Is She Still Hungry?

Crying. Babies are known for crying, and as we know, not every cry is a hungry cry.

Although crying is a sign of hunger, it is a late sign of hunger. Babies may not be able to tell us exactly what they want using words, but they do give us signs if we pay close attention.

Signs that your baby is hungry:
-Sucks on fist or licks lips
-Opens mouth while feeding
-Turning his head and opening her mouth to search for food-- the rooting reflex
-Increase in body movement such as rapid eye moment, and stretching

The same way babies let us know when they are hungry, they also give us signs when they are finished eating.

Signs that your baby has had enough to eat:
-Seals lips together
-Turns head away
-Decreases or stops sucking
-Pays more attention to surroundings, not interested in food anymore
-Spits out nipple

It's important to follow your baby's lead when it comes to feeding because babies are very good (much better that adults) at knowing when they are full and when to stop eating. By allowing them to be in control of how much food they are taking in, you are helping them learn to listen to their bodies and setting them up to have a healthy relationship with food.

Valerie Marcellus, Nutritionist

Disaster foods!

The last couple of weeks have been a little crazy! I wanted to give you a few helpful tips, should any of the recent events (hurricane, earthquake, etc), happen again. Before the hurricane many of you probably went shopping and used your checks to stock up on various foods so there would be no last minute running to the store in all that bad weather! Here are some different disaster foods you can make using your WIC foods.

1. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches or plain peanut butter sandwiches on your delicious whole wheat bread or your whole wheat tortillas!

2. Different varieties of cereal to provide some snacks or breakfast in the morning. Careful with your milk if the power is out. It may have gone bad! But keep in mind dry cereals make awesome snacks!

3. Keep that liquid juice on hand, it does not have to be refrigerated! 4 ounces of juice and some dry cereal make a delish snack option!

4. If you have a handy can opener that is not electronic, you can buy the canned fruits and make those for snacks or breakfast as well!

5. Don't forget! Fresh fruits and veggies are a great option when the power is out! You can dip fresh celery or apple slices into that peanut butter, crunchy or creamy, for a great meal or snack!

6. Adding a salad with some of those fresh veggies can complete a meal! If you have oil and vinegar on hand, neither need to be kept cold and will dress up a salad nicely!

Remember to stock up on plenty of water!

Have questions? Refer to http://www.cdc.gov/ for food safety tips!

Stay safe!

Christy Redmond- Nutritionist

The Dish on Fish

When you make the announcement that you're expecting people tend to come to you with tons of advice, especially advice on what you should be eating. One of the most common food questions we hear in our clinics is, " What about fish?"

Generally speaking, fish and shellfish are a healthy part of your diet that you can continue eating during pregnancy. They are a good source or protein and are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. However, it is important to know which fish and seafoods tend to have higher levels of mercury. Mercury is a metal found in seafoods that may cause harm to your unborn baby if eaten often, so you don't want to be eating any foods high in mercury during your pregnancy.

High Mercury Fish- Avoid these:

• Shark



• King Mackerel
  


• Swordfish
  


• Tilefish
  


• Fresh Tuna
  

Moderate Mercury Fish and Shellfish: Limit these to 6 oz per week

• Albacore Tuna



• Lobster



• Snapper

Low Mercury Fish and Shellfish: You may eat up to 12 oz per week of these

• Canned light Tuna



• Catfish



• Fresh water trout



• Pollock
  


• Salmon



• Shrimp

For more information about food safety during pregnancy visit choosemyplate.gov.

School Dressing Days

The community has once again come together to offer a GREAT event to help kids and their families get back to school in style this year. Hosted at the Bragg Hill Family Life Center, the 2011 School Dressing Days event is underway and a HUGE success so far!

WIC participated in Saturday's 9AM-4PM event and will be back out at BHFLC today and tomorrow, spreading the word about our fabulous program and other Health Department opportunities.

Estimates put the number of participants at Saturday's event around 9,000 and the whole crew at Dressing Days is certainly excited to see hundreds more excited and appreciative faces today and tomorrow!

Check out the official flyer below and come by Bragg Hill to revamp your wardrobe for the upcoming school year!

What's for breakfast?

We hear all day long from kids, family, etc. "what's for dinner?" or "what am I going to make for dinner?"....but what about breakfast?? Many people do not eat breakfast for multiple reasons, the biggest excuse being I DON'T HAVE TIME! With how fast paced our society is, many people just simply don't make time for breakfast.

Let me tell you why you should eat breakfast every morning and persuade you with some delicious meal ideas to start your day!

Breakfast gives you the energy you need to start your day. Many people rely on coffee, 5- hour energy drinks, sodas, etc. to get them started in the morning. Why not try eating a little something for breakfast to go with that cup of coffee?? Eating a healthy breakfast is important to keep you alert at work or out and about. Breakfast helps to jump start your metabolism and get your body functioning. Without breakfast sometimes you might feel a bit sluggish!

Alot of research has been done over the years to find out if skipping breakfast has any connection to being overweight. If you are "dieting", you may think that skipping breakfast will help you lose weight....think again my friend! Skipping breakfast tends to make you overeat at other meals and wont allow you to get the appropriate amount of calories you need in a day. Eat structured meals throughout the day and try not to let your stomach get to the "growling" stage.....that means you have gone too long without a snack or meal.

Here are some helpful ways to fit breakfast in during your busy morning.

1. Wake up an extra 15 minutes everyday to eat a quick bowl of cereal

2. Pack some of those delicious WIC cereals in a little sandwich bag and take it along with you to eat at work or when you get to your destination

3. Pack/ make something the night before, so you just have to pop it in the microwave at work or before you leave. This way you don't have to worry with making something, its made the night before when you have a little more time.

4. Grab some cereal bars to tuck into your bag when leaving the house. It helps you avoid stopping for fast food and spending extra money.

5. Eat some fruit, its quick and easy, just grab and go!

Look for foods high in protein and fiber for breakfast!

Here are some ideas:

1. Instant oatmeal with some fruit and /or nuts mixed in

2. Whole grain cereal, dry or with low- fat or fat- free milk, add fruit!

3. Smoothies! Low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana

4. Stuff a whole wheat pita with eggs and cheese

5. Whole grain toast with peanut butter

6. Omelet with turkey sausage and cheese

7. Fruit and low-fat yogurt with granola

* A small cup of 100% juice and/ or water are nice additions to breakfast!

If you don't normally eat breakfast, start slow with something small. I would challenge you to try eating breakfast for 2 weeks and see how much your energy level and alertness increases!

Happy eating!

-Christy Redmond, Nutritionist

Raise a Healthy Eater

A recent study has come out suggesting that babies' taste preferences are shaped very early in the womb through amniotic fluid. Many flavors (such as garlic, vanilla, carrot) have been proven to pass through to the amniotic fluid. The researchers suggest that a mother's diet choices while pregnant could shape the baby's taste preferences for the rest of that child's life by exposing the fetus to different and exotic flavors. In other words, if you want your child to grow up liking broccoli, eat broccoli while you are pregnant!

While it certainly won't hurt (and you should really try for your own enjoyment) to eat a variety of flavors while pregnant, I wouldn't count on doing this to ensure your child grows up a "healthy eater". Children from all different cultures learn eventually to eat what their parents eat. Chinese children learn to eat Chinese food. Indian children grow up learning to eat spicy Indian food. French children learn to eat French food.

What has been proven is that repeated and neutral exposures to different foods are necessary to help a child learn to eat. Don't give up on a new food just because the child doesn't like it the first time they are exposed. It can take MANY times of seeing a food before they will even try or accept it. Children who grow up to be "picky eaters" often have parents who continually only offer them a limited selection of "safe" foods (chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs... sound familiar?) Or sometimes parents will make a whole separate meal for a picky child because they will not eat what the rest of the family is eating. This is a sure way to raise a picky eater.

So how can you raise a healthy eater?

1. Eat with your child as much as possible. Or have some responsible adult eat with them. Don't just feed them. They learn good table habits by watching you!




2. Offer new foods along with favorite foods. You can be child friendly and considerate of your child's preferences without catering to them or serving only "kid food". Serve a favorite or easy to like vegetable like corn with a less liked main dish. Serve a favorite main dish with a less liked side. That way if they don't want to eat the new food they can eat something else on the plate.
   



3. Do not pressure, bribe, or coerce your child to eat anything. This will make them back off of that food even more. Just present the new food as a "matter of fact". If they don't want to try it this time that is not a big deal. If it is something your family eats regularly they will likely accept it eventually.




4. We all have things we don't like to eat. Teach your child to politely turn down food they do not want to eat. It is OK to say "No thank you". It is not OK to say "Ew, YUCK!"
   

If you are a WIC client and have questions or concerns about your child's picky eating, call your local health department and ask to talk to a nutritionist.

Allison Leonard RD