When it comes to finding foods that your baby likes to eat, one of the foods that many parents choose to introduce into their baby’s diet is berries. Berries are a tasty treat for baby in many cases. Berries aren’t among the top allergenic foods, although there are some people who will have an allergic reaction to berries.

It used to be that experts recommended waiting until after your baby’s first birthday before letting her try berries. However, the American Association of Pediatricians now says that there is no reason, in most cases, to wait. Delaying the introduction of a potentially allergenic food doesn’t help prevent food allergies. That being said, if your baby has a strong family history that includes asthma or food allergies, you might want to talk to your doctor first.

When you introduce baby to berries, make sure you wait for a few days afterwards before you introduce another new food. This helps you know whether or not your baby is having an allergic reaction to the berries. You need to be aware of the signs of an allergic reaction to food, which can include:

• Swollen tongue, face, or lips
• Eczema or rash on the skin
• Diarrhea or abdominal cramping
• Wheezing
• Vomiting

If your baby has these kinds of reactions, seek emergency help right away.

You also need to watch out for choking when giving baby berries. In particular, strawberries as well as blueberries tend to be the most common berries that present a choking danger. You should cut them into small pieces, or even puree them before feeding them to your baby. In addition, babies tend to slide a bit and baby will often swallow these whole. Berries should be cut into pieces about the size of a fingertip until your baby hits the age of three or so.

In some cases, babies can’t digest berry seeds very well, particularly when it comes to blackberries or raspberries. These may appear in your baby’s diaper, but it does not indicate a problem of any kind or any harm to your baby’s digestive tract.

When it comes to your baby’s health and well-being, you need to make sure you’re doing everything you can to give her the best that’s available. That even means considering what type of water you will use when making your baby’s formula (if your baby isn’t being exclusively breast fed, of course). You need to consider between using tap water, boiled water, or even packaged or bottled water.

In many regions, it’s perfectly safe to use tap water in order to mix your baby’s formula. You should, of course, talk to your pediatrician and see what she recommends. Depending on specific health concerns, there may be a compelling reason not to use tap water in formula.

The American Dental Association has a recommendation that relates to this issue, actually. They recommend that water containing high amounts of fluoride should not be used to make baby formula. That excessive fluoride creates a risk that your baby will develop a condition known as enamel fluorosis. This happens when your baby’s teeth are still forming. It will lead to having faint white spots or lines on parts of your baby’s teeth.

If you use a municipal water supply, your local utility should be able to give you information about fluoridation. You’ll want to ask about the level of fluoride in the tap water. You want to see it be less than 0.7 mg/L. If it’s higher, you should consider an alternative.

Bottled water is usually low in fluoride. Typically, it will be labeled as “purified, deionized, demineralized, distilled, or prepared by reverse osmosis.” In some areas, the water may be labeled specifically as being low in fluoride or usable for formula.

If you’re going to use tap water, make sure that you allow the cold water to run for a little while before using it to mix your formula. This will reduce the risk that the water will be contaminated with specific minerals.

In some cases, you might need to boil water in order to use it for formula. Make sure that it cools before you use it, and don’t boil the water more than one time.

One of the steps along the way of making that transition from formula or breast milk to solid foods is drinking water. Drinking water helps your baby to keep hydrated, especially during hot days. Until your baby is about the age of six months old, however, there’s no reason to give your baby water. She will get all of the nutrients and liquids that she needs from formula or from breast milk.

There can be some problems caused if you give your baby water too early. It may interfere with the way that your baby’s body absorbs nutrients, for example. In addition to that, drinking water may make your baby feel more full. This, in turn, will decrease his appetite, running the risk that he won’t get enough to eat because he feels full. Small sips of water may not have this kind of effect, but you should most definitely talk with your pediatrician before doing so.

In some very rare circumstances, if your baby drinks too much water she can wind up with water intoxication. This condition can be very serious. It can lead to seizures, or it can in some cases even put her in a coma. This condition occurs when the amount of water in your baby’s body causes the sodium to be diluted. This causes an electrolyte imbalance, which leads to tissue swelling.

Make sure to add the right amount of water to your baby’s formula, rather than putting extra in. Putting too much water in can mean that your baby won’t get all of the nutrients in the formula. Don’t try to make the formula last longer by using less formula or more water.

If your baby’s doctor is concerned about dehydration, she may recommend specific supplements for your baby. This might include Pedialyte, a drink that is designed specifically to help prevent infants from becoming dehydrated.

After the age of six months, you can give your baby sips of water. Don’t give her too much, or you will run the risk of causing a stomach ache. After one year, you can let your baby drink as much as she wants to drink, as she’ll get her nutrients from the solids and the whole milk that she’s drinking.

You might think that, if you don’t start breastfeeding your baby right from the beginning, that it’s not an option. Of course, it’s ideal to breastfeed right from the start. However, if you did start out feeding your baby formula and have decided that you’d like to give breastfeeding a try (or another try) it’s not impossible.

The fact of the matter is that every woman lactates (barring a health condition that prevents it). A woman who is not pregnant and never has been produces small amounts of what could become breast milk. Pregnancy helps prepare your body for breastfeeding, of course, and once you do breastfeed your body will respond to your baby’s need.

You see, as you breastfeed your baby, your body is going to produce more milk. The more milk that your baby drinks, the more that you’re going to lactate. Likewise, if you’re not breastfeeding your body is going to slow down its production of milk.

That production doesn’t stop, however. If you allow your baby to start to breastfeed later on, your body will start to produce more and more breast milk until your body is making enough to make sure that the nutritional needs of your baby are met.

If you are trying to breast feed late and you find that you aren’t producing quite enough milk to satisfy baby at first, don’t be discouraged. One thing you can do to help nature along is to induce lactation by using a breast pump regularly. You should use the pump every three hours or so until you are producing enough milk to satisfy your baby without using the pump. Of course, this also gives you breast milk which you can use to  bottle feed your baby if need be, helping her to receive more and more of her nutrition through breast milk, which has been shown to be considerably more healthy for babies than infant formula.

The other thing that can be challenging is getting your baby to make the switch from the bottle to your breast. Be patient, however. This will take time, but she will get the hang of things soon enough. If you have trouble, consider talking to a lactation consultant. She may be able to give you some good advice about getting things going.