2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21
When can complementary foods be introduced? By 6 months, the digestive system of a breastfed baby adapts so much that it is able to digest other products in addition to mother's milk. In children growing up on the mixture, this moment comes a little earlier, at five, five and a half months. In addition, during this period, physical activity in the baby increases significantly - he begins to crawl, then walk. The body requires additional calories, vitamins and trace elements. Complementary food satisfies these needs and introduces the child to adult food, more dense and structured. It is strongly not recommended to start complementary foods before 5 months, because the weak digestive system is not yet able to digest food, which can lead to various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in the future.
Where to start?
In the Soviet Union there was an unequivocal answer to this question - they started complementary foods with apple juice or grated apple at 2-3 months. Currently, pediatricians, answering the question of how to introduce complementary foods to children, recommend leaving fruits for a later time andstart with vegetables or cereals. If the baby is not gaining weight well or has stomach problems, then cereals are the best choice for the first complementary foods. If everything is fine with weight, but the child suffers from constipation, you should start with vegetable purees, which are instantly digested and can improve digestion.
How to introduce complementary foods to children?
It must be remembered that complementary foods should be introduced very carefully, in small parts, carefully observing the reaction of the baby. It is worth starting with a mono-product with a volume of half a teaspoon, gradually bringing it to the consumption rate. A convenient thing is a table for the introduction of complementary foods, where it is systematically scheduled on which day which product must be introduced. However, you should not blindly follow such a table, since even such babies have very different tastes, and you need to be prepared to offer another vegetable instead of the hated zucchini, which is present in the table: cauliflower or broccoli.
Vegetables
Traditionally, vegetables such as zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, later carrots are used for the first feeding. The basic principle is a dull color and inexpressive taste, plus the vegetable must be grown in your latitudes. If the time for complementary foods has come, and seasonal vegetables have not yet appeared, then you can cook from frozen or use canned food. In both cases, you should carefully study the packaging so that the expiration date of the product is up to date. At first, boiled vegetables are carefully chopped, later, when the crumbs have teeth, it will be enough to knead them with a fork.
Kashi
How to introduce complementary foods to children in the form of cereals? You should start with low-allergenic gluten-free cereals on the water - buckwheat, rice and corn. The risk that the crumbs will have a negative reaction to such cereals is minimal. You can buy the finished product in boxes, or you can cook porridge for the baby yourself by grinding grains in a coffee grinder. The advantage of purchased cereals is that they are additionally enriched with vitamins and minerals, and besides, they do not require cooking. It is enough to fill with warm water.
Other products
Dairy products, meat, yolk should be given to the baby no earlier than 8 months, since all of them are quite difficult to digest and can harm the baby at an earlier age. Knowing how to introduce complementary foods to children, you can avoid many problems with a fragile children's stomach in the future. Do not rush with complementary foods, because the child is just beginning to get acquainted with adult food. This acquaintance should be leisurely and gradual.
Recommended:
How to properly introduce complementary foods to a child: WHO recommendations and manufacturer reviews
The moment of introducing complementary foods to a baby is especially exciting for parents of the first child. So many questions swarm in their head: what to feed? From what dish? What if the child does not want to eat anything other than milk? And the main of these questions: how to introduce complementary foods correctly?
Baby refuses complementary foods: basic rules for the introduction of complementary foods, first products, tips and tricks
Until one year of age, breast milk is the main source of nutrition. It is quite possible that at first the child will not perceive ordinary food and will refuse it in every possible way. Mom should learn about the basic rules for the introduction of complementary foods. And most importantly - to study the psychological aspects of the first complementary foods
Complementary foods for babies: timing, types of complementary foods, necessary products
Baby's body is developing. He actively moves, sits down, tries to stand up. Weight gain starts to drop. This is one of the signals that it is time to introduce complementary foods. When and how best to do it?
At what age can children be given cottage cheese: how and when to introduce complementary foods
Cottage cheese is one of the most delicious and he althy fermented milk products that are introduced as complementary foods in the first year of life. At what age can children be given cottage cheese? It is recommended to do this not earlier than the second half of the year and in small quantities. Babies who are intolerant to cow's milk are not recommended to give cottage cheese. More details about the features of the introduction of complementary foods in the form of cottage cheese further
Complementary foods while breastfeeding. Complementary foods by months - table
With all the advantages of breast milk and its benefits for a growing body, there is still a drawback - the lack of vegetable protein and fiber in its composition, necessary for the full growth and physical development of the child. In this regard, it becomes necessary to introduce complementary foods during breastfeeding when the baby reaches a certain age
