All parents are concerned about the issue of first feeding for the child. If the baby is breastfed and gains weight well, then acquaintance with adult food should be postponed until six months. Artists or infants who are poorly gaining weight are advised to administer the first complementary foods at 3 months. Where to start depends on the desire of the parents and the recommendations of the pediatrician.
Acquaintance with Adult Food
If the doctor said: “We introduce complementary foods in 3 months!”, Then there are good reasons for this. Do not resist and argue with a specialist.
Doctors usually give such recommendations to those babies who are low in weight or height, despite regular feeding with milk or a mixture. There is a certain norm, according to which it is necessary to start complementary foods for children from 3 months. Your pediatrician has a table of product quantities. Ask the doctor to give it to you and carefully read it.
Commencement of feeding at 3 months
So, you decided to introduce the baby to adult food. Where to begin? There are several options: cereals, vegetable and fruit purees or juice. Depending on why your baby is recommended to start early feeding, the method of introducing the baby to food is chosen.
Days / Product | 1 day | 2 day | 4 day | 5 day | a week | month |
Porridge | A quarter teaspoon | Half a teaspoon | 2/3 teaspoon | 1 teaspoon | 30 grams | 50 grams |
The juice | 2-3 drops | Half a teaspoon | One teaspoon | Three teaspoons | 30 ml | 50 ml |
Mashed potatoes | At the tip of a teaspoon | A quarter teaspoon | Half a teaspoon | 2/3 teaspoon | 10 grams | 50 grams |
The introduction of juice
Nutrition with juice from 3 months is recommended for children who develop normally, gain good weight and grow. Nowadays, on the shelves of shops you can find many products made specifically for baby food. You can buy juice that does not cause allergies and is recommended for use from the age of three months.
Also, an alternative can be the self-preparation of a delicious liquid. If you have a juicer, then feeding your baby in 3 months with home-made juice will not be difficult.
How to introduce a new drink?
Better to start with an apple or pear. Shop products are already ready for use. If you squeeze the juice yourself, then it must be diluted with drinking water in an amount of one to one.
If you have never given infants juice, then you need to gradually start feeding children from 3 months. The proper nutrition chart suggests that on the first day you can give your child a few drops of juice. After this, you must carefully monitor the reaction of the baby.
On the second day, it is recommended to offer the baby half a teaspoon of the fruit drink. If everything goes smoothly and there is no reaction, then you can gradually increase the dose of the product.
The introduction of fruit or vegetable puree
If the baby has too much weight gain (3 months), complementary foods can be started with vegetables or fruits. A prerequisite for this is the absence of allergies during breastfeeding.
If you decide to introduce vegetables, then you should start with zucchini, cauliflower or broccoli. Never enter two vegetables at the same time. For the first feeding of fruits, apples or pears should be preferred. Exotic fruits (pineapples, kiwi and others) should be completely postponed until the child turns one year old.
You can purchase jars of fruit and vegetable food at the store or prepare your own meals. Shop products are already ready for use. Look carefully at the expiration date and read the composition of the dish.
For home cooking, boil vegetables. After that, you need to grind the product in a blender or using a meat grinder. In order to make the dish more liquid, you need to add a little drinking water to it. It is not recommended to salt the first food or add sugar. Mashed potatoes can also be prepared using a blender or a special food processor.
How and in what quantity to give mashed potatoes?
On the first day, offer the baby puree on the tip of a teaspoon. See how the body responds to new food. On the second day, you can slightly increase the number of complementary foods for children from 3 months. The table indicates that after two weeks the baby can consume up to 50 grams of mashed potatoes. A prerequisite is the absence of an allergic reaction.
Porridge introduction
Feeding porridge at 3 months is recommended for those children who are poorly gaining body weight with regular feeding with milk or a mixture.
In this case, it is worth giving preference to buckwheat or rice cereals cooked in water. You can buy such porridge in the store. It is enough to dilute it with hot water. You can also boil the cereals yourself and carefully grind it to a puree state. Milk porridge can be prepared for those children who eat artificial milk mixture. They are already quite familiar with this product and should not react negatively to it. Such a dish will be more satisfying and nutritious.
How much and how to give the baby the first porridge?
The table recommends starting feeding children from 3 months as follows. On the first day, you can offer the baby one quarter of a teaspoon of the product. In the absence of a negative reaction, a serving on the second day can be half a teaspoon.
After two to three weeks, the baby can safely consume up to 50 ml of cereal product.
3 months old baby: development, complementary foods and possible problems
Difficulties may not arise immediately. Perhaps you can easily introduce porridge and juice, and an allergic reaction will occur to vegetable puree. That is why it is necessary to gradually introduce each product. To get acquainted with one dish, the baby is given from two weeks to one month. During this time, it is necessary to gradually increase the dose of the consumed dish daily.
In addition to allergies, a child may have problems with stool. If the stool consistency has changed or there are abdominal pains and increased gas formation, then you should cancel the product and consult a pediatrician to prescribe treatment.
Three-month baby menu
If you want to start a close acquaintance of a child with adult food, then you need to make the right menu. For breakfast, you can offer the crumbs a portion of porridge, which he will drink with breast milk or an artificial mixture.
The next meal is between breakfast and lunch. In this feeding, you need to give the baby the usual milk food for him.
During lunch, the baby can taste the vegetable puree, which must also be supplemented with milk. A child may abandon his usual milk food in favor of a new dish. There is nothing to worry about.
The next feeding consists of breast milk or a mixture. Offer your child a familiar meal.
For afternoon tea, it is recommended to use fruit puree or juice. If the baby is familiar with both products, then both can be given. If necessary, feed the baby milk.
In the evening (before bedtime) it is recommended to feed the baby with breast milk or a mixture. Such food will help him relax, get enough and fall asleep. Also, the usual food is not heavy. It will not create discomfort in the stomach and intestines.
Recommendations
Remember that when a child is 3 months old, development, complementary foods and regimen must be appropriate for this age. All products during this period must be introduced gradually. Take your time, otherwise your baby may have health problems.
Feed your baby tasty and right!