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Keeping your baby healthy is so important to keeping a healthy routine. Sure, germs will come and go and build up their little immune systems but there are things we should do to support the development of our little one’s immune systems.
I am often asked what my top tips are to keep babies and toddlers healthy – especially through winter.
Here my top 5 ways to keep your baby healthy:
- Don’t take your newborn to busy public places. Although her immunity is still well supported by your antibodies, especially if you are breastfeeding, a newborn who gets sick will not feed well and this is very stressful for you as a parent.
- Breastfeed – there is no doubt that formula milk simply cannot replicate the antibodies in breast milk. But I even if you only breastfeed for a very short time, know that the highest level of antibodies is passed to your baby in colostrum – that first milk babies get in the early days.
- Offer your baby a healthy diet once she is on solid foods. The micronutrients found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables and lean meat, chicken and fish are essential for your baby’s health.
- If your baby attends crèche or is cared for in a group when you return to work and is consistently getting sick, put her on a good multivitamin or supplement.
- Vaccinate your baby. This is the best way to ensure she does not suffer any dramatic and potentially life-threatening childhood illnesses
Illness is not something you can prevent entirely because children pick and up spread germs so easily. If you are battling illness with your little one, sleep and eating are extremely challenging. It’s ok to take a break from the norm and bend the rules when your baby or toddler is not well.
If you want a flexible, daily routine to follow based on your baby, subscribe to Parent Sense. It’s the all-in-one baby app that helps moms and dads do their best when their little ones are unwell.
