Mom's milk is a tasty and healthy product. But not a single living creature was fortunate enough to eat it all its life. And this is not at all a mistake of nature - there are still many healthy and tasty dishes that the baby will have to get acquainted with. What is this for? When is that? Like this? Read below.
By about 6 months of age, your baby's energy and nutritional needs increase. Breast milk or formula alone is no longer enough for the vigorous activity and growth of a young organism, and the mother has an additional "headache" - complementary foods.
In fact, everything is not so difficult. The main thing is not to get lost in the sea of conflicting information about the system of acquaintance with adult food. Let's adhere to the WHO recommendations - after all, these are the opinions of specialists from all over the world. Still, treat the implementation of recommendations as guidelines, not as clear guidelines for action. Do not forget that all children are different, mothers are not robots, and they all live in different conditions.
Where do you start? Perhaps, with signs of readiness for new food:
- your sun is already 6 months old
- he is interested in what you are picking at your plate
- he got his first tooth - an assistant in mastering the new menu
- the baby is healthy and does not suffer from the eruption of another tooth
- baby's weight has doubled compared to birth weight
- the pushing reflex disappeared, due to which the baby pushed out everything solid that got into his mouth with his tongue
- it seems that he no longer gorges on milk alone.
First Food is not fast food
And now you understand that "the time has come", and the second question arises: what to feed? Pediatricians' opinions differ greatly, but the most popular approach is to start complementary foods with vegetables and cereals. Porridge - if you have not gained weight, vegetables - if everything is good with weight, or even too much. If you have in mind a good pediatrician you can trust, consult him. He can advise on what is right for your child.
The choice is something like this:
- Vegetables - green, boiled, non-allergenic: squash, broccoli, cauliflower
- Porridge - gluten and milk free: rice, buckwheat, corn
- Next, fruit purees are introduced, then you can move on to new types of vegetables, yolk, cottage cheese, meat puree, and closer to 12 months - to fish.
- After a year, the baby can start eating from the common table, but again within reason.
Input system
Let's say you started with vegetable puree and chose "zucchini a la fresh" as your first course. We increase the daily dosage from half a teaspoon to the size of one full feeding in 5-7 days. After that, we move on to the cauliflower. We give it from a minimum portion, and we reduce the portion of zucchini every day. You can add a couple of drops of vegetable oil or breast milk to your vegetables. With mother's milk, the taste is dearer and more pleasant.
For a month, the vegetables "take root", you can move on to cereals and so on. Already a favorite product can be carried over into the afternoon meal, as well as mix something new with something proven.
Rules of "WHO nutrition" for children
- The purpose of complementary foods is not to replace breast milk, but to supplement it. If your baby prefers to breastfeed, don't be discouraged and insist on large portions of new food.
- If you have not given water to the child yet, then supplementation should be introduced along with the complementary food.
- Don't force food in. Only your little one knows whether he is full or not. Turned away from the spoon? Set aside the plate and give the breast.
- We add the next type of complementary foods after 3-4 weeks after the previous one (three weeks of vegetables, the transition to cereals, four weeks of porridge, the transition to fruits, etc.)
- The new product needs to be "fed" in the morning and follow the reaction of the child's body.
- First try one component in the composition, and then mix it with something.
- You should not use salt, sugar and spices, although some pediatricians (for example, Komarovsky E. G.) recommend adding salt to food in hot weather.
- If the "newbie" has a reaction in the form of a rash, diarrhea or constipation, stop giving this product, but try it after a few more months. Perhaps the time has not yet come for him.
- A slight upset stool or bloating is not an allergy, but a normal behavior of the body after changing the usual menu.
How to cook it?
Purchased vegetable or fruit puree is heated in a water bath and served warm, about 37 degrees Celsius.
Vegetables are boiled in water and crushed in a blender until smooth. Serve warm and pretend it's delicious.
Cereals for porridge are grinded in a coffee grinder. They are boiled in water, you can add breast milk after boiling.
Fruits are rubbed on a special grater or kneaded again until smooth. The sweet taste is usually popular with toddlers.
The meat is also cooked and mashed. You can mix it with vegetables.
Product Requirements
Canned food is often recommended by pediatricians as better and more balanced. It is believed that this is the case - according to the manufacturer. It is advisable to make sure that:
- vegetables are grown seasonally in an ecologically clean area
- nature worked on their composition, not the chemical industry
Psychologist's advice
- Do not try to feed a three-month-old baby with porridge, because your neighbor is already giving it to her baby. If your child, after a portion of milk or mixture, feels good, is not capricious and gains weight, then the baby does not remain hungry.
- In order for a new product to be liked, sometimes it takes from 7 to 15 attempts. Give it a try, but don't insist on an "empty plate". Also, do not force to finish the next times. After some time, the baby will love both unleavened zucchini and a sour apple.
- Do you want your child to eat right? Start with yourself. If you crunch chips with gusto and wash them down with soda, don't expect your son to be delighted with broccoli. Lead by example.
- The food should look beautiful, appetizing, interesting. Use your imagination. Creativity can intrigue and make the tasteless taste delicious.
- Do not rush to give it a try at once. Patient and responsible approach to the selection of "adult nutrition" products will strengthen the health and speed up the development of your baby.
