6 5 month old baby food menu table. Introducing the first complementary foods if the baby is bottle-fed

Birthday

The first year of a baby’s life is an exciting period for his parents, especially if it is their first child. A lot of difficulties arise in feeding a child: when and where to start, how best to prepare, diet - these are just part of what worries a young mother in this regard.

At the age of 6 months, it is no longer enough for a breastfed baby to receive only breast milk. Children at this time are more active and emotional, and their body begins to need more nutrients. It is from this period that the first feeding of the baby begins. adult food, and its menu is becoming more diverse.

General rules for introducing new elements into the diet

Introducing a baby to solid food is an important and crucial stage in his life. The sixth month of life is the most opportune moment. In order for this to truly benefit a growing body, it is important to adhere to a number of rules.

  • Before you start introducing your baby to solid food (and any new foods in general), make sure that he is absolutely healthy and has not been vaccinated at least 2-3 days before. Due to a weakened immune system, the body may react negatively to the new kind food.
  • If the time of introduction of complementary foods falls on summer period, choose days when there is no heat: this way the child will more easily accept innovations in his diet.
  • Start giving any product with small doses - 1-2 teaspoons. Increase the amount each day and closely monitor bowel movements and other possible changes.
  • Start with one product and give it only for several days: this will allow you to determine whether your child has an allergic reaction. Once you are sure everything is going well, you can add another type of vegetable, porridge or fruit.
  • Complementary foods should be given before breastfeeding so that the baby is hungry, otherwise he may refuse.
  • First you need to give unsweetened foods (vegetables or cereals). This will allow the baby to get used to bland food, because after fruit puree or juice he may not want to eat anything else.
  • If the child has excess weight or constipation, it is recommended to start complementary feeding with vegetable puree. For children with underweight the best option there will be porridge.
  • A complete meal for 6 one month old baby– 150 grams.

Allowed complementary feeding products

You can find it in various sources various information regarding what products can be introduced into the menu of a breastfed baby at 6 months. However, in most cases, pediatricians recommend at this age the following types complementary foods

  • Vegetables. For the first time, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green peas, and green beans are ideal. These are vegetables with a low level of allergens and are therefore well tolerated infants. Next, you can try introducing pumpkin, carrots, and potatoes into your diet, carefully observing the reaction.
  • Fruits and berries. Green varieties of apples, pears, bananas - that's where it starts fruit feeding. Berries can be great black will do currant. But citrus fruits, strawberries and raspberries, as well as exotic fruits and berries should not be given to children under one year old in order to avoid an allergic reaction.
  • Porridge. Allowed cereals for first feeding are gluten-free: buckwheat, rice and corn. You should avoid oatmeal, millet, wheat and semolina for now, since these types of cereals are not in the best possible way affect still developing digestive function.
  • Egg yolk. Preference is given quail eggs, since they are less allergenic than chicken.
  • Refined vegetable oil (corn, olive or sunflower).
  • Fermented milk products (kefir or cottage cheese). As a rule, this type of complementary feeding is prescribed by pediatricians if the child has a pronounced calcium deficiency. In other cases, it is not advisable to do this.

Making puree

In order for food to be well absorbed and for the baby to receive only benefits from it, it must be prepared correctly. Vegetable puree is made according to the following principle.

  • It is advisable to take food from your own garden, having previously frozen it, if the time of complementary feeding does not occur in the summer-autumn season. If this is not possible, a store-bought frozen product will do, however, it is important to ensure that the vegetables are grown in a climate zone close to the one where you live.
  • It is better to steam vegetables until soft. Then they need to be thoroughly mashed with a fork or crushed to a mushy state in a blender.
  • At first, do not add salt to food: let the child get used to the food’s own taste. A few drops may be added vegetable oil.
  • Acquaintance begins with 1-2 spoons of monocomponent puree. Every day the portion increases to 150 grams.


How to cook porridge?

  • For your baby's first acquaintance with porridge, it is better to use products industrial production, that is, special baby food. This ensures that the cereal is environmentally friendly and fully complies with sanitary standards. In addition, this will significantly save cooking time.
  • When feeding porridge for the first time, you need to take a teaspoon of cereal and dissolve it in 100 ml warm water. This liquid mixture is ideal for introducing a child to the product.
  • Gradually you need to increase the amount of cereal. The amount of liquid remains unchanged. Thus, bring the portion of porridge to 150 grams.
  • If the child is not allergic to animal protein, the porridge can be milk-based. You can also add a little butter.
  • The porridge should not be too thick: in this state it will be difficult for the baby to swallow it.

At the age of six months, the baby becomes more active, tries to sit, and the time comes to significantly expand his menu. Diet for a 6 month old baby artificial feeding will differ from the infant’s diet, and the feeding regimen will change slightly.

Features of the diet for IV

Of course the best food for the child is mother's milk, however, when for some reason breast-feeding impossible, it is replaced by artificial adaptive mixtures. Science does not stand still and such nutrition is balanced both in calorie content and vitamin and microelement composition, but still it is not completely identical to molov.

It is for this reason that by the age of 6 months, and sometimes a couple of weeks earlier, the artificial baby begins to be offered additional dishes.

Worth knowing! Not all pediatricians agree with the need for early introduction of complementary feeding to artificial children. Popular pediatrician-TV presenter Dr. Komarovsky E.A. claims that modern formulas have a sufficient content of useful and nutritious substances, so start supplementing your child with other foods earlier deadline not necessary.

Benefits of complementary feeding:

  • helps the baby gain weight normally;
  • supports its activity;
  • strengthens the immune system.

You can read how and what to supplement a child feeding on breast milk in the article “”.

It is likely that by the age of six months the child has already tried the first complementary food and one feeding was replaced with it. As a rule, the baby is offered one-ingredient food as his first food. vegetable puree, or dairy-free porridge.

Worth knowing! For a child on IV, you can mix such porridge with a mixture, or immediately choose ready-made milk porridges from various grains.

Authorized Products

Of course, not all products can be offered to a baby at the age of 6 months. It's worth holding off on:

  • allergens;
  • foods that are difficult to digest;
  • cookies, crackers and bagels that can cause a child to choke.

Important! The main rule for introducing complementary foods is one New Product in Week. Thus, in a month the child will be able to get used to 2-4 products and dishes prepared from their combinations.

From 6 months of age, the child should be offered the following foods:

  1. Vegetables. Vegetable puree is extremely healthy for your baby and enriches his diet with fiber and valuable microelements. It is for this reason that pediatricians recommend introducing them into the diet first. Suitable first foods include: cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, potatoes, carrots. When the baby has tried all the vegetables in the form of a single puree, you can offer him soup, combining several products at once. Vegetables and dishes prepared from them will be useful for children suffering from constipation.
  2. Porridge. Cereal porridges begin to be introduced after vegetable purees. Hypoallergenic cereals that do not cause unwanted reactions in a child are: rice, corn, buckwheat. Porridges contribute good set weight and solve the problem frequent regurgitation. You can purchase baby porridges that are ready for breeding, or cook them yourself. A child should not prepare porridge with milk at such an early age; artificial workers are allowed to dilute it with the usual mixture. If your baby is gaining weight too slowly. It is allowed to introduce porridges into the daily diet before vegetables.
  3. Cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is not only nutritious, but also an easily digestible product. It contains valuable milk protein and calcium. Necessary for the development of teeth and bones, minerals and vitamins. At the same time, it may be too heavy for the baby’s developing kidneys, and it is introduced gradually, starting with a minimum portion of 5 grams.
  4. Fruits. Kids really like fruit puree. In order not to provoke allergies, children of 6 months are offered apples and pears, as well as a little banana. When the baby gets used to the new product, you can increase its portion to 60 grams.
  5. Meat. After a full introduction of fruits and vegetables into the child’s diet, the child is given meat to try: turkey, veal, rabbit. You can purchase ready-made meat purees in the department baby food, or prepare meat puree yourself, carefully checking the quality of the product.
  6. Yolk. Egg yolks contain healthy fats, proteins and vitamin A. However, it is worth considering that the core chicken egg may provoke an allergic reaction. You should purchase either homemade eggs or quail eggs (preferably), and boil them hard. Children suffering from constipation should be offered the product later, when the stool situation has returned to normal.

Worth knowing! Semolina porridge should not be offered to your baby, or it should be given extremely rarely for variety in the diet. According to research, semolina contributes to the development of rickets and obesity in children.

Despite the WHO opinion on the need for cereals and vegetables in children's diets, Dr. Komarovsky has his own opinion on this matter, recommending starting complementary feeding with baby kefir.

Kefir is similar in composition to milk and does not cause a negative response in the baby’s digestive system. In addition, lactic acid bacteria have a positive effect on intestinal function and promote the digestion of other foods.

According to Komarovsky’s advice, kefir is offered to the child once a day, in the morning, starting with two teaspoons with a gradual increase in the serving volume to 150 ml. Following kefir, you can introduce cottage cheese, adding it directly to the fermented milk drink.

The daily intake of cottage cheese at 6 months of age is up to 30 g, with a gradual increase by 9 months to 50 g.

A popular pediatrician recommends replacing one morning feeding with a fermented milk product, and then starting to try porridge.

Important! The chewing reflex of a six-month-old child is not well developed, so any products offered to him must be thoroughly pureed. It is best to use a special blender. Lumps in food can cause severe vomiting.

Complementary feeding rules

You can supplement your baby's feeding different methods. Modern pediatrics involves the use of complementary foods in two ways:

  • pedagogical;
  • pediatric.

With pedagogical complementary feeding, separate dishes are not prepared for the child and he receives all foods in microdoses immediately from the adult table. This method is advisable to use when the baby is breastfed. At the same time, it is important that only healthy and healthy dishes are present on the parent’s table. Therefore, you will have to give up smoked, preserved, spicy and salty foods during the complementary feeding period.

Pediatric complementary feeding involves the introduction of specific foods into the child’s diet in a certain order, taking into account his needs and physiological characteristics. At the same time, the timing of introducing complementary foods may differ:

  1. According to WHO recommendations ( world organization health care) from 6 months.
  2. According to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health (Ministry of Health), complementary feeding is introduced from 4 months for IV, and from 6 months for breastfeeding.

Important! Complementary feeding does not cancel milk feeding, but only complements it. You should not try to feed your child new foods; it is important to introduce them to the baby’s gastrointestinal tract gradually.

The product for the first complementary feeding is selected based on the baby’s body weight and other characteristics (susceptibility to allergic reactions, etc.).

General rules introduction of complementary foods looks like this:

  1. A new dish is offered to the child before the main feeding (milk formula). Food is given using a special small spoon.
  2. The temperature of the dish should be approximately equal to the child's body temperature.
  3. The new product is introduced in a minimal amount (a teaspoon), with the serving volume doubling daily. During the period of introducing a new food, it is important to monitor the child’s reaction to it (pattern of stool, allergy symptoms), and stop introducing the baby to the product if any unwanted symptoms appear.
  4. Should not be mixed in one serving different types products.
  5. It is better to give complementary foods for testing morning time, so that it is convenient to monitor the child’s reaction to it, and only then is the baby absolutely healthy.

Mode and menu

From 6 months of age, the child is fed five times a day. With intervals between meals of four hours and a night break of 8 hours.

The feeding regimen of a six-month-old baby may look like this:

  1. 6:00 – 7:00 – mixture
  2. 10:00 – 11:00 complementary foods + formula
  3. 14:00 – 15:00 complementary foods + formula
  4. 18:00 – 19:00 mixture
  5. 22:00 (before bedtime) – mixture.

Worth knowing! Meal times may vary depending on the child's daily routine and day dreams. Complementary feeding should be offered at a time when the baby is most active.

After introducing everyone necessary products into the baby's diet daily menu will look like this:

Important! The child’s menu can be varied depending on the pediatrician’s recommendations, the time of the baby’s greatest activity and his taste preferences.

Recipes

Meals for a baby are prepared differently from adult food:

  • Do not add salt and seasonings to food;
  • It is best to use steaming food as a heat treatment method;
  • all dishes must be thoroughly chopped using a blender;
  • It is permissible to add oil to food (from vegetable oils, preference should be given to corn and olive);
  • to kid early age All vegetables and fruits for complementary feeding should be processed thermally, with the exception of bananas.

The menu for a six-month-old child is not too extensive, and the recipes are simple and accessible to everyone:

  1. Vegetables. As vegetable complementary foods they offer the baby cauliflower. Broccoli, zucchini and squash. Before cooking, they need to be thoroughly rinsed, peeled and rinsed again. Peeled vegetables are finely chopped and steamed until soft. The finished products are crushed to a puree state. To obtain a soft consistency, you can dilute the puree with vegetable broth or the baby’s usual milk formula and add a few drops of oil.
  2. Porridge. You can prepare porridge for your baby yourself, or buy it ready-made and dilute it before use. For self-cooking Rinse the selected grains (buckwheat, rice, corn) thoroughly and dry, then grind into powder with a coffee grinder. Pour the ground cereal into boiling water and stir occasionally. To further speed up the cooking process, you can grind the grains in advance. You can also cook whole grains for at least an hour, then grind them in a blender and bring to a boil, diluting them with water or a mixture.
  3. Meat. Giving your baby meat is strictly dietary. Rabbit, veal, domestic chicken and turkey fillets are suitable. To prepare meat puree, cut the meat into pieces, add water and cook until full readiness, cool and mince a couple of times. You can grind the meat with a blender, then dilute it with vegetable broth or boiled water and bring the resulting mass to a boil. Meat broth is contraindicated for young children.
  4. Soup. After your baby has successfully gotten used to several vegetables, you can prepare a soup for him from them. Boil the selected vegetables until tender, then grind (through a sieve or blender), dilute with vegetable broth and season with a few drops of vegetable oil (you can also take a couple of grams of butter). A little later, you can try adding cereals to the soup, porridges from which the child has already tried.

Nutrition for a 6 month old baby important question, which must take into account in addition to general recommendations also individual characteristics baby. You shouldn't try to feed a six-month-old baby big amount different products, and give preference to those that grow in the region where the family lives.

© Galina Mikhalishina / Photobank Lori

Complementary feeding is food that is prescribed to a child as he grows up and reaches certain physiological indicators. Complementary foods are used as a supplement to the main diet - breast milk or adapted milk formula, whose nutritional value no longer allows one to fully satisfy the needs of a developing organism.

It is during the first year of a baby’s life that his immunity is formed, which depends mainly on proper nutrition. Well-organized complementary feeding is the main assistant in this matter.

What to feed a 6 month old baby

Experts say that at six months any child is ready for complementary feeding. This age is considered ideal for introducing foods other than the main diet. Although many parents begin to offer their babies fruit juices, apples and purees as early as three months, it is best to follow the recommendations of pediatricians and not give the child anything unnecessary until the age of 6 months.

Depending on the type of baby’s primary nutrition (natural feeding, mixed or artificial), the timing of the first trial of unfamiliar foods should be set.

All artificial children new food should be offered two weeks earlier than for breastfed babies. A mixed type of nutrition involves intermediate periods, but they can always be shifted in favor of any other type.

So, where to start feeding your baby at 6 months?

  • As a rule, vegetable purees are chosen as the first new product.
  • Babies on formula milk are sometimes advised to start with cereals, but only if they are gaining little weight and look thin.

Any unknown food should be offered with 1 teaspoon and gradually increased to the amount required for satiation. After about 2 weeks, a new product (vegetable puree) should completely replace one feeding with the main food (milk or formula).

To begin with, you can give the baby a try:

  1. or zucchini, these foods contain huge amounts of calcium and phosphorus.
  2. Contains a lot of beta-carotene, which helps digestion.

Carrots are also rich in vitamins, but when unripe they can cause an allergic reaction. Eggplants, spinach, legumes, beets and tomatoes should be transferred to next months, since they will only harm a weak stomach.

You need to add a few drops of vegetable oil to any vegetable puree so that the child’s body begins to gradually get used to this product.

What to feed a 7 month old baby

  • For breast-fed children, 7 months is the time to try cereal porridge for the first time.

Baby on artificial mixtures This type of food is best offered a little earlier: immediately after he has mastered vegetable purees.

The consistency of the porridge in the first four to five days should be very liquid; gradually it can be brought to the semi-solid state that is familiar to us.

The best cereals to start complementary feeding:

  • buckwheat,
  • oatmeal

Probably, many will be surprised that everyone’s favorite semolina porridge, which is so easy to prepare, is not on the list. The fact is that the substances contained in semolina can cause allergies or stomach upsets in a child. Therefore, it is better to postpone this porridge until a more mature age.

Amount of ingredients for preparing porridge:

1 teaspoon of cereal, 80 ml of milk (for breastfed children - expressed mother's milk, for formula-fed children - adapted milk formula), 20 ml of water.

Most babies refuse to eat unleavened cereals, so pediatricians allow adding a little sugar. It should not be abused.

Cooking method:

  1. Grind the cereal in a coffee grinder (or on a special grinder), add water to it and mix thoroughly;
  2. Bring the milk or diluted milk mixture to a boil and slowly add the cereal and water;
  3. stirring constantly, cook for 3 minutes (rice porridge - 5 minutes).

Offering the child, again, at first only 1-2 spoons. Best time to try porridge - in the morning, when the second feeding of the main diet usually takes place (between 9 and 11 o'clock). Gradually increasing the portion, you need to bring the amount of porridge to 150 g per day.

If for some reason young parents cannot prepare porridge on their own, it can always be purchased at a pharmacy or in the children's departments of supermarkets.

What to feed a baby at 8 months

At this age, pediatricians recommend introducing children to fermented milk products made from cow's milk. In fact, such food will not be completely unknown to the child, because for the past 8 months he has been quietly eating his mother’s milk or an adapted formula. However cow's milk contains allergens that can cause some trouble for young parents. Therefore, you need to give fermented milk products carefully, constantly monitoring the baby’s behavior.

It improves digestion and helps strengthen the immune system. As a test, you can offer your child one teaspoon of unsweetened kefir. It is necessary to gradually increase the portion over the course of a week.

It should be noted that not every kefir is suitable for babies. You need to either prepare it yourself from homemade milk, or purchase it in specialized baby food stores. The same applies to cottage cheese and yogurt.

Making kefir is easy: you need to bring the milk to a boil and cool it, then add a spoonful of starter (taken from high-quality kefir) and put it in a warm place, wait until the milk curdles.

If, then you should just put this kefir on the fire and cook a little. After the whey has separated, you need to squeeze out the curd and let it cool outside the refrigerator.

So, the child is already eating kefir and is ready to move on to cottage cheese. This product is also first given in the amount of one teaspoon, only it should be diluted with the same kefir.

It turns out that the baby receives both kefir and cottage cheese in acceptable quantities (50 ml of kefir + 80 g of cottage cheese).

  • At 8 months, it’s time for children to try juices.

In general, you should start offering fruit when the first tooth appears. In most children it appears by 7-8 months, but if it is not there, it does not matter! You can wait a little longer, and then still start giving fruit puree, even if the teeth still haven’t come out.

In the first days, it is better to give preference to fruit juices:

  1. apple
  2. or its mixtures (apple + rosehip, apple + pear, etc.).
  3. Then you can move on to juices with pulp (just not orange juice, which is one of the strongest allergens).

As always, we start with a spoon and gradually increase the volume. Up to a year, 100 ml per day is the maximum. Please note that such juices cannot be stored open for more than a day.

Fruit puree can be made from grated boiled or baked apple. For bottle-fed babies, a baked apple should be offered a little earlier than 8 months (at 6-7 months). The maximum share of fruit puree per day is 100 g.

What to feed a 9 month old baby

  • During this period, the child should receive one of the most nutritious foods - meat.

You need to start complementary feeding with dietary options:

  • chicken,
  • rabbit,
  • veal.

Moreover, it is the meat that needs to be given, not its broth. It is best to cook meat with vegetables: potatoes, onions and carrots.

Mash the potatoes, cool a little and give it to your child to try. Observe the body’s reaction for two days and, if no complications arise, you can offer the meat itself directly. It should also be given as part of a liquid puree; in this combination, heavy foods are digested much easier.

Before serving, be sure to grind the cooked meat with a blender, chopper or meat grinder. You can also cut it into small pieces and disassemble it into fibers, but a fragile stomach will digest such food many times longer.

The initial portion of meat is half a teaspoon. The amount increases gradually and up to a year should not exceed 5 teaspoons.

It should also be noted that meat cannot be baked in the oven, fried or stewed. It can only be boiled and steamed.

  • As early as 9 months, babies can be given chicken yolk.

This product contains many vitamins, but can cause allergies. Therefore, its consumption starts with ¼ teaspoon. It is highly undesirable for a child to eat more than half the yolk before one year of age.

Complementary feeding of bottle-fed children and children who are breast-fed is no different at 9 months. During this period, as a rule, the amount of vitamins entering the body equalizes.

What to feed a 10 month old baby

  • 10 months is the time for the first try of fish dishes.

This product is distinguished not only by its high phosphorus content, but also ideal composition amino acids. A child's stomach can easily digest fish, but sometimes it can cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, you need to offer fish in the morning, so that you can monitor the body’s reaction throughout the day.

Pediatricians say that children should eat fish at least once a week. However, you shouldn’t overdo it here either. It’s said once a week – so that’s how it should be.

White sea fish such as cod or hake are ideal for children's diets. But it can also be replaced with river representatives, if the baby does not have negative reactions.

Fish complementary feeding should be started with half a teaspoon; up to a year, its amount should increase to 50 g per day. You can serve fish as an independent dish with vegetable puree or porridge, or you can add puree to soup.

  • Even at 10 months, it is recommended to add a few crackers to vegetable soup or puree.

Children of this age are teething a lot, so a chicken leg (without meat and without small bones sticking out) or a bread crust will be useful. You need to put them in the baby’s hand and make sure he doesn’t choke.

What to feed a baby at 11 months

At 11 months, a child’s stomach can easily digest those foods that were beyond his ability at 6 months.

So, now you can include in your child’s diet such vegetables How:

  • eggplants,
  • tomatoes,
  • beet,
  • legumes,
  • White cabbage.

You can prepare them by boiling or steaming, you can also try stewing.

The baby should have been receiving vegetable oil since he was six months old, so by 11 months it does not cause problems.

At this time, parents should introduce their baby to new fruits and fruit purees. For example:

  • with banana
  • or plum.

Although orange is still prohibited. Overseas representatives like pineapples and kiwis should not be on the table of a little gourmet: they will bring the body a minimum of benefit and maximum harm.

If a child already has from 4 to 6 teeth, then he can easily cope with small pieces of food. Therefore, grinding it with a blender or meat grinder now makes no sense. You can simply chop the chicken and meat puree and completely replace it with a steamed cutlet or meatball.

You can leave small pieces of potatoes, cabbage or zucchini in vegetable purees and side dishes. But be sure to make sure your baby doesn’t choke.

  • Any baking becomes safe at 11 months.

The only point: you should not give bread that is still warm (recently baked) and products that have a long shelf life. Crackers in soup can now be replaced bread crumb. It should also be offered to your child as a complement to meat or fish.

When preparing meals, pediatricians allow parents to use herbs and sour cream.

What to feed a baby at 12 months

The baby is one year old. It is assumed that he can sit at the same table with adults and eat their food.

In fact, there are a number of products that a child at this time prohibited:

  • semi-finished products
  • chocolate,
  • sausages,
  • sausage,
  • fried foods,
  • spicy seasonings.

But now the toddler is allowed:

  • milk soup with noodles,
  • grated vegetables and fruits with sour cream and berries.
  • The diet also includes various kinds casseroles and puddings.

At 12 months, children no longer consider milk or formula a primary food, so they can be eliminated. But the amount of kefir should be increased to 150 ml per day; the whole chicken yolk is now available, and not just half of it. It is recommended to consume bread no more than 2 times a day.

And remember that all children are individual and have different food tolerances, as well as different taste preferences. Watch your child's reaction, and your little one will be healthy.

Currently, pediatricians advise, in accordance with WHO protocols, to feed the child only breast milk for the first 6 months. Healthy, ok developing baby, receiving breast milk, only at 6 months of age, according to WHO recommendations, should you begin to introduce complementary foods.

There are several reasons from 6 months:

  • Firstly, the baby is awake longer, sits independently, and therefore spends more energy. Breast milk alone cannot provide a baby with everything he needs. nutrients and vitamins.
  • Secondly, his digestive system is already better formed than in the first months of life, and can already digest other foods, except mother's milk. New products will further develop the motility of the digestive system and the production of enzymes.
  • Thirdly, a child at this age shows interest in food products adults in the process of learning about the world. Interest in food (the baby reaches out to dishes and food items, as if “begging”) is not in this case a manifestation of hunger is the desire to imitate adults. It will help accustom your baby to foods that are more complex in structure.

Upon reaching six months of age, the child should be gradually transferred to 5 feedings a day with 4-hour intervals between feedings.

Some mothers believe that if, then you can start complementary feeding from the age of 2-3 months. This is the wrong point of view. The baby's digestive system is not able to digest other foods besides mother's milk. At insufficient lactation The pediatrician should choose the child.

Where to start complementary feeding when breastfeeding?

If the child is not underweight, it is better to start complementary feeding with monocomponent vegetable puree.

The choice of the first course for complementary feeding depends on the baby’s condition. You can start complementary feeding with fruit puree (if there is no allergy). It is better to choose this first dish if the baby has a tendency to. If you are a child, then you can choose the first type of complementary food - buckwheat, corn, rice.

The first dose of a new dish should be small, about 0.5 tsp. (or even a quarter). You need to give new food to the baby first while he is hungry, and then breastfeed. Very gradually, the single dose is increased to bring it up to 150 g within 2 weeks, i.e. completely replace one breastfeeding.

After bringing the portion of the new product to the maximum recommended volume, the baby begins to be introduced to another product in the form of complementary foods. You can use ready-made purees of vegetables or fruits and porridge, or prepare these dishes for your baby yourself.

It is especially useful to steam vegetables and then grind them in a blender (or rub through a strainer). With this method of cooking, vegetables also contain better nutrients. The child does not yet know how to swallow thick food, so at first the puree should be liquid.

If your child does not like this new dish, you should not force-feed him. It’s better to take another vegetable and offer the one you don’t like after 3-4 weeks. There is no need to add sugar to fruit purees or salt to vegetable purees. Add half the yolk to the vegetable puree, starting with 1 drop and increasing to 1 tsp. for a full serving of puree (150 g).

To prepare porridge, the cereal must first be ground in a coffee grinder. First you need to cook porridge from one type of cereal, and after 3 weeks you can use a mixture of cereals. You can cook it in water (and add melted butter) or in breast milk.

Gradually, new products can replace the baby's daily breastfeeding. But there is no need to completely eliminate breast milk. They can supplement the baby's feeding with a small amount of the new product, and leave breastfeeding in the early morning and before bedtime. If the baby requires feeding at night, then you should also give him the breast.

In any case, mother's milk is . It is not only of particular value in its composition, but also contains growth factors, hormones and antibodies that provide immune protection to the child.

Quite often, the baby does not eat the recommended portion of complementary foods according to age. This is explained by the fact that interest in new things and the desire to imitate are not enough for the entire volume of the new dish. And the baby can satisfy his hunger with the usual naturally, i.e. mother's milk.

The child's interest must be taken into account. There is no need to try to feed the entire portion at any cost. Firstly, in this case the baby will suck less milk from the breast, which will lead to a decrease in its production and the extinction of lactation. Secondly, such feeding can lead to a complete loss of interest in food and poor appetite in the child's future.

The main goal of complementary feeding should be one thing - to form the natural eating behavior of the baby. Therefore, it is not so important whether the products and their quantities comply with the recommendations. It is necessary to take into account the desire of the baby. If parents do not pursue the goal of maintaining a quantitative portion of baby food, then an active interest in food will remain and breastfeeding will not be supplanted. In this case, the transition to eating from a common table will be gradual.

Recommendations for complementary feeding for 6-month-old artificial babies

Children receiving adapted milk formulas, in agreement with the pediatrician, begin to introduce complementary foods earlier - already at 4 or 5 months. By this age, the nutrients in formulas are no longer sufficient for full development child's body.

At 6 months, the baby is introduced to a second complementary food. If the child is already receiving vegetable and fruit purees, then dairy-free or dairy purees are introduced (depending on milk tolerance) with the addition of butter, juices (adjusted to 20–30 g), . And if porridge was used as the first complementary food, then puree is introduced. Do not get carried away with semolina porridge, which contributes to the development of anemia and rickets.

Gradually the range of dishes is expanding. For children, they can be prepared at home (by chopping boiled meat in a blender) or buy ready-made canned meat produced for baby food (paying attention to the expiration date).

Feeding regimen for a 6 month old baby

Organize food for the child With natural feeding at 6 months you can do this (this is the regimen followed by European nutritionists and pediatricians):

  • at 6 o’clock – breastfeeding;
  • at 10 o’clock – fruit puree (30 g) and supplementary feeding with breast milk;
  • at 14:00 – vegetable puree (150 g with vegetable oil) or porridge, freshly squeezed fruit juice (50 ml) or supplementary feeding with mother’s milk;
  • at 18:00 – fruit puree (30 g) and mother’s milk;
  • at 22:00 – breastfeeding.

For an artificial child Recommended feeding regimen:

  • at 6 o'clock - adapted mixture(milk or fermented milk);
  • at 10 o’clock – porridge with milk, butter and fruit puree;
  • at 14:00 – soup (with meat or vegetable broth), vegetable puree with the addition of vegetable oil and half an yolk, freshly squeezed fruit juice;
  • at 18:00 – milk mixture or cottage cheese, cookies;
  • at 10 p.m. - or an adapted mixture.

Taking into account the individual habits of the child, you can change the feeding time, but 4-hour intervals between feedings should be observed.

Summary for parents

Despite the fact that the main and most physiological nutrition of a child in the 1st year of life is mother’s milk, the time comes when the baby is recommended to introduce complementary foods. According to experts, this age is 6 months.

Many mothers try to introduce foods from the common table earlier and believe that by doing so they provide the child’s body with the necessary nutrients. In fact, this is not so: an incompletely formed digestive system is not yet capable of digesting such foods in the first half of life.

Even from 6 months, complementary foods should be introduced very gradually, starting with minimal doses and continuing to breastfeed the baby. Small portions are prepared (trained) digestive system to adult nutrition. From 6 months, the baby is transferred to 5 feedings a day at 4-hour intervals. All questions regarding complementary feeding should be discussed with your pediatrician.

The program “Doctor Komarovsky’s School” talks about the feeding and complementary feeding regime for small children:


At 6 months, the child’s horizons, attention, and needs become broader. The same thing happens with the diet. It is becoming more diverse. Formerly doctors It was advised to start complementary feeding at almost one month of age. Today their opinion has changed, they recommend changing the child’s menu at 6 months. As a rule, the baby’s diet during this period becomes more varied. Up until this point, he had only been drinking breast milk or formula.

If the child is sick or has recently been vaccinated, then it is better to postpone complementary feeding. Otherwise, his parents won’t even know why he has a fever. Now we’ll find out what a child’s menu should be at 6 months.

Mostly during this period we start giving vegetable purees. You can, of course, give fruit ones too. But then the little one will refuse to eat more nutritious dishes after eating sweets. To avoid allergic reactions and rashes in your baby, you must first give half a teaspoon of puree.

It is advisable to introduce complementary foods in the morning. If your baby develops a rash or something suspicious, you can take action immediately; this is quite difficult to do at night. Before giving your child a new food, it is necessary to study what allergic reactions can provide certain vegetables.

If everything is fine, then the dosage should be increased by a couple of teaspoons over the course of a week. You cannot introduce two or more new dishes into your baby’s diet at once. Let him get used to one first, after 2 weeks to the second, and so on. should be very finely chopped, then you can do it with small pieces (but very gradually) so that the child does not choke while eating.

Vegetable purees

Mothers often ask the question: “What to feed a baby at 6 months?” The first vegetable puree usually consists of potatoes, zucchini, carrots or cauliflower. If the child’s tolerance to these products is normal, then the vegetables can be mixed. For example, carrots with potatoes or zucchini. You can prepare different soups with vegetables, just be sure to grind them in a blender before serving.

Lean meat

After getting used to vegetables, your child can be offered lean meat. It also needs to be crushed and added to soups or purees. What can you give a 6 month old baby from meat? Veal and turkey are perfect for new complementary foods. You can cook soup for your baby using broth from this meat. Just first you need to strain it very well so that there is no fat. Every child will like veal or turkey. Making meat puree is not at all difficult. For example, veal needs to be cleaned of excess film, washed in large quantities water, cut into pieces and simmer until done.

A blender does not always grind meat well, so it is better to grind it 2-3 times through a meat grinder. After this procedure it turns out quite dry. To prevent the child from choking on it, you can pour a little broth to the desired consistency. Then put on low heat and bring to a boil. You need to add very little butter - 1-2 grams. A child's menu at 6 months gradually becomes more varied and balanced.

Porridge

What can you give a 6-month-old child, besides meat and puree? Porridge. They are very useful for the body of any person, especially children. This is already the beginning of the second complementary feeding after puree. Children love porridge. However, there is pearl barley and millet, which are more difficult to digest and chew, so these 2 types should not be given yet.

What can you give a 6 month old baby? If the child is underweight, frequent belching, then you need to start with semolina porridge. You shouldn’t consume it every day, since it contains quite a few vitamins, but there is enough starch, which can cause allergies.

If the child quite often loose stool, then it’s better to start complementary foods that normalize the intestines. For constipation, oatmeal porridge is suitable because, on the contrary, it will relax you. Buckwheat porridge is considered the healthiest. It can be given to children suffering from diathesis.

How to feed cereals?

There is no need to grind semolina porridge. All the rest should be ground well in a blender. Semolina is boiled in milk (water must be added). When the child gets used to such feeding, you can eliminate water completely.

Another porridge that is very healthy for a child is oatmeal. It contains phosphorus, iron and other substances necessary for the body. The main thing is that it is not only healthy, but also nutritious.

Fruit purees

What sweets should I feed my 6 month old baby? After the main courses, you can start pampering your baby with tasty things, for example, fruit purees. You should first give half or a quarter of a teaspoon, gradually increasing the gram to 50. After 2 weeks, you can introduce a new one. When the baby gets used to different purees, then they can be combined. For example, an apple with a carrot or a pear.

Doctors' opinion on this matter

Since mothers go with their children to the clinic until they are one year old, the doctor at the appointment should tell them what to feed the child at 6 months. Parents who are just having their first baby don’t know how and what to give their little one correctly so as not to harm him. They are happy to follow advice. Only today, doctors have different opinions about what it should be. Some argue that it is better to buy special canned food for children in pharmacies, others believe that it is more advisable to cook it yourself. But the mother must understand that, firstly, you can’t buy canned food, since the prices for them are high, and secondly, she prepared it herself and you know exactly what you are giving to your baby.

Cottage cheese

What else can you give a 6-month-old child, besides purees, cereals and meat? Of course, cottage cheese. It is necessary for the growing body, as it contains protein, calcium, phosphorus, which is necessary for strong joints, teeth, hair, etc. The main thing is that the child is not allergic to dairy products. Then the cottage cheese will be digested very easily.

It should be started with 5 grams, once a day, preferably at 16-18 hours. Thus bring to 50 grams. The same amount should be given regularly for up to a year. When the baby’s body gets used to cottage cheese, then it can be combined with fruit purees that are familiar to him. After a week, you can add cookies to the same dish. It will be just right for an afternoon snack.

Drinks for baby

What can you give a 6 month old baby to drink besides breast milk? Rosehip decoction is very useful for the baby, thirst is quenched well. You definitely need to drink water. Often children refuse it, but at least a few drops through a pipette must be given. Any juice, only homemade, not purchased.

You should start giving it with 2 drops per day, gradually increasing the dosage. Apple juice least likely to cause allergies, so it is advisable to start a new drink with it. When the child gets used to it, then you can give juice with pulp.

If a child suffers from constipation, then it is advisable to give plum, apple, apple with rosehip or pumpkin juice. Also, thanks to these drinks, the baby will suffer less from viral infections.

After the juice, you can add compotes of fresh berries and fruits. Kissel - berry or milk is also suitable, but not to quench your thirst, but for variety. You need to drink half an hour before or after meals. Under no circumstances should you give drink while eating. This makes it difficult to digest food.

From 6 months to one year, a child needs to drink at least 300 ml of liquid per day. You also need to accustom your baby to kefir. For the first time, 3 teaspoons is enough, after which you need to supplement with formula or breast milk. Throughout the day it is necessary to observe the baby how he reacted to the new product.

If the child is given insufficient fluids, dehydration may occur. Consuming too much makes it difficult for the kidneys to function. That is why every mother should control not only nutrition, but also how much her baby drinks.

Sample menu for a 6 month old baby

At 6 a.m., only breast milk or formula is given.

8.00 - porridge 100 gr. + butter 2 gr. and juice 50 ml.

10.00 - formula or breast milk.

12.00 - fruit puree 100-30 gr.

14.00 - vegetable puree 120 gr. + meat 20-30 gr.

16.00 - breast milk or formula.

18.00 - fruit puree 100-130 gr. or cottage cheese 50 gr.

20.00 - formula or breast milk.

Throughout the day, the child should be offered juices, teas, compotes, and so on.

This is not an exact menu, but only an approximate one. At this age, the child becomes more active. And mother's milk becomes very little for him. That is why every mother should think about what kind of nutrition she should have. active child. Parents can keep a diary where they can write down the baby’s meals for every day and stick to this menu. Then they will not get confused, and the food will become balanced and varied. In addition, you should remember that it is unacceptable to enter several products into the menu at one time. There is no need to rush in this matter, otherwise various problems are likely to arise (rash, tummy pain, moodiness). After all, a baby cannot immediately adapt to unusual food.

Schedule

In order to know exactly what to feed a child at 6 months, it is worth planning the meals by day.

1 day. Apple juice, buckwheat banana puree.

Day 2. Compotes, rice porridge, apple or pear broccoli or cauliflower, a little cottage cheese.

Day 3. Oatmeal with the addition of milk, preferably breast milk. Kissel, fruit puree - plum or pumpkin.

Day 4 Buckwheat porridge, mashed potatoes, kefir, fruit puree.

Day 5 Rice porrige. A little boiled egg yolk (less than half), jelly, zucchini puree, carrot juice.

The first and fourth feedings should consist of only breast milk or formula.

If you write down your child’s menu in this way, then it will be balanced and healthy. At six months of age, the baby gets used to new food, closer to 7 he already receives all the basic food products. At 6 months, you should not give porridge more than once. It is nutritious, so there is no need to be surprised if the child next feeding may refuse. There is no need to force him, it means that the previous food was enough for him. If a child constantly refuses a certain food, then he simply overate this product (or he simply does not like it). You need to give the baby time to forget about it and try again.

What should you feed a 6 month old baby if he has teeth? First peel the apple or carrot and let it chew, but only very carefully! There is no need to leave your baby unattended if he eats a vegetable or fruit. Important: it is advisable to start complementary feeding with vegetables, gradually moving on to cereals. Fruit purees and juices should be introduced after them. Meat in the diet should be present in very small quantities. Dairy products should be introduced after others. Egg yolk, citrus fruits, and strawberries can cause allergies, so they must be given very carefully. Chocolate under 3 years of age is not recommended at all.

Conclusion

Now you know what it should be. We hope that our advice will help you create proper diet. Remember that the right and balanced diet will ensure growth, activity and healthy image life.