Toddlers have very small esophagi so it is crucial to remember to give them soft foods that they can easily chew and eat in small bites. You don’t want to give your toddler tough meats or foods that they will have a hard time eating on their own. You also have to remember to always cut your toddlers food into very small pieces so that they do not choke on it.

Many times the food you feed your family you can also feed your toddler. Mashed potatoes, soups, mashed up peas, french fries that even toothless babies can gum, and cooked carrots are good for a toddler to eat. They are soft and can be squished in your toddler’s mouth before they swallow.

Toddlers can also eat small bites of spaghetti that you make for your family, or small bites of burritos or enchiladas. You want to make sure it is all cut up into baby size bites and isn’t too spicy for kids. Grilled cheese sandwiches cut into tiny pieces that your toddler can gum are a great idea for a quick and easy lunch. You will probably want to cut off the crust however.

Once your toddler turns two you can begin introducing peanut butter and hotdogs into his diet. You want to avoid peanut butter before two because it could cause your child to develop allergies to nuts that could be deadly. Always make extra sure that you cut hotdogs into very small pieces.

Breakfast for your toddler can include eggs, small pieces of cut of sausage, cold cereal with or without milk, or oatmeal. Snacks can include soft fruits such as kiwi and melons that your toddler can gum or chew.

Smoothies are always good for toddler. Blend up fruits and veggies and let your toddler drink these as a way to sneak in that extra serving of healthy fruits and vegetables everyday. Here is a recipe for one of our favorites!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup of vanilla yogurt
2-4 strawberries
1/2 banana*

Directions:
Blend all ingredients together, adding water if desired to make thinner. Pour in your toddler’s sippy cup and serve.

*For variety bananas may be substituted for Kiwi’s or you can use all three!

Is your baby about to start solid foods? Are you thinking of making your own baby food?

When you make baby’s first foods, you can save money and reduce waste. You also can choose more nutritious options. Fresh foods are typically more nutritious than canned, and you can purchase organic food to prepare for baby if you wish. You can also avoid unwholesome ingredients that show up in commercial baby food.

Making baby food doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. In fact, the easiest and cheapest way is the best way!

The easy way to making your own baby food:
1. Don’t bother with buying one of those baby food grinders. They’re hard to clean and too much hassle.

2. If you wait until your baby is 6 months old to start solids, you can almost always just mash with a fork to the desired consistency. If you’re breastfeeding, you can even wait until baby’s “pincer grasp” is developed and offer him small finger foods like peas, bits of grated apple, and the like. The pincer grasp is developed when baby can pinch small objects (like those bits of carpet fluff or food on the kitchen floor!) inbetween his thumb and first finger. In fact, if you have a family tendency towards food allergy, waiting longer to start solids may be preferable. No matter what baby’s age, always offer one food at a time and wait several days to watch for signs of allergy before offering another. Take it slow.

3. Start with fresh single ingredient foods like:
Banana
Steamed carrot, turnip, potato, yam
Avocado
Ripe pear, peach, melon, plum
Cooked squash
Grated apple- raw or steamed
Peas
Well cooked beans
Hard cooked egg yolks (avoid the whites until 1 year)

Some of these foods could be served raw. Others are lightly steamed (steaming retains more nutrients than canning), to make them softer for baby.

4. It’s not necessary to make a big deal of preparing baby’s food. If you want to take a lot of time blending food and freezing them in ice cube trays, you could certainly do that. But I’m all for the easy approach!

Although you do want to avoid giving baby salt and sugar (and spices that may upset the tummy), you can usually just take an ingredient from your own menu and “make” baby’s dinner.

For instance, if you’re steaming veggies to serve at dinner, take a tablespoon of them out of the pan before you add butter and salt. Put this in baby’s plate and mash away. Voila! Instant baby food with no extra work. Or take a bit of beef from your roast and mash mash mash until it’s very soft.

Even when you’re at a restaurant, you can either bring an apple with you and “grate” it finely with a spoon at your table, or bring along a banana or other portable food. Any restaurant with a salad bar would have cooked beans or avocado. Or give baby a bit of your baked potato (before you add the goodies on top).

Life with a new baby is challenging enough. Keep starting solids simple!

About the Author:
Carrie Lauth publishes a free newsletter for Moms doing things the natural way. Get your copy plus free subscriber goodies at: http://www.natural-moms.com/natural_mom_newsletter.html.

Soft spots are placed where the skull has not completely closed at birth. The anterior fontanel is about two inches wide and may not be closed completely until your baby is 18 months old. The posterior fontanel is only about a half inch wide and will be closed by the time your baby is three months old, much earlier than the anterior soft spot.

Soft spots are present for several different reasons and are very important in terms of your baby’s health. First and foremost, having a gap in the skull allows the head to change shape making it easier for your baby to come down the birth canal. This is why some babies are born with a cone shaped head.

Second, the soft spots allow room for your baby’s brain to grow during the first year of life. During this time your baby’s brain will grow very rapidly and it needs to have somewhere to grow. If the skull was closed there would be no way for the skull to stretch and expand.

Another use of soft spots by doctors is to check your baby’s hydration level when your baby is sick. Most of the time the fontanel will expand and move when your baby laughs, cries and breathes. When your baby is sick however and get dehydrated his fontanel will sink into his head. If your baby has a depressed fontanel, call your pediatrician and ask him what you should do.

There is nothing special you have to do to take care of your baby’s fontanel. You mainly have to make sure that you are careful around that spot since there is in essence, no protection covering your baby’s brain in that spot. Wash it gently and be sure not to let any older brothers and sisters accidentally push on it while playing with their new “toy”.

If you think there is anything wrong with your baby’s soft spots, or feel that they might be closing too soon, be sure to ask your pediatrician at your baby’s next well-check, or call your pediatrician to ask him. Most of the time everything will be fine, but it is better to be safe than sorry, and that is what he is there for.