5 (More) Helpful Tips for Feeding Your Child After Surrogacy
Hello, hopeful parents having a baby through surrogacy or those researching surrogacy.
Made in the USA Surrogacy is a surrogacy agency located in Northern California in the small city of Roseville.
We are the Sacramento area’s premier surrogacy agency. Even if you are in the Los Angeles area, we service all couples who are going through IVF treatment or IVF cycles putting embryos together but are unable to transfer those embryos or attempt having a baby on their own.
We discuss topics related to finding a surrogate, we discuss the 12 steps to finding a surrogate, and all topics related to surrogacy in California or abroad. We hope this blog is a resource to you for all of your surrogacy needs and questions!
In our other blog, we wrote about breastfeeding and tips for feeding your baby. In this blog, we expand the “feeding your baby” category of care for your new child that you had through surrogacy.
Today we are going to speak about feeding and transitioning your baby from breastmilk or formula to regular food. How and when should you make the transition? When is normal and how does it increase a baby’s ability to function during the day?
Here are a few helpful tips for making the transition to regular food easy:
#1 – Look for signs that at the 5-6-month mark that your baby is interested in your food
It’s a recurring theme in our articles about after your surrogacy experience and parenting- actively listening to and watching your baby. They are humans too, and much like you show interest in something, or have reactions to things, or have taste buds – they do too!
Your baby will most certainly see you eating that wonderful tasty pork roast you just made and will start making eyes at your food.
Then they may start making noises waving at you or pointing at your food. It would seem at this point it may be a good time to start introducing your new baby to solid foods.
#2 – Encourage your surrogate to eat a clean diet
We have found the healthier a diet is for our surrogates, the healthier and more nutritious foods the baby will want when it is older.
Encourage your surrogate mother to eat their vegetables, to physically cook their food, and buy organic whenever possible.
Some intended parents will offer their surrogate mothers a monthly allowance specifically to make sure they eat organic foods. While this may seem excessive – it may be something you want to consider for your surrogacy journey.
Paying a little extra to make sure that your surrogate feels encouraged to eat and prepare healthy foods will go a long way towards the food interests that your child has when it is ready.
Also, worthwhile to note – if you have decided to feed your child breastmilk in the first few months of life (0-6 months and so on), your surrogate who is providing the milk will need to make sure she also maintains a healthy diet during the times she is pumping.
Babies soak up every nutrient from the breastmilk, and the breastmilk gets its potency from the rich foods that are eaten during the production of that milk.
#3 – Home-make your baby food
I know, it’s difficult as parents to find the time to make your own meals let alone meals for a new child. Well, there’s good news – making your baby’s food fresh will help eliminate many of your issues later on down the line when you want your child to eat their vegetables.
You may not know this, but food out of cans (jarred baby food) is kept on a shelf for over 2 years sometimes. Not only does this affect their taste, but the less fresh it is, the worse off it is nutritionally.
If you have never tasted jarred baby food- make sure to do so the next time you pick up a jar. It’s absolutely horrible. Your baby will think so as well…because remember- they’re humans too!
So how do you do this? Try the baby bullet – they have recipes depending on the child’s age, and they break it down into what types of foods should be made for them and at what times to do so (6-9 months vs 9-12months). Foods will range from purees to textured meals.
At Made in the USA Surrogacy, we have had surrogate mothers who have raised their own children with fresh pureed foods (absolutely no cans!) and they have seen the benefits.
We have one mother who told us that their 2-year-old has no trouble with green beans, broccoli, and other vegetables. We are even told that this child eats sushi and miso soup! Wow, what a palate!
Speaking of home-made baby food- it will help develop your child’s palate. Make sure to blend apples, carrots, pears, greens, zucchinis and the like to prepare their food.
Steaming the food first creates soft food, and then you just blend it up!
#4 – When to wean your baby completely
The transition to solid food for infants is a discovery period. You will still most likely need to feed them their breastmilk or formula at various times during the day and supplement until your child decides that they are done with the milk!
You’ll know when this is- usually around the 1-year mark, or maybe you will be done feeding it to them – that’s OK too!
Some parents get tired of nursing their children and completely wean them off of nursing or formula just because they are tired of the process.
By then, the baby has sufficient calorie intake through their solid foods that they are OK with eating solely by that means.
#5 – Make it fun!
Transitioning your baby to solid foods is developmentally an awesome time in your child’s life. They are experiencing something new that they will enjoy for the rest of their lives (3 meals or more/day).
Make sure to enjoy the fun by providing them with awesome kid-inspired utensils to eat with – you may not be able to remove these from them even when they’re older!
Parents and hopeful parents, whether you have started looking for a surrogate or not, we want to be your surrogate agency and a resource for you on all things surrogacy.
Whether you are looking for a surrogate agency in Southern California, or you are looking for a surrogate agency in Sacramento, we can help you with all of your surrogacy needs state-wide.
We provide you with resources for your journey and advice that will get you through the hard times.
Please keep reading our blog for helpful tips throughout your surrogacy journey, and don’t forget to fill in this form today to get started finding your surrogate!
We can’t wait to meet your new baby some day and add your stories to our blog!
