4C Using the multi-mix principle for weaning

A baby's first and best food is breast milk. Breast milk alone is enough for a baby for the first four months of life. After four months breast milk alone is not enough to make a baby grow well. Other foods need to be given in addition to breast milk. The process of adding new foods to the baby's diet and gradually reducing the amount of breast milk given is called 'weaning'.

The best foods for children who are being weaned are foods that are: · High in energy (calories) Young children need extra energy to grow. Fats, oils and sugar are good sources of this extra energy and should be added to the baby's food. Other foods such as the staple cereal that help the baby to grow and develop must be eaten too. · Easy to digest The first new foods a baby eats should be very soft and easy to digest. Later, as the baby's teeth grow and digestive system develops, more solid foods should be added. · Pure and clean A baby's foods should be as fresh and clean as possible, because babies catch infections and become ill easily. In homes where foods cannot be kept cola, a baby's food must always be cooked just before the meal. · Easy and inexpensive to prepare Many families do not have much money to spend on food. It is a good idea to take out the baby's share of food from the meals cooked for the rest of the family, as this does not cost extra money. A child's stomach is small, so he or she cannot eat very much food at one time, and needs feeding more often than the rest of the family. The child is also growing very fast and needs nourishing food several times a day, not just at the family meal times.

How to feed a child of 4 to 6 months

· Breast-feed the baby on demand.
· Start to give the baby porridge or soup. Remember to add some oil or fat.
· Start to add foods from other food groups to the baby's porridge and give the baby multi-mixes.
· Give the baby fruit or fruit juice.

How to make the porridge

The porridge should be thick, and fed from a clean cup or bowl with a clean spoon. Make the porridge from the staple food, for example maize, sorghum, rice or banana. Cook the baby's porridge with milk, or cook it in water and add milk after cooking. You can use any kind of milk, for example breast milk, cow's milk, dried skimmed milk, or goat's milk. Condensed or sweetened milks can be added to the porridge after cooking.

If a soup rather than a porridge is the more usual first food of babies in your country, it should be thick, should contain a mixture of foods, and have added oil, ghee or butter to give the baby energy.

How to feed the porridge to the baby

Give the baby porridge twice a day. Start with two or three teaspoonfuls, then give more, a little at a time. Add oil or fat for extra energy. When a baby is six months old, he or she should be eating thick porridge twice a day.

How to prepare fruit or fruit juice

A baby can have any fruit, for example mango, orange, grapefruit, guava, ripe banana or papaya. Mash the fruit with a clean fork, or make juice from squeezing the fruit.

How to feed the fruit or juice to the baby

Feed the baby with the juice or mashed fruit from a clean cup or bowl with a clean spoon. Start with two or three teaspoonfuls, then give more, a little at a time. By the time the baby is six months old he or she should, be having about half a cup of juice or mashed fruit every day.

Multi-mixes for babies

Just as the family meals should contain foods a different types, so should the baby's meals. Food should be finely mashed or minced, and added to the porridge, to make these meals.

Two-mixes for the baby
Example: Rice porridge + breast milk
Write here examples of two-mixes for a baby:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Three-mixes for the baby
Example: Potato + kale + chickpea flour
Write here examples of three-mixes for a baby:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Four-mix meals for the baby
Example: Maize + peas + pumpkin + meat
Write here examples of four-mixes for a baby:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

How to make a baby's food from the family pot

· Take out the baby's food before adding trot pepper, curry or any other strong seasoning.

· Mash the food by rubbing it through a clean strainer with a clean spoon.

· When giving the baby fish or meat, cut it into small pieces and take out all the bones.

· Soften the baby's food with oil, butter or margarine, or a little water or gravy from the cooking pot.

Always feed the baby from a bowl or cup with a spoon.

Figures 27, 28, and 29

A guide to feeding a baby of 4-6 months

Breast-feeding is important up to one year old or even older. Very young babies should be given breast milk as often as they will take it. Babies fed 'on demand', i.e. whenever they cry or seem hungry, may feed as many as 12-15 times in 24 hours. By the time they are about four months old most babies will have a routine of being breast-fed 5-10 times in 24 hours.

Here is an example from one country of what a mother can give her baby. Breast milk should be given 'on demand' as well. You may be able to think of other examples. If so write them in the space provided below.

· Early morning	Breast milk
· Breakfast	Fruit juice or mashed fruit
· Mid-morning	Thick porridge or soup
· Lunch	Thick porridge or soup
· Evening	Breast milk
· Bedtime	Breast milk

Write your own examples here:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

A guide to feeding a baby of 6- 12 months

This is an example from one country. You will be able to think of other examples. Write them in the space opposite. Don't forget that breast milk should be given on demand as well.

· Early morning	Breast milk
· Breakfast	Juice or fruit, plus thick rice porridge or soup
· Mid-morning	Milk or yoghurt drink, plus bread
· Lunch	Rice and fish with a dark green leafy vegetable
· Afternoon	Fruit
· Evening	Rice and lentils
· Bedtime	Breast milk

Write your own examples here:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

How to feed young children of one year old and over

By the time a baby is one year old she or he should be eating all kinds of food. The baby needs three main meals every day - one at breakfast time, one at midday and one in the evening. Between these meals the baby also needs other foods because he or she is growing fast. The baby can eat the family's meals from the family's pot.

Help the child to feed himself or herself. Make sure that the baby does not waste the food, or he or she will not get all the nourishment needed. The baby should eat with the rest of the family, and should eat plenty of the staple food, some meat, fish, egg or peas and beans, and some vegetables. Be sure the child does not eat only the gravy or sauce.

A guide to feeding a child of one year old or more

This is an example from one country. There is a space below where you can write examples from your own country or community. Don't forget that breast-feeding can still continue on demand.

· Early morning	Juice or fruit
· Breakfast	Sardine fritter with milk
· Mid-morning	Crackers with milk
· Midday	Porridge made with milk and cereal, mixed with brown sugar
· Afternoon	Fruit
· Evening	Sweet potato, spinach and mackerel, lemonade
· Bedtime	Milk

Write your own examples here:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

How to feed a young child during an infection or illness

When a child is sick or has an infection, he or she needs more food than usual. The food must be more nourishing than usual so the body can fight the illness. Encourage the mother not to stop giving certain foods during illness.

Milk is a good food for sick children. Breast milk is the best food for sick babies. A mother should never stop breast-feeding when a baby is sick. If the baby cannot suck, the mother can squeeze her breast milk out of the breast into a clean cup and feed it to the baby with a clean spoon. If the baby is not sucking the breast regularly, and the milk is not squeezed out, the milk may dry up.

Sometimes a sick child may not want to eat. The mother should try very hard to encourage the child to eat. She should give the child foods that are easy to swallow like thick porridge or bread soaked in milk. She should give the child some yellow or orange vegetables, some fruits like pawpaw and mango, some soft cooked dark green leafy vegetables, and plenty of fluids. Sick babies need plenty of love and care. They need coaxing to eat.

When children have infections they need good nourishing food. Remember, malnutrition makes infection worse and infection makes malnutrition worse.

When the child is better, feed him or her extra food. The child should take enough extra food after the illness to make up for the food not eaten during the illness and to build up the child's strength again. If the child is hungry, feed him or her.