At what age do babies start feeding? Basic principles of introducing complementary foods. Introducing fruit juices
Every young mother who has given birth to her first child is puzzled by a bunch of questions about caring for her baby. One of these questions is: at what age should additional food (complementary foods) be introduced into a baby’s diet and which foods should be introduced first?
Started feeding the baby (from how many months)
The baby is on breastfeeding Complementary feeding can be introduced no earlier than 5-6 months. The introduction of complementary foods is very important at this age. Breast milk alone is not enough for a baby; he needs to receive vitamins and all the nutrients necessary for healthy development, which are rich in the food of adults. Extra food will help the baby develop faster. At the same time, you need to continue to breastfeed the baby on demand. In order for the child to quickly begin to get used to new food, complementary foods should be given before breastfeeding.
If the baby is artificial, then it is recommended to introduce complementary foods earlier - from 4-5 months. This is due to the fact that the formula is significantly inferior in quality to breast milk, and is not able to supply the baby with everything necessary for child's body substances and vitamins. As a rule, the baby himself shows signs that it is time for him to introduce complementary foods - he shows interest in adult food, watches how his parents eat, reaches for a spoon, and more often demands a breast or a bottle, since he is not full.
What foods to start with for the first complementary feeding?
First, cereal dishes, vegetable purees and fruits are introduced. For kids with overweight and for children suffering from constipation, the first complementary feeding should begin with vegetables and fruits. The same goes for children with normal weight. If the child is not gaining weight well enough or has loose stool, then the first complementary food should be porridge.
Porridge
First of all, it is better to introduce rice and buckwheat porridge. It is recommended to boil the cereals in water until fully cooked, and then thoroughly chop and boil along with a small amount of milk.
Vegetable puree
Vegetable puree can be prepared from boiled potatoes, carrots, turnips, and cabbage. Fruits are also pureed - bananas, apples, pears, peaches.
Fruit puree
If you can't cook something good fruit puree without lumps at home, you can purchase ready-made puree in baby food stores or pharmacies. When choosing store-bought puree, be sure to check the expiration date and make sure that the lid of the jar is not swollen.
After cereals, vegetables and fruits have been introduced into the baby’s diet, meat and legumes can be introduced. The meat should be of low-fat varieties (preferably poultry), freed from veins and skin, prepared in the form of puree without lumps. Legumes need to be soaked overnight, the water drained, boiled well, thoroughly chopped and the skin removed. Until seven months, you should not give your baby eggs, nuts, fish and seafood, as well as porridges made from semolina, barley, wheat, corn, and oatmeal. It is better to introduce these types of products a little later.
It is very important that the baby’s daily diet contains all the vitamins and microelements necessary for a growing body. You need to start giving complementary foods with a teaspoon per day, gradually increasing the volume. You should not expect your baby to immediately like the offered cereals, fruits and vegetables. It will take a lot of time for the child to get used to the new food, because until now he has not received any other food other than mother's milk. Complementary food for a baby should always be warm, pureed - neither thick nor runny, soft and thoroughly mashed.
You should not delay too much with the introduction of another new dish; at the age of 7 months, the child should already receive almost all types of foods as complementary foods and receive complementary foods three times a day.
The baby's diet must include meat, vegetables, legumes, cereals and fruits. If now a child refuses to eat food that is new to him, then there is no need to force him to do it. It's better to offer this dish another time. You should show your baby how adults themselves eat food with a spoon, and soon the baby himself will try to repeat it.
Until the age of three, you should not give your child tea - neither black, nor green, nor herbal. Substances contained in tea (tannins) bind iron from consumed food, which in turn can lead to anemia (anemia) in a child. It is better to replace tea with compote, natural juices, fruit drinks, and boiled water.
The child’s taste for food is instilled by the parents; it is up to them to determine what foods the child will eat in the future. Complementary foods for infant should be prepared without adding spices, sugar and salt. They will not bring any benefit to the baby’s body, and a child who has never tried food with spices will be happy to eat without them.
A seven-month-old baby must be given complementary foods at least three times a day, and the baby must continue to breastfeed on demand. When preparing food for seven month old baby You can already use all types of cereals, as well as well-boiled and mashed pasta and boiled dough.
Fruits
Soft fruits should be given mashed, without skin and in small pieces. From vegetables you can already give carrots, turnips, tomatoes, cabbage. Vegetables are best steamed. Can be added to vegetable purees vegetable oil, it contains a number of healthy unsaturated fatty acids.
Meat
Every day the baby should receive meat (finely chopped or in the form of minced meat): beef, lamb, pork, horse meat, rabbit and poultry. Meat contains microelements that will protect the baby from anemia.
Legumes
It is necessary to include other sources of iron in the baby’s menu - green peas, green beans, greens, which the child needs to eat several times a week. Legumes must be boiled, pureed, with the skin removed.
Eggs and nuts
At the age of seven to eight months, it is necessary to introduce eggs and nuts into the baby’s diet. Hard-boiled eggs should be pureed and the child should be given both the yolk and the white. Nuts must be thoroughly peeled and mashed to a paste. In small quantities, you can give your baby cottage cheese and hard cheeses, which can be grated on a fine grater and mixed with the main dish.
Dairy
The child’s stomach and digestive system are not yet able to cow's milk and undiluted dairy products. Therefore, dairy products should be given in small quantities to wash down the main course and in diluted form. You need to dilute it half and half with water: add 30 ml of water to 30 ml of kefir. Whole milk can only be used for making porridge; you should not give your baby whole, undiluted dairy products until nine months of age!
Fish
At nine months you need to introduce fish into your child’s diet; it’s better to start with pollock and flounder.
Gradually, the baby's food intake increases. At 6-7 months, a child needs to eat at least 150 ml of complementary foods (10-11 tablespoons), at 8-9 months - 180 ml (13-14 tablespoons), at 11-12 months - already 225 ml. Complementary foods for infant baby should be thick. It is necessary to give the child small pieces of fruits, vegetables, and bread so that he can chew them, since semi-liquid food is no longer enough for a child of this age.
In what cases is it better to delay introducing complementary foods?
You should not introduce new foods into your baby’s diet if:
- The child is sick or has recently suffered an illness and his body is weakened.
- The baby has recently had a vaccination or is due to have one in the coming days.
- The child has not yet adapted to the previous product introduced into the diet.
- The introduction of the previous product triggered an allergy.
- After the introduction of a new product, the baby began to have problems with stool.
The introduction of complementary foods is a very important period for the baby’s health and sometimes difficult for his parents. But if you follow all the above rules for introducing complementary foods and the recommended sequence of introduced foods, then there will be no problems with the baby’s health, and over time the child will happily eat all types of foods that are so necessary for his growth and development!
Video - when and how to start the first complementary foods
When born, the baby does not need anything other than mother’s milk, since it is ideally balanced in the amount of vitamins and substances it contains that are necessary for the nutrition of an infant. However, as the baby grows, for normal development it requires much more vitamins, microelements and proteins than they receive from mother's milk. Additionally, it requires carbohydrates, plant and dietary fiber. Therefore, regardless of what feeding the child is on, from six months it is necessary to gradually introduce complementary foods.
The topic of introducing complementary foods infant is quite relevant. There have always been disputes between pediatricians regarding the age at which it is best to start feeding a child. Previously, many doctors advocated the four-month option, however, recently, specialists from most developed countries, as well as leading Russian experts, are against the early introduction of complementary feeding, since it has been proven to be inappropriate. According to long-term observations of children, a natural connection was identified between early complementary feeding and supplementary feeding and an increase in the number of allergic diseases, as well as a total transition to artificial feeding.
According to requirements world Organization Health care, the first complementary foods should be introduced to an infant no earlier than six months, and in some cases later - from 7 to 7.5 months. The Institute of Nutrition and the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences recommend introducing the first complementary foods no earlier than five months (especially for children who are on artificial feeding), from the sixth month of a child’s life, introduce porridge into the diet, from the seventh month, yolk, from the eighth month - meat puree, kefir and fermented milk products. This should take into account the need for breast milk, which contains active omega fatty acids required for normal brain development, which continues during the second and third years of a child’s life. Before four months, complementary feeding cannot be introduced to a child, since his body is not prepared to absorb any food other than breast milk or an adapted milk formula.
Before introducing complementary feeding to an infant, you should consult with a pediatrician on this matter, who should assess the child’s health, level of physical and mental development, measure height and weight, growth rate and assess appetite. If the baby’s condition is normal, development and growth are normal, there is no need to try to introduce complementary foods early, just because a friend’s baby has been eating porridge well since four months. Every baby has different needs. For some children, the introduction of complementary feeding is a vital necessity, since breast milk is not enough for him, or it does not meet the necessary quality requirements, as a result of which the child’s hemoglobin decreases, etc.
It is advisable to accompany the introduction of complementary foods with prepared foods, since they high level processing, sterilization, and they are ideally selected for any age. At home, it will not be possible to prepare vegetable or fruit purees of the same quality adapted for a child, even if you use the best raw materials, which is called “from the garden.” Ready-made baby food contains no preservatives or other harmful substances. Only, when using ready-made products, introduce them into the child’s diet not from the age indicated on the jar, but by adding two months to it (that is, it is written from four, but you give it from six). The most important thing is to purchase ready-made baby food in specialized stores. If you have never heard the name of the manufacturer of the product, then it is better to refuse to purchase such a product. It is not recommended to buy baby food in markets or from hand.
Pedagogical complementary feeding.
Around the age of four months, a child begins to imitate adults in everything. During this period, babies develop an interest in adult food. Watching the parents and the pleasure they get from eating, the child also wants to experience this pleasure. Pedagogical complementary feeding involves microdoses of any products that are given to the child for testing. This could be a crumb of bread, cheese, a sip of soup, porridge, pieces of vegetables or fruits (not exotic ones!), so that he can feel their aroma and taste (peeled apple, cucumber, carrots, etc.). Therefore, it is very important that closer to six months the child is at the same table with his parents and can observe the process of eating by adults, so that he develops and maintains an interest in food.
Pedagogical complementary foods begin to be given a month before the introduction of main complementary foods. Pedagogical complementary feeding helps maintain a child's food interest. If a child really likes a product and asks for more, he needs to be given something else to try.
The introduction of basic complementary foods requires compliance with certain rules:
- It is best to give your baby complementary foods before breastfeeding.
- It is necessary to start feeding the child in small amounts (1/2 teaspoon), which should be gradually increased to the required age norm.
- Another type of complementary food is introduced after the baby has become accustomed to the first (1st week - gradual increase in volume, 2nd week - addiction, from the 3rd week - we introduce new complementary foods).
- Simultaneous administration of two products is prohibited.
- If a child does not accept a certain product, you should not force him to eat it; it is better to wait for three to seven days and offer something else.
- It is recommended to give complementary foods from a spoon so that the child begins to learn to eat with a fork, spoon, at first with his hands, drink from a cup, etc. It is important to teach your child the skills of eating and table manners.
Never replace breastfeeding with complementary foods, even if your baby readily accepts it. This can lead to breastfeeding fading before the baby is one year old. If a child over the age of one year has a reluctance to eat adult food, this fact should also not be associated with breastfeeding. Perhaps mistakes were made when introducing complementary foods, or maybe this is a feature of your baby. There are many examples of children eating little and still developing well. It also happens that mothers feel that their child is not eating enough. In fact, he drinks a lot, especially juice, which is high in calories and sweet, and he doesn’t feel like eating after it. You can replace the juice with water; it has been observed that children’s appetite improves significantly after this. Never compare the appetite of your child and the child of a friend, girlfriend, or neighbor. All children are different, they may have their own preferences and tastes. It often happens that a neighbor’s child with an excellent appetite eventually refuses everything at once, and your little one will awaken an interest in everything at once.
As already mentioned, the introduction of complementary foods to a child should be careful and gradual, otherwise you risk frightening the child with new food, as a result of which in the future he may refuse new foods altogether. Experts recommend feeding your baby before the second morning breastfeeding. This is necessary so that the mother can observe the child’s reaction to this new product. Has there been an allergic reaction, rash, changes in stool, etc. After the baby has eaten complementary foods, it is necessary to breastfeed him or give him his favorite formula. If the child’s body accepts complementary feeding well, the next day you can safely double the portion, gradually bringing it to the required norm at this age. And after a week, one breastfeeding or formula feeding can be replaced with this product. If the child is unwell, then you should stop feeding for now and wait a little. Perhaps the child’s body is not yet ready for new food and serious stress.
Where to begin?
Let me make a reservation right away that regarding the foods that should initially be introduced into a child’s diet, there are no clear instructions. Someone first enters fruit juices, and some - vegetable puree. Pediatricians in this issue have different opinions. If you compare juice and puree, then, naturally, puree is better in terms of the content of vitamins and other useful substances. But it doesn't matter much. The main thing in complementary feeding is not to harm the child’s gastrointestinal tract.
Fruit juices.
Each mother decides for herself what complementary foods to introduce, taking into account the characteristics of the child, traditions, family habits and her own preferences. If you decide to introduce fruit juice into your baby’s diet first, it must be a clarified monocomponent product, that is, consisting of one type of fruit. Most often, this is apple juice. Some time later, your fidget can be offered the same apple juice, but with the addition of pulp. Children who have Iron-deficiency anemia, it is better to give apple, apple-rosehip, apricot, apple-blackberry, apple-plum juices, since they contain a large number of iron, as well as vitamin C, which helps improve its absorption.
If a child suffers from constipation, plum, pumpkin, apple-plum, and apricot juices are recommended due to their fiber content, which improves intestinal motility and promotes bowel movement. To improve the functioning of the heart muscle, it is useful to give children banana puree, apricot, apple-plum, and pumpkin juices. For children with reduced immunity, it is better to give juices containing large quantities of vitamins C and A. Such juices include apple-rosehip and apricot, which excellently increase the body’s resistance to viral infections. Children suffering from diseases of the nervous system and visual impairment are recommended to be given juices with vitamins B and A. These include blackberry, blueberry and apple juice.
Vegetable purees.
If you prepare food for your child yourself and do not use ready meals, then you need to start with vegetables whose color is not very bright. It could be zucchini cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, and later a combination of them. They must be boiled well and pureed until they form a homogeneous liquid mass, reminiscent of the consistency of milk. When the child’s body adapts to these foods, you can try introducing some potatoes and carrots into the diet. But it is best to use ready-made food for complementary feeding, which does not contain fiber, to which the child may have an allergic reaction.
At the same time as complementary feeding, you can offer your child something to drink. Better, of course, is plain water. If the child does not want to drink water, there is no need to worry, it means that the child receives enough of it through breast milk. Many children begin to desire to drink water only closer to the age of one year, when the frequency of breastfeeding is significantly reduced.
Fruit purees.
As a rule, it is recommended to introduce fruit puree into a child’s diet three weeks after introducing vegetable puree. According to some doctors, fruit purees should be introduced first, and then vegetable purees. But in this case, you should keep in mind that the baby will really like fruit puree, after which vegetable puree will seem less tasty, and as a result, he will not eat it. So the choice is yours.
Cereal porridge.
They are recommended to be introduced three or four weeks after the introduction of vegetable or fruit complementary foods. It is better to introduce hypoallergenic, dairy-free, gluten-free cereals first. These include rice, oat, buckwheat and corn porridges. Porridges are sold in finished form, but you can prepare them yourself at home. Boil and grind thoroughly until the porridge takes on the appearance of a thick mass. It is better to give porridge before bedtime. It perfectly saturates the body, and the child will sleep until the morning without waking up. Cereal porridges can be introduced first if the child is too thin and physically weak.
Meat.
Meat is a source of easily digestible iron. Meat puree should be introduced into a child’s diet from eight to nine months. It is also sold ready-made, but you can make it yourself by boiling it in a small amount of liquid and grinding it in a blender. It is recommended to combine meat puree with vegetable puree (which the child loves most), this will significantly reduce the load on your child’s fragile digestive system. It is best to start with light meat - chicken, turkey, rabbit. As the child approaches one year, you can gradually replace meat with meatballs, and from the beginning of the second year of life, you can give steamed cutlets and meatballs, as well as other dishes made from ground meat.
As for fish, doctors have different opinions. Some people think that it is impossible to give it to a baby earlier than one year, since it is highly allergenic. Others recommend introducing it a few weeks after introducing meat, since fish is a source of complete protein, fat-soluble vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids, which prevent the development of atherosclerosis. At first, preference should be given to non-fatty varieties of fish. Frozen fish from the store does not have the same value as fresh fish.
Yolk and curd.
It is not recommended to introduce cottage cheese into a baby’s diet before seven or eight months, and this is not advisable, since the required amount of calcium is obtained from the mother’s milk. The daily allowance of cottage cheese for a child is no more than 50 g. But egg yolk can be given to a child from 6.5 months, for example, by diluting it with breast milk or formula, or adding it to vegetable puree. It is not recommended to introduce yolk before this age, as this may cause allergic reactions, and also have a negative impact on digestive tract child. First, the child is given 1/8 of the yolk, gradually increasing the amount. It should be noted that quail eggs are preferable because their yolk is less likely to cause allergic reactions compared to chicken eggs. Therefore, yolks are recommended for the first complementary feeding. quail eggs. Half a yolk is the daily requirement for a child under 12 months of age.
Kefir and fermented milk products.
Today, there are highly adapted fermented milk mixtures, which are introduced on the recommendation of a pediatrician from 8-9 months. When choosing fermented milk products as complementary foods for an infant, you should give preference to products manufactured by the dairy kitchen. Special children's kefir, which children get used to so quickly, can be given from ten months.
When introducing complementary foods, you should strictly control the amount of sugar and salt; you should also not use various aromatic and flavoring additives to food, which will become a strong burden for the child’s delicate digestive system.
By eight months, the baby should be eating up to five times a day. Approximately two feedings are completely replaced by supplementary feeding, which can be kefir, vegetable puree or porridge. After just over a month, three feedings can be replaced with supplementary feeding. At nine months, the child can be given fresh fruit, but it is better if it is ordinary fruits and berries, those that grow where you live. Kiwis, bananas, oranges - it’s better to abstain from them for now.
Approximate diet for a 4-6 month old baby.
- First feeding. Formula or breast milk - 160–200 ml.
- Second feeding. Porridge - 150 ml.
- Third feeding. Vegetable puree - 150 ml.
- Fourth feeding. Formula or breast milk - 160–200 ml.
- Fifth feeding. Formula or breast milk - 160–200 ml.
- Sixth feeding. Formula or breast milk - 160–200 ml.
In the diet one year old child Meat, juice, milk and cereal porridge, peeled apples should already be present. It should be noted that fruit juices are not food, but only a small addition to it. Therefore, it is not advisable to simply give them.
The child's diet should constantly expand and be as varied as possible. If you have enough breast milk, you should definitely give it to your baby once a day. This way you can save it longer emotional contact And close connection with your child. In the case of artificial feeding, you should know that high-quality milk formula can be given to a baby up to two years old. Before going to bed, it is recommended to give the baby baby kefir, a little breast milk or a special milk formula.
An example of a menu for a one-year-old child.
8:00, breakfast.
200 g of porridge, 30 g of vegetable puree and 50 ml. juice
12:00, lunch.
40 g vegetable soup with croutons, 150 g vegetable puree, small steamed cutlet, 40 ml juice.
16:00, afternoon snack.
50 g cottage cheese, green apple, 200 g kefir or milk.
20:00, dinner.
100 g vegetable puree or porridge, fresh fruit, 50 juice.
| Name of products and dishes | Age, months | ||||||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
| Fruit puree, ml. | 5-30 | 40-50 | 50-60 | 60-70 | 80-90 | 90-100 | 100 |
| Vegetable puree, | 5-30 | 40-50 | 50-60 | 60-70 | 80-90 | 90-100 | |
| Kasha, Mr. | 50-100 | 100-150 | 150 | 150-180 | 180-200 | 200 | |
| Cottage cheese, city | 10-30 | 30-40 | 40-50 | 50 | 50-80 | ||
| Yolk, pcs. | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |||
| Meat puree, | 5-30 | 50 | 60-70 | 70-80 | |||
| Kefir and other fermented milk products, ml. | 100 | 100-150 | 150-200 | ||||
| Whole milk, ml. | |||||||
| Fruit juices, ml. | 5-30 | 40-50 | 50-60 | 60-70 | 80-90 | 90-100 | |
| Fish puree, | 5-30 | 40-60 | 70-80 | ||||
| Bread (wheat), g. | 3-5 | 5 | 5 | 5-10 | 10 | ||
| Crackers, cookies, Mr. | 3-5 | 5 | 5 | 5-10 | 10 | ||
| Vegetable oil, g. | 1-3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | |
| Butter, g. | 1-4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | ||
If, when introducing complementary foods, the child pushes out any food, even fruit, the stool changes (diarrhea or constipation), skin rashes occur, and the child becomes whimsical while eating, this means that complementary foods were introduced too early. However, you should not force your child to eat another spoonful. Just wait a few weeks and try offering something new to your baby again.
It should be noted that there should be no age standards for parents when introducing complementary foods. This was all invented by doctors for convenience. Agree, it is inconvenient to compare the needs and problems of thousands of children without tables. Moreover, it takes a lot of time. Therefore, there is no need to worry too much if your baby does not eat porridge and he is already nine months old. Children may not have the same preferences. One child likes vegetables, another likes porridge, the third will feel the taste of complementary foods at 10 months... and this is the NORMAL. We ourselves love some foods, but cannot stand others.
Up to a year, complementary feeding is not a mandatory food, but an addition to it. Remember this, listen to your child’s wishes and follow your intuition.
03.09.2008
What is complementary feeding? These are nutritional supplements given to a baby in addition to breast milk or formula. That is, complementary foods are not the main food. The main food for up to one year is breast milk or formula, because they contain all the beneficial substances necessary for the child in the most digestible form. And complementary feeding is an introduction to new taste sensations for the baby.
Why was complementary feeding introduced early 20 years ago, but now it is being pushed back further and further? Previously, there was a great rush in matters of nutrition, and in raising children in general. From birth, children were taught to be independent; many mothers went to work two months after giving birth. Now the introduction of early complementary feeding can only be justified by extreme need. Enzymatic immaturity at the age of up to 4 months (for some children this period is six months, a year, or even a year and a half) does not allow the absorption of all useful substances from foods. Scientific research on this topic forced our doctors to move the period of complementary feeding from three weeks to 4 months. It is known for certain: feeding children under 4 months is not necessary and is very harmful.
Doctors - the creators of the new Russian complementary feeding scheme - admit that in the near future they will reconsider their views on the timing of introducing complementary feeding, in last time These views changed as early as 1997. In our country, many products are still introduced to children not because they are useful and necessary, but because they are not very harmful. Like, there won't be much harm. For example, juice, which contains a tiny dose of vitamins (and industrial juices do not have them at all, except for artificial additives), is still prescribed to children from 4 months with the only justification “it won’t hurt.”
An excerpt from a famous interview with Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Igor Yakovlevich Kon. It is his department that develops schemes for introducing complementary foods.
- Igor Yakovlevich, let's start with the most surprising thing - why are juices now recommended for infants only in the 4th month?
Keep in mind - we're talking about only about children receiving mother's milk. They don't really need juices in the first months of life. And do you know why? Our general assessment of the diet showed: even with freshly prepared juice, there are no special vitamins that are not included in human milk, 2-3 one month old baby do not get. It’s even worse with canned juices - some of the vitamins in them are still destroyed, and there aren’t very many minerals. But the fact that most children at such an early age do not tolerate juices well is a proven fact. We conducted a special study, observed 100 children divided into two groups. One regularly drank juices from the age of three weeks according to previous recommendations, while the other “met” them only at the 4th month. Children from the first group had several times more allergic reactions; gastrointestinal tract. In a word, it turned out: there is practically no benefit from juices at this age, but there can be troubles. So the best time for a baby to get acquainted with carrot, apple and lemon moisture will be the 4th month.
- I wonder if the point of view of our specialists coincides with the recommendations of Western pediatricians?
Yes, we agree here, and Western colleagues often recommend giving juices even later. I do not exclude that, after conducting new research, we will agree with them.
A perplexing postscript: at three months a child will have gastrointestinal disturbances from the juice, but after a month for some reason not... Probably this is the case: most will not have them. And the minority is again waiting for these schemes to take into account the necessary benefits, and not the probable ones.
The myth of village health
When another dispute arises in the forum regarding the timing of introducing complementary foods, some opponents say: in villages, children are fed adult food from birth, and they are healthier than urban ones! This myth has no basis scientific justification, but extremely persistent. He was probably inspired by the image of a strong village youth who killed seven in one fell swoop. Or the ubiquitous grandmothers whispered: “before, in the villages...” So what really happened there?
Due to insufficient awareness on breastfeeding issues, village mothers have historically and spontaneously been divided into “dairy” and “non-dairy”. It was believed that becoming “non-dairy” was very simple, and the first reason remained ignorance. A “non-dairy” mother, who became one from excessive suspiciousness - or from the need to feed ten more - very early introduced complementary foods to the baby (from bread crumbs to goat milk). Official statistics say that up to 40 percent of infants died under this regime. In villages, child mortality has long been very high. This indisputable fact is somehow overlooked by fans of the “village theory of early complementary feeding.” Now let's return to the notorious village red-cheeked baby, who is healthier than all the city ones combined: only the strong survived! Children survived who for some reason did not die from numerous diseases, frostbite, intoxication, early complementary feeding and other unpleasant factors of survival in an ancient Russian village. Why be surprised: they remained alive and pleased the eye with their health, only truly good fellows. Now in rural areas, babies are offered cow's milk, paying tribute to tradition, and also due to the lack of competent information, and not because of the exceptional benefits of fresh milk, which is intended for a calf, and not for a child. Donkey milk is considered to be the closest to the composition of breast milk. In second place is mare's milk. Cow, despite intensive advertising from lovers of “their pair,” lags behind the list.
And here is what an eyewitness, a pediatrician from the Rusmedserver forum, who worked in the village of our time, writes:
I have already written that in 2000 I began working as a local pediatrician in a remote area of the Novgorod region. Where I saw strange traditions. Most mothers cooked rolled oats for their children from the age of one month, fearing underfeeding. That is, they boiled milk and diluted it with oatmeal broth. As a result, 99% of children became “artificial” by two months, and rickets, anemia, and atopy went off scale. Over the course of a year, I managed to defeat this tradition, convince them to give high-quality formula in critical situations, and increase breastfeeding to 85% (at three months of age) and 50-60% (by 6 months).
In rural areas, children were given early complementary feeding not from wisdom, but from need or ignorance. And repeating this experience for a modern mother, surrounded by supermarkets, steamers and country harvests, is very strange and not at all wise. And now about the “milk” village mothers. These mothers breastfed ten in a row - and also grabbed the neighbors. There has always been poverty in most villages: is a Russian housewife really so stupid that she would refuse a free source of food for her children? According to official data, in villages children up to 2-6 years old were breastfed. By the way, urban babies were often sent to the village to be raised; this fact was quite official. Even in tsarist times, newborns who ended up in an orphanage (“Education House”, etc.) were sent to the village until a certain age, where wet nurses were “assigned” to them. For some reason, no one had any ideas to replace free and affordable food with something else.
To ensure the best growth, development and health, babies should be exclusively breastfed, meaning they receive only breast milk, during the first six months of life. “Exclusive breastfeeding” means excluding all other foods and drinks, even water, from the infant’s diet, in addition to breast milk. However, infants can be given drops and syrups (vitamins, minerals and medications). Breast milk is the ideal food to provide healthy growth and infant development; it is also integral part reproductive process, which has great importance for maternal health.
According to WHO recommendations, infants should be given complementary foods in addition to breast milk at six months (180 days) of age. At the age of 6-8 months, complementary foods should be given 2-3 times a day, and at the age of 9-11 months - 3 times a day with one light snack between meals. Between 12 and 24 months of age, your baby should be fed three times a day and, if desired, given two snacks between meals. These feedings must be sufficient, that is, they must supply the child’s growing body with a sufficient amount of energy, proteins and micronutrients. Food must be prepared and served in a safe manner to minimize the risk of infection. Young children should be actively encouraged to eat during feeding times.
Table 1
Source: WHO official website
Age
Cooking method
Feeding frequency
Amount per meal
From 6 months
Liquid or thoroughly pureed food
2 times a day plus frequent breastfeeding
2-3 full tablespoons
7-8 months
Puréed food
3 times a day plus frequent breastfeeding
Continuously increase to 2/3 of a 250 ml cup at each meal
9-11 months
Finely chopped or pureed food, or food that a child can handle with his or her hand
3 feedings plus one between-meal snack plus breastfeeding
3/4 250 ml cup/bowl
12-24 months
Regular family food, chopped or pureed as needed
3 feedings plus 2 snacks between meals plus breast milk feedings
Full 250ml cup/bowl
And here is the scheme our doctors developed based on WHO recommendations.
table 2
Source: materials from the site “Mom and Baby”.
Name of products and dishes
Age, months
Fruit puree, ml.
Vegetable puree,
Cottage cheese, city
Yolk, pcs.
Meat puree,
Kefir and other fermented milk products, ml.
Whole milk, ml.
Fruit juices, ml.
Fish puree,
Bread (wheat), g.
Crackers, cookies, Mr.
Vegetable oil, g.
Butter, g.
In recent years, there has been a trend in all countries towards the introduction of complementary feeding at a later date than previously thought. This happens because previously the properties of breast milk were not as well studied as they are now, and the quality of infant formula left much to be desired. Nowadays, a child up to six months receives the most better food(breast milk or a high-quality substitute), so a healthy child does not need early complementary feeding.
It was once believed that formula-fed babies were introduced to complementary foods much earlier than breastfed babies. Now this postulate has been canceled. As already mentioned, the milk formulas were of low quality. And the child did not receive enough valuable substances, so they started feeding him earlier. Modern mixtures Although they are not able to completely “copy” breast milk, they have a fairly rich composition. A baby on IV is deprived of the support of enzymes from breast milk, so logically, complementary foods should be introduced not earlier, but later, so that the digestive systems mature. Children in IV are required to be offered pedagogical complementary foods so that they gradually become familiar with new foods.
Pedagogical complementary feeding
From about 4 years old, the child begins to be interested in his parents' food. This does not mean that he no longer has enough breast milk, it is just a desire to imitate adults. After all, a child, like a locator, scans the facial expressions of mom and dad, gestures. He always knows what mood his parents are in. And in general he understands them better than one might think. The child sees how adults are fascinated by the process of eating - and wants to receive the same pleasure. How pedagogical complementary feeding is introduced: the child is given microdoses (one crumb or one sip) of any food. It could be soup, porridge, even a roast, a crumble of cheese - anything. The child is also given pieces of vegetables so that he can smell and touch them with his tongue: carrots, peeled apples, dried cucumbers. Pedagogical complementary foods are given a month before the start of main complementary foods. In this way, we maintain the child’s interest in food if he has already developed an interest in food, and it is too early to introduce basic complementary foods. If a child likes a product and asks for more, you need to give something else to try.
Basic complementary foods
Modern experts agree that There is no single recommended age for introducing complementary foods. Each child has an individual situation. Age is just one of the factors, and readiness for complementary feeding can only be judged by a combination of the following factors:
- Age 4-6 months.
- Doubling of weight from birth.
- The child can sit. He can lean towards the spoon or turn away from it, and confidently turns his head.
- The child holds a small thing tightly in his fist and can purposefully put it in his mouth.
- The child shows great interest in the parents’ diet and asks to try it.
- Eruption of the first teeth.
- The disappearance of the protective reflex of “pushing out” solid food particles with the tongue. This reflex weakens by 6 months. In some children it can last up to a year or even three years.
- Complementary feeding is only offered healthy child. Contraindications to the introduction of complementary foods are: allergic manifestations, preparation for vaccinations and the period after vaccinations, intestinal diseases, recovery period after gastrointestinal diseases.
When introducing complementary foods, you should follow some rules:
- Complementary feeding is offered before breastfeeding, starting with a small volume (1/2 teaspoon), gradually increasing the portion to the required age norm.
- The next type of complementary food is introduced only after the child gets used to the first (1st week - gradually increasing the volume, 2nd week - getting used to it, from the 3rd week - new complementary foods). You cannot administer two products at the same time.
- If a child does not like a certain product, you need to pause (3-7 days) and offer him something else.
FAQWhat to do, if…
...a skin reaction to complementary foods appeared.
Diathesis for introducing complementary foods occurs when the child’s body and its enzymatic systems are not ready to digest New Product. Not knowing how to digest an apple, porridge or kefir, the pancreas strains, trying to produce the necessary enzymes in the right amount. Overstrain of the pancreas leads to slight inflammation (on ultrasound it is usually enlarged in such children). The child’s immune system must respond to any inflammation and heal it, but in the child all systems are still immature, unformed, and the inadequate reaction of the immune system “crawls out” on the skin in the form of diathesis. In case of a skin reaction, complementary foods are discontinued until recovery. The situation is resolved individually with a doctor.
...the child is almost a year old, and he is still pushing out pieces of food!
The ejection reflex can last longer than six months; in some children it lasts up to three years. Surely many people also know adults (among their acquaintances) who prefer boiled food or soups. If the pediatrician does not find any abnormalities, then this is an individual quality. In the world, a lot of healthy food exists in liquid and puree form - a child will not go hungry.
...it is not possible to replace at least one feeding with complementary foods.
Be patient and think about why this is happening. A baby may ask to breastfeed in newborn mode for many reasons. For example, mother and child are tied to each other, mother cannot leave. Or the child’s teething has turned into an endless epic. There is also a completely trivial reason: the mother is tired, she has few helpers, and it is easier for her to breastfeed than to engage in developmental activities with him. The child might be distracted, but there is no one to distract him.
...6 months are long gone, and the child still has not developed an interest in food!
The most common reason: lack of an example before your eyes. The child does not see his parents eating. He's not interested. Perhaps his parents began to “rent” him out to his grandmothers or nanny too early. Or they eat chaotically, grabbing pieces and carrying them around the apartment. The child must have authorities before his eyes. Eat in front of him (but don’t give it to him - that’s how cruel mothers are these days), eat more often, eat with taste, seat the whole family at the table. Introduce food rituals. Show him that this is IMPORTANT.
...the child refuses complementary foods.
In the period up to one year, the child does not eat - he imitates. He needs breast milk or formula to keep him full. Complementary foods are an introduction to food, not the main food. By putting pressure or being nervous about “everyone eats, but mine doesn’t eat,” the mother reduces the child’s appetite. She shows him that eating is nervous and unnecessary. First of all, mom needs to feed herself with soothing tea. And then start feeding again. If you don't like cauliflower, try broccoli. No porridge is good - eat vegetables and fruits. You do not have the task of introducing ALL products for up to a year. Your first priority is to teach your child correct attitude to food. Therefore, under no circumstances should you push, coax, dance or sing around a peacefully playing child, pushing food into him spoon by spoon. If he doesn’t want it now, he’ll eat it later. History knows many children who became addicted to food after one or two years. And he doesn’t know the children who didn’t eat, didn’t eat, and, well, got sick or died. It is a myth. Don't envy the playground moms who say their 8-month-old baby is already eating plates of complementary foods. In children, appetite comes and goes in periods. After a year, the same child may abruptly turn away from all plates at once. And your “little one,” on the contrary, will love everything at once.
...the child does not want to try the new kind complementary foods
Breastfeeding specialist, pediatrician Lidia Kazakova states: if a child eats one type of complementary food well and does not agree to the second, this means that he is overfed with the first. For example, if the porridge went well, any mother will deliberately increase its quantity. On the one hand, baby food is made on such a principle that it is impossible to overfeed it. It does not contain substances that burden a fragile body (salt, sugar, spices, chemical additives, etc.). On the other hand, the child is full of breast milk/formula and previously introduced complementary foods - why does he need anything else. It makes sense to reduce the dose of complementary foods that have already been introduced.
...I want to introduce complementary foods later, but the grandmother presses: they say, you are depriving the child of food!
For the sake of the peace of mind of your grandmother (mother-in-law, mother), you can go to great lengths. Pull extra socks on the child. Take away the scissors that he mastered a long time ago. Close the window... there is only one thing you don’t need to do: seriously experiment with your health. The child is yours, not grandma’s. Elderly relatives may have many reasons for insistent advice. For example, self-affirmation (“she will do as I say!”), narcissism (“I am good grandma, I care about the child’s health!”), moral instability and suspiciousness (“and Baba Klava told me today that their child eats meat from birth, but ours will remain a goner!”), intolerance to everything new (“these of yours newfangled things, but the child is suffering!”) All these reasons have nothing to do with common sense. Moreover, in the time of grandmothers, information about the benefits of breast milk was zero, and many of them are still very, very ignorant.
It’s not clear who to listen to, everyone has their own opinion on complementary feeding!
Listen to yourself, your maternal intuition. After all, you have it (?). Study your child: his character, mood. Consider his health status! No one knows your child better than you. It is an absurd situation when a healthy child who has gained weight well is introduced to complementary foods at 4 months on the advice of a pediatrician. The doctor has a sign, it is one in a thousand children. And you have your own child, whom you began to feel, observe and understand even before birth.
If complementary foods are introduced too early:
- the child pushes out any food, he doesn’t even like fruit.
- skin rashes, constipation or diarrhea appear.
- the child cries and is naughty while eating.
The main thing that should not be forgotten is that for parents there are no age standards for introducing complementary foods. They exist for doctors, for their CONVENIENCE. Because comparing the needs and problems of thousands of children without summary tables is inconvenient. This is time-consuming. Therefore, under no circumstances should you worry if your child does not eat porridge. And he is “already” 9 months old, but here are other children... Sometimes truly terrible advice appears in forums: for example, give the child enzymes (Creon), dill water, espumizan with complementary foods - or, what is even worse, do not pay attention to the alarming symptoms that appear . Like, he will suffer and eat it. This mistake can ruin all subsequent victories at the table. One child likes vegetables, another is ready to eat only porridge, the third will become addicted to complementary foods only at 10 months... and this is NORMAL. These are manifestations of individuality, not deviations from the norm. Why is an adult allowed to dislike certain foods, but not a child? But an adult does not even have the unique nourishment of breast milk.
Until one year of age, complementary foods do not have the status of mandatory food. And he can receive this status if the introduction of complementary foods was not too early, did not cause intestinal upset and did not cause both mother and baby to experience unnecessary stress.
In the second part of the article we will describe all products by age and grams:
The third part contains details about butter, eggs, salt, sugar, etc.
Useful links on the topic:
- Household appliances will help make complementary feeding faster, healthier, and tastier:
- Blender:
- Double boiler:
- Myths about complementary feeding, as well as the unequal battle between artificial nutrition and breastfeeding:
- Section "Nutrition" on the website:
- Section “Child nutrition” in our forum:
Let's introduce complementary foods! Part II: How much to weigh in grams?
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! It is important! Until the age of three, a child receives food intended only for children. All products must be marked “for baby food.”
Pay attention to this. Very often sellers mislead the buyer. For example, on 0.5 packs of “children’s” juice, which is in a row of children’s juices, you will not see the inscription “for children from so many months.” This is NOT children's juice because it cannot be sold in such large packaging. Manufacturers of children's curds are also disingenuous. If you are still buying 100-gram packs of cottage cheese, read for interest whether they indicate “children’s” or “for children.” For example, our local cottage cheese “Mu” is for children only in 50-gram packages. One hundred gram “Mu” contains a “curd product”, and it is NOT for children, and in principle it is NOT cottage cheese.Which scheme to believe?
We have already talked about this in: all schemes are individual. Find an adequate doctor so that he can write out an individual complementary feeding scheme for your child, and not the one designed for children of the entire planet who were born about 30 years ago (a typical sign of such a scheme: starting complementary feeding with a few drops of juice). For example, a quite pleasant scheme from pediatrician-gastroenterologist Nika Vadimovna Drozdovskaya (Family Clinic, Moscow) has been circulating on forums for a long time:
Give each new product for at least 7 days. Start with 1 tsp. and bring it back to normal within a week.
6 months
At about 12 noon (future lunch) - vegetables.“Squash” (zucchini-pumpkin) is still a type of pumpkin, and not our stripe - don’t give it away. Remove pumpkin and carrots. Leave everything yellow for later. Start with green. It's better to cook everything yourself. You can puree frozen vegetables.
Zucchini – frozen. For example, the company “4 Seasons”.
Cauliflower – “Semper” or frozen.
Broccoli - “Semper”, “Top-top” (not to be confused with “Tip-top”).
Green beans - make your own.
Green peas – “Gerber”.
Potatoes – “Gerber” ordinary, don’t give sweet ones (also not our style), do it yourself (pre-soak for 2 hours in boiled cold water, when starch is released, change the water).
Parsnips and spinach - after a year, something is washed out of the body, it seems like calcium - I won’t lie, I don’t remember. (comment by ptica_we: iron is washed away, just like parsley)
When you try everything, you can mix, but no more than 3 types.
Vegetable oil from 8 months.
7 months
At 17:00 (future afternoon snack) – fruits: Green apple- “Semper”, “Top-top”. Bake it yourself. Red later. Pear - (if there is no constipation) “Semper”. We personally are allergic to Gerber. Banana - make it yourself. Apricots, peaches - jars, do it yourself in the summer, they are not watered with anything harmful, as for cherries and cherries - later, do it yourself in the summer. Recommended jars: “Gerber”, “Beach Nat”, “Semper”.
Porridge- give in full. At night (especially if you wake up at night to eat). Completely replace one feeding. Buckwheat, corn, rice without additives.
Oatmeal, semolina, milk, and soy porridges are not included in the diet for up to a year. It is harmful.
The packaging should say: “no sugar, salt, gluten, milk, dyes.”
It is best to give it in water, since with the addition of milk there is a greater burden on the gastrointestinal tract. If he doesn’t eat, add fruit puree, then milk (mixture) diluted with water.
“Gerber”, “Baby Sitter”, “Low-allergenic Baby”, “Hipp”
Cottage cheese - after 8 months. For an afternoon snack, add to fruit puree. Strictly no more than normal.
Meat - after 12 m. (load on the gastrointestinal tract) add to vegetable puree. Do not exceed the meat limit! Strictly ready-made purees with vegetables. "Gerber" - turkey, pig, lamb, beef. Children should not be given meat broth until they are at least one year old. It contains too many carcinogens. They serve soup with vegetable broth.
Kefir– after 12 m. (it has too high acidity, and in children with perinatal damage to the central nervous system (90% of children) and so increased acidity gastrointestinal tract Kefir in children under one year of age causes microbleeding in the intestines, which leads to severe hypochromic anemia. They give it overnight. Bifi-kefir Agusha without sugar. If the child refuses, do not insist.
It is better to drink before meals, do not wash it down.
Juices, diluted with water (min. 1/1), after a year.
Salt after a year, sugar, in general, the later, the better.
Always feed your child at your table, so that there are no distractions.
Do not snack between feedings - apples, bread, snacks.
In grams
7 months. Fruits – 60 gr., vegetables – 150 gr., porridge – 150 gr.
8 months. F. - 70, O. - 170, K. - 150
9 months. F. - 80, O. - 180, K. - 180
12 months. F. - 90-100, O. - 200, K. - 200.
So, let's go!
VegetablesThe first vegetables should contain little fiber (aggressively affecting the gastrointestinal tract) and be low-allergenic (green). Another fact that many people don’t know is that hypoallergenic vegetables are easier to digest. If the baby is not prone to allergies, he is still offered green vegetables; they are easier to digest than red and orange ones. In the Urals, the right vegetable for first complementary feeding is classically zucchini. It is non-aggressive to the intestines, rich in vitamins and minerals, and has a delicate taste. You can also offer your baby cauliflower as a first complementary food. Contrary to popular belief, it does not belong to the Ural vegetables; it is quite capricious, and they began to plant it relatively recently. But cauliflower is a weak allergen. Broccoli also qualifies as “my first vegetable.”
Vegetables begin to be introduced with half a teaspoon. Norm of vegetables (per day): 50 g (7 months), 100 g (9 m.) and 150 g (11 m.), per year - 200 g. Vegetables are given in the first half of the day. The order of introducing vegetables: zucchini (cauliflower), broccoli, kohlrabi, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, peas, green beans. Corn up to one and a half years old is offered only in cans; fresh or frozen, it has hard shells. White cabbage is too hard for the stomach, it is also not administered before a year, then carefully try the beets. Vegetable mixtures are introduced no earlier than ten months. Cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants - after a year.
For the first feeding, fresh vegetables are used only from their own garden. Store-bought ones contain large amounts of nitrates. If you use fresh vegetables, mash them as best you can to avoid any tough fibers. And be sure to serve them with oil (olive, corn, sunflower) so that they are better absorbed - but not with the first feeding! After a month, add oil one drop at a time.
Canned vegetable purees suitable for first feeding (containing only vegetables and water): Babushkino Lukoshko, Spelenok, Gerber, BEECH NUT, Semper.
Porridge
Porridge is given at 6-7 months with 1-2 teaspoons, gradually increasing the volume to 150 grams. Ideal for use in nutrition infants industrially produced cereals, so-called instant ones. They are enriched with vitamins and minerals, and a child under one year old should receive only fortified foods. Sometimes doctors advise starting complementary feeding with porridge according to individual indications: for example, a child has unstable stools, some kind of stomach problems, in which case vegetables and fruits will only do harm. The first to introduce gluten-free porridges without milk and sugar: rice, buckwheat or corn. Then - oatmeal. Mixtures of cereals are introduced closer to the year. The healthiest porridge for a child is considered to be buckwheat, the heaviest is millet, and the most “empty” is corn. There is no need for milk porridges up to a year.
We cook the porridge ourselves
Cooking porridge at home is also easy. The cereal can be pre-ground in a coffee grinder until it becomes flour, or the already prepared porridge can be broken in a mixer until a homogeneous mass is obtained. It is better to cook the cereal in water, and immediately before feeding, add 20-30 ml of breast milk or the formula that the baby usually eats. This will improve the taste of the dish and make it more “familiar” for the child.
Collection of popular misconceptions
1. “If the child is low birth weight, you need to introduce porridge as early as possible.” As surveys on mother's websites show, out of hundreds of children, 2% of children gain weight from the introduction of cereals. If a child is really behind in weight (not by 100-500 g from the norm, but by at least 2 kg), you need to understand the reasons, and not fatten him up like a pig.
2. “Porridge at night promotes long sleep.” There is no scientific evidence for this folk wisdom. In the time of grandmothers, children were fed semolina porridge with butter and sugar at night. It’s no wonder that after such a carbohydrate hit, the child slept all night, stunned. We no longer live in the last century and understand that such a cocktail at night is very harmful. However, you can give your child thin porridge for dinner so that he doesn’t want to eat at night; small children tend to feel hungry at night.
3. “Children’s cereals are less healthy than homemade ones.” If you have time to grind cereal in a coffee grinder, and your child eats this porridge well, great. But it is better to feed a child up to one year only with fortified foods. Because he has an actively growing body. And vitamins are always in place.
What additives may industrial baby cereals contain:
Maltodextrin is a mixture consisting of glucose, oligosaccharides and malt sugar. Improves digestion, helps increase insulin, and gives the porridge a natural sweetness.
Glucose, dextrose - fruit sugars, dextrose - grape sugar.
Vanillin is an odorous substance from the vanilla fruit. Unfortunately, manufacturers often use synthetic vanillin without specifying it. Vanillin may be an allergen.
Industrial cereals suitable for first feeding (without sugar and other additives): HEINZ (hypoallergenic series with a hippopotamus in a robe on the box), Hipp, BabySitter, Nutricia (Malyshka, Top-Top).
Fruits
Fruit complementary foods traditionally start with a green apple or pear. They need to be baked: the allergenic properties will go away, but beneficial pectin will be released, which cleanses the body.
A month later, plum is introduced. Exotic fruits are offered later due to possible allergic reactions, as well as to ensure that sufficient enzymes are accumulated to digest them. Bananas, peaches, and apricots are introduced no earlier than 9 months. We try citruses closer to the year; grapefruit and pomelo are considered the least allergenic. Why exactly this sequence of introducing fruits? Imagine apple puree, pureed in a blender. And now the same banana puree. Feel the difference. A fibrous and starchy banana is much heavier, more viscous, and less digestible. Plum has a laxative effect, so it is also introduced only after the child has tasted it and is accustomed to the fruit.Fruits are introduced in the same way as vegetables: from ½ teaspoon, gradually increasing the norm to 40 g. Up to three years, the daily norm of fruit is 100 g per day.
Dairy products
A scientific study conducted at the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences showed that the early introduction of kefir or milk into the diet of infants can lead to a loss of iron in their body. Kefir is characterized by high acidity, a coarse curd structure, and the content of alcohol and yeast cells. Kefir contains a lot of “coarse” casein protein, which is not only difficult to digest, but also unbalanced in amino acid composition. The fat composition of kefir is not diverse enough, and the ratio of fatty acids in this product is not physiological for the baby’s body. Kefir carbohydrates are not at all similar to those present in breast milk or its artificial substitutes, and there are significantly more mineral salts in it. Therefore, kefir is administered no earlier than 6-8 months and no more than 200 ml per day - and does not replace breast milk or formula. Many pediatricians advise introducing fermented milk products only by the age of one year, if the child is healthy and gaining weight well.
Special children's yoghurts (such as "Agushi") can be offered to a child aged 10 months or older. The amount of yogurt at one year of age: no more than 100 ml.
They begin to try cottage cheese from 8 months, or even later. For a child who consumes breast milk or formula in sufficient quantities, cottage cheese is simply not relevant. In the first year of life, you should not give your child more than 25 - 40 grams of cottage cheese per day. Cottage cheese contains heavy protein. Protein breakdown products are excreted by the kidneys. When bottle-fed, the immature kidneys of an infant may not be able to cope with the excessive protein load that occurs if the child consumes cottage cheese in quantities exceeding those recommended. It is known that excess protein load in the first year of life, especially with artificial feeding, can lead to atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension in the future. Alternatively, a child after one year can be given 100 g of cottage cheese every other day. These norms last for up to three years, remember: 100 g of cottage cheese per day is the norm for an adult.
There is no point in introducing cow's milk before one year of age. It is low in fat, protein denatured by pasteurization with less than 50% digestibility, complete absence iron and vitamins, excluding the lone artificial vitamin C. Modern pediatricians do not recommend introducing whole milk before the age of one year, but it is better to replace whole milk with infant formulas until 2-3 years of age (in them the protein is in split form).
Meat
If the child began to be fed at six months, meat is introduced no earlier than 10 months. This is one of the heaviest products; meat takes a long time to digest, so there is no need to rush to introduce it. Begin administering with half a teaspoon. You can give this dose for three days and monitor the reaction. It is advisable to immediately mix the meat with the vegetable puree that you have already introduced. If the meat goes well, the volume increases to a spoon, two, etc., at 10 months a child can receive 30 g of meat, by a year - 40-50 g. 100-200 g of meat per day is the norm for an adult. It is not beneficial for a child to increase the amount of meat, taking into account the protein load (as a rule, a child up to one year old receives enough protein from GM or mixture).
Meat that is introduced BEFORE a year: rabbit, turkey, beef; AFTER a year, veal, chicken, pork and red fish are introduced. Meat broths are not used in children's diets; they contain harmful substances boiled from meat. The broth has the ability to be absorbed very quickly into the intestines; a child’s liver is not able to filter out all carcinogens. The kidneys also suffer: due to the huge amount of salts, it can develop urolithiasis disease. Children's soup is cooked in vegetable broth without salt. You can add canned children's meat to it - you get a “broth”. Meat dishes prepared for children are not stored at all, they must be consumed immediately; the best time for meat is lunch.
If you prefer to buy meat in jars, choose puree made from one type of meat (mono-product) without adding spices and potato starch marked “1st stage”. Reheat canned meats immediately before use. An open glass jar with unused puree can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day. If introducing meat for the first time, look for the indication “homogenized” (finely ground) on the cans.
Juices
Previously, it was believed that breast milk is depleted by 6 months, and the baby needs to be given juices from five weeks as an easily digestible product rich in vitamins. Now we know: juices for a child under one year old are more likely a variety in the diet than a benefit. The introduction of juices before 4 months is not advisable, since it does not make a significant contribution to meeting the needs of children for vitamins and minerals, but often leads to allergies and disruption of the gastrointestinal tract. Juices with pulp are introduced no earlier than a year. Any juices must be diluted so as not to spoil the gastric mucosa. With the early introduction of juices, the pancreas does not “train”, as some lovers of early complementary feeding believe, but strains, trying to produce enzymes for digesting an unknown product. She won’t be able to do anything before the allotted time: the child develops enzymes for digesting fruits from the age of 4 months. It is recommended to start feeding fruits with puree as it is less aggressive for the intestines, because puree contains substances that protect the intestines from acids. Another myth: “a child from 3-4 months needs apple juice to increase hemoglobin.” Any hematologist will tell you: iron from plant foods is absorbed extremely poorly, even in adults.
According to modern recommendations, juices are introduced no earlier than 6 months from one teaspoon with a gradual increase in volume up to 100 g. Children up to three years old are given juices marked “baby food” on the packaging. Directly pressed juices can be offered to children from 1.5-2 years of age, if there are no medical contraindications. At the same age, freshly squeezed juices are given in the amount of 150-200 ml per day (half diluted with water), only if the baby does not have gastrointestinal diseases or allergic reactions. Keep in mind that industrial juices contain hidden natural preservatives: small amounts are added to them. grape juice- or red currant juice. Therefore, a child may be allergic to juice from one company, but not to the same juice from another company. Perhaps the first juice contained a hidden preservative, and the child reacted to currants or grapes.
And finally...
The child's body has unique ability regulate your needs. Let us remember the popular saying “a child always knows what he needs.” If your child stubbornly refuses porridge, most likely he simply does not need it. He has enough nutrients. Nutritionists call children under three years of age clairvoyants in nutrition: children always know what they need. Of course, this does not apply to situations where they start sweetening a child with kefir and porridge very early, and then make excuses that the child eats “that’s the only way” or he doesn’t have enough glucose... Children will always prefer sweets, because breast milk or formula was their first food. sweet. Don't be upset if your child doesn't eat vegetables or fruits. He'll still have time. Perhaps he understands that he does not need them. Or, by your behavior, you provoked him into refusing behavior (feeding too early or nervous exclamations while eating, attempts to “push”). And if someone “drips on your brains”, scolding you for your “poor” son, who “still” does not eat meat or porridge - just answer: THE CHILD HIMSELF KNOWS WHAT HE NEEDS! And period.
In the third part of the article we will find out what OTHER products can be introduced BEFORE the year.
useful links
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Immediately after the first difficulties of breastfeeding are left behind, the mother faces another serious problem - the first feeding. The recommendations given in this case by thematic websites, local pediatricians and friends with grandmothers are very different from each other, so inexperienced women are simply lost in a sea of contradictory information. How to introduce the first complementary foods correctly, and what age is optimal for this?
Several decades ago, it was believed that the first complementary foods for babies fed exclusively on breast milk should be introduced at three months. But today this scheme is recognized not only as incorrect, but also dangerous to the health of the child.
In the body of a baby who has not yet reached the age of six months, there are no enzymes necessary for digesting new food, so “adult” foods create a strong load on his digestive tract.
In addition, up to six months a child has enough useful substances and vitamins that he receives from mother’s milk, that is, introducing complementary foods earlier simply does not make sense. Such measures are only advisable if medical indications– for example, in cases where the child does not gain enough weight. True, introducing complementary foods too late is also not recommended, since at 7-8 months the baby can already perceive unfamiliar food much worse.
To become familiar with new food, a child must have a sufficiently developed nervous system for this, as well as some skills and reflexes.
There are a number of signs by which one can determine his readiness for the introduction of the first complementary foods.
- The child begins to chew, the force of sucking increases, and the gag reflex moves from the middle of the tongue to its root.
- Having completely emptied the mother's breast, the baby continues to show signs of hunger.
- Showing interest in adult food and the first attempts to try something from the parents' plates.
- When the mother tries to offer the child a new product, he does not try to push the spoon away.
- The baby can sit in one place for a long time and take food with its hands.
If a baby has at least three of the five signs listed above, it means that his body is quite ready to get acquainted with new dishes.
In order not to harm the baby when introducing complementary foods, the mother must follow several important rules:
- new products are introduced into the child’s menu no more often than once every 7-10 days;
- You cannot introduce your child for the first time immediately before or after vaccinations, during climate change, after illness, during teething, etc.;
- food should be given to the baby when he is hungry, and in no case should he be forced to eat what is offered;
- initially, all complementary feeding dishes (for example, vegetable purees) should be prepared from one vegetable: you can mix different vegetables or grains only when the child has already tried each of them separately;
- Complementary feeding should not be a reason to stop breastfeeding - it is not intended to replace mother's milk, but to supplement it.
Where to begin?
There are two options for introducing the first complementary foods, each of which has its own disadvantages and advantages. The first is a more modern and radical option, which is called complementary feeding, as well as the traditional scheme, that is, the introduction of special baby food (store-bought or home-cooked) into the diet. The choice of the most optimal scheme, of course, is up to the mother.
Peculiarities of complementary feeding
The main principle of complementary feeding is to introduce the baby to food that is familiar to his family, so that he can quickly “get involved” in the diet. Of course, this does not mean that six-month-old babies You should immediately start feeding fried and fatty adult foods. You need to start complementary feeding with tiny (no more than a quarter of a teaspoon) portions of boiled or steamed foods, which should be prepared accordingly: chopped or ground.
The list of products that may be included in complementary foods includes:
- boiled meat and fish;
- dairy products;
- boiled and steamed vegetables;
- fruits;
- porridges and side dishes (peas, potatoes, beans, etc.).
At first, the baby just gets acquainted with the taste and texture of the new food, after which its quantity begins to gradually increase. This complementary feeding scheme gives children the opportunity to develop communication skills, fine motor skills and coordination, and also forms the basis proper nutrition for the rest of my life.
Complementary feeding with baby food
The first foods that are recommended to be introduced into a baby’s diet are white (cauliflower) or green vegetables (zucchini, broccoli), since they rarely cause food allergies. Next, pumpkin and carrots are added to them, and the latter is given to the child no more than 2-3 times a week along with other vegetables, otherwise yellow-orange spots may appear on his feet and palms. An exception to this rule is children with insufficient weight gain - in this case, complementary feeding begins with gluten-free cereals.
It is not recommended to start complementary feeding with fruit juices or fresh fruits - they have a sweet taste, which is why the child immediately begins to develop a craving for sweets, and in addition, they can irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa, causing digestive disorders.
There is a special scheme for introducing new products, compiled by WHO specialists, which is recommended for all breastfeeding women to adhere to.
Type of complementary foods Optimal age for administration How to enter correctly Recommended serving size
Vegetables 6 months (if there are appropriate indications, 5 months) Green and white vegetables (except potatoes) are introduced first in the form of puree. To begin with, it is recommended to give ½ tsp, and then gradually increase to the volume of one feeding (100-200 g)
Vegetable oils 6 months It is recommended to introduce olive oil first, followed by sunflower and corn oil, which are added to the puree. A few drops (up to a teaspoon)
Porridge (dairy-free) 6.5-7 months. (with insufficient weight gain from 4-5 months) The first to introduce are cereals that do not contain gluten (buckwheat, corn, rice), after which multigrain porridges can be introduced With ½ tsp. (up to 100-200 g)
Butter 7 months As an additive to cereals With 1/8 tsp. (up to 10-20 g)
Fruits 7-8 months In the form of single-component purees, gradually moving to purees from several types of fruits With ½ tsp. (up to 100-200 g)
Milk porridge 8-9 months First, gluten-free cereals (buckwheat, corn, rice), and in the absence of allergies and gastrointestinal disorders, you can introduce oatmeal and multigrains With ½ tsp. (up to 100-200 g)
Meat 8 months To begin with, turkey, rabbit, and veal are recommended, after which chicken and beef are gradually introduced (pork is not recommended as complementary food) With ½ tsp. (up to 100-200 g)
Eggs (yolks) 8 months It is recommended to start with quail eggs, as they cause allergies less often than chicken eggs From 1/8 teaspoon of chicken (if a quail egg, then from ¼), bringing up to ½ (a whole quail) per day
Children's savory cookies 9-10 months Maximum 5 pcs. in a day From small pieces (about 1/8), up to whole cookies
Dairy products 9 months Special children's sour milk With ½ tsp. (up to 100-200 g)
Cottage cheese 9 months Special cottage cheese without additives With ½ tsp. (up to 50 g). From one year of age you can give 100 g
By-products 9-10 months As part of multi-component purees, initially more than 1-2 times a week With ½ tsp. (up to 50-100 g)
Fish 10 months (if you have allergies – from 12) Steam or boiled, twice a week With ½ tsp. (up to 150-200 g)
Fruit juices 10-12 months To begin with, give clarified juices diluted with water (proportion 1 to 1), preferably apple With ½ tsp. (up to 100 ml per day)
Porridge (semolina, pearl barley, millet, etc.) 12 months Start with well-cooked multi-ingredient porridges From 2-3 tsp (up to 200-250 g)
Berries 12 months In the form of a puree (preferably from bright berries) With ½ tsp. (up to 100-150 g)
When introducing complementary foods, the baby immediately needs to have his own dishes: a plate and a spoon. A special spoon can be purchased at the pharmacy - it can be silicone or plastic (some mothers use silver spoons).
It is unacceptable to feed children from a bottle, even if the manufacturer indicates that it is intended specifically for such purposes. Getting to know the pacifier is the first step to giving up mother's breast and the formation of unhealthy eating habits.
When introducing a child to new products, it is very important to monitor the reaction of his body - for this it is recommended to keep a special diary in which the mother will write down each of them (time of introduction, quantity, etc.). If your baby suddenly develops a food allergy, constipation or other digestive problems, it will be very easy to identify the “culprit” with the help of records. The product that caused such a reaction should be excluded from the diet for at least a month.
It is very important to remember that with the introduction of complementary foods, the nature of the child’s stool will in any case change. Vegetables contain fiber, so they can slightly loosen stools (therefore, they are especially recommended for children prone to constipation). Different fruits also act on the digestive system differently: more watery fruits (for example, kiwi, apples, apricots) have a laxative effect, while denser fruits (bananas, pears) have a strengthening effect.
The first feeding activates the liver and enzymatic system, which is why the stool may acquire a greenish tint or may contain patches of mucus and undigested pieces of food. If the child feels normal, such phenomena should not frighten parents - after the stomach learns to “work” with unfamiliar foods, the stool will immediately return to normal (usually this happens within about a week).
There should be no rush to introduce new products, otherwise the child may refuse complementary feeding altogether - in order for the baby to completely get used to a particular dish, he must try it at least 10 times. If you categorically refuse this or that product, you can use a small trick - add a little breast milk to the puree or porridge. Feeling the familiar taste, the baby will eat what is offered with pleasure.
Purees and cereals for the first feeding can be bought in specialized stores or prepared yourself. To do this, you need to take vegetables, rinse them well in boiled water, peel and seed them if necessary, chop finely, then boil or cook in a double boiler (the second option is preferable, since steaming retains more nutrients). Grind the boiled vegetables in a blender with the addition of a small amount of broth or water.
The consistency of the product should be liquid, reminiscent of kefir. When the baby grows a little, you can give him thicker purees, and closer to 10-11 months, vegetables should simply be mashed with a fork so that the child learns to chew. You cannot store ready-made foods for complementary feeding - you need to prepare a fresh portion each time.
To prepare porridge for the first feeding, you need to rinse and dry the cereal well, then grind it in a coffee grinder and brew it with boiling water (you can add a little breast milk). In no case should you force a child to eat everything without a trace - the main purpose of complementary feeding is not to feed the baby, but to introduce his body to adult foods, forming the right eating behavior and skills that will be needed in the future.
Video - first feeding
Around six months of age, children have an increased need for more energy and nutrients. The mother is faced with the question of how to properly introduce complementary foods. The development of the digestive organs in the future depends on it. The first food becomes the basis for the development of chewing technique and the proper production of enzymes.
The World Health System (WHO) has developed a system for introducing complementary foods and has determined the approximate range of when it can be given. The goal is not only to enrich children’s bodies with nutrients, but also to introduce them to solid, adult food.
According to generally accepted standards WHO, the timing of introducing complementary foods depends on the type of feeding.
Complementary feeding during breastfeeding should be started no earlier than 6 months. By the age of six months, breast milk becomes insufficient in vitamins and minerals for the full growth and development of the child.
Formula-fed babies can try new foods a little earlier, at 4-5 months. Their need for microelements is much greater than that of breastfed children. By this time, the immune and digestive systems have matured enough to absorb new foods.
The beginning of complementary feeding can be determined by the behavior and development of the child himself. Signs defined by WHO:
- the baby does not have enough usual portions of breast milk or formula;
- the baby can sit without support;
- the first teeth have appeared, the baby does not push food out of his mouth, he tries to chew it;
- is interested in what is on an adult’s plate.
It is important to remember that throughout the entire period of introducing new products, a nursing mother should not relegate breastfeeding to the background.
The table will help you figure out where to start, when and how much to give complementary foods while breastfeeding. The data corresponds to accepted WHO standards.
| Age, months | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Products and dishes | ||||||
| Porridge | 40 | 70 | 90 | 150 | 170 | 190 |
| Vegetable puree | 130 | 160 | 170 | 190 | 200 | 200 |
| Fruit puree | 50 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 100 |
| Butter and sunflower oil | 1 g | 3 g | 3-4 g | 4 g | 5 g | 5-6 g |
| Yolk chicken egg | ¼ pcs. | ½ pcs. | ½ pcs. | ½ pcs. | ½ pcs. | |
| Meat puree | 30 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | |
| Rusks, cookies | 5 g | 5 years | 8 g | 10 g | 15 | |
| Fish | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | ||
| Cottage cheese | 30 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 50 | |
| Kefir | 100 | 150 | 170 | 200 | ||
| Bread | 5 g | 10 g | 10 g | 10 g |
Rules for entering products and dishes
In order for a new product to bring only benefits to children and not cause unwanted reactions, several rules must be followed.
- At the time of introducing a new product, the baby must be healthy. This cannot be done during the period of scheduled vaccinations, at the time of separation from your mother or moving to a new place.
- Give complementary foods in the first half of the day, a few grams at a time, before the main feeding with breast milk or formula.
- Dishes must be thoroughly washed and food properly prepared.
- It is not advisable to store the prepared dish, even in the refrigerator.
- Complementary foods should be given using a spoon (not a metal one).
- You should switch to the next new product no earlier than a week.
If a new product causes vomiting, diarrhea, rash, etc. unpleasant symptoms, then you need to exclude it from the diet for a month. After this, repeat the administration again.
The diagram will clearly help you understand how the sequence of introducing new foods to a child is carried out, according to WHO recommendations.
| Input time | Type of serving | Frequency of introduction into the diet | Serving quantity |
| 6-8 months | The consistency of the food should resemble breast milk or be pureed. | Up to 3 times a day, 2 snacks allowed. | Gradual transition from 5 ml to 120 ml. |
| 9-11 months | Food mashed with a fork or finely chopped. Products that can be held in hands are offered to the baby. | Up to 4 feedings per day and 2 snacks. | One feeding is equal to 120 ml. |
| 12 months and older | Porridge is not ground, solid food cut into medium-sized pieces. | Complementary feeding will be replaced by 4 breast or formula feedings and 2 snacks. | A serving is approximately 230 ml. |
- If the child is only breastfed, then he should be offered water with the first complementary foods.
- If you are underweight, complementary feeding starts with cereals.
- If you have problems with stool, it is recommended to introduce prunes into your diet earlier.
- When the baby does not have time to absorb the product in a week, the time frame can be increased. Portions depend on the baby's weight.
The table for introducing new foods for 6-month-old children, using vegetables as an example, will help you figure out how much complementary feeding is allowed to be introduced in the first days.
| New Product | Week, no. | Daily diet (solid feeding during lunch) |
| Zucchini | 1 | 1st day. Puree, 1 tsp. 2nd day. Zucchini puree, 2 tsp. 5 g are added every day. Increase to 60 g. |
| Cauliflower | 2 | 1st day. Cauliflower puree, 1 tsp, and 60 g of zucchini puree. 2nd day. Puree from the new product, 2 tsp, and 55 g of zucchini puree (gradual reduction of the already absorbed product by 5 grams). 6th day. Cauliflower, 60 g, and 25 g zucchini. 7th day. Cauliflower only, 70 g. |
| Broccoli | 3 | 1. Broccoli puree, 1 tsp, and 70 g zucchini. 2. Broccoli, 2 tsp, and 60 g cauliflower. 6. Cauliflower puree, 80 g, and zucchini, 20 g. 7. Cauliflower puree, 100 g. |
| 4 | 1. Broccoli and zucchini - 50 g each. 2. Cauliflower and zucchini - 50 g each, etc. 7. Broccoli and cauliflower – 50 g each. |
The table will help you figure out how many grams of the dish and on what day you can offer your baby during the period when new products are introduced.
Getting to know something new
Where to start feeding your baby? The first complementary foods during breastfeeding depend on the baby's health status. If he is not gaining valuable kilograms, then it is better to start with porridges made from gluten-free cereals. In other cases, the introduction begins with vegetable dishes, but not with fruit ones.
Vegetable dishes are good for constipation. Fruits themselves are sweet, and after them it is more difficult to accustom the baby to other dishes.
The first porridges should be given as single-ingredient, gluten-free ones. These include corn, rice, buckwheat and oatmeal. If the baby is prone to constipation, then rice porridge should not be given first, and it can be cooked no more than once a week. The most useful is buckwheat. It prevents the development of anemia, gives energy, and is easily absorbed by the body. On the contrary, it should be included in the diet at least twice a week.
The first cereals for children should be dairy-free. They should not contain sugar or salt. The same rule must be followed when cooking dishes at home. Closer to the year, porridge can be cooked in pasteurized milk with the addition of water. When the child turns one year old, it is allowed to give completely milk porridge.
Vegetable dishes form the correct intestinal microflora and stimulate intestinal motility. It is better to start feeding with zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower. Closer to 8 months, carrots and pumpkin can be introduced into the diet. You need to start with one component. Once the child gets used to several vegetables, they can be mixed in one dish.
The first fruit puree should be a green apple or pear. You just need to introduce them with caution. They can increase the formation of gases and cause flatulence.
Meat dishes should be introduced after 7 months. You need to start with lean meats: turkey, veal, chicken. If a child is breastfed and does not want to take meat dishes in his diet, then you don’t have to insist. If a child is bottle-fed and has low hemoglobin, then meat must be included in his diet.
At 9 months you can start giving fish (hake, pollock) - up to 2 times a week. During the same period, fermented milk products such as kefir and cottage cheese are introduced.
Scheme of priority for introducing complementary foods to breastfed children, according to accepted WHO standards:
- 6 months – vegetable dishes;
- 6.5–7 months – fruits;
- 7–9 months – porridge;
- 8–9 – yolk;
- 9–11 – fish, meat;
- 11–12 – kefir;
- 12 – cottage cheese.
Innovations
The term “pedagogical complementary feeding” appeared relatively recently. It has slight differences from the WHO standard, includes the experience and advice of parents and is not supported by any other scientific data.
Pedagogical complementary feeding does not serve the purpose of feeding the child. A nursing mother just needs to teach her baby table manners and instill an interest in food.
Pedagogical complementary feeding includes the following tips:
- Feeding is not according to certain boundaries in the calendar adopted by WHO, but at the request of the child. At the same time, it is still taken into account that the first complementary feeding of an infant should not be introduced earlier than 6 months.
- Failure to comply with the food consistency standards proposed by WHO for first complementary feeding. The child takes everything from the table that the adults eat. Mom needs to make sure that the food is properly prepared (there should be no smoked, fried, spicy, or canned foods). The pieces are not crushed.
- Separate children's meals are not prepared. Children eat what adults eat.
- Up to 9 months, a child can freely eat from an adult’s plate. And only after the specified period he is given a separate spoon and plate.
- Pedagogical complementary feeding is not used during artificial feeding. Supporters this direction for a nursing mother to preserve her milk for as long as possible.
Pedagogical complementary feeding has many positive aspects. Among them, the main thing is to introduce children from the very first day of complementary feeding to the traditions of eating within their family. A nursing mother does not need to waste time and effort to prepare a separate dish. In addition, pedagogical complementary feeding promotes good lactation, so milk is stored for a long time.
A mother's guide to introducing new dishes using this method:
- For breakfast, mom should put only fresh and quality products, for example, cottage cheese, cookies, cheese.
- The child is seated on his knees and given a spoon in his hands. As mom begins to eat, he also becomes interested in the process.
- If your baby reaches for food, you should give him a small piece (equal to a match head).
- The baby either chews the product or spits it out.
- If the baby liked it and asks for more, it is allowed to give two more such servings. Gradually, over 3-5 days, the amount of the product you like is increased to 5 g.
- If you feed a child the same product, he will quickly lose interest in it. Therefore, it is worth attracting his attention to other foods.
At the same time, the mother needs to instill in the baby table manners. There is no need to allow the child to be mischievous, allow him to try everything that is on the plate.
These tips will help you adapt to new foods faster. But it should be borne in mind that most children under one year of age suffer from food allergies. In this case, it is more difficult to use this technique.
When the period of first complementary feeding begins, you need to take into account the state of health and taste preferences baby. Advice from others may not be appropriate as each child develops differently. The best option is a specialist consultation.
