Happy eating, little Dawnxi eats well, Dad and Mom are feeling good

When our daughter little Dawnxi was 4 to 6 months old, we started thinking about adding some complementary foods to her diet, but we didn't know how to start? We wondered if it was the right time to start adding complementary foods? How to add them? When and how could little Dawnxi learn to eat on her own? When little Dawnxi was about 6 months old, one of Doris' college classmates sent us some parenting books on complementary feeding and some early infant supplements, which gave us more confidence to start little Dawnxi on complementary feeding right away. Of course, the amount of breast milk or formula did not decrease after we added complementary food to little Dawnxi.

Our daughter was weaned at 9 months and 17 days (at her own request). After weaning, she continued to drink the breast milk we had stored in the fridge for a few months until she was a little over a year old. At the same time, she was still drinking MeadJohnson milk powder from the Netherlands, which is an all whey protein formula with high whey protein content and is suitable for the baby's gastrointestinal digestive characteristics, so little Dawnxi has been not constipated and has had normal stools. At the same time, little Dawnxi has been given additional vegetable juices such as cucumber or tomato with apple or kiwi fruit. Little Dawnxi has had no digestive problems after the addition of complementary foods. At present, she has 2 to 3 stools per day.

We started by adding some pure rice flour to little Dawnxi, then slowly added vegetable puree, fruit puree, and meat puree, and also added vegetable puree and meat puree to rice flour or porridge for little Dawnxi to eat, so that the taste of rice flour would be richer. Because eggs are an allergy-prone food and little Dawnxi has had eczema problems on her skin since birth, we did not add them too early. We followed the principles of adding complementary foods for infants, from small to large, from thin to thick, from fine to coarse, and from single to mixed complementary foods. And each time we added a new supplement with too little Dawnxi, we didn't add too much but took our time. 

Little Dawnxi started teething at 4 months old, starting with two lower incisors, followed by two upper incisors. The healthy growth of teeth is related to many elements, mainly the nutritional status of vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin D, protein, calcium, and phosphorus. We take special care to give little Dawnxi more of these nutrients.

At 9 months old, little Dawnxi already had six baby teeth, four on top and two on the bottom, and by the time little Dawnxi was 10 months old, she already had eight teeth, and when she showed her teeth and smiled she was already very presentable. At that time little Dawnxi's salivary glands secreted significantly more saliva. When little Dawnxi was 8 to 9 months old, this was the best time to develop her hands-on skills. Little Dawnxi used her hands to grasp baby cookies and other foods to eat, and also tried to eat with a spoon.

We try not to interfere with little Dawnxi when she is eating, but when little Dawnxi grabbed something to eat with her hands, we took care to wash her hands and maintain hygiene. When little Dawnxi eats, we try to eat with her next to or in front of her. Little Dawnxi used to sit in a soft dining chair while we fed her food, but from the time little Dawnxi was about one year old until now, she has eaten at a formal children's table. In addition, we have been paying close attention to the care of little Dawnxi's teeth since she started to add complementary foods, cleaning her teeth after every meal.

When most of little Dawnxi's teeth have grown in, she starts eating the same meals as we do, but with less salt in her food. Also, the variety of her food is slightly more than the variety of our food, and the colors match as well as possible. Little Dawnxi's diet was soft and light before, but by the time she was more than one year old, her meals could not be too soft and rotten. If we make little Dawnxi's meals extra soft in order to get her to eat more, we are doing a disservice with good intentions. First of all, if the food is too soft and rotten, little Dawnxi's chewing ability will not be exercised, which is not conducive to her dental development and will affect her face in the future. Moreover, if we make the food too soft and rotten, all the nutrients of the food have been lost during the cooking process, and eating such food often may affect Little Dawnxi's nutritional intake, which will lead to her malnutrition. 

Every step on the way to growth is critical, and any mistake we make will affect little Dawnxi's physical and mental health and will harm little Dawnxi's personality and body, so we are very careful.

At one and a half years old, little Dawnxi could eat a wide variety of foods, such as porridge, rice, noodles, etc. At this time, little Dawnxi could clearly express her thoughts on what she liked to eat and what she did not like to eat. After one and a half years old, little Dawnxi's chewing ability has greatly improved, so her demand for food has been also higher. Now, the same food that she likes to eat may be liked for several days in a row, and what she doesn't like to eat, she may like to eat again after a few days. So if sometimes little Dawnxi doesn't like certain foods, we won't force her to eat them, we will make something else for her to eat.

Little Dawnxi really likes wontons, dumplings, meat and vegetable buns, steamed buns, cakes, and rice cakes. When time permits, we use vegetable juice to make meat buns or dumplings for her to eat. The specific method is to make vegetable juice first, such as cucumber juice, carrot juice, tomato juice, etc., then use vegetable juice, egg, and flour together to knead into a dough, and finally use these doughs to make meat buns or dumplings. The meat buns and dumplings made with a variety of different colored vegetable juices are brightly colored and appetizing. Little Dawnxi is happy, and also eats more, and that sense of accomplishment can make our hearts burst with joy!

Original by dawnxisoul393