The role of proper nutrition for children up to a year is difficult to overestimate. The eating habits grafted at this age will help the baby not only fully develop, but also avoid future problems of the 21st century - obesity.
Properly organizing the diet of children up to a year is sometimes very difficult. Good grandmothers insist on their diet when, starting from the age of two weeks, the baby was given a drop of juice. The Internet offers various feeding schemes, and the pediatrician and family doctor are confused by completely opposite tips regarding the nutrition of the baby. It is not surprising that in such a situation, parents are lost.
It should be remembered that the diet of children under one year old is divided into two broad categories: nutrition in the period 0-6 months and nutrition in the period 6-12 months.
How to feed a baby in the period 0-6 months?
After the baby is born, it is immediately applied to the chest. This is a completely justified step: the baby feels its motherly warmth, and the mother - its child. Such an action on the part of doctors “triggers” one magical process in the mother’s body - the production of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin, which allow the production of breast milk. As WHO rightly points out, breast milk is an invaluable source of food for a period of 0-6 months. It contains all the components necessary for development, which are the basis of the baby's diet for up to 6 months.
Breast milk is not the only component of nutrition during this period. For various reasons, the baby may be prescribed feeding based on mixtures.
Artificial feeding can be represented by both adapted and non-adapted mixtures. Adapted include all mixtures of industrial production, non-adapted - 5% mixture of goat or cow milk with semolina. And if the baby was prescribed artificial feeding, then water or baby tea is added to the mixture. This is explained by the fact that, unlike breast milk, a mixture is pure food. Therefore, the baby must be drowned.
How to feed a baby in the period of 6-12 months?
By six months, the child is already ready for the transition to "adult" nutrition. Such a transition is called “complementary feeding”. As a rule, for a baby - an artificial lure begins a month earlier.
Feeding a baby can begin with both mashed vegetables and cereals. The decision about where to start complementary foods is taken by the parents after consultation with the pediatrician. If the baby develops according to average indicators, then the introduction of complementary foods is carried out both with the help of cereals, and with the help of vegetables. If the baby suffers from constipation, then vegetable puree is preferred. In case of underweight, the pediatrician prescribes cereals.
A month after the introduction of vegetable purees and cereals, you can begin to introduce fruit purees or meat, cottage cheese, dairy products and other products. The stages of introducing new products to the baby’s menu can be clearly reflected in the nutrition chart for children up to a year drawn up by a pediatrician and parents.
The table of complementary feeding of children under one year of age who are breastfed should include groups of basic products, namely: cereals and bakery products, vegetables and fruits, a group of dairy and meat products, a group of fats.
The first group - cereals and bakery products - are included in the diet of the child at different months. So, cereals (corn, buckwheat, rice) can be prescribed from 5 months. But biscuits and bagels should be postponed until 9 months. Vegetables can also be included from 5 months, but acquaintance with fruits and juices is delayed up to 7 months. A group of meat and dairy products is introduced from 7 months of age as prescribed by the pediatrician. A group of fats (vegetable oils and butter) is prescribed by the pediatrician depending on the physiological development of the child.
It is worth noting that for babies receiving artificial feeding, the nutrition chart for children under one year old undergoes some changes. So, water or baby tea is offered from the moment of introduction of the milk mixture.
Under strict ban.
The diet of children under one year excludes the introduction of honey, products containing caffeine and preservatives, spices (except for parsley and dill), pepper and salt, nuts, margarine. In addition, food processing methods such as roasting, smoking, pickling and salting are strictly prohibited.
Each parent should know that the introduction of complementary foods in the diet of children under one year of age is carried out only by the appointment of a pediatrician based on the physical condition of the child. Therefore, a table of complementary foods for children under one year of age can and should be agreed with the doctor who has observed the child from birth.