The child's body in the first years of life requires extremely careful observation. A huge role for the baby at this time is played by complementary foods. Every mother should know how to properly enrich her baby’s diet so as not to harm him. Further attention will be given to the feeding scheme for WHO. She serves as the main assistant for parents in resolving issues related to the introduction of new products in the baby’s diet. In addition, we have to figure out exactly when to start feeding the newborn. You should immediately pay attention to the fact that this process is individual for each child. Therefore, the exact scheme of feeding is better to find out from the observing baby pediatrician.
About readiness
The beginning of complementary feeding according to WHO should occur by about 6 months of life. Today on the shelves you can find baby food marked "3+" or "4+". Nevertheless, a clarification is necessarily written on all of them - feeding a baby up to six months is not recommended. This is due to the immaturity of the digestive tract. Up to 6 months, the child does not produce all the enzymes necessary for the assimilation of adult food. Up to this point, it is better to be limited only to a mixture or breast milk.
Now it’s clear how much to introduce complementary foods. Some pediatricians offer to introduce the baby to adult food a little later - at 7-8 months. But no more than that. Why?
The thing is that at about 9-10 months the baby can get used to eating only liquid food. Then introducing solid foods will be very problematic. Therefore, delaying the enrichment of the diet should not be.
By type of feeding
Today, pediatricians distinguish several feeding schemes. It all depends on how the newborn is fed. Infants who are exclusively breastfed typically try adult food at about 6 months old. And babies fed with artificial mixtures can get acquainted with new products in about 3-4 months. This is a normal occurrence.
However, the WHO complementary feeding scheme, as has been noted, provides for the initiation of complementary feeding at six months. And not before. Until this time, it is possible to acquaint the baby with new products (with mixed or artificial feeding), but with extreme caution. In addition, only certain products are allowed to be used.
About the feeding system
To date, WHO has developed only three types of complementary foods. We are talking about vegetables, cereals and meat. What about fruits? Today, WHO has no specific recommendations. However, it is better to postpone the early introduction of fruit purees. It is preferable to introduce such products after vegetables and cereals.
First of all, this is due to the fact that up to 8-9 months the child’s body will not be able to properly absorb raw fruits and juices. All the bacteria necessary for this will appear in the baby after eating cereals and vegetables.
In addition, if you believe some parents, then with the introduction of fruit puree to vegetable, then problems can begin. Vegetables are not as tasty as fruits. Accordingly, the child simply abandons the mashed vegetables.
WHO does not consider kefir as complementary foods, as it is not a solid food. But this does not mean that this product is excluded from the children's diet. The WHO feeding plan includes kefir from around 8 months, but only as supplemental nutrition. But milk up to a year is not recommended to be given in any form.
It should also be noted that any feeding regimen suggests a systematic increase in portions. By the year to bring portions to 100-200 grams. The first dishes for the baby should be one-component. New components should be introduced only after the child is completely used to a specific product. It takes about a week.
Feeding or feeding
It is also important to understand what complementary foods are. Some people confuse this term with full feeding. It is safe to say that it is customary to transfer babies to 1 year old on the "common table". However, continued breastfeeding is more welcome. A fully adult diet should be 3 years old.
What is lure? This is a process in which a baby gets acquainted with a new food. According to WHO, this process is characterized by feeding a baby with liquids or products in addition to breast milk or artificial formula.
Accordingly, it is important to understand that complementary foods do not replace basic feeding. But this process must be approached very carefully and carefully. Each child’s organism is individual. Therefore, even the recommendations of WHO on the introduction of complementary foods cannot give a 100% guarantee that the child’s diet is formed correctly. Parents and pediatricians should monitor the baby's reaction to a particular food.
Order of introduction
What WHO recommendations for complementary foods will help parents not harm their babies? Today, you may encounter the following sequence of introducing products for a baby who is breast-fed:
- mashed vegetables - 6 months;
- cereals on the water - 6.5-7 months;
- yolk and mashed fruit - 8 months;
- milk porridge - about 9 months;
- mashed meat, offal, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese - 9-10 months;
- baby cookies, fish - 10 months;
- juices - 10-12 months;
- berry puree - 1 year;
- meat broth - 12 months.
Vegetable or olive oil is introduced into the diet of infants from 6 months along with cereals. Add 1 drop to the dish, bringing the amount of oil to a teaspoon over time. Butter is introduced at 7 months - 1 gram. Next, the portion is increased to 10 grams.
Children who are on mixtures or mixed feeding should be fed according to the same principles. The only thing that you should pay attention to is that it is better to start acquaintance with adult food in 4-5 months, since mixtures do not enrich the body with enough vitamins and minerals.
About porridge
Now a little about porridges. You can enter them a little earlier than recommended. A similar reception is allowed when the baby is lightweight. If its weight is less than the established norms, porridge can be added to the lure. But where to start?
It is important to pay attention to the fact that the first such complementary foods should be dairy-free buckwheat. In principle, it is allowed to feed children with any baby cereals that do not contain milk.
This dish is prepared semi-liquid, on the water. The consistency of porridge should be uniform. There is no salt, sugar or any other seasonings in such foods. The very first cereals are prepared from cereal flour.
How to proceed further? It is assumed that the first is dairy-free buckwheat. Next: rice, corn, oatmeal and semolina. The last porridge should be prepared for the baby no more than 1 time per week, since it contains few useful substances, but a lot of gluten.
The first porridge is prepared like this: 5 grams of cereal flour is poured with 100 milliliters of water. Grind the resulting dish. You can add a little vegetable or olive oil or breast milk to the finished porridge.
And by the age of 9 months, you can introduce cereals with several components that are already familiar to the baby. For example, with the addition of fruits or vegetables. Nestlé baby food is ideal for this idea. This manufacturer has a lot of various cereals that will surely enrich the baby's body with useful substances.
About vegetables
Now a little about mashed vegetables. Initially, they are prepared from only one vegetable. It is desirable that this be a natural product, from your garden or grown without nitrates and other chemicals. Frozen vegetables are allowed, but they must not be re-frozen.
To cook vegetables, you must use an oven or a double boiler. Cooking vegetables takes place in enameled dishes, in boiling water. Water does not add very much. Vegetables are cooked under a closed lid.
How to introduce vegetable lure? The table for months in this case assumes the following sequence of new components: zucchini, cauliflower, pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, green peas, beets. All these components are introduced during the first 6-9 months of the child's life. By the year the baby is given: cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, white cabbage, eggplant.
Vegetable puree should be free of fibers and lumps. Add salt, sugar and spices to it is prohibited. At the end of cooking, you can dilute the puree with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or breast milk.
Meat
As already mentioned, WHO complementary feeding standards suggest introducing meat at 9 months. It is best to use lean meats for this. For instance:
- quail;
- a rabbit;
- turkey
- the chicken.
Mashed potatoes require special heat treatment. First, meat cleansed of skin and bones is dipped in cold water for 15 minutes. Then the pieces are taken out, washed, and then boiled for about 1.5 hours in new clean water.
Boiled meat must be removed and chopped. Stuff the minced meat through a small sieve, and then add vegetable oil or breast milk to the resulting mass.
Meatballs and meatballs can be cooked when the child has teeth in order to chew food. It is best to combine cereal with meat. Meatballs can be added to soups. Up to a year, the baby must be given meat 3-4 times a week.
About feeding time
Now it’s clear where to start complementary foods when breastfeeding. In fact, this process, as already mentioned, is purely individual. But all the proposed recommendations help parents and doctors to focus on the introduction of new products in the diet of infants.
When is the best time to feed your baby? It is best to do this in the morning. This technique allows you to track the reaction of the baby to certain products throughout the day. First, as already mentioned, it is necessary to give mashed potatoes and cereals, and then saturate the baby with milk. Over time, complementary foods will replace the main diet. By the year a child develops certain taste preferences. After 12 months, it is recommended to gradually enrich the baby's diet with new adult products.
Feeding recommendations
From now on, it is clear how much to introduce complementary foods to infants. It should be noted that all of the above norms and recommendations are not binding. These are just generally accepted tips that help to enrich the baby's diet with new products as correctly as possible.
A few words about vegetable feeding. Before cooking potatoes, you must properly prepare it. This vegetable contains a large amount of starch. Therefore, before cooking potatoes for baby food, you will need to get rid of excess harmful substances. To do this, the vegetable is washed well, and then soaked in cool water for 1.5 hours.
Before cooking, you will have to remove the stalk from cabbage, and carrot puree is prepared only after core removal.
Table
And how schematically can you imagine lure? Monthly table may look as follows:
type of product | Start of introduction (months) | Feeding rate for 12 months |
vegetable puree | 6 | 100-200 grams |
vegetable oil | 6 | 1 teaspoon |
porridge | 6.5-7 | 100-200 grams |
butter | 7 | 10-20 grams |
fruit puree | 7-8 | 100-200 grams |
mashed meat | eight | 50-100 grams |
egg yolk | eight | half yolk |
baby cookies | 9-10 | 1 piece |
dairy products | 9-10 | 150-200 grams |
meat offal | 9-10 | 50-100 grams |
a fish | ten | 150-200 grams |
natural juices | 12 | 100 milliliters |
berry puree | 12 | 100-150 grams |
This schedule is recommended for all parents. Nestle baby food is ideal for feeding. If you believe the manufacturers, then it contains the maximum amount of minerals, vitamins and nutrients.
This WHO feeding scheme is not exclusive. Regarding this topic, it is best to consult a pediatrician.