SPHSC 543FEBRUARY 5, 2010

Questions?

TRANSITIONAL FEEDING

Begins at 4-6 mos in normal infants

Related to CNS and anatomic changes

New patterns of food manipulation

TRANSITIONAL

Eruption of teeth most notable change

TRANSITIONAL

Crushing and grinding of food begins

Tongue becomes primary contributor to oral feeding.

TRANSITION FROM LIQUIDS

Smooth solids – homogeneous or with fine granular bits

Semifirm solids – soft but holds together

Solids:

… Handles lumps and textures with ground or mashed foods

… Coarsely chopped foods cooked ground meats, lunch meats, soft cooked chicken/fish

… Coarsely chopped table foods, most meats, many raw vegetables/fruits.

TRANSITIONS

As the ability to manipulate varied food textures increases, parallel gains occur in speech development as well as in the trunk, head, and neck stability.

With maturity, children begin to evaluate their food and you start to see food preferences.

May still revert to earlier patterns, especially when sleepy, distressed or ill.

CESSATION OF NIPPLE-FEEDING

Multi-factorial

Prolonged nipple-feeding has been identified with dental caries, particularly with sweetened liquids immediately before or during sleep

BF infants can get caries, too.