Meals for a 7 month old baby menu. What products and how many should be on the menu of a seven-month-old baby

In the first year of life, the child develops very actively; as the baby grows, the digestive, circulatory, nervous systems, musculoskeletal skeleton, goes fast growth tissues and organs. When deciding what to feed a 7-month-old baby, you should know exactly what physiological processes in the baby’s body occur during this period. age period. In accordance with them, the diet of a 7-month-old child is formed in order to provide the body with the necessary nutrients.

Despite the individual development of each baby, there are general patterns that are important to consider in order to understand why and what to feed 7 one month old baby. So, after six months in children:

• By 7-8 months, the intestinal microflora is practically formed, which makes it easier to adapt to new types of food and process them more successfully;
• Terminates frequent regurgitation food. The valve between the esophagus and the intestines is almost formed, and the child spends most of his waking hours in an upright position, which helps to better retain food masses in the intestines;
• Significantly increases physical activity, the baby crawls a lot, tries to stand, actively prepares to walk, expending a lot of energy in the process. Only mother's milk or adapted milk formulas are not able to provide the child’s body with nutrients for normal functioning and growth in the required volume;
• At 6-7 months, teething begins, for the formation of which babies require an additional supply of calcium and vitamins necessary for its absorption.

Therefore, it is necessary to introduce new products into the diet of a 7-month-old child that will provide him with sufficient quantities of nutrients, vitamins, micro- and macroelements.

What to feed a 7 month old baby: menu

Despite the fact that the main food for a 7-month-old child is still breast milk or infant formula, to improve the quality of nutrition, porridge, meat and fish dishes, cottage cheese, kefir, cheese, purees from various vegetables, and fresh fruits should be included in the diet.

It is important, before feeding a 7-month-old baby new complementary foods, to monitor his reaction to unusual foods. To do this, each new dish is introduced gradually, starting with small quantity, and if there are no allergic manifestations, loss of appetite, or digestive problems, the serving size can be increased.

Let's consider at what time and what to feed a 7 month old baby. breastfeeding. Sample daily menu for a baby:

• 6:00-7:00 – breastfeeding;
• 10:00-11:00 – vegetable soup with meat broth (20 g), vegetable puree with half a hard-boiled yolk, and a teaspoon of vegetable oil, preferably olive or corn (150 g), meat, fish or liver soufflé ( 10-30 g), fruit juice(5-6 teaspoons);
• 14:00-15:00 – breastfeeding, fruit juice (5-6 teaspoons);
• 18:00-19:00 – buckwheat, rice or oatmeal porridge prepared with milk or water (150 g), freshly prepared baby cottage cheese (4 teaspoons) or kefir (50-70 g), fruit puree or peeled apple (3 tablespoons);
• 22:00-23:00 – breastfeeding.

Milk and cereal porridges – good source vegetable protein, starch, fiber, minerals and vitamins, if the baby is allergic to cow or goat milk Porridges are boiled in water and diluted with expressed milk or baby formula until medium thick. Buckwheat contains a lot of vitamins and iron, and rice contains starch. These porridges do not contain gluten, which usually causes allergic reactions in children, so they are the first to be introduced into the menu. You should start feeding cereals by preparing them from one cereal; later you can use a cereal mixture. After buckwheat and rice, you can start complementary feeding oatmeal, but this must be done with extreme caution, since cereals contain gluten and can cause allergies.

Before feeding your 7 month old baby semolina porridge, it is important to know that semolina V large quantities contains proteins of extremely low biological value, starch and gluten. It contains virtually no dietary fiber that babies need, and low content fat Therefore, in modern pediatrics it is reasonably recommended to introduce semolina porridge into a child’s diet as late as possible.

Vegetable puree is prepared in the same way as for children. early age, but from 7 months it can be mixed with chopped boiled meat (rabbit, veal) or beef liver.

The daily diet at 7 months must include baby cottage cheese and kefir, which can be prepared at home or taken from a dairy kitchen.

What to feed a 7 month old baby if milk is gone

In the seventh month of feeding, the mother may begin another lactation crisis: In this case, if you follow the pediatrician’s recommendations, milk usually comes back. But if lactation is not restored, you need to decide what to feed your baby at 7 months if milk has disappeared.

The baby was breastfed until 7 months, and this is very good. This means that in the first months of his life he received all the necessary nutrients, and due to the antibodies contained in breast milk, he strengthened his immunity well. The child is quite ready to switch to formula feeding without any particular harm to his health. When switching to artificial feeding, you should choose the most suitable formula for your baby and reduce the number of feedings from 6 to 5 times, since it takes more time to completely digest the formula.

What to feed a 7 month old baby artificial feeding, approximate time and menu:

By 7 months the baby sits confidently, so all food except breast milk or mixtures, he should already be given from a spoon. It is good to purchase a special children's chair and place it in the shared kitchen. This way your child will learn skills adult life, better adapt socially and recognize the world. You should also not stop your baby’s desire to pick up a spoon and try to eat on his own.

You have correctly determined what to feed a 7-month-old baby if your baby is active, develops well, enthusiastically explores the world around him and does not experience digestive problems. He gets enough balanced diet, providing the body with the nutrients necessary for growth and development. In the seventh month, children on average gain 500-600 g of weight and grow by 2 cm.

Video from YouTube on the topic of the article:

Although the diet of seven-month-old babies no longer consists only of mother’s milk or adapted milk formula, many foods are prohibited for them. In order not to harm the health of your child, you should be very careful when preparing dishes, taking into account what you can feed a child at 7-8 months and what you cannot.

Products included in the daily menu of a child aged 7 months should provide his body with all the necessary nutrients, but at the same time not overload the imperfect digestive system. At the same time, the baby should not be given foods with a high allergic potential, as they can cause severe consequences for the life and health of the baby.

In this article we will tell you what you can give your baby to eat and drink at 7 months, and which foods are better to wait a little longer.

What should a 7 month old baby eat?

A seven-month-old baby should eat at approximately the same time every day. If you haven't done this before, now is the time to purchase a special high chair. It is much more comfortable to feed a 7 month old baby on this chair than in your arms.

In addition, some toddlers at this age are already beginning to show a desire to eat on their own. If your child also reaches for the spoon, you should not prevent him in any way. Stock up on a set of unbreakable and safe children's dishes in advance and give your baby complete freedom of action.

Immediately after waking up, seven-month-old babies still eat mother's milk or an adapted milk formula. After about 4 hours, your baby should receive porridge for breakfast. In this case, it is better to give preference dairy-free porridge industrial production. If you decide to cook porridge for your child yourself, cook it in water.

Not all cereals can be eaten during this period. Feel free to offer your son or daughter gluten-free buckwheat, rice and oatmeal, with everything else better to wait a little longer.

Along with the porridge, you can treat your baby to fruit puree or pureed fresh fruit. At 7 months, green pears and apples, bananas, peaches, apricots and plums are allowed. Fresh fruits are undoubtedly very beneficial for child's body However, citrus fruits and other exotic species can harm the little one and cause severe allergies.

Also, a child at 7 months eats all the same vegetables as before - potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, pumpkin, zucchini. You can carefully add green peas to this list if this product does not cause excessive gas formation and abdominal discomfort in your baby.

If your baby is already familiar with meat, he should now eat 30 grams of this product daily. For children who are on natural feeding, it is recommended to introduce meat a little later - at approximately 8 months. at this age are strictly prohibited.

Finally, some pediatricians advise sometimes pampering a seven-month-old baby with egg yolk. It is best to give preference to quail eggs, and offer your baby no more than half a yolk in one day.

As at any other age, a toddler who is 7 months old should receive sufficient quantity liquids. In addition to mother's milk or infant formula, be sure to let your baby drink regular boiled water, as well as fruit juices.

Today, many mothers, for one reason or another, do not have the opportunity to breastfeed, so the problem of drawing up proper diet for the baby. This question becomes especially important by the age of 7 months, when the baby’s mental and mental abilities sharply increase. physical activity: the baby is already sitting, perhaps crawling or even standing on legs, holding onto a support. There is an intensive process of learning about the world.

At this age, the child's body expends a lot of energy. To make up for it, the child needs a full menu that will bring him maximum benefit. In order to compose approximate diet nutrition of a child at 7 months, you need to figure out which products are mandatory for him..

Show all

Differences in the introduction of complementary foods during breastfeeding and artificial feeding

The menu for a 7-month-old baby who is bottle-fed (IV) has a much greater variety of products than the menu for a 7-month-old baby who is breastfed (BF). This is not surprising, because nursing mothers introduce the first complementary foods to their child much later - at about 5-6 months. For such children, mother's milk is the main component in the daily diet.

Artificial babies are introduced to complementary foods much earlier. This is necessary to replenish those essential substances that are in breast milk, but not in formulas. In addition, due to the mixture in such children digestive system begins to adapt to eating adult food earlier, and therefore problems in the form allergic reaction less likely at this age.

So, what foods can you feed a seven month old baby if he is growing up on formula:

• porridge with water or mixtures (gluten-free);
• fermented milk - cottage cheese and kefir;
• meat puree:
• egg yolk;
• vegetable and fruit puree;
• juices and compotes;
• cookies, drying, crackers.

Based on the total amount of food, the daily amount of food for a 7-month-old baby is 1/8 of his weight. The resulting number must be divided by the number of meals (at this age 5 times) - this is the norm for feeding the baby once. This necessarily includes formula feeding.





Rules for introducing adult food

The appropriate time for introducing complementary foods should be determined strictly individually, depending on the child’s condition. Before doing this, you should definitely consult with the doctor observing the baby.



The health of her baby depends on the mother’s responsible approach to this issue. It is important to adhere simple rules introduction of complementary foods, which will be relevant throughout the entire period of introducing new types of products into the diet.

• Enter New Product should be done very carefully, starting with half a teaspoon . If there is no allergic reaction, then after two weeks the baby can eat its full portion, which corresponds to the norm. of this age. One feeding of a child at 7 months consists of approximately 200 grams of food. Based on this, the volume of one specific product should be calculated.
• You cannot give two or more new types of foods at the same time, since in the case of an allergy it will be difficult to determine what exactly the child reacted to.
• At seven months, the baby is actively teething, which may be accompanied by an increase in temperature, loose stools and other “delights”. Therefore, mothers are strongly recommended to stick to their previous diet during this period without introducing anything new. The same can be said about the timing of routine vaccinations.
• A baby's food at this age should have the consistency of a puree, which can be obtained using a blender or strainer. But if sometimes small soft pieces come across, then it’s okay. The child should gradually get used to coarser food.
• Preferably new food give in the first half of the day, during which the food reaction could be monitored.

When introducing foods, you should try to maintain the same diet typical for 7 months of age. You should not overload the baby’s stomach at night - it is better to feed him with formula in the morning and evening to relieve digestion after hard work.

Some mothers want to transfer their child completely to adult food. This should under no circumstances be done, since infant formula still remains the main source of beneficial nutrients and vitamins. Depending on appetite, the baby is fed it 2-3 times a day or even more. Regular food on at this stage for now it is only an addition to the main diet.





A bit of ethics

The child is growing before our eyes. At the age of 7 months there is active cognition environment. Looking at the parents, the baby learns how to behave in society. Therefore, it is important to instill in him useful skills and good manners from an early age.

1. 1. The child should eat in sitting position. For their child, parents can purchase a special feeding table that meets safety requirements. This table is very convenient not only for the baby, but also for his mother.
2. 2. Feeding must be done with a spoon. If a child takes a spoon from his mother to “work” with it on a plate, do not interfere with him. This way he will gradually develop his hand and learn to eat on his own.
3. 3. If the baby wants to familiarize himself with the contents of the plate in the traditional way for children, do not interfere with him. There are food-stained walls essential attribute presence of a child in the house.
4. 4. No need to force feed, against your will. Better baby keep yourself occupied with something and put a spoon in your mouth in between times, rather than trying to achieve this through screaming and crying.
5. 5. You should personally set an example of table manners.





Main products for the menu

The diet of a child on IV at 7 months must necessarily contain the main categories of products that will help the baby grow strong and healthy. Let's look at each category in more detail.



Porridge is our strength

Porridge for a 7 month old baby is the main source of carbohydrates. At this age, he has probably already become acquainted with gluten-free cereals, which are healthy at any age. What kind of porridges are cooked from these cereals:

• Buckwheat is the main source of iron and other trace elements. The kids always like it.
• Rice - contains not only proteins and vitamins, but also envelops the walls of the stomach and intestines, protecting them from irritation. Good for infants with loose stools.
• Corn is one of the main products for allergy sufferers; it contains iron, potassium and other beneficial substances. It is a good prevention against constipation.



These cereals should be on the menu of every bottle-fed baby at 7 months. They are hypoallergenic. They can be boiled in water, vegetable broth, or followed by the addition of a mixture.

Russian pediatricians agree that gluten-free cereals should be introduced to children after 1 year of age. The only exception is oatmeal, famous for its beneficial properties. It, like all new products, should be introduced carefully, without haste. You can add a little bit to the main cereals, gradually bringing it to age norm.

Vegetable puree is a source of fiber

Along with cereals, it is one of the first complementary foods for infants. A child at 7 months should continue to receive vegetables as an irreplaceable source of fiber, beneficial for every tummy. Vegetable purees are easily digestible and do not have an irritating effect on the intestines.



Before six months, the baby has already tried zucchini, cauliflower and broccoli - leaders in baby food. Now he can be offered carrots and pumpkin - sources of retinol (vitamin A). A little later - try potatoes, but only a little at a time, as they strengthen the stool. By 8-9 months - corn puree, very tasty and sweet.

You can mix vegetable purees with a small amount of pea and bean puree - sources of vegetable protein. It is better not to offer them individually, as they are known digestive irritants. But in combination with vegetables they are absorbed quite well.

You can add half a teaspoon of vegetable oil (sunflower, corn, olive or flaxseed) to the puree. A small pinch of salt, literally a few crystals, is allowed.



Meat is a must

The menu of a 7-month-old child should contain a meat dish every day. Meat is a source of protein and iron, which is necessary to prevent the development of anemia. Turkey, rabbit, veal (lean beef) are suitable for this age. You can try chicken, remembering that it is an allergenic product. Other types of meat are heavy food for the baby, for which he is not yet ready.

At home, the meat should be thoroughly boiled and then chopped using a blender. If a child suffers from allergies, it is recommended to boil the meat twice, draining the primary broth. When preparing puree, it is recommended to add water or meat broth to it so that the consistency becomes semi-liquid.



It is permissible to mix vegetable and meat purees - the baby will certainly like this dish. Or you can cook light soups in broth with the addition of a small amount of cereal. This will diversify the baby’s diet and teach him to eat proper lunches.

Egg yolk for the prevention of rickets

To avoid an allergic reaction, pediatricians often prescribe yolk for feeding infants quail egg. If there is no reaction, then you can smoothly switch to the yolk chicken egg. Protein up to a year is not recommended, as it is considered a strong allergen.



The egg must be hard-boiled (about 10 minutes) - soft-boiled or in a bag is prohibited for small children. The baby only needs to boil a fresh egg. To distinguish fresh from stale, just put it in water: in the first case, it will immediately sink, and in the second, it will float.

Egg yolk unusually rich in vitamins and minerals. It is most valued for the presence of vitamin D3, which prevents the development of rickets in infants. The yolk also contains potassium, calcium and phosphorus, which are necessary for the growing body to strengthen bones. Vitamins include retinol (A), tocopherol (E), niacin (PP), as well as some B vitamins.

It is advisable to introduce this product to IV children at approximately 5-6 months, and for breastfeeding children at 8-9 months. To do this, divide it into eight parts and give one part mixed with porridge or vegetable puree. At seven months, you need to distribute two chicken yolks per week, that is, you can give the child about 1/3 of a yolk or ½ of a yolk 3-4 times a week per day.



Dairy products

A child's diet must include dairy products. For children under one year old, these are cottage cheese and kefir. These foods are rich in calcium, minerals and protein.



These products are quite heavy for children’s digestion, so their daily norms are relatively small: for cottage cheese - no more than 30 grams, and for children’s kefir - about 100 milliliters. For the first time, both products should be introduced, starting with half a teaspoon, gradually increasing to the daily norm.

If a child has developed an allergy to fermented milk products, the entire dairy diet containing cow's milk protein, including butter, should be discontinued.



Butter - to improve taste

If you are not allergic to lactose, in the seventh month it is very good to add about half a teaspoon of butter to the porridge. When purchasing it, you should pay attention that it is oil and not a spread. It should not contain vegetable fat.

By seven months, an artificial baby is most likely already receiving apple, pear and banana purees - these fruits are ideal for the first year of life, as they improve cardiac function and increase iron levels in the blood. If the time of year allows, you can try giving a peach or apricot. It is not recommended to give imported fruits and berries, as they may be treated with preservatives, to which the baby may have an allergic reaction.

At this age, it is allowed to give the baby juices - apple and pear. At an earlier age, this should not be done, since the fragile intestines can be severely irritated by the acids contained in the juices. Start adding juice from half a teaspoon, after diluting it with boiled water in a 1:1 ratio, and bring it to a volume of 50-60 milliliters.

At this age, juices can be given separately or served with porridge. You can cook compotes, which are also loved by all children.



Feeding regimen for a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby

The menu for a breastfed baby at 7 months contains less variety of products than for their bottle-fed peers. So, knowing now what a seven-month-old baby can and should eat, as well as his sample schedule day, you can compose for him daily ration nutrition.

This table shows sample menu child for one day. It is listed in some children's medical records. If desired or necessary, products can be added or removed every day.



If the child does not get enough to eat, it is allowed to increase the single serving or add one feeding. For any questions regarding diet, please contact your pediatrician.

What to do if your child has allergies

Unfortunately, in last years There are more and more allergic children, even from early infancy. If your baby is one of these, then when preparing his diet, you must take this factor into account. Some products will have to be either completely removed or replaced with others. For example, cow's milk products can be replaced with goat's milk products.

It would be ideal to contact an allergist, who will not only prescribe tests to identify specific allergens, but also suggest the necessary diet appropriate for the child’s age.



Now, having understood the basic diet of a seven-month-old baby, it will be easier for mothers to properly prepare food for their child. And although even among pediatricians there is no consensus on many issues regarding baby food However, only the mother can decide exactly what will be best for her child.

There are many resources on the Internet where you can learn everything about child development, for example, the website of Dr. Komarovsky, Mama Lara, or regional blogs of pregnant women and accomplished happy moms. By studying the information, mommy will be able to take note of the main points for her and later apply them to the benefit of herself and her child.

Every mother strives to give the best to her child. Control everything, especially the process of feeding it. With the gradual expansion of the diet, the mother for the first time thinks about recipes for dishes for a 7-month-old baby. So what can you cook yourself?

How to cook porridge for 7-month-old babies?

All porridge recipes for children 7 months old come down to one thing - at the stage of introducing complementary foods, it should be liquid. And it is extremely important to learn how to cook it correctly. The child’s first porridge should be 5%, and is prepared at the rate of 5 g of cereal (teaspoon) per 100 ml of liquid. A couple of weeks after the introduction of the first porridge, its concentration may be greater and amount to 8 - 10% (1.5 - 2 teaspoons).

There are quite a few ways to cook porridge, but the main thing is to properly prepare the cereal first. Any cereal must first be ground into flour. The best assistant There will be a coffee grinder for this. For busy mothers who value their own free time, it is better to use commercially produced baby cereals, which differ correct processing, and are additionally enriched with minerals and vitamins.

After cooking, according to the correct calculation, it is recommended to pass the porridge through a sieve, so that there are no lumps left and the baby does not choke. In ready-made porridge, add no more than 5 g of butter per serving.

Recipes for compotes for babies after six months

The first compote for a child should be one-component - from green apples, no added sugar. As soon as the baby gets used to this drink, it will be possible to brew two-component ones, but only using light and green fruits, for example, apples and pears.

You need to cook the compote at the rate of one medium apple and one pear per half liter of water. Rinse the fruit thoroughly, remove the core and cut into small pieces. You should not use imported apples; local ones are better. Such products contain more vitamins and fewer pesticides. Perfect option- apples and pears that grew in your own garden.

Having cut the fruit and poured the required amount of water, the pan is placed on low heat, and after boiling, the gas is immediately turned off. At closed lid, the compote should cool on its own, but the lid must not be opened.

For a richer taste, the cooked fruit can be crushed with an immersion blender and the mixture passed through a sieve. There are practically no vitamins and minerals left in the pulp itself; they pass into the liquid itself - compote. But by giving such a drink to your baby, he will also receive dietary fiber.

IN winter period During times when there are no fresh fruits, the child can make compote from dried fruits, but the main thing is that the apple variety is green or yellow. For the first time, it is necessary to give compote to a child with a teaspoon; if the baby’s reaction is normal, it can gradually be increased to the age norm - 100 ml per day.

After some time, you can make more complex compotes, using prunes (especially if the child is prone to constipation), peaches, etc.

What else can you cook for babies at 7 months: recipes

A 7-month-old child still has a limited diet of vegetables, fruits, and cereals. You can combine these products with each other and offer them to your baby. Typically, kids like rice with vegetables, potatoes combined with broccoli, carrots, etc. They can also be combined with each other. different cereals, provided they are well tolerated individually.

How to cook soup for 7-month-old babies?

Vegetable soup for a child of 7 months is still prohibited, the period of its introduction is 9 - 12 months. Only from this time can you prepare soups for your child yourself. The first soups should be liquid in vegetable broth with the addition of salt and breast milk (if the baby receives breast milk).

Broths cooked with celery and carrots have great taste and aroma. Soups can be vegetable - potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, it is permissible to add vegetables - rice, buckwheat, etc. Any soup for a child should be crushed - put through a sieve.

It is permissible to add baby cream to soups, vegetable oil, chicken egg yolk, based on age recommendations.

How to cook meat for 7 month old babies?

The time for introducing meat into a child’s diet is from 8 months, starting with low-fat varieties - for example, veal, beef, turkey, offal is allowed from 10 months. Many mothers try to prepare all the complementary foods for their baby on their own.

If it is quite possible and quite easy to prepare vegetable or fruit puree, then with meat puree pretty hard. It will be necessary to cook the beef until full readiness, divide it into fibers, grind thoroughly with a blender, pass through a sieve. And all these difficulties in order to give the child a teaspoon of meat puree.

It is much easier to buy ready-made - industrially produced, which was prepared according to all the rules, under sterile conditions, with additional enrichment with vitamins, iron and minerals.

How to prepare cottage cheese for babies aged 6 months and older?

You can introduce cottage cheese into your child’s diet from the middle, towards the end of the 8th month. Until this time, giving cottage cheese to your child is highly undesirable. But still, until this time, mothers can practice and learn how to cook cottage cheese on their own.

Seven-month-old babies are inquisitive, active and quite independent. They are tirelessly busy exploring the world around them, which requires special attention from parents. A more active lifestyle requires a change in the child’s diet; he needs more nutrients. The feeding standards that previously suited him cannot fill this need. Therefore, a child’s menu at 7 months should be more varied.

The baby does not stop feeding on mother's milk or specialized formulas. Its gradually enriched new food, characteristic of “adult” cuisine, during this period it is important to properly accustom the baby to new foods.

The norm for food consumption at this age is 1000-1100 g per day. In the menu of a 7-month-old breastfed baby, the amount of mother's milk should be 900-1000 ml.

To calculate necessary for the child the norm of food consumption, you need to divide his body weight by 8. For example, if the baby’s weight is 8 kg, then his daily food intake is 1 kg.

At seven months of age, the child should receive complementary foods daily. This can be vegetable or fruit puree, liquid milk porridge, yolk, cottage cheese.

The norms for food consumption developed by doctors and nutritionists are advisory in nature. It must be taken into account that the amount of food eaten may depend not only on the weight of the baby, but also on its individual characteristics:

• physical activity, mobility;
• physique;
• metabolic rate.

While monitoring the baby and assessing whether he is getting enough nutrition, parents should monitor how quickly the child gains weight, how many times he urinates, and how often he passes stool. Insufficient or unbalanced nutrition can lead to negative consequences:

• vitamin deficiency;
• decreased immune defense of the body;
• rickets;
• anemia;
• developmental delay.

Doctors remind that it is important not only to feed children, but also to prevent the appearance of excess weight, which will interfere with fully learning to crawl, walk and get acquainted with the outside world. This may cause physical and mental development. With age, body weight may return to normal. Predisposition to obesity sometimes lasts a lifetime.

Differences in nutrition between infants and artificially raised infants

Often, mothers believe that if they have a sufficient level of lactation to seven month old baby was well-fed, then there is no need to feed him.

To make it clear to parents what a child’s diet should be at 7 months, there are developed complementary feeding schemes:

Pediatricians say: if a child at this age willingly drinks mother's milk, the body still requires vitamins and minerals. The baby can get them with new ones, healthy products nutrition.

Therefore, breastfed children need to be introduced to complementary foods. This should be done carefully: starting with small portions.

The needs of babies on artificial or mixed feeding, specialized milk formulas cease to fully satisfy at 4-5 months. Diet of children in the seventh month of life and approximate quantity The food consumed is no longer the same as the menu of peers who are fed breast milk.

The feeding regimen for infants and formula-fed babies is the same. Feeding frequency: 5 times a day. The breaks between them should be less than 4 hours.

New foods to introduce into the diet

Diet seven month old baby enrich gradually. First, vegetable purees are introduced into it, a week later - porridge, a few weeks later - cottage cheese, yolk, and meat dishes. Kefir is introduced last.

Vegetable purees

The best choices for first foods are zucchini, carrots, broccoli and pumpkin. After the child gets used to these products, you can gradually introduce potatoes and beets. The puree must be ground until smooth, without adding salt or spices.

Porridge

By the age of 7 months, many children are already familiar with some types of cereals. The most useful are:

• buckwheat porridge, rich in iron and other beneficial microelements;
• rice porridge, which is highly nutritious and suitable for those prone to loose stools kids;
• corn porridge, which is well accepted by allergy sufferers, does not contain gluten.

Various types of cereals should be present in children's menu daily.

Egg yolk

Yolk is an allergenic product, so it must be administered with caution. The first time you can give 1/8 part and monitor the baby’s reaction. Subsequently, portions can be increased to half a yolk per day. This product is rich in iron, phosphorus, and vitamins.

Meat

Meat is an important source of protein, iron, magnesium, potassium, and B vitamins. It is recommended for children with low weight and anemia. Meat products are introduced into the children's diet in the form of canned food, or prepared at home. Babies of the first year of life are allowed to eat turkey, rabbit, beef, veal and chicken. You should not consume offal at this age.

Fermented milk products

Pediatricians believe that children under 1 year of age should not be given water. cow's milk, as it can cause diathesis and is difficult to digest. But fermented milk products - great choice for seven month old babies. Cottage cheese is good for children's bodies due to its rich calcium content, and kefir helps digestion.

How to give your child new foods and dishes

It’s good if the child is happy to try and eat new foods with appetite. When introducing complementary foods, parents should follow the following rules:

1. You cannot force a child to eat if he refuses. It is worth trying to offer your baby new food later. He may be full, he may be teething, or a new food may be hot.
2. When introducing, gradualness is important. Each dish should contain no more than 1 new ingredient in small quantities.
3. Another secret proper feeding- homogeneous consistency of food. There should be no lumps or separate pieces in it. Products should be passed through a blender or rubbed through a sieve.
4. The best time to try a new product is breakfast or lunch. Until the evening, parents have the opportunity to observe how the food is digested.
5. After feeding, you can give your baby compote or juice to drink. It is better to give water to drink between feedings.
6. The child should be gradually taught to eat not with his hands, but with a spoon.

Child's diet and menu for every day of the week

Pediatricians and psychologists advise getting used to a routine starting from an early age. To do this, the diet can be divided into 5 meals:

• 6.00-7.00 - first breakfast;
• 10.00-11.00 - second breakfast;
• 14.00-15.00 - lunch;
• 18.00-19.00 - afternoon snack;
• 22.00-23.00 - dinner.

The first breakfast and the last meal before bed should include light food. The baby should receive the main amount of calories during the day. If the established feeding schedule deviates from the generally accepted one, and the child feels great, there is no need to change it.

Adults should remember the need for regular nutrition. The intervals between meals should not be more than 4 hours.

To help mothers, tables have been developed with approximate daily menu, taking into account the age and needs of children. As the first and last feeding, the diet should contain either formula.

Recipes for delicious and healthy dishes

Many mothers of seven-month-old babies are in a hurry to fill their cookbooks with useful and delicious dishes. Here are some recipes:

1. Oatmeal with pumpkin. You will need: 15 g of porridge, 50 ml of water and milk, 50 g of pumpkin pulp, a little butter. Peel and rinse the pumpkin, cut into small pieces, add water and simmer for 30 minutes under the lid. Add cereal, milk and leave on low heat for another 20 minutes. Pass the finished dish through a blender.
2. Creamy soup with zucchini and cauliflower. You will need 100 g of zucchini and cauliflower, 200 ml of water. Wash the vegetables, cut into small pieces, and cook. Grind in a blender.
3. Fruit apple and pear puree. You can prepare this dish yourself. It is a replacement for canned products. You will need: 250 g of apples and pears, 600 ml of water. Wash, peel, cut the fruits, add water, cook until tender, rub through a sieve or grind until smooth using a blender.

Knowing what and how to feed your baby is extremely useful. Proper nutrition and a regimen instilled from an early age is the key to health and normal development child.