The best nutrition for the baby in the first year of life is breast milk. Such a simple truth is confirmed not only by WHO, but also centuries of experience, as well as the feelings of millions of mothers. However, sooner or later in the life of each crumbs there comes a moment when he will need to try new food. There are many different methods of introducing products into the diet of a child that plunge young parents into a state of chaos. How exactly should feeding of children of 6 months be carried out?
Rules for the introduction of products in the diet
The rules for introducing new products include a number of recommendations and restrictions that will help parents easily introduce new tastes to their child. To begin with, you should study a number of common taboos that will make feeding children 6 months easier:
- You should not start taking new dishes in the hot season or hot weather.
- Vaccinations, illnesses, ailments and complementary foods are not combined.
- Take your time, follow the "do no harm" rule! A fragile digestive system cannot quickly absorb various foods.
- Do not introduce two or more products at the same time; complementary foods should be one-component.
- Do not force the kid to any particular dish by force, it is better to offer an alternative solution that will suit two parties.
The first meal, as a rule, is tried in the morning to track the baby’s reaction to it. For starters, you can give a try one teaspoon, the next day two, bringing the amount of product to a full serving. After the child feasts on mashed potatoes or porridge, offer him a mixture or breast milk, the sequence of actions should be just that. Be sure to monitor the baby's stool, at the first sign of constipation or upset, adjust the diet.
How to understand that the time has come?
Monthly feeding a child is considered the most correct and adapted to the children's digestive system. We start with vegetables, then introduce cereals, cottage cheese and yolk, as well as meat and bread. However, each baby is individual and develops according to its own schedule. How to understand that your favorite child is ready to start eating new food? Please note that the child must demonstrate nutritional interest, be able to keep his head upright and sit confidently, in case of unwillingness he can refuse the proposed product. As a rule, all these conditions are met no earlier than six months. In some cases, according to the recommendations of the pediatrician, the introduction of products may be appointed later or earlier.
First new dish
Nutrition for infants 6 months old should begin with vegetable dishes. The exception is cases of significant underweight by the baby, with this scenario, the doctor will probably advise you to start exploring the world of new tastes with porridge.
Why are vegetables considered the best product for starting feeding? The thing is that they have a very beneficial effect on the digestion process, as they contain fiber and vitamins, and also have a texture that is easy for the stomach. Start feeding your baby zucchini, cauliflower or broccoli. A little later, the daily menu can be supplemented with colored foods, pumpkin or carrots, they are considered more allergenic, therefore they are introduced some time after the start of complementary foods.
You can purchase canned vegetable puree for your child, or you can make it yourself from fresh or frozen vegetables. Just boil the product in water, and then bring it to a monogy state using a blender, grater or meat grinder. At first, salt or vegetable oil should not be added to such a dish.
Meet porridge
The main task of porridge is nutrition. A hearty meal will allow the child to gain the necessary weight quickly enough. However, you should approach the choice of porridge with the utmost care. So, the product you choose in the store should be one-component, that is, contain only one cereal, for example, buckwheat or rice. Please note that there should be a gluten-free mark on the package, such a protein quite often provokes allergic reactions in young children. You should also not choose cereals in the composition, which includes milk, yogurt or sugar, any additives will be appropriate only after a few months. It is in this way that the feeding of a baby of 6 months begins, cereal is a very important component of them.
About cottage cheese and eggs
After the first feeding of a baby of 6 months is introduced, it is time to expand his nutritional interests. You can offer baby cottage cheese or chicken yolk. In the use of such products, it is extremely important to comply with the norm. So, one should not give the baby yolks more than once a day and two times a week, and cottage cheese is calculated according to the scheme - a maximum of 5 grams per kilogram of the child’s weight. At first, this product should not be given every day. An overabundance of such dishes can lead to serious health problems, the development of allergies, and kidney damage.
Start eating meat
The correct feeding of a baby of 6 months does not include meat, it appears much later, after 60-90 days. It can be a rabbit, turkey or chicken, a little later lean beef or veal, most importantly - a minimum of fat. Meat will have to be present in the child’s diet daily, but in a certain dosage (about 3-5 grams per kilogram of the baby’s weight). You can use minced meat or grind the fillet with a meat grinder, and special children's cans are suitable for feeding the baby. In no case, it is not worth cooking meat broths, in modern pediatrics they are under the strictest ban.
An approximate nutritional plan for a child of 6 months
So, we repeat what the feeding of a baby of 6 months should look like. The menu for one day can be represented as follows:
- First breakfast: breast milk or adapted according to age, mixture.
- Second breakfast: porridge (starting with one spoon and up to 200 gr.).
- Lunch: mashed vegetables (starting with one spoon and up to 200 gr.).
- Snack: breast milk or adapted according to age, mixture.
- Dinner: breast milk or adapted according to age, mixture.
- Second dinner: breast milk or adapted according to age, mixture.
As you can see, complementary foods for children of 6 months are still quite uniform, but in the very near future your baby will be able to enjoy kefir, sour-milk mixtures, and subsequently fish (closer to 9-10 months). By the year, it will be possible to add cheese, bread, crackers, milk, vegetable and butter to the child’s diet.
Affordable sweets: fruits and juices
The feeding of children of 6 months allows the introduction of fruits and juices, although this issue is quite controversial for many experts. It is known for certain that such food additives can not replace a full lunch, dinner or breakfast, but only serve as a kind of snack. In Soviet times, these products were introduced as early as 3 months, but the latest techniques in this area claim that this is not necessary. Having decided to sweeten the baby’s diet, start with natural baby juices, at first they should be diluted with boiled water, in a ratio of 1 to 1. 20-25 days after the introduction of drinks, you can start applesauce or pear puree, they are considered the most hypoallergenic, but the berries and exotic dishes should be postponed until the end.
A couple of simple recipes
Now you know how to form a complementary foods baby 6 months. The first recipes for kids are pretty simple. Here are two of the most popular dishes:
- Fruit puree. Take one large green apple and rinse it thoroughly, then bake in the oven. From the finished fruit you need to remove the peel, and chop the pulp until smooth. It is not recommended to use fresh apples, they can provoke intestinal colic in a baby.
- Hearty vegetable puree. Boil 50-100 grams of cauliflower inflorescences and grind with a blender to a porridge. Dilute with water in the required proportions 50 ml of the mixture and mix it with vegetable puree.
The consequences of introducing early feeding for premature babies
The feeding of premature babies is fraught with a lot of difficulties and must be determined by the pediatrician individually, if necessary, it can be completely postponed for several months. Remember, adult food in this case can lead to:
- allergies and diathesis;
- frequent burping;
- asphyxiation.
By carefully studying your baby’s complementary foods for months, do not always strive to strictly adhere to science. Remember, in many ways, the vision of new food is determined by the individual characteristics of your child’s body. To instill a craving for proper nutrition in your baby, do not forget to set a good example with your own behavior.