The introduction of complementary foods is an important stage in a child's life. The main thing is to correctly determine when, how and where to start it. All these questions are quite individual and depend on what the child is already eating (breast milk or formula), what kind of stool he has (frequent, rare, hard, liquid), what the child already knows and whether he has a nutritional interest.
Necessary
- - children's dishes;
- - Chair for babies.
Instructions
Step 1
Determine the baby's readiness for complementary foods. First of all, it is important that he has passed the pushing reflex of the tongue and has a nutritional interest. These factors will facilitate the process of introducing complementary foods. Feeding will take place at the mutual desire of the parents and the child. Otherwise, he may have unpleasant associations with a spoon and food, and refusal to eat will go. Also important is the ability to sit and hold something in your hand and direct it into your mouth. It is usually recommended to start complementary foods at 5-6 months.
Step 2
Choose foods to start with. If the child is gaining weight well and has no problems with stool, then it is recommended to start with vegetable purees. These are zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli. These vegetables are enriched with vitamins and are easily absorbed by the infant's still undeveloped food system.
Step 3
Describe the scheme for introducing vegetables and their sequence. It is not worth entering everything at once. Allocate 1-2 weeks for each product. For example, start with one spoonful of cauliflower and double the dose every day until you reach 100-120 grams per day. Then add the next vegetable - broccoli or zucchini. Then you can give carrots, potatoes, green peas, green beans.
Step 4
Introduce each new product in the morning. This will allow you to identify the allergic reaction in a timely manner and take appropriate measures. The introduced products can be given either at lunch, or they can be supplemented with breakfast, bringing the portion to the required volume. By introducing three or more vegetables, you can prepare vegetable platters and soups. Subsequently, you can add a couple of drops of olive oil to the vegetables.
Step 5
Start introducing dairy-free cereals. As a rule, cereals are introduced one month after the start of the introduction of vegetables, but remember that these terms are conditional and should be focused exclusively on your child. The dosing schedule is the same: start with one spoon and work up to a full serving. Give porridge in the morning, and move the vegetables for lunch. Subsequently add a little butter to the porridge. Milk porridge is best administered after 9-10 months.
Step 6
After starting the introduction of cereals, try to give your child plenty of fluids to prevent constipation. Also for this purpose, you can prepare a compote from prunes: pour 3-4 prunes with hot water and let it brew, then offer to the child.
Step 7
Give your child fruit purees after the porridge has been injected. They can be served as a dessert after breakfast, lunch or as an afternoon snack. Introduce fruits also gradually, making sure that there are no allergic manifestations. They can be mixed later with porridge, if the child does not eat "empty" porridge poorly.
Step 8
Offer your baby meat at 7-8 months. It is not worth experimenting earlier, since this product is difficult for the gastrointestinal tract and can cause allergies. Lean beef, turkey or rabbit are introduced. Chicken is a strong allergen, so you should postpone it for now. The daily norm of meat for children under one year old is no more than 50 grams. You can serve meat purees with vegetables.
Step 9
Start giving your baby egg yolk and fermented milk products from 8 months. A day you can offer half a boiled chicken egg yolk or one quail egg yolk along with cereals. Sour milk should be started with cottage cheese, bringing the volume to 50 grams per day.
Step 10
Do not forget that the main purpose of complementary foods is to familiarize the child with food, i.e. the main food is formula or breast milk. Only after the child has tasted and eats well all the basic foods, you can gradually switch food to them, reducing the volume of breast milk or formula.
