Baby

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There's nothing better than baby fat on a baby. Chubby cheeks, thighs, toes, finger tips -- just about everything on baby is better when it's chunky. It's not cute on an older child or adult. Just the opposite. Plus it's unhealthy. A new study says we might want to delay solid food for baby because our children may be thinner as adults.

"The later you introduce complementary feeding to an infant, within the range of 2 to 6 months, the smaller is the risk that the infant will be overweight as adult," Dr. Kim Fleischer Michaelson of the University of Copenhagen, one of the researchers of the study, told Reuters Health. Read the full article on (solid foods and thinner adults here).

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When to start baby on solid foods is one of those topics where you'll never get just one or two opinions.

A lot of CafeMoms, especially those in the breastfeeding groups, strongly believe it's better to nurse your baby without any type of supplementation for at least one year.

Some say any time is the right time -- to let your baby tell you when she's ready, by looking for the signs.

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Doctors recommend no regular milk until after one year...but what about yogurt?

One mom asks in Answers, "My son is 9 months old and I was wondering if it was too soon to give him yogurt."

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Plenty of experts say that you shouldn't make a big deal out of a child refusing certain foods. When they are hungry, they'll eat. If they don't eat it the first time, just keep serving it and eventually they may give in.

All this sounds really good on paper but it's a different story when you're sitting at the table, forehead in hands, exasperated that your older baby has only eaten bread and crackers for the past three days.

diamondmamma in Answers was thrilled when her son ate all his peas and rice -- she wondered if you should reward picky eaters when they finally eat what you serve them. Here's how moms of older babies and toddlers answered her:

For all the baby mamas who wish they had the time and know-how to use cloth diapers, grow and make their own infant food, and other eco-friendly efforts that are good for baby and for the earth, the e-commerce site Sprout Baby is a nice alternative.

My tykes are out of diapers (wiping pretend sweat from forehead and miming "phew") but I would have totally liked to have tried the Nature BabyCare diapers, made with a special green technology and natural based so they break down a little better than conventional nappies. $12 for a 44 to 22 count box (depending on size).

Going green does cost more, that's a fact. So here's your chance to try these diapers, or organic baby food, or stainless steel bottles, or any number of earth friendly baby gear from Sprout Baby. Two moms can enter today for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate from the site.

To enter the contest, just tell me ...

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I'll never be able to look at a yogurt container again without first thinking of my daughter. When she was an infant, yogurt was her favorite food. For a while, it was the only protein besides her breastmilk and formula she would eat.

Her favorite place to eat yogurt was not at the table but on the doormat that I keep inside the kitchen door. She'd just plop down with her baby spoon and dig in right out of the large-size container. She didn't want a bowl to interfere with her yogurt-eating experience.

I remember coming back from a business trip that required me to be away from home for several days for the very first time since she was born. I was miserable, I missed her and my son so much.

Photo by _rexie

Some babies just stare at their slice of first birthday cake. A few more gingerly pick at it thinking, "I wish I had some blocks." But two-thirds of moms in the CafeMom Newcomer's Club said their babies just dove right in just like the sweetheart above.

Check out more photos:

Photo by mamichan

If apple, pear, and squash baby food are in your horizon, there are tons of opinions on what, when, and how to feed baby. Here are some of those opinions: