In order for the baby to enter the adult world with the greatest comfort, adults should worry that this process happens very delicately, including the familiarity of the baby with adult food.
To begin with, parents should understand that there is no strict framework within which a child should definitely be introduced to food. There is no one right product to give a baby on the first day of feeding. Parents should consider that all children are individual, each of them is a person with his own needs and preferences. In this connection, there are only general recommendations from advisers on infant feeding, which it is desirable to take into account.
First lure
Most of the parents, long before the introduction of the first feeding, begin to figure out how best to arrange this stage of life, how not to harm the baby and, without injuring the children's psyche and gastrointestinal tract, start taking adult food.
To begin with, it is worth determining the approximate age, which WHO UNICEF indicates as the most favorable for the introduction of the first feeding. This is the age from 5 to 7 months. It is believed that it is during this period that the child himself and his gastrointestinal tract are ready for the gradual introduction of complementary foods.
How to determine that the time of feeding has come?
Indeed, a period of two months is too vague a framework. When, after all, is it worth it to introduce complementary foods? How not to get confused and not to make the baby refuse further feeding in the future?
To do this, you need to monitor the signs of the child’s readiness for adult food. These include the following:
- the child is interested in adult food, pulls the pens to the plates of the parents;
- well, if the child has already erupted at least one tooth, but this is an optional indicator. For puree foods, teeth are not needed;
- it is necessary to wait for the moment when the baby’s weight will be twice as much as at birth;
- it is important that the child already knows how to sit for a while;
- it is important that the child already knows how to make it clear that he does not want to eat it (i.e. turn away or remove the spoon with handles);
- at the time of feeding, the child should be completely healthy;
- at the time of the introduction of complementary foods, the child should not be vaccinated for at least 3 days.
Parents should understand that the main paramount task of introducing complementary foods for a child is not a nutritional function, but a pedagogical one. The child needs to be interested in a new type of food, otherwise he may have a violation of eating behavior.
Another important point in the field of feeding is the introduction of microdoses. You need to start introducing a new product with half a teaspoon, every day increasing the dose by half a teaspoon. It is necessary to bring the introduction of the product to three teaspoons. No need to offer the child the whole jar at once! The baby's digestive tract can not cope with such a load and may fail. The body will not be able to gain great momentum in the processing of new products from breast milk (or mixture) in such a short time.
Therefore, it is very important to introduce complementary foods in stages.
The algorithm of the introduction of the first feeding
- Feeding is given before feeding (then fed with breast milk or a mixture on demand).
- Only one new product is introduced (monocrup, monopure).
- Food should be mashed.
- Each product is introduced within 5-6 days (during this time it is necessary to monitor the appearance of any reactions: allergic, changes in stool and others).
First Nutrition Product List
What foods are better to start complementary foods with? There are several opinions on this subject. Some experts argue that it is better to start with dairy-free cereals, while others believe that it is necessary to start with mashed vegetables.
In fact, there is no fundamental difference in this matter. But children who are gaining weight heavily should start complementary foods with porridge. And for children who have no problems with weight gain, it will be better to start complementary foods with mashed vegetables (zucchini and broccoli). Fruits are introduced last.
List of vegetables for the first feeding:
- Zucchini.
- Broccoli.
- Cauliflower.
- Pumpkin.
- Potatoes.
List of cereals for the first feeding:
- Buckwheat (dairy-free).
- Rice (dairy-free).
- Corn (dairy-free).
Wheat and oat are introduced a month later.
List of fruits for the first feeding:
- Apple.
- Pear.
- Prunes
- Banana.
- Peach.
It is better to start with those fruits that are characteristic of our latitudes.
Later they begin to introduce meat of turkey, chicken, rabbit. Then dairy products (cottage cheese and kefir) are introduced.
The child refuses to feed
At five months, this phenomenon is quite normal. If a child refuses to feed at 5 months, he is simply not ready. It's too early. Usually, parents feed at 4-5 months of age, who, not having studied the issues of baby food, listened to the opinion of the older generation. Yes, indeed, our parents and our grandmothers introduced complementary foods to their children at the age of 4 months. Then it was considered the norm. Yes, and women in the 60-90s had no choice. At that time, women did not have the opportunity to feed the baby with breast milk for a long time, so they went to forced measures. And our parents have already borrowed the experience of their parents, not having the necessary literature on the nutrition of babies.
Now there is a large number of studies on the topic of complementary foods, where advice is clearly given not to introduce it before the 6-month-old age of the child.
It happens that a child refuses to feed at 6 months. Parents waited a long time for this day, stocked up with all kinds of jars, plates, spoons and bibs, and the child, grimacing on his pretty face, clearly makes it clear that he is not going to eat it. Parents in panic: "How so? It's time! WHO recommends!"
Calm, only calm!
In fact, in this case, do not worry too much. WHO gives relative recommendations, which can vary depending on the individual differences of the babies. Every child is a person. And it is quite possible that today he is not yet ready for feeding. Do not force the child in any case. It is better to postpone complementary foods until better times, having waited a couple of weeks.
Refusal of feeding after 6 months
Some parents, having not seen their child ready for feeding, start it only after 6.5 months. But they start to panic if the child refuses to feed at 7 months. Or phoned all the friends of the doctors. The anxiety of parents can well be understood if the child at 8 months old refuses to feed. After all, the children of acquaintances by this time already in full knowledge of adult food.
Age limit for complementary foods
In fact, many children begin to try adult food not at 6 months, but only after 7-8 months, and this is considered the norm.
But after 7-8 months it’s worthwhile to figure out why the child refuses to feed. This may be due to a disease or malfunction of the digestive tract. With such suspicions, you should definitely consult a doctor.
The presence of food interest is very important, it is important to catch it and competently develop it.
First of all, in no case should you try to feed the child against his will. Otherwise, this may cause further negative association with food intake.
It is also very important not to overfeed the baby. Because mothers are often worried that after complementary feeding, the baby refuses the mixture or breast milk. Most likely, in such cases, he already ate. This should never be allowed. The main food for the baby up to a year is breast milk and the mixture. Nutrient remains during feeding, but not in its place.
Baby Health & Lure
One of the reasons a baby refuses to feed is a health problem.
The following problems are possible:
- Earache and sore throat. In such situations, the baby is painful to swallow.
- Stuffy nose. It is possible that due to discomfort, the baby may refuse to eat complementary foods.
In the above cases, a pediatric pediatrician should be consulted. He will prescribe the necessary drugs for treatment.
Another problem that can cause the first lure to break is teething. On such days, the child’s gums are inflamed, the baby behaves uneasily and irritably.
Types of Feeding
There are two types of complementary foods: pediatric and pedagogical. Most parents, without hesitation, choose the first. And parents who study complementary foods leave the choice to the second method.
Pediatric feeding
This technique is used by conservative mothers.
Pediatric complementary foods are the standard form of complementary foods that most parents choose. The essence of such complementary foods is the introduction of products in a certain sequence according to certain rules. Clearly following the instructions, mothers teach the child to adult food.
The advantages of such complementary foods are a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Minus - rejection of adult food.
Moms often do not pay attention to the refusal of food by the baby with this type of feeding, which subsequently can affect problems in eating behavior.
Pedagogical feeding
This technique is used by innovative mothers who are interested in everything new.
The essence of this method is that mothers give adult food to the baby only if the baby showed interest in her. With this type of complementary foods, the child is seated at the common table during lunch, the baby gets used to this ritual and gradually shows interest in what adults do, what they eat.
Important! This type of complementary foods is suitable only for those parents who adhere to the rules of proper nutrition. It is desirable that the food is not malnutrition and, of course, does not contain all kinds of preservatives and dyes.
Food should be boiled, stewed or steamed. You can’t use fried foods and foods containing sugar as your first meal.
Nutrition Tips
Consult a pediatrician before administering complementary foods. Let the doctor examine the baby for health and advise which product is best to start with.
Nutrient is administered only to a completely healthy child. Do not introduce a new product within 3 days after vaccination. It is better to wait 5 days.
Each product is introduced within 5-6 days, in order to be able to identify which product specifically the baby has a reaction to (if any).
Do not feed a completely hungry baby. It should be lightly eaten, otherwise a breakdown of complementary foods due to the irritated and pissing baby is possible.
It is important to start complementary foods with one-component foods. If vegetable puree, then it should be only one vegetable. If porridge, then not multi-grain, but single-grain.
Porridge begins to enter dairy-free and gluten-free (rice, corn and buckwheat).
Do not conclude that the baby does not like the new product, after one attempt. It is worth trying at least 5-7 times.
The most important rule after 8 months: if the child refuses to feed, what to do, tell the pediatrician. This is the first person to be contacted in such a situation. If there is no health problem, then do not worry. Refusal of adult food is a temporary phenomenon.