My Baby gets 4 Meals a Day, is this Okay?

What it is like to be a 6-month-old baby

From five or six months old onwards, babies start becoming interested in the world around them. They are curious about everything and burn energy like there's no tomorrow! This great period of discovery requires a lot of nutritious food. Your baby is in an amazing growth period; her weight will be 4x her birth weight during the first three years of their life. Make sure her meals provide the energy she needs for all the discoveries she has to make and for her psychomotor skills to develop. Tara na, kakain na!

A full tank to start to day

Surprise of all surprises, (that is, if you're not really a morning person!) your baby starts the day early with the pedal to the metal! Of course all babies do, there's so much out there to discover, ‘di ba? Kaya naman, she needs energy. Breakfast must provide her with the energy she needs to carry out all her different morning activities: watching the little ants running back and forth along the window frame, crumpling up all your important paperwork, reading her books backwards, chewing on and drooling over her favourite stuffed toys, and more.

Lunchtime discovery of new flavors

Once your baby is done with all her morning tasks, she is ready to make some gastronomic discoveries. Lunchtime is the best moment to introduce her to new flavors, so, sige lang, Mommy,  go for it!

On the menu:

VEGETABLES, puréed, in a soup, mashed or in little cubes, depending on baby’s age

MEAT OR FISH in appropriate quantities

DAIRY PRODUCT such as a milk-based dessert suited to her age, or natural yoghurt for older children

FRUIT, cooked and puréed, raw and mashed or grated; again, your choice depending on the age of your child

Lunch is an important time of day for bonding with your child. If baby has you all to herself (while the rest of the family is at school or work), make it into a special moment for both of you!

Snack time is sacred

After her afternoon nap, your baby is ready to run around in the playground or concentrate on new games. First, though, she needs to fill up with energy food in order to get to the slide before the other children in the neighborhood come out to play.

Snack time should include:

• A dairy product, as she needs a lot of calcium
• A cereal product (infant cereal with or without gluten depending on her age, special baby biscuits, a piece of bread, etc.) to provide the slow-burning carbohydrates she needs for all her physical activity
• A fruit to provide vitamins and fiber to help all that food get digested

If your child misses this important snack, it is recommended that you bring dinner forward or serve dinner earlier than usual. Giving her a late snack will only lessen her appetite for dinner.

A good dinner for a peaceful night's sleep

Once baby’s busy day is over and after a nice bath with her bathtime friends - rubber ducks and fish - your baby is both excited by all the day’s activities and tired.
Allow baby to settle down. Prepare a dinner specially made to help her enjoy a peaceful night's sleep. Give her soup or a purée with vegetables and carbohydrates (baby rice cereal, mashed potatoes, little pieces of well-cooked and blended pasta, lugaw, etc.) to provide her with slow-burning energy that will last throughout the night. And so ends another active day that is filled with plenty of games, discoveries and lots of healthy food for your little one!

Good eating habits start early on. So, Mommies, avoid giving sugary with no nutritional benefits, sweets and chocolate, "mid-afternoon snacks" containing too much sugar or fat, such as cakes and biscuits. Tandaan --- babies are still too young for these things!

Co-written with REINA BORLAZA, RND.