By Najiah N

For certain reasons, it is better to serve these juices for 9 months old and up baby or depends on the baby capabilities in eating.

Milky Juice

Ingredients:

• 1 Sweet orange, take the juice only (by squeezing)
• 125 g red grape, cut in two
• 2 table spoons of formula in 200 ml of water

How to make it:

Mix everything in a blender and ready to be served.

This is for two portions.

Tropical Juice

Ingredients:

300 g of pineapple, cut in small pieces

200 g of mango, cut in small pieces

250 ml of fresh squeeze sweet orange juice

How to make it:

Put everything in a blender and the juice is ready to be served.

This juice is for two portions.

Watermelon Juice

Ingredients:

600 g of watermelon without seeds, cut in small pieces

250 ml of fresh squeeze sweet orange juice

150 g sweet star fruit

How to make it:

Mix all in a blender and then put it a baby juicer cup. Ready to be served.

This juice is for 3-4 portions.

Yoghurt and banana mix

Ingredients:

1 cavendish banana

200 ml of pineapple juice

1 table spoon of light yoghurt

How to make it:

Mix all in the blender and ready to be served.

This is for two portions.

By Najiah N

By the age of 8 months usually a baby is able to eat more verity of food such as cheese, egg, bean, and tofu. Here are some recipes using those ingredients.

Cheese and Tofu Mix

Ingredients:

40 g of tofu

20 g of cheddar cheese

50 g of rice

20 g of spinach/ carrot/ pumpkin

How to make it:

Soak the rice in the water for 2-3 hours. Then cook it with a glass of water until it became rice porridge. Just before it cooked add the vegetable (if you use carrot or pumpkin, because they took a while to cook, not like spinach) When it cooked, add the tofu and cheese. Mix it for few seconds and it’s all done. Then put them in the blender for softer texture or use stainless steel strainer.

Nutrition Fact:

This recipe is for 3 portions. Each portion contains more or less 120 kkal of energy, 6 g of protein, 4 g of fat, and 16 g of carbohydrate.

Strained Egg Porridge

Ingredients:

50 g of rice

750 ml of chicken stock

1 egg

20 g of spinach

How to make it:

Soak the rice in the water for 2-3 hours. Then cook it with a glass of water until it became rice porridge. Just before it cooked add the vegetable and the egg. Mix it well, and it’s done. Use the stainless steel strainer to make the porridge texture softer.

Nutrition Fact:

This recipe is for 3 portions and each portion contains more or less 110 kkal of energy, 5 g of protein, 3 g of fat, and 15 g of carbohydrate.

Red Bean Porridge

Ingredients:

20 g of rice flour (2 table spoons)

20 g of red bean 

1 tea spoon of honey

120 ml of sweet orange juice

How to make it:

Soak the red bean for 2-3 hours, then cook it in boiling water until it’s cooked and easy to crush or mush. In different pot, cook the rice flour with a half glass of water. When the rice flour is cooked, add the crushed red bean, add the honey and the sweet orange juice. Mix it well and ready to be served.

Nutrition fact:

This recipe is for 2 portions and each portion contains more or less120 kkal of energy, 4 g of protein, 0.5 g of fat, and 12 g of carbohydrate.

By Najiah

Other than the two examples of baby food recipes on earlier post, here are some more examples of homemade baby food recipes.

Brown Rice Milk Porridge

Ingredients:

• Make brown rice flour from 50 g of brown rice by soaking the rice with water for 2-3 hours, then dried it up, and put it in flour making machine. Or if you can find ready brown rice flour in the market you can use it.
• Make a glass of chicken stock out of chicken feet, neck, or back by boiling them in a low heat stove inside a covered saucepan for 1-2 hours.
• 2 table spoons of formula and add them with 90 ml of water or use 100 ml of breast milk.

How to make it:

• Mix the brown rice flour with the chicken stock, cook it until it’s done.
• Add the formula or the breast milk after the stove is off.
• Serve it while it’s still warm.

Nutrition Fact:

This recipe is for 2 portions, and each portion contains more or less 75 kkal of energy, 2 g of protein, 0,4 g of fat, and 17 g of carbohydrate.

Mush Potatoes

Ingredients:

• Make mush potato out of 100 g of steam potato.
• 300 ml of chicken/beef stock and add small amount of zucchini.
• 2 table spoons of formula in 160 ml of water or 160 ml of breast milk.

How to make it:

• Mix the mush potatoes, the stock, and the milk.
• Ready to be serve.

Nutrition Fact:

This recipe is for 2 portions of Mush Potato. Each portion contains more or less 64 kkal of energy, 5 g of protein, 1 g of fat, and 17 g of carbohydrate.

By Najiah

A baby can be introduced to baby finger food by the age of 8-9 months old, but it can be older to certain baby, it all depends on the readiness of the baby to eat such kind of food. Baby finger food can be given to a baby at his/her snack time, normally once to twice a day. Here are some baby finger food recipes:

 Milk Fruity Jelly

Ingredients:

1 sachet of jelly powder

6 table spoons of formula, mix it with 400 ml of water.

100 g of melon

100 g of watermelon

100 g of strawberry

100 g of pineapple

How to make it:

Mix 1 sachet of jelly powder and formula milk, cook it on small fire. Mix all the fruits with blender then add it to the jelly and formula milk just before it boil. Then put it in the jelly mold.

This recipe is for ten molds, and each mold contains more or less 22 kkal of energy, 0.8 g of protein, 0.4 g of fat, and 5.4 g of carbohydrate.

Banana Pudding

Ingredient:

100 g of Cavendish banana, make mush banana.

50 ml of water

1 table spoon of formula milk

1.5 table spoon of gelatin

How to make it:

Mix the milk, water, and gelatin. Cook them on top of boiling water. Lift it up after 5 minute. Then, mix them with mush banana, and put them in molds. It’s better if you have rectangular shape mold, so it’s easier for the baby to hold.

This recipe is for ten molds, and each mold contains more or less 100 kkal of energy, 1.4 g of protein, 0.4 g of fat, and 26 g of carbohydrate.

By Najiah N

1. Give Solid Food Step by Step.

 Introducing solid food to a baby is sometimes hard and sometimes it’s easy, depends on the baby. For the first 3-4 days, give the same kind of solid food.  Give it in a small amount and increase it consistently day by day. We need to do this to know whether the baby is allergic or not to this kind of food.

2. Frequency and Feeding Schedule.

For the first few days, give the baby 1-2 times daily of solid food, and then you can consistently increase it to 2-3 times daily. See baby feeding schedule.

3. The Selection of Baby Food

Introduce first to baby solid food that doesn’t cause allergic, usually contain low protein like cereal (rice, brown rice, oat). For vegetables, choose like potato, pumpkin, green bean, zucchini. For fruits, choose papaya, banana, sweet orange.

4. Introduce to Many Kinds of Taste

Introduce a baby to many kinds of taste and texture by giving a verity of food. When a baby is introduced to vegetables, normally s/he will like vegetables when s/he grew up. His/her memory will tell the food that s/he already had since very little.

5. How to Make and Give Solid Food

For the first stage, make a runny solid food, by adding breast milk or formula at the end of the making process to avoid loss nutrition. Use baby spoon, from baby feeding set. Put a small amount of baby food at the tip of the spoon and put it on the middle of the baby’s tongue, and see how s/he reacts. If s/he smile, it means s/he likes it, but if s/he doesn’t seem to like, or even cries, stop the eating session right away and try it again some other time.

6. How to Store Baby Food

For the reason of practical, many parent make baby food for one day, instead of making it every time the baby has to eat. We need to know how to store it, so the nutrition in it doesn’t vanish or less vanish. Put it in small food containers, and different container for each meal. Put them in the fridge, make sure the lid of the container is tight, to avoid any contamination. At each meal time, take one container and warm it up by putting it on a warm water.

By Najiah N

From the age of 6 months, a baby should be introduced to solid food. There are stages of giving solid food. At first you should give a very small amount of food. Try a runny milk porridge and then add the thickness and the amount consistently until at last your baby is able to eat the family meal at the age of  1,5-2 years old. Baby’s ability in eating the family meal differ from one and another, depends on many factors such as how many baby teeth that has grown, whether your baby has any allergies or not, etc.

Even though your baby is not able to eat the portion that s/he should has, but one of the key to successful giving solid food is consistent. Feed the baby at a feeding schedule like my baby feeding time plan example.

06.00am -08.00am           Breast Milk, or formula

09.00am                                 Solid food, can be porridge, cereal, etc.

11.00am -12.00                   Fruit, can be orange juice, banana, papaya, etc. 14.00pm -15.00pm            Solid Food, can be porridge, cereal, etc.

17.00pm -18.00pm           Snack, baby biscuit and milk (breast milk or     formula)

18.00pm -next day.          Breast milk anytime the baby wish or formula 3-4 times all night.

This schedule is off course very flexible depend on the condition. But try to make a baby use to this schedule, if once a while you miss this schedule, it’s ok. After 18.00pm, please don’t give any solid food to the baby, it lighten his/her metabolism, so s/he can sleep tight.

By Najiah N

Other than a baby’s growth and a baby milestones, there is also a “Speech Milestones” that a parent should know. It is an explanation about an age by age baby speech development.

0-2 months

A baby can express, if s/he is hungry, sleepy, or feeling uncomfortable because of his/her wet diaper, through cries. S/he can hear all the sounds from his/her surroundings and then give respond to those sounds like searching from where the sound coming from, her/his head will turn towards the sound. Stimulate your baby by giving classical music which is proven can help baby brain development.

Toys that can give noises such as musical toys or rattle toys are also recommended. At the age of two months some babies can even make sound, that’s why you should talk to your baby often to stimulate him/her to make more sounds as if s/he is talking.

3-5 months

A baby at this age can produce vocal “aaaa…” when you talk to him/her. Sometimes s/he is talking by her/himself and making the murmur voice, like when you rinse after brushing your teeth. Those voices are the expressions of happiness, angry, tired, or sleepy. There is a slight difference between those voices when expressing different meaning, only the parent knows the meaning, you just have be sensitive.

6-8 months

A baby can mumble with different intonations. Those intonations are sometimes high and sometimes low. If you talk to your baby s/he can respond with smile, laugh, and movements. A baby can say “ma..ma…ma…mam…pa..pa..” Sometimes s/he can repeat things you said, or it sounded like if s/he is repeating things we said.

9-11 months

A baby keep repeating the sound of “ma..ma..pa..pa…” if it’s an effort of talking, and making a sound of a word. If you call her/his name s/he will turn his/her head to the voices which is calling her/him. If s/he wants something s/he will make sounds as if s/he is calling or wanting for your attention.

By Najiah N

Making your own baby food is surely a smart decision for your baby. So, here are some homemade infant healthy food recipes.

Milk Porridge Recipe (for 6 months baby)

2 table spoons of rice flour (20gr)

1 glass of formula milk/breast milk/ 2 table spoons of formula milk

1 glass of water

How to make Milk Porridge

Mix the rice flour with water, and cook it on top of a small fire, leave it to cook while stirred until it become porridge. Lift it up and add breast milk or formula milk that has been diluted with a little water.

Milk Porridge Nutrition Fact

Milk porridge with breast milk has 174 kkal of energy, 4.6 g of protein, and 130 Sl of vitamin A.

Milk porridge with formula milk has 174 kkal of energy, 4.6 g of protein, and 314 Sl of vitamin A.

 Mush Banana Recipe

1 cavendish banana

1 tablespoon of formula/20 ml of breast milk

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

 How to make Mush Banana

Currycomb the banana and put it in a bowl. Add the lemon juice to avoid the banana being oxidized, and turn into brown. Add the formula milk. Mix all.

Mush Banana Nutrition Fact

From a 100g of banana has 99 kkal of energy, 146 Sl of vitamin A, and 3 mg of vitamin C.

Baby Breastfeeding

Important Facts About Breastfeeding

 

By Najiah N

The first step to breastfeed your newborn baby is call The Early Breastfeed Initiation. This (EBI) Early Breastfeeding Initiation is a part of the delivering baby process where the baby is put on the mother’s chest to breast crawl to look for the mother’s nipple on his/her own, and then let the baby suck the nipple for about half an hour. This happens in the first hour of his/her birth before giving the baby bath and checking the weight, but after cutting the umbilical cord.

The Early Breastfeeding Initiation is the first key in gaining a successful breastfeeding your baby exclusively for the whole six months, and there are other factors that count too. These factors are some preparations a mother needs to do, like living a healthy life, that includes healthy food, some exercises, and enough sleep. There are also mental preparations like strong will and positive mindset that a mother can breastfeed, and throwing away all the negative thoughts like stress. Physical preparation is doing the breast massage regularly like once a day.

There is a important information or fact that everyone needs to know that there aren’t any formulas that can compete its composition from breast milk. Breast milk has the best composition there is in this world. Breast milk has more than 200 biofactors system (integrated nutrition in a right amount and compilation that produce growth nutrition and immunity). Compare to formula, it only has around 30-40 biofactors  Breast milk also gives the best immunity system there is against many diseases. Especially the first three days of the breast milk, contains what its call Colostrums. From many researches found that a child that had breast milk when s/he was a baby has higher point of intelligence.

Knitted Baby Clothes

Newborn Baby Unique Gifts

By Najiah N

Planning to give a gift or present for your friend’s newborn baby or relative’s newborn baby? It can get confusing sometimes, especially when you enter a baby shop and you see everything looks nice, pretty, cute, and useful too.

Here are some tips in choosing a gift for your friend’s newborn baby or relative’s newborn baby

1. You have to know the sex of the newborn baby, is it a baby boy or a baby girl, because it determine the color of the gift. A baby boy usually has a blue theme and a baby girl usually has a pink theme. If you are thinking of buying some baby clothes, knowing the baby gender is a must.
2. You need to know whether the baby is a first child or not, because if the baby is not a first child it means maybe you need to ask the parent what kind of baby stuff they’ll still be needing, since probably they might still have the old ones from the oldest child.
3. If they held a baby shower before the baby born, usually they gave a list of the items they’ll need. By this way, we can avoid getting the same gift as the other person, and parent can avoid getting double baby stuff.
4. Please buy stuff that a baby really need and suit your budget too.

What is the suitable gift to give for a newborn baby? Anything that a baby need is suitable, from baby furniture, baby stroller, baby diapering, baby cosmetics, baby toys, to baby clothes, and still many other baby accessories. Wrap it up well with a special baby theme wrapping paper, or put them all in a gift basket to add the cute effect.

What is a Newborn baby unique gift? How about making yourself the baby stuff, like knitting them yourself, baby jacket, baby socks, baby hat, etc. Then you add the baby initials on them, well it sure is a unique idea of baby gifts.