>yoghurt: father is opposed--he's worried it won't sit well on the little
>Chinese stomach.(Father is Chinese, mother is not).<

Sensible father. Neither will cheese or milk or any dairy protein.

>Parents would like to know what they can feed the baby that has more
calories than his current favorites (carrots and Cheerios) but that isn't
milk or dairy-based.<

Try grandma's favourite weaning foods, likely to be eg. rice porridge with
finely chopped chicken or fish, some oil, green leafy veg finely chopped,
and maybe egg yolk cooked in if egg isn't a problem. The kid needs a
multi-mix of carboydrate staple, protein food, energy source (fats/oils)
and green and yellow veg., low on spices and salt, no MSG thanks. Any basic
cultural foods can be used to follow this recipe. A lot of FTT is because
we try to force inappropriate foods onto children because commercial forces
have limited our awareness of a child's true needs: for good quality
culturally suitable food.

Add energy-dense foods for better growth (the world is full of them) when a
child is FTT. Skim stored breastmilk if you have heaps and add top milk to
other breastmilk. (Use leftover skim breastmilk later or in cooking.) In
first year it's usually fat which is the limiting factor, in second usually
protein. The dollop of olive oil, the butter or meat gravy in mashed
potatoes, the egg yolk in soups: these can be hugely important to kids. Our
basic diet nowadays for infants is almost Pritikin while we get obese... Of
course you can overdo the fat intake, though fat intolerance shows up in
stools.

No time for more: go read WHO on multi-mix weaning concepts. Weaning will
be a chapter someday: it's already been written as a 90 minute
presentation...

Maureen

Maureen Minchin, IBCLC
5 St, George's Rd., Armadale Vic 3143 Australia
tel/fax after March 1: 61.3.95094929 or 95000648