Complementary foods are started at six months of age and the need for formula or breast milk is reduced. The kid becomes more and more active, spends much more energy, and therefore his diet requires adjustment.
Diet for babies at 6 months
At the age of six months, the child begins a transition period, heralding an adult diet, when the menu consists of breakfast, lunch and dinner. During this period, the baby needs to introduce complementary foods, starting with fruit or vegetable purees, dairy-free cereals. A new dish should be offered in small portions - 0.25-0.5 teaspoons. Further, its volume can be increased to the volume of a full lunch or breakfast, that is, up to 150 grams. After that, other meals can be replaced with complementary foods. It is better to give complementary foods before latching on to the breast, while the baby is hungry.
The diet of a child at 6 months may look like this:
- 6:00 first feeding: breast milk;
- 10:00 second feeding: fruit puree, breast milk as a supplement;
- 14:00 third feeding: porridge or vegetable puree;
- 18:00 fourth feeding: breast milk and fruit puree (up to 30 grams);
- 10:00 pm fifth feeding: breast milk.
Feeding time for each baby can be individual. However, it is worth considering that an interval of 3, 5-4 hours should be made between meals, so that the baby gradually gets used to the adult diet.
The diet of a baby 6 months, who is on artificial feeding
Bottle-fed babies are introduced to complementary foods much earlier - from 4 or 5 months, depending on the recommendations of the pediatrician, since the nutrients that are necessary for the full functioning of the body in the mixture become insufficient. By the age of six months, the child is usually already familiar with a variety of fruit and vegetable purees, dairy-free and milk porridge, butter and vegetable oil, yolk, juices, cottage cheese and cookies.
Diet for a 6-month-old bottle-fed baby:
- 6:00 first feeding: an adapted mixture (milk or fermented milk) or kefir;
- 10:00 three times feeding: milk porridge with butter, fruit puree;
- 14:00 third feeding: vegetable soup in meat or vegetable broth, vegetable puree with vegetable oil, ½ yolk, fruit juice;
- 18:00 fourth feeding: milk mixture or kefir, cottage cheese, cookies, fruit juice;
- 22:00 fifth feeding: milk mixture or kefir.
Gradually, dairy products in the diet of a bottle-fed baby are being replaced by fruit, meat and vegetable dishes. Feeding artificial children should be done at intervals of four hours between meals. Avoid snacking between meals to keep your child's appetite intact.
