Once you have a new baby, you will need to spend more money. That’s not a myth. baby food is definitely one of the big monthly costs, but there are ways that you can cut down on the cost of baby food without sacrificing your baby’s health.

The best way, in the beginning, to cut down on cost is to breastfeed your baby. Not only is this basically free food for your baby, but it’s the healthiest for them in their early development stages. The baby not only gets valuable nutrients and a boost to their immune system from their mother’s milk, but also also allows for a closer bond for mom and baby early on.

What if you need to be away from baby for a few hours a day because of work, appointments, or other scheduling? Well, Mom just needs a breast pump so she can store a reserve. Mom can pump bottles of breast milk and freeze enough to provide her baby with enough breast milk to last the hours that she’s away. The cost of the breast pump far outweighs the cost of having to buy formula on an ongoing basis.

What if you can’t breastfeed or simply choose not to? That’s ok, you can still save money. There are tons of coupons available by big brands who want you to use them over their competitors. If you make it a habit to look for promotions, you can often snag yourself a lot of free stuff in the process. This is even easier if you have Internet access and are able to take the time to sign up to the countless free promotions that are available.

Don’t forget to make your own baby food if you have the time. When your baby is a bit older and eating solid foods, you can puree fresh fruits and vegetables in a blender for baby food.  Not only will this save you money, but it’s much healthier for your baby than the packaged stuff.

Weaning a baby can be quite a difficult task, and a system must be observed when doing so. This way, your baby’s health will be ensured and feeding difficulties can be easily managed. You must first observe specific baby behaviors when you introduce solid food to your baby. She must be able to hold her head upright, sit up with support, and show interest in what you’re eating. Since your baby’s stomach is still underdeveloped and quite small, weaning is done slowly and carefully.

The first food to introduce to your baby would be rice. This is the best type of food to introduce first to your baby for this food poses lesser allergic risk. Start with a teaspoon of rice cereal mixed with a tablespoon of breastmilk, formula, or water. Do not worry about the consistency. Remember you are introducing something new to your baby, and you must be able to do everything that you can to lessen any reaction. Give this a several minutes after your baby has been fed of milk and not before. Remember that breastmilk is still the main staple food for your baby, and still the main source of nutrients for growth and development. Giving solid food before milk will lessen your baby’s capacity for milk and can impede with your baby’s development. Gradually increase the amount of cereal to produce a much thicker form of meal for your baby.

Wait for several days before introducing a new type of food. The next food to be introduced to your baby would be strained or pureed fruits and vegetables. If you are to feed your baby commercially prepared food, you must place portions on a bowl. If you feed straight from the container, you will be forced to put away any leftover portions for it would now be a good breeding ground for bacteria. Introduce one type of fruit or vegetable and wait for a week before introducing another one. It is important to feed your baby one type of food at a time so you will know what type of food has caused an allergic reaction if ever it occurs. Some babies find it hard to digest squash and exhibit this by bouts of diarrhea whenever the food is introduced. Keep a food diary and note for any reactions so you may know what type of food must be given with caution or be best off not given.

Next would be fish and meat. You may need to start with fresh water fish mixed with cereal to train your baby’s stomach to digest bigger molecules of protein. Eventually you will step up with ground meat such as chicken, pork, and beef introduced in that order.

If your baby does not like a particular food, do not give up. Reintroduce the food again after a while and eventually she would accept that food. This conditioning will help lessen the chance of your baby being a picky eater in the future. Slowly increase the number of servings so as not to overwhelm your baby. Cease feeding and do not force your baby to eat if she does not want to. Small frequent feedings are better for babies than few large servings a day. Eventually your baby will step up to small finger foods such as pieces of bread, cookie, or vegetable sticks. Make sure you supervise your baby when eating them so she would not choke. Also remember to avoid nuts, berries, shellfish, and egg whites until your baby is more than a year old. These foods are known to produce some allergic reactions, and peanut is known to produce anaphylactic reactions in babies. Ask your pediatrician what other foods to avoid and what is safe to introduce so you can properly and safely wean your baby to solid food.

There is that moment for every Mom when she hits the frustration point with her child and her eating habits. It’ almost guaranteed that at some point your baby will go through a stage of not wanting to eat what you put in front of them and even be extremely adamant about not eating it.

When your baby denies the plate of food in front of him, don’t worry about it. Just like adults, babies have their favorites, likes, and dislikes. It may just be something as simple as your baby not liking the texture, how it tastes, or maybe even how it affects their little tummy.

One rule to follow is not introducing new foods more than once every 2 or three days. This gives your baby ample time to know for sure if he likes it or not. You also get to see if the first time he threw it o the floor was just a mood swing or if it was a genuine dislike for the food.

Another important rule is to not feed your baby when he is upset or cranky. If your baby is upset, sick, or even slightly irritated at the moment, don’t persist until they are back to their cheerful self.

It’s important not to acted stressed out about them choosing to not eat a a certain vegetable that you feel is important.  The best approach to take is mix things up and show a little compromise as yo go. You can always try another vegetable in a couple days or mix one or two in with something he does seem to like and see how that works.

For instance, if you wanted your baby to eat blueberries, but he seemed against it on their own, mix a few into the cereal that he eats every morning and see what happens. The combination might agree with him more than the blueberries did on their own.

The most important part of dealing with a picky eater is to be patient with your baby. With so many foods to choose from, not eating one or two fruits or veggies at the moment is not detrimental to you or your baby’s health. Just keep trying.