Many mothers (as well as pediatricians) are captivated by old recommendations - to start complementary feeding with juices.
Today, the opinions of leading experts on the introduction of complementary foods are the opposite - you need to be very careful with juices and try not to introduce them into the child’s diet until he has begun to consume adult food in sufficient quantities, including meat, cereals, fish, etc. (in this case, the juice is a stimulator of the baby’s enzymatic activity).
What are the disadvantages of early introduction of juice:
1. Juices are an allergenic product. In light of the increasing frequency of allergic reactions, this must be taken into account.
2. Juices are a heavy product and difficult to digest. It irritates the child's immature gastrointestinal tract. Even for adults, it is recommended to dilute the juice in a 1:1 ratio, and if a person has problems with the gastrointestinal tract, it is recommended to completely exclude it from the diet.
3. The likelihood of problems with the pancreas and kidneys.
4. Sugar content in juice - such a small child does not need it at all
5. The juice puts a strong strain on the gastrointestinal tract, as a result of which, after a certain period, the child develops consequences - gastritis, pancreatitis and other diseases.
Breast milk contains everything essential vitamins for a child. If we talk about iron deficiency anemia (which is most often the basis for the introduction of juices), the bioavailability of iron in mother’s milk is very high (50-75% compared to formula, where it reaches only 20%).
It is best to start introducing complementary foods with vegetables.
If your child is not gaining weight well, you can back off and start with cereal. What exactly should you choose? Vegetables.
I do not recommend starting complementary feeding with fruits.
They themselves have a sweetish taste and already form a child’s taste for sweets.
Vegetables are much more suitable for introducing a new product.
The first vegetables in the diet are zucchini, cauliflower, carrots.
Later the potatoes are introduced (at first try to soak them in water for about an hour).
If the child has loose stools, it is better to introduce zucchini later.
We start introducing complementary foods with 1 teaspoon, gradually increasing the volume (2.4 and so on).
There is no need to bring the volume to a certain amount.
This is a mistake many mothers make, which leads to overfeeding of the child and subsequent refusal to eat. As soon as the child turns away from the spoon, remove the food and offer the breast.
Complementary feeding is best given in the first half of the day and always offered with milk.
At first, the baby’s diet will include monocomponent purees.
Once a week you can add a new product to the puree. There is no need to salt the prepared dish. It is advisable to keep a food diary and write down what and when you introduced it, how much you gave it to the child, and what the reaction was. If the baby reacts with a rash, loose stools or constipation - exclude the product from your diet for at least a month. But remember that the stool may change, most often small pieces of food eaten appear, this is normal.
I recommend cooking your own food.
Before you buy a jar of baby food, look at the expiration date.
It always confused me that puree that does not contain preservatives or other additives can be stored for 2 years.
IN Lately I observe that canned food often gives an allergic reaction.
If you buy vegetables yourself, be careful in your choice. Vegetables that receive enhanced feeding most often look very beautiful and glossy. Give preference to vegetables “from your grandmother’s garden.”
You can also make supplies for the winter.
Keeps well in the freezer- varieties of cabbage, sweet peppers, fruits - raspberries, cherries, currants. Potatoes and carrots are perfectly preserved on the balcony in winter. Experiment!
Best used for cooking vegetables steamer.
Vegetables cook quickly and vitamins are retained in greater quantities. Always give your child a freshly prepared meal.
Mash The most convenient way is to use a hand blender. Closer to one year (10-11 months), start kneading the puree with a fork so that the child learns to chew on his own.
A month after introducing vegetables, you can make your baby happy porridge.
Rice, corn or buckwheat porridge is best suited for the first course. More suitable for breastfed baby dairy-free porridge. If you buy cereals that do not require cooking, make sure that they do not contain gluten. Do not introduce gluten-containing cereals (wheat, oatmeal, multigrain) into your baby’s diet before 8-9 months.
The principle of introducing porridge is the same - start with 1 teaspoon, gradually increasing the volume.
You can also cook porridge yourself. To do this, the cereal is washed, dried and ground in a coffee grinder.
Maintain an interval between the introduction of subsequent complementary foods - at least 1 month.
After porridge you can start introducing fruits(at the beginning, not brightly colored), cookies (children's, not buttery), meat (it is better to start with turkey, then introduce veal, chicken, beef, it is better to abstain from pork) fish (sea), etc., observing the time interval.
It is advisable to flavor complementary foods with oil (not from the first days of introducing complementary foods!) - preferably creamy (porridge) and olive (vegetables). Olive oil is best for first feeding. Start administering it with 2 drops. If your baby is constipated, you can add olive oil both in vegetables and in porridge (maintaining the volume so as not to achieve the opposite effect). On average, 1 teaspoon of olive oil is added to the dish.
Rules for introducing complementary foods
This kind of feeding is called pedagogical, because the main goal of complementary feeding is not to feed the child, but to introduce him to new food, teach him to chew, teach him to get food not only from his mother’s breast.
At about six months of age, babies begin to show interest in the contents of their mother’s plate and try to taste it; this behavior is called active food interest and indicates the baby’s readiness to get acquainted with new food.
The baby’s food interest is not associated with the feeling of hunger that arises in him, but with the desire to imitate his mother. He wants to do the same as she does, take some pieces from the plate and put them in his mouth.
What are principles of introduction complementary feeding during natural feeding, if the mother wants to follow the biological line of the child’s behavior?
The baby's introduction begins with the introduction of microdoses (micro-samples) of products, namely introduction, without the goal of feeding the child a certain portion.
A microdose for soft food is approximately as much as the mother fits between the pads of the large and index finger, if she squeezes them, or on the tip of a teaspoon. For liquid products - one sip, poured into a small cup at the bottom.
1. The child can “in one sitting” try what the mother eats and what he is interested in in an amount of up to three microdoses.
2. Only hard pieces are given to the baby’s hand, from which he will not eat much (hard apples, carrots, stalks, dried fruits, etc.)
3. Microsamples are given within 3-4 weeks. During this time, the baby can already get acquainted with many products used in his family and learn to drink from a cup.
4. Complementary feeding never replaces breastfeeding! The child can be introduced to new foods before, after and during breastfeeding. Often children wash down microsamples with mother's milk.
5. Gradually increase the amount of food, allowing the child to eat more.
6. The mother needs to maintain the child’s interest in food and maintain the desire to try. From six months to one and a half years, a child should become familiar with all the foods that his family eats. To maintain the desire to try, the mother must limit the child’s food interest until 8-11 months: if the child has eaten 3-4 teaspoons of one product and asks for more, he should be given something else.
7. From the outside, the introduction of complementary foods should look something like this: the baby begs for pieces, and the mother gives it to him, sometimes. In such a situation, the child is always happy to get acquainted with new food and does not overeat.
8. The child must learn to use cutlery. Until 8-11 months, these are spoons (there should be a lot of them, because they fall all the time), the child has his own plate when he begins to eat separately, usually after 8-11 months. Until this age, the baby can eat while sitting in his mother’s arms and from her plate.
9. If the child is tired of eating or has lost interest, it is necessary to take him away from the table.
What to do with pieces of food, if the baby’s food is not puree, he might choke?
Food for your baby does not need to be chopped, but you need to start with small microdose pieces. If a child is given something from which he could potentially bite off a large piece, the child sits on the mother's lap and the mother watches him and as soon as a large piece is bitten off, the mother makes a hook with her finger and takes it out of her mouth. The child actively learns and gradually learns to chew with his still toothless jaws, and then with toothed ones.
What if the baby spits out even very small pieces, or tries to burp them instead of swallowing?
Many children behave exactly like this: for a week or two they spit out all the pieces and periodically “chokes”, then they begin to spit out the pieces “every other”, they swallow half of them, then, finally, they begin to swallow all the pieces. Mom needs to be patient and not insist. At the same time, the child must watch other people eat without spitting out the pieces.
Does my baby need extra fluids when starting solids?
The baby continues to receive the main liquid from breast milk. A child usually begins to take an interest in water and drinking after one year.
Usually the baby is interested in the contents of his mother’s cup and tastes it if you pour a little drink into the bottom of his cup.
If the baby is almost 5 months old, he is very interested in any food, looks into everyone’s mouth and demands to try it, is it possible to introduce pedagogical complementary foods to him now?
The baby is a developed and inquisitive child. He really wants to do the same things with food as his mother does.
But we must remember that gastrointestinal tract a child, not quite 5 months old, is not yet very ready to get acquainted with other foods.
Enzyme systems are just beginning to mature. The situation in the intestines is now stable; interfering with it ahead of time is quite dangerous.
The mother’s task is to protect this stability from premature interventions.
A child of this age should have a limited interest in food; in other words, take him out of the kitchen and not eat in his presence.
If you don’t really like this advice, you can do something, but only at your own peril and risk. We have already encountered a situation where a mother, even who knows how to properly introduce complementary foods, shows impatience and, as a result, the child suffered a breakdown in the digestive system, which then had to be dealt with for a long time.
It is not recommended to introduce complementary foods before the baby is six months old.
Why can babies who eat baby food at 7-8 months eat 100-200 g of purees or cereals, and children who started with pedagogical complementary feeding, don't they do that?
A child in the second half of life eats little because he does not want to be full yet.
He only imitates his mother in her actions. He eats up milk. Perhaps there is a genetically built-in mechanism in the human baby that does not allow him to eat a lot at this age.
A couple of thousand years ago, a child would probably have received big problems in the digestive system if he were fed 100g of game meat brought by dad from the hunt.
Another thing is that then no one would have thought of doing this to a child. Even our great-grandmothers, 100 years ago, who cooked food for a family of 5-10 people on a stove or wood-burning stove, did not think (and were not able), on the one hand, to feed the child something specially prepared separately from everyone else, but on the other hand, on the other hand, there was no thought of giving the baby more common porridge or soup so that he would be full...
Baby food is made so that a child can eat a lot of it. And you can feed it to any baby, but is it necessary?
There are children who, for the time being, eat this “baby food” a lot and with pleasure, however, most of them have to be entertained during the feeding process so that their mouths open.
Many people have to be entertained during the meal for quite a long time, some - up to adolescence. A situation often occurs when a child, who ate with pleasure and a lot, up to a year or a little over a year, as he grows older, begins to refuse food and turns into a toddler, whom it is simply torture for parents to feed. Such children are not at all interested in food. There are, of course, children who relatively “safely” bypass the baby food stage.
“Safely” is put in quotation marks because... Now the long-term consequences of introducing large amounts of baby food to a child when he is biologically not quite ready for such a load are just beginning to be studied; the results will not be soon...
Consultant for breastfeeding Ekaterina Denisova
Introducing the first complementary foods to a child is a controversial topic. Doctors advise one thing around us experienced mothers and grandmothers are completely different. And it’s easy for young, inexperienced parents to get confused in all this. Therefore, today we will look at how, when and where to start complementary feeding - in two versions: from the point of view of most pediatricians and - we will separately talk about the recommendations of Dr. Komarovsky.
Baby's first feeding: important points
Before we begin discussing the time of the baby’s first complementary feeding and the features of selecting products, let’s remember two important points.
The first is the gradual and careful introduction of new products and dishes
Perfect option:
1. At one meal, let the baby try literally half a teaspoon of a new product as the first complementary food.
2. We observe during the day whether a reaction appears - changes in stool, redness or rashes on the skin, any changes in behavior, restless sleep.
3. If everything is fine, the next day we increase the portion of complementary foods. If a reaction occurs, wait until the symptoms disappear completely and try another product. You can try to return to the product that caused the allergy again after a few weeks.
Second, don’t insist if your baby spits out new food.
Just postpone your attempts until the next day. Remember, your persistence may result in your child stubbornly refusing this product for months.
At two months - yolk. Where did this come from?
Surely all parents of children under six months of age have often had to fend off advice on what, when and how to feed their child. The meaning of such instructions is to be sure to give your baby a teaspoon of juice or vegetable puree, a quarter of an egg yolk, etc., from two (three, four) months of age. By the way, there can be a lot of variations by age and set of products. And even a polite refusal to follow such advice causes sincere bewilderment among well-wishers.
To understand where these beliefs come from, we will have to make a short excursion into recent history. Just 35-40 years ago in Russia it was not possible to replace it with a formula of such high quality that it could provide the baby with all the necessary vitamins and microelements. There was not much choice: donor milk or milk from a cow/goat. In both cases, the product was subjected to heat treatment and became poor in mineral salts, iron and various vitamins.
The result of feeding a child with such milk was rickets, developmental delays, weight deficiency, and vitamin deficiencies. And precisely at that time, the recommendations that older people are trying to give you were the only correct ones. Early start complementary foods, introduction into the diet large quantity products - that was all a vital necessity. Today the situation has changed dramatically. We always have a huge variety at our disposal - from simply high-quality ones to special ones for children with digestive problems.
Optimal time for first feeding
According to Komarovsky, it makes no sense to start complementary feeding for infants before six months of age. The baby should remain entirely on breast milk or formula that replaces it. This is due to the fact that the digestive system of babies matures to accept other foods only at this age. It is then that the baby first begins to show interest in food.
Other pediatricians tend to believe that it is best to start a child's first complementary feeding between the 4th and 6th months of life. At the same time, “artificial babies” start earlier (from 4 to 5 months), and breastfed babies start later. Doctors are based on the theory that if a child has lost the pushing reflex (with the tongue) and signs of food interest have appeared, then he is ready to learn a new type of food.
In any case, from birth until the start of the first complementary feeding, all attention should be paid to the mother's diet if breastfeeding is used. If she gets vitamins from food, so will the child, everything is natural here. Is there not enough milk? We feed the baby with a good mixture. Regular or, if necessary, special, tailored to the needs of your child. And we don’t try to introduce any other foods too early, there’s no point.
First feeding: where to start?
I will give Dr. Komarovsky’s point of view on this matter in the next section, and here is the generally accepted complementary feeding scheme. Here is a list of products that are given to a child as first complementary foods, in direct sequence:
- Vegetable purees.
- Cottage cheese and fermented milk products.
- Milk-cereal porridge.
- Meat dishes, egg yolk.
You should start with mono-vegetable purees. It could be zucchini, broccoli, zucchini or cauliflower. Peeled and chopped vegetables are loaded into a double boiler and cooked until completely softened. Then rub through a sieve until completely homogeneous. The consistency of the puree should be like kefir. It turned out thick - dilute it with vegetable broth or boiled water. Add vegetable oil to each portion at the rate of 3-4 ml per 150 ml of puree.
Important: you can only give your child food that has been prepared immediately before serving.
The scheme for introducing vegetable puree is shown in the following table:
First feeding: continued
So, one feeding is completely replaced with vegetable puree, the rest remain the same for now. And we leave the child’s food in this form for a month. Next in line will be fermented milk products and milk and cereal porridges, also with an interval of one month between them. The method of preparing and introducing these products into complementary foods is described in the next section, so we will not repeat it here.
Most pediatricians advise giving meat products for the first time after 9 months. You should start with turkey or rabbit - they are less allergenic than other types of meat. This product is given in the form of porridge - puree. We start with half a teaspoon and, if there is no reaction, within a week we increase the serving size to 60 g. If the child refuses meat puree, it can be strongly diluted with vegetables at first, but gradually reduce the number of vegetables, accustoming the baby to the new taste.
Separately, it should be said about fruit juices and purees. They are introduced little by little, starting at 6 months, but are considered not pediatric (saturating), but pediatric. That is, this is simply an acquaintance of the child with different types food, creating a kind of “taste bank”. Green apples or pears should be given first. Plums are weak, so they can be given closer to 8 months, provided that the child does not have problems with bowel movements. By the way, there is another point of view regarding the introduction of the first complementary foods to a child. It lies in the fact that the fruit comes first, and then everything else. This is reflected in the following complementary feeding table:
Doctor Komarovsky: what product and how to start complementary feeding
Komarovsky believes that the best option to start the first complementary feeding - fermented milk products. And, I must say, this point of view is well founded. From milk we move on to milk. And the lactic acid bacteria contained in it provide:
- Reducing the risk of intestinal infections.
- Improved digestion.
- Reducing the load on the liver. This organ finally matures only at 12 summer age, and before that it is the child’s weak point.
The principle of introducing first complementary foods
And now about the procedure for feeding a baby for the first time. Best time for this purpose – morning, the period from 9 to 12 o’clock. For the first time, we give just a couple of teaspoons of kefir, and then supplement with breast milk or formula - whatever your child usually eats. We spend the rest of the day monitoring the baby’s condition. For tomorrow, if you have not noticed any negative manifestations, double the portion. The day after tomorrow - again at two. That is, on the first day - 10 ml, on the second - 20 ml, on the third - 40 ml, etc. Gradually increase the volume to an amount sufficient for one full feeding. This is about 150 ml.
Around the fifth day, if everything goes well, you can start introducing cottage cheese. He mixes in the entire amount of kefir: 1 day - 1 teaspoon, 2 day - 2 spoons, etc. Until the child turns 30, we stop at 30 g of cottage cheese per day. Then we increase it to 50 g. In total, it should take about a week to completely replace one feeding (30 g of cottage cheese + 150 ml of kefir). The rest of the meals remain the same - breast milk or mixture. For the next three to four weeks we feed the child in this mode, without making any changes.
Important: the “horror stories” familiar to many that if you give a baby cottage cheese, his fontanel will overgrow too quickly (due to excess calcium) are not logically justified in any way. In fact, cottage cheese is not that rich in this element. So, 100 g of breast milk contains up to 50 mg of calcium, 100 g of cow milk contains 120 mg, and 100 g of cottage cheese contains about 140 mg.
Introduction of cereals into baby's complementary feeding
As stated above, after the first feeding of the child with fermented milk products, about a month should pass. After this, you can begin to replace another feeding, this time with milk and cereal porridges: oatmeal, buckwheat or rice. We choose them from the assortment of ready-made cereals in baby food departments or cook them ourselves. In the second case, you just need to buy flour from these cereals or make it yourself (grind it in a coffee grinder). As a dairy supplement instead cow's milk It is better to use milk formula with the number “2” on the can, i.e., intended for feeding babies from 6 months.
How to introduce porridge: the procedure will be exactly the same as when introducing kefir. The first day - 2 teaspoons, the second - 4, the third - 8, etc. We fill the remaining volume with breast milk or the usual formula. So we gradually replace one feeding, preferably the last one before going to bed.
You probably noticed that among the listed cereals for the first feeding there is no semolina. This may seem strange - semolina is easy to prepare, has an excellent consistency for a child who has not yet chewed, and tastes very good. There is one “But”: this cereal contains a lot of gluten. Gluten protein (gliadin) can cause intestinal problems if the baby is intolerant to it. Therefore, it is better to postpone the inclusion of semolina porridge in the diet until an older age - about 8 months.
According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, it is optimal to give the first complementary foods to a baby at 6 months. It is at this age that the supply of iron in the child’s body is depleted, and this element also becomes insufficient in the mother’s milk. In addition, the baby’s digestive system is already mature for digesting fats, proteins and carbohydrates in non-dairy foods, as its own digestive enzymes begin to be produced. The child begins to chew, the gag reflex moves from the middle to the back third of the tongue, and the baby stops reflexively spitting out thick food from the mouth.
Rule 2. It is better to start feeding your baby with vegetables
What product should you start with for the first complementary feeding? The advice of pediatricians and nutritionists boils down to starting complementary feeding with vegetable puree. This recommendation is explained simply: porridges are closest in taste to breast milk, so babies like them more. Having become accustomed to such complementary foods, babies may subsequently refuse less tasty (or simply unfamiliar) foods. vegetable puree. Especially pureed green vegetables are recommended for children prone to constipation and overweight.
Attention! If a child has loose stools, is underweight, or suffers from colic, then introducing vegetables can aggravate the situation. In this case, choose porridge as your first complementary food.
Which vegetables to choose?
For the first feeding of vegetables, low-allergenic fruits such as zucchini, cauliflower, squash, broccoli and light pumpkin are suitable. A little later (from about 7–8 months), you can add potatoes, carrots, white cabbage, and beets to the baby’s diet. A little later (from about 7–8 months), you can add potatoes, carrots, white cabbage, and beets to the baby’s diet. The introduction of complementary foods begins with a one-component puree, which does not contain salt, sugar, or thickeners, with 1–2 teaspoons (10–20 g). Gradually, over 7–10 days, increase the portion to the age norm – 100–150 g.
Rule 3. Porridge in complementary foods: let’s do without gluten
The next product that can be introduced into your baby's complementary foods is porridge. According to modern recommendations, porridge is introduced after the child adapts to his first complementary food - vegetable puree. This happens no earlier than 3 weeks after the start of introducing vegetables into complementary foods.
Low-allergenic porridges that do not contain gluten (rice, buckwheat, corn) are the first to be introduced into the baby’s menu. Gluten (gluten)– a vegetable protein that is part of the shell of wheat, oats, rye and barley. It is difficult to digest in the immature intestines of babies. As a result, with the early introduction of gluten-containing products into complementary foods (especially before 6 months), the child may experience abdominal pain, bloating, bowel dysfunction, skin rashes and other negative reactions. In rare cases, if there is a hereditary predisposition, the baby may develop serious disease Celiac disease, which requires adherence to a gluten-free diet (exclusion of all foods containing gluten) for the rest of life.
- Buckwheat It is gluten-free and an excellent source of easily digestible plant protein, making it a great starter for complementary feeding. Thanks to its high fiber content and small amount of starch, this porridge perfectly stimulates the intestines, so it is especially useful for babies who have constipation.
- Rice It is considered a hypoallergenic product, so it is better to start introducing complementary foods to children prone to food allergies. Due to the high starch content, rice porridge is well digestible and does not irritate the gastrointestinal tract, so it is useful to give it to babies with unstable stools, but to children suffering from constipation and excess weight, you shouldn't offer it too often.
- Corn porridge hypoallergenic and high-calorie. Cooked yourself, it turns out too heavy to digest, but porridge industrial production It is easier to digest (since the corn grains have undergone special processing), in addition, it is enriched with vitamins and, due to the absence of gluten, is suitable for the first feeding.
How to introduce porridge into complementary foods?
The principles of introducing porridge into complementary feeding are the same as for other types of complementary feeding - start with one type of cereal (1 teaspoon), gradually increasing its amount to 120–150 g. A week after introducing the first porridge, try a different type, and even later - You can switch to porridge from a mixture of cereals. Porridges for first feeding should be dairy-free. They are bred with breast milk or formula fed to the baby. Milk porridges for complementary feeding are introduced into a child’s diet at 8–9 months, and salt and sugar should not be added until at least 1 year.
Rule 5. Not all meat is suitable for complementary feeding
At 8-9 months, meat can be introduced into complementary foods. What meat is most valuable for a baby? First of all, these are lean beef, pork, poultry, and rabbit. But when introducing meat complementary foods, some features must be taken into account. So, in terms of nutritional properties, beef is a very valuable product, but if a baby is allergic to cow's milk protein, then the same reaction may occur to beef. Veal and chicken for complementary feeding, despite their tenderness and ease of digestion, can cause the same problem. Pork is a fattier meat, but if your baby is allergic to beef and chicken, it can be offered as a replacement for these products. Turkey and rabbit meat are hypoallergenic, they are quite suitable for starting complementary meat feeding. The baby is gradually accustomed to the full volume of meat puree, starting, as usual, with an incomplete teaspoon and slowly increasing the volume of the meat dish to 30–50–70 ml, depending on the age of the baby (70 ml by 1 year).
Rule 6. Fruits in complementary foods: not all at once
At 7.5 months, you can offer your baby the first spoonful of fruit puree. Domestic pediatricians recommend starting complementary feeding with fruits from a green apple or pear - they are less likely to cause allergic reactions. If your baby has experienced allergies or his stool is unstable, it is better to first introduce him to less allergenic apples, pears or bananas. And if your baby has constipation, you can first offer prunes or apricots.
How much fruit puree can you give your baby per day?
The daily norm is equal to the child’s age in months multiplied by 10 (for example, the volume of fruit puree per day for a 10-month-old child is 100 g).
Based on the same principles, the baby’s menu also includes fruit juices . The first to give is single-component clarified juices without pulp (usually green apple juice), starting with a few milliliters and gradually increasing the volume to the age norm - babies 10-12 months old can be given 80-100 ml per day.
Rule 7. Only special cottage cheese is suitable for feeding a baby
Cottage cheese is one of the first fermented milk products which can be offered to the baby. Offer the first spoonful of cottage cheese to your baby when he is 8-9 months old. Unlike kefir, this product has low acidity and does not irritate the delicate intestinal mucosa of the baby. Remember that only special types of cottage cheese that are intended for this age can be used in the nutrition of children under 1 year of age. Children's cottage cheese is produced using a special technology, thanks to which all beneficial features and it has a more delicate consistency compared to the usual “adult” product.
In the absence of negative reactions to cottage cheese, its amount is increased to 40 g within 5–7 days, and by 9 months to 50 g. This amount should not be exceeded, since an excess of protein increases the load on the baby’s kidneys, which can lead to disturbances in their work.
Rule 8. Fish menu for kids
Every mother thinks about what fish to start complementary feeding with. Despite its beneficial properties, fish appears on the baby’s menu only at 9–10 months, and if the baby suffers from allergies, then introduction to this product should be postponed until 1.5 years. The fact is that fish protein is a strong allergen, and this type of complementary food must be treated with extreme caution. In the first year of life, fish can only be given healthy kids who are not allergic to other products.
What fish should you start feeding with?
Hake, cod, haddock, pollock, and flounder are considered suitable for the first acquaintance. They are dietary and less allergenic, in addition, they have very few small bones. A baby up to one year old can be given approximately 30–60 g fish puree per day and no more than 1-2 times a week.
Attention!
Complementary feeding refers to feeding babies foods in addition to breast milk. But throughout the entire period of introduction of complementary feeding, breast milk should remain the baby’s main food.
When to introduce complementary foods
Complementary feeding of a child: when to introduce complementary feeding, complementary feeding by month, complementary feeding scheme How correctly a child eats in the first year of life depends on his health and attitude towards food in the future. So raise a true connoisseur of healthy food!
Mother’s milk is considered the most delicious and healthy food for a baby during the first six months of life. If the mother for some reason cannot breastfeed the child, then he should receive high-quality adapted mixture. But the time comes when a growing body requires other food.
You will recognize that it is time to introduce complementary foods based on several basic criteria: interest in adult food, the ability to sit confidently, and the appearance of the first teeth. This means it’s time to think about how to introduce complementary foods to your child.
First feeding
Previously, doctors advised mothers to include drops of juice in their children's menus literally from the age of two weeks. Now nutritionists are increasingly talking about the dangers of early introduction of complementary foods to a child, moreover, they support their words with irrefutable evidence.
If we are talking about babies who are breastfed, the World Health Organization recommends starting to introduce them to new products no earlier than six months.
And an artificial baby needs to be fed from five and a half months. However, this does not mean that you should seat your little one at the table on a clearly defined day. Wait until he asks you for what you are eating.
Most likely, the baby will do this out of pure curiosity. But the result of the research will pleasantly surprise him! Give your baby a piece of peeled apple or pear. You can also offer half a teaspoon from your plate. boiled potatoes, buckwheat porridge on water.
Pediatricians call this method pedagogical complementary feeding. It differs from the usual one in that its task is not so much to feed the baby, but to introduce him to adult food and table manners.
Everything has its time
Do not rush to transfer your child to the common table. Not everything that adults eat suits him yet. Despite the fact that the baby’s digestive system is already quite developed, he still cannot eat fried, salty, smoked, or fatty foods. Convenience foods, sausages, some raw vegetables, sweets, and cakes are also prohibited.
Important rule
Let your child decide when to finish the meal. Don't force him to finish eating, don't force-feed him - and then you won't have problems with food.
We introduce complementary foods
To begin with, offer your little gourmet half a teaspoon of a new dish before the main meal. It is advisable to do this in the morning. Then immediately supplement your baby with breast milk or formula. The next day you can give a whole spoon. The main thing is to follow general condition child.
Redness, rashes on the skin, and abdominal pain are warning signs. Immediately eliminate this product from your diet and avoid introducing anything new for at least three days. Did the meeting go well? Gradually increase the portion. And after a week, feel free to introduce another product.
From the moment you completely replace one meal with complementary foods, start giving your baby water or tea. Offer a drink after meals and between meals. As for artificial baby, then he has been familiar with water for a long time. In this case, be guided by his desires.
Literally immediately after introducing a new product, you will notice changes in your child’s stool, and he will have bad breath. Don't worry: everything is fine. It's just one of the stages of physiological development.
Behavior rules
Don’t expect your child to sit obediently at the table and carefully use a spoon. Even if you put a bib on it, it will still get dirty. And, without a doubt, he will touch the food with his hands, smear it on the table or on his knees. There will also be experiments with the spoon: the baby will probably want to hold it in his teeth and knock on the plate.
Naturally, the child will not immediately begin to use a spoon independently. But the sooner you give it to your baby, the faster he will learn it. At the same time, feed him with another spoon. Plastic cutlery is the most convenient and safe. You have a straight handle, your baby has a curved one.
A little later, offer the child a fork. Believe me, it's never too early to start mastering it. But provided that adults themselves use the devices correctly.
Rules for feeding a child
Feeding a child: when to introduce complementary feeding, complementary feeding by month, complementary feeding schedule While collecting information about complementary feeding of a child, you probably noticed: there are no clear-cut opinions and recommendations. Pediatricians and nutritionists advise starting to introduce complementary foods at either four or six months. The indicated ages on baby food jars generally confuse mothers.
However, all this should not confuse you. Firstly, in some countries where purees and porridges are produced, the standards for introducing products are different. Secondly, they are designed for artificial children, who are supposed to be introduced to new foods earlier than infants. Today, most experts adhere to the following complementary feeding scheme.
Complementary feeding scheme
Complementary feeding for 6 months It is better to start with porridge or vegetable puree. Pre-grind corn, rice or buckwheat in a coffee grinder and cook in water (let the consistency be liquid) or use similar industrially produced porridges.
As for vegetables, boiled zucchini, cauliflower or potatoes are suitable for the first time. Grind them with a blender and offer them to your baby. A serving of 100-150g will be optimal.
Complementary feeding for a 7-month-old baby You can prepare a little gourmet puree from several vegetables already familiar to him, cook soup, adding vegetable oil and egg yolk (¼ teaspoon no more than twice a week).
Feeding your 8 month old baby, it's time to find out what dessert is. Fruit puree made from apple, pear, and peach are ideal for a baby. mix them with porridge or offer them as a separate dish. But keep in mind: if before this the baby ate 70 g of vegetables, then give no more than 50 g of fruit.
In addition, it’s time to try kefir (full portion - 100 ml) and cottage cheese (50 g per day). Prepare them yourself using sourdough starters - you will do well. But special food is also suitable. Just remember that beneficial bacteria live from 5 to 14 days. If the packaging indicates that the product can be stored longer, it means there are no probiotic cultures there.
Feeding a 9 month old baby Start eating meat. Beef, rabbit, turkey - it's healthy and tasty! Boil the meat, and then grind it in a meat grinder or using a blender. Baby canned food will also work. For the first time, give half a teaspoon of meat along with vegetables. Gradually increase the amount to 3-4 teaspoons per day.
Just don’t cook soups with meat broth for your baby - a small stomach is not able to digest this complex dish.
Complementary feeding for a 10-month-old baby Meat should now be on the baby’s menu all the time. At the same time, nutritionists advise having one “fasting” day, replacing meat with fish. Choose low-fat varieties (hake, cod, sea bass). At the same time, do not forget that the first portion of the new product is half a teaspoon, the full one is 50g.
At this age, you can already offer your baby borscht. Just first check his reaction to bright vegetables - beets and carrots. Also try introducing pumpkin, berry puree, yogurt, and baby cookies.
Complementary feeding for an 11-month-old child Soups will be perfectly complemented by fresh herbs (it’s better if you start growing dill and parsley in the window so as not to doubt their environmental friendliness). Borscht will taste better with sour cream. Bread with butter The little gourmet will also like it. Feel free to cook him semolina, pearl barley, barley, oatmeal and millet porridge - he will certainly like them.
Complementary feeding for a 12 month old baby’s menu has already expanded quite a lot by this time. Surely he now has his favorite dishes. For example, apple with celery or steamed meatballs. Now it would be good to introduce juice (prepare it yourself and dilute it with water 1:1 at first) and milk (designed specifically for children).
Cooking lessons
Feeding a child: when to introduce complementary feeding, complementary feeding by month, complementary feeding schedule Of course, you care about the baby’s health, strive to feed him only healthy and freshly prepared foods. However, the concept proper nutrition“in relation to a child has a number of features. There are laws for children's dishes.
Boiled or steamed Vegetables from a steamer or cooked in a small amount of water have a richer taste, and their texture is more tender. In addition, this treatment preserves vitamins better. Never fry anything, not even dressing for soup or borscht.
Without salt and sugar All products contain some of these natural ingredients, so teach your baby to the natural taste. But what you can safely add to soup or puree is a little vegetable oil. And only as you approach the year, begin to lightly add salt to your dishes using iodized salt.
As for drinks, sweeten sour compotes and jelly with natural grape sugar or honey - provided that the little one is not allergic to it.
Grated Usually, at the time of introducing complementary foods, the child has only one or two teeth, that is, he cannot chew on his own. Therefore, food should be pureed (homogenized). A little later, at 8-9 months, it will be enough to mash it with a fork. And by the year - cut the products into small pieces.
The latest Try to prepare food for your baby for one meal only. Never offer your child something he didn’t finish eating the last time. And especially don’t cook the night before tomorrow.
To drink or not?
Nutritionists advise not to drink while eating - only after it, preferably after 10-15 minutes. So don't put everything you want to offer your baby on the table. It's better to do it one at a time. Buy convenient dishes for tea, compote and water. You should not pour the drink into a bottle with a nipple; immediately teach your baby to drink from a cup. Choose a model with a comfortable spout and a blocker: even if the baby knocks over the cup, the liquid will not spill. For older children, models with a straw are suitable.
Food allergens
Nutritionists note: cases of allergic reactions in young children have become more frequent. There are several causes of the disease, including incorrect or untimely introduction of foods during complementary feeding and the child’s intolerance to any foods.
Gluten Wheat, oats and rye contain gluten protein, which is poorly absorbed by the child's body until 5-6 months. First of all, introduce gluten-free porridges: corn, buckwheat, rice. Hold off with other cereals, as well as with bread and cookies. Offer them to your baby only after 8-9 months.
Cow's milk Until one year of age, a child's enzymatic systems are not ready to digest this product. If you want to pamper your baby with milk porridge, dilute it with breast milk or formula.
Eggs Allergy to protein – quite common occurrence. Therefore, until the child is one year old, give only the yolk (in small quantities).
In addition to these foods, fish, honey, beans, lamb, vegetables, berries and fruits of red and orange colors can cause rashes on the cheeks. Be careful with them, never offer your baby several new foods at the same time and keep a food diary, especially if an allergy does appear. Write down the dish, how it is prepared and the baby's reaction. This information will help you easily identify the culprit behind the appearance of red spots on your child's skin!
The question of how to properly introduce complementary foods remains the most discussed and controversial in domestic pediatrics. Regulations in force in Russian Federation, differ in many ways from generally accepted international ones. The recommendations of “Soviet-trained” doctors do not stand up to criticism. What should it be like? correct complementary feeding so as not to harm the baby’s health?
There are many myths about the benefits of foods for babies in their first year of life. For example, that already at the age of one month, children need an additional source of iron in the form of apple juice. What to perceive fruit purees They should not be considered as complete complementary foods; they serve as “pre-complementary foods,” so they can be given in advance, as early as three months. That at the age of four months it is necessary to include vegetable puree in a volume of up to one hundred grams in the child’s diet, and at the age of five months - milk porridge.
This scheme on how to properly start complementary feeding is based on the methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, approved in 1999. However, it is completely refuted by international research, recommendations of the World Health Organization, and the International Dairy League.
Reasons for the controversy
The basic rule of modern international pediatrics says: a child should receive only breast milk or an adapted formula for up to six months. La Leche League experts soften this formulation somewhat, recommending the start of complementary feeding by the middle of the child’s first year of life.
The reasons for the contradictions between international standards and the national program for feeding children in the first year of life lie in the features social development society. “Before the early nineties in Russia, the concept of breastfeeding was almost completely lost,” comments pediatrician Alena Paretskaya. - Often mothers went to work, leaving their three and six month old babies in the nursery. Their feeding was organized on the basis of cow’s milk, kefir, and semolina porridge.”
This diet is extremely meager and fundamentally does not meet the needs child's body. Complementary feeding allowed him to somehow “smooth out” it. Already from the first month, babies were recommended apple juice, then fruit purees. Early complementary feeding at four months already included both eggs and cottage cheese.
The introduction of a whole range of foods before the age of six months served as an opportunity to solve the most important problem - to balance the diet, which lacked breast milk. It was strictly rationed by grams to avoid overfeeding. And in methodological recommendations For Russian pediatricians, this scheme has been preserved, although it does not meet international medical standards today.
IN modern conditions the rules for introducing complementary feeding in Russia should be revised. Thanks to WHO recommendations, methodological courses for pediatricians and medical workers, the attitude towards the issue is changing, but not progressively enough.
Basic principles
Breast milk provides the full range of needs of the baby's body until the age of six months. This conclusion was made by foreign pediatricians based on a number of studies. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that breastfeeding eliminates the need to introduce early complementary foods. Children simply do not need additional nutrition.
Artificial nutrition also does not require diet correction. “Modern adapted mixtures include a sufficient volume nutrients, minerals, vitamins. Therefore, the need to introduce complementary foods at a more early dates does not exist,” notes doctor Alena Paretskaya.
Thus, the most important principle of introducing complementary feeding to infants on breastfeeding, artificial, mixed feeding is when they reach six months of age. Using “adult” products before is dangerous digestive system, which is not yet ripe for digesting other food. And the child does not receive all the nutrients he needs.
International experts also note the following important points.
- Complementary feeding does not replace the baby's main food. Breast milk and formula remain the same for up to a year. Breastfeeding, according to WHO recommendations, is important to continue further, up to two years, since breast milk contains valuable components for the maturation of the child’s brain, his nervous system, development of immunity.
- Complementary feeding is for informational purposes only. Established food standards in grams for children who are breastfed and receiving high-quality adapted formula are no more than general recommendation, upper limit. More food than specified in the norms should not be given to avoid overfeeding. Food does not fulfill the function of satiation; breast milk and formula, which are more valuable and nutritious for the child, must cope with it for up to a year. It introduces new tastes, stimulates the functioning of the jaw apparatus, socializes the child and teaches him to eat correctly.
- Product introduction does not tolerate violence. Main question How to properly introduce complementary foods to a child lies in the absence of pressure from parents. Food should be of interest to the baby. In an effort to feed him “at all costs,” the mother forms a stable pattern of behavior at the table, in which the child refuses to eat.
- Interesting and entertaining are two different things. Feeding with persuasion, with cartoons, and other entertainment has nothing to do with the concept of complementary feeding. The baby must show interest in food himself, and this is only possible if he is regularly common table with adults. Copying adult behavior patterns is a more reliable way to shape a child’s right attitude to food than persuasion and entertainment.
- Look at the child, not the deadline. Age of six months is the lower limit of the norm, but it can be adjusted depending on the state of the child’s health and level of development.
The baby is ready for complementary feeding when he shows interest in food. His ejection reflex has faded and thicker foods than milk and formula do not make him vomit. Consumption of new foods does not cause digestive disorders. The child sits up and can hold a spoon.
Technique for introducing complementary foods
It often happens that a child is interested in both the objects on the table and the contents of the adults’ plates. And he even tries to grab one of them and put it in his mouth. But even microdoses of new foods cause problems. If constipation occurs when introducing complementary foods, it means that the child’s body is not ready to digest it. Stop introducing him to new foods and continue breastfeeding or formula feeding as usual. And after a few weeks, try offering complementary foods again.
Directly opposite reactions also occur: the child categorically refuses to eat anything other than milk or formula. In this situation, the mother needs to calm down and stop listening to the instructions of her friends or grandmothers.
If the child is healthy, cheerful, active, but does not want to eat complementary foods, do not insist. His body gets everything it needs from the main source of nutrition. Invite him to participate in family meals, provide him with a chair, a spoon, a plate, and wait without worry for the baby to show that he is ready to try something new.
Follow the following tactics on how to introduce complementary foods.
- Make sure your child is healthy. Wait with new food if the baby is teething, has signs of acute respiratory viral infection, has a fever, or has been vaccinated. Reasons for postponing complementary feeding include family relocation, death of loved ones, and other factors of emotional upheaval. You can change the diet only if the child is stable both emotionally and physically.
- Start with the minimum quantity. In the technique of pedagogical complementary feeding, it is recommended to start with a microdose of the product, that is, an amount the size of a match head. Pediatric complementary feeding allows you to start with half a teaspoon. It is better to offer unfamiliar foods in the morning to be able to monitor the baby’s condition throughout the day.
- Watch the baby. An allergy to complementary foods does not appear for several hours. The reaction occurs within a day from the moment of consumption of the allergen, and the first “dose” never causes a pronounced rash, peeling of the skin or other symptoms. They appear after the second consumption of the product, so it is possible to find out whether the child is allergic to something only on the third day after consuming the new food. Constipation in a child after the introduction of complementary foods may occur during the first day, as well as diarrhea. If you observe these reactions, experiments with the diet should be stopped.
- Gradually increase the volume. If your baby likes a new product, double it daily to the age norm. You are not faced with the task of necessarily feeding your child this amount of product per day. This norm- the maximum threshold beyond which you cannot go.
- One product per week. If well tolerated, you can introduce the product into your child’s diet within a week. On next week try to start introducing a new product using the same scheme. A new product can be mixed with a familiar one.
Take your time! The value of breast milk is incomparably higher for your baby than porridge or vegetables. Do not try to supplant even one feeding with them. The components of the “adult” table should complement the diet from a nutritional and energy point of view. But it is to complement, not replace!
By the age of one year, a breastfed child should receive 75% of his nutrition in the form of breast milk. In mixed-fed babies, formula is gradually removed from the diet. It is replaced by complementary foods, and mother's milk remains in the existing volume and is offered upon request. Artificial babies are transferred to the traditional family table after a year.
Product sequence
What should be the sequence of introducing complementary foods? Long time in our country, the first component was fruits and juices. Western pediatricians do not share this opinion. Fruit acids, which are part of juices, have an aggressive effect on digestive tract child. In addition, they contain a large amount of sugar. Therefore, it is recommended not to use juices at all in the diet of children under one year of age and older.
Vegetables - from six months
A first complementary food product for healthy children on any form of nutrition. Use vegetables from your region: neutral zucchini, cabbage, potatoes. A little later, you can introduce your child to carrots, peas, and other legumes. By the age of one year, onions and tomatoes may appear in his diet.
All vegetables are washed, peeled and boiled in a small amount of water. First puree, then mash with a fork.
| Age, months | Volume, g |
|---|---|
| 6 | 150 |
| 7 | 170 |
| 8 | 180 |
| 9-12 | 200 |
After introducing one vegetable, you can add puree vegetable oil in the volume of less than a teaspoon.
Fruits - from seven months
Traditionally, the apple is introduced first, then prunes, apricots, bananas, pears, and any other fruits from your region. They are offered to the baby in the form of purees. Children usually take well to delicious fruit purees from jars. This product helps intestinal motility, so stool improves after the introduction of complementary foods.
| Age, months | Volume, g |
|---|---|
| 7 | 70 |
| 8 | 80 |
| 9-12 | 90-100 |
Homemade fruit purees should be peeled and pitted.
Porridge - from seven months
Porridge can also be a product of first complementary feeding, but for babies with underweight. If the baby matches age standards, a hearty cereal porridge is introduced after vegetables and fruits.
Buckwheat, rice and corn cereals are used as gluten-free products with a low risk of an allergic reaction. At eight months and older, oatmeal, wheat, millet, semolina. Prepared in water, without the use of milk, from finely ground grains in a coffee grinder. Consistency is appropriate for age. At the beginning of complementary feeding, the volume of water is 1:4, closer to the year the thickness of the product is increased, prepared in a ratio of 1:2.
When buying ready-made cereals, choose dairy-free products for the first feeding. They are easy to use: just add the required amount of water and stir.
| Age, months | Volume, g |
|---|---|
| 7 | 150 |
| 8 | 180 |
| 9-12 | 200 |
Closer to one year, you can start preparing milk porridges or using milk diluted 1:1 with water.
Yolk - from eight months
A useful, but very controversial product. In the diagram, how to correctly introduce complementary foods by month of the Soviet period is mentioned as early as four months of age. Modern pediatricians recommend introducing it after eight months, carefully monitoring the child's reaction.
| Age, months | Part |
|---|---|
| 8 | 1/4 |
| 9 | 1/2 |
| 10-12 | 1/2 |
The yolk is added to porridge or vegetable puree. It is not allowed to mix it with meat feeding in one feeding, if it is present in the diet.
Meat - from eight to nine months
Low-allergenic varieties of meat are used: lamb, turkey, lean pork. There is a higher risk of an allergic reaction to our most popular types of meat: veal and chicken, but this does not mean that you cannot eat them. In infants whose mothers often consume these types of meat, a negative reaction occurs less frequently.
The meat is ground in a meat grinder, maybe twice, and boiled. The new variety is introduced carefully, observing the reaction for five days. Add to vegetable puree.
| Age, months | Volume, g |
|---|---|
| 8 | 30 |
| 9 | 50 |
| 10-12 | 60-70 |
Meat broth is not used in feeding children of the first year of life.
Fish - from ten to eleven months
You can try introducing fish two months after becoming familiar with meat. Use varieties of low-fat, sea fish. Red fish are allergenic, so hake, pollock, horse mackerel and other varieties of fish with an inexpressive odor and slightly dry structure are more preferable.
| Age, months | Volume, g |
|---|---|
| 10 | 30 |
| 11 | 50 |
| 12 | 60 |
The fish is boiled and pitted. Served with a vegetable side dish. At this age, the baby already chews food well, so there is no need to specially chop it, just leave it in small pieces.
Cottage cheese, kefir - from ten to twelve months
Dairy products may appear in children's menu closer to one year of age. They contain a foreign protein, for the breakdown of which the baby’s body learns to produce enzymes only after ten months.
| Age, months | Volume, g |
|---|---|
| 10 | 30 |
| 11 | 40 |
| 12 | 50 |
For children receiving breast milk or formula, the relevance of dairy products in the diet is not so high. It is more important for artificial people to include cottage cheese in the menu for up to a year, so that the body has time to adapt to this product before eliminating the mixture from the diet.
From the age of ten months, the baby can be offered a cracker or dry bread as a snack. Include juices in the menu after a year, but their value is exaggerated. Homemade compotes are more beneficial for children.
Lactation consultants advise mothers to keep a food diary of what foods were introduced and how much the baby consumed. This is important for children prone to allergies, as it will allow them to accurately identify dangerous products.
The questions of when to start, how to choose, and how to prepare complementary foods for infants are incredibly important. Not only the baby’s feeling of satiety depends on them this moment. This quality is secondary, especially since until the age of one, children generally do not associate foods from the “plate” with a food source.
More importantly, teach the baby to eat on his own, instill in him respect for food, the understanding that food is pleasure, joy, and the opportunity to behave like adults. Absence of violence from the mother, persistence and demands to be sure to eat everything “to the last drop” - correct tactics, which will help with this.