Vitamin D drops for breastfed babies in the first year. You should place one drop on your nipple right before nursing and let baby suck on it for at least 30 seconds every day.  Sunshine D Drops is one of the best Vitamin D supplement for breastfed babies.

Once baby gets older that can go out for sunbathing every day, and her stomach is ok for majority of Vitamin D rich foods (fish, fortified milk, egg and butter), you may stop giving her Vitamin D because too much Vitamin D may cause problems on her lung or heart due to excessive absorption of calcium. The chart from Interior Health gives detail information on Vitamin D rich foods.

For more information, please read “All babies and toddlers need Vitamin D”

No matter what is on your baby’s menu, jar food or homemade baby food, the texture of your baby’s first foods should be super easy to digest, super smooth and unlikely to cause any allergic reactions.

There are three best foods for baby to start with.

First, rice cereal, as we mentioned in our previous post, rice cereal is considered as the best human food for baby to start with. If you like to make it from scratch, here is the recipe for Home-Made Baby Rice Cereal.

Second, root vegetables such as sweet potato or yam and carrot, or butternut squash. These veggies have naturally sweet flavor. Their texture tends to be very smooth once are pureed.

Third, digestible fruits such as apple, pear, banana and avocado. If you make your own baby food, in the beginning, it is recommended to steam apple or pear for about 5-8 minutes, and then puree it with its juice together, add some water if needed. Banana and avocado have to be very ripe and soft since they do not require cooking.

Always remember to give your baby new food one at a time for 2-4 days because you have to make sure your baby is not allergic to the new food. In addition, never sweeten and add salt into baby’s food, because your baby may just want sweet food later on if you tempt baby with sugar in the beginning, and salt is harmful to baby’s kidneys.

For baby between four to six months, short grain white rice is the best choice because it is shorter and sticker and is quite easy for baby to digest. If you buy a big bag of the short grain white rice from supermarket, except making baby cereal, you can always use them to make rice puddings, rice balls or sushi. Botan or Nishiki are the two major rice brands.

Here are two simple homemade rice recipes:

• With Rice Cooker
  • 1 cup of rice, 4-6 ounces of water (or as instructed in the rice cooker manual, usually 1 cup of rice yields 2.5 to 3 cups of cooked rice);
  • Place rice and water into rice cooker until it is cooked;
  • Place cooked rice into food processor or blender;
  • Add water/breast milk/formula accordingly until rice is smooth.
• Without Rice Cooker
  • Boil rice and water in a pot;
  • Simmer it for about 20 to 30 minutes, keep stirring;
  • Once rice is cooked, add water/breast milk/formula accordingly;
  • Place them into blender;
  • Puree it until smooth.

You may want to use just one type of rice to make the cereal today and use three types of other rice altogether next time.  It is your call, as long as your baby digest them well, any combination goes.

Homemade rice cereal can be stored in the fridge for up to maximum 48 hours. You may also pour them into ice trays, cover and freeze them overnight. Once they are all frozen, pop cubes out and store them in a container and label with the date.  They can last in freezer for one month. However, you probably will find the texture of thawing frozen cereal is quite different with freshly made ones. Simply just add some water/breast milk/formula as needed until it is smooth again. BUT, never refreeze unfinished portion into freezer again.

Homemade baby rice cereal is not everyone’s cup of tea, you may want to try to make some and see how it works for you.  Making baby food from scratch is a fun process. Enjoy!!!

At this stage, having solid food is a tasting adventure for your baby. Just like adults, your little one has her own appetite.  We don’t recommend following any guidelines or charts that specifically tell you how many ounces of food baby should receive.  From our experiences, just follow your baby’s lead.  She may eat one jar of pureed pear today, and nothing for tomorrow. Or she may have one teaspoon of purred avocado for lunch and half jar of purred apple for dinner.

Every baby is different; just follow her cues when you give her solid food. Baby will never let herself be hungry.  For example, when baby opens her mouth or tries to grab your hand, it indicates she wants more food. On the other hand, when baby tries to push the spoon away or spit some food while you are feeding her, she wants to tell you “mommy, I am full, no more bite.”

In the beginning, feed your baby one new food at a time. The best time to give her a new food is in the morning, so you would notice if there are any allergic reactions your baby may have by the end of the day.  In addition, always wait two to three days before starting another new food. If she has developed some allergic reactions such as rash on her face, diarrhea or tends to be quite fussy than usual, stop the new food right away and call your pediatrician or family doctor for advice.

Solids can be introduced as earlier as four months of age. There is no rush to give her solids under six months of age. However, if your baby does not have any digestive or development problems; if she shows some interests while you are eating; or maybe you feel she may need something more than breast milk or formula, it is probably the best time to introduce some solid food to her.  BUT, before you do that, always make sure consult and discuss with your pediatrician.

Starting with rice cereal is a good step; Gerber/Nestle, Heinz and Danone have great selection for baby cereals. Of course, you always can make your own rice cereal from scratch; we will have an article regarding homemade rice cereal recipes later in our blog.

Instead of boxed cereals, some parents prefer to start with freshly pureed banana, pear, apple or avocado. On the other hand, some parents like to start with cooked pureed food such as sweet potato, sweet peas or carrot. No one knows your baby better than yourself, so it is your call to choose what kind of solid food to start.