At 6 months, the child’s horizons, attention, and needs become broader. The same thing happens with the diet. It is becoming more diverse. Previously, doctors advised starting complementary feeding at almost one month of age. Today their opinion has changed, they recommend changing the child’s menu at 6 months. As a rule, the baby’s diet during this period becomes more varied. Up to this point he had only drunk breast milk or milk formulas.
If the child is sick or has recently been vaccinated, then it is better to postpone complementary feeding. Otherwise, his parents won’t even know why he has a fever. Now we’ll find out what a child’s menu should be at 6 months.
Mostly during this period we start giving vegetable purees. You can, of course, give fruit ones too. But then the little one will refuse to eat more nutritious dishes after eating sweets. So that it doesn't happen allergic reactions and rashes in the baby, you must first give half a teaspoon of puree.
It is advisable to introduce complementary foods in the morning. If your baby develops a rash or something suspicious, you can take action immediately; this is quite difficult to do at night. Before giving your child a new food, it is necessary to study what allergic reactions certain vegetables can cause.
If everything is fine, then the dosage should be increased by a couple of teaspoons over the course of a week. You cannot introduce two or more new dishes into your baby’s diet at once. Let him get used to one first, after 2 weeks to the second, and so on. should be very finely chopped, then you can do it with small pieces (but very gradually) so that the child does not choke while eating.
Vegetable purees
Mothers often ask the question: “What to feed a baby at 6 months?” The first vegetable puree usually consists of potatoes, zucchini, carrots or cauliflower. If the child’s tolerance to these products is normal, then the vegetables can be mixed. For example, carrots with potatoes or zucchini. You can prepare different soups with vegetables, just be sure to grind them in a blender before serving.
Lean meat
After getting used to vegetables, your child can be offered lean meat. It also needs to be crushed and added to soups or purees. What can you give a 6 month old baby from meat? Veal and turkey are perfect for new complementary foods. You can cook soup for your baby using broth from this meat. Just first you need to strain it very well so that there is no fat. Every child will like veal or turkey. Making meat puree is not at all difficult. For example, veal needs to be cleaned of excess film, washed in plenty of water, cut into pieces and simmered until cooked.
A blender does not always grind meat well, so it is better to grind it 2-3 times through a meat grinder. After this procedure it turns out quite dry. To prevent the child from choking on it, you can pour a little broth to the desired consistency. Then put on low heat and bring to a boil. You need to add very little butter - 1-2 grams. A child's menu at 6 months gradually becomes more varied and balanced.
Porridge
What can you give a 6-month-old child, besides meat and puree? Porridge. They are very useful for the body of any person, especially children. This is already the beginning of the second complementary feeding after puree. Children love porridge. However, there is pearl barley and millet, which are more difficult to digest and chew, so these 2 types should not be given yet.
What can you give a 6 month old baby? If the child has low weight and frequent belching, then you should start with semolina porridge. You shouldn’t consume it every day, since it contains quite a few vitamins, but there is enough starch, which can cause allergies.
If the child has loose stools quite often, then it is better to start complementary foods that normalize the intestines. For constipation, oatmeal porridge is suitable because, on the contrary, it will relax you. Buckwheat porridge is considered the healthiest. It can be given to children suffering from diathesis.
How to feed cereals?
There is no need to grind semolina porridge. All the rest should be ground well in a blender. Semolina is boiled in milk (water must be added). When the child gets used to such feeding, you can eliminate water completely.
Another porridge that is very healthy for a child is oatmeal. It contains phosphorus, iron and other substances necessary for the body. The main thing is that it is not only healthy, but also nutritious.
Fruit purees
What sweets should I feed my 6 month old baby? After the main courses, you can start pampering your baby with tasty things, for example, fruit purees. You should first give half or a quarter of a teaspoon, gradually increasing the gram to 50. After 2 weeks, you can introduce a new one. When the baby gets used to different purees, then they can be combined. For example, an apple with a carrot or a pear.
Doctors' opinions on this matter
Since mothers go with their children to the clinic until they are one year old, the doctor at the appointment should tell them what to feed the child at 6 months. Parents who are just having their first baby don’t know how and what to give their little one correctly so as not to harm him. They are happy to follow advice. Only today, doctors have different opinions about what it should be. Some argue that it is better to buy special canned food for children in pharmacies, others believe that it is more advisable to cook it yourself. But the mother must understand that, firstly, you can’t buy canned food, since the prices for them are high, and secondly, she prepared it herself and you know exactly what you are giving to your baby.
Cottage cheese
What else can you give a 6-month-old child, besides purees, cereals and meat? Of course, cottage cheese. It is necessary for the growing body, as it contains protein, calcium, phosphorus, which is necessary for strong joints, teeth, hair, etc. The main thing is that the child is not allergic to dairy products. Then the cottage cheese will be digested very easily.
It should be started with 5 grams, once a day, preferably at 16-18 hours. Thus bring to 50 grams. The same amount should be given regularly for up to a year. When the baby’s body gets used to cottage cheese, then it can be combined with fruit purees that are familiar to him. After a week, you can add cookies to the same dish. It will be just right for an afternoon snack.
Drinks for baby
What can a 6 month old baby drink besides breast milk? Rosehip decoction is very useful for the baby, thirst is quenched well. You definitely need to drink water. Often children refuse it, but at least a few drops through a pipette must be given. Any juice, only homemade, not purchased.
You should start giving it with 2 drops per day, gradually increasing the dosage. Apple juice is the least likely to cause allergies, so it is advisable to start a new drink with it. When the child gets used to it, then you can give juice with pulp.
If a child suffers from constipation, then it is advisable to give plum, apple, apple with rosehip or pumpkin juice. Also, thanks to these drinks, the baby will suffer less from viral infections.
After the juice, you can add compotes of fresh berries and fruits. Kissel - berry or milk is also suitable, but not to quench your thirst, but for variety. You need to drink half an hour before or after meals. Under no circumstances should you give drink while eating. This makes it difficult to digest food.
From 6 months to one year, a child needs to drink at least 300 ml of liquid per day. You also need to accustom your baby to kefir. For the first time, 3 teaspoons is enough, after which you need to supplement with formula or breast milk. Throughout the day it is necessary to observe the baby, how he reacted to New Product.
If the child is not given enough fluids, dehydration may occur. Too much consumption impedes the functioning of the kidneys. That is why every mother should control not only nutrition, but also how much her baby drinks.
Sample menu for a 6 month old baby
At 6 a.m., only breast milk or formula is given.
8.00 - porridge 100 gr. + butter 2 gr. and juice 50 ml.
10.00 - formula or breast milk.
12.00 - fruit puree 100-30 gr.
14.00 - vegetable puree 120 gr. + meat 20-30 gr.
16.00 - breast milk or formula.
18.00 - fruit puree 100-130 gr. or cottage cheese 50 gr.
20.00 - formula or breast milk.
Throughout the day, the child should be offered juices, teas, compotes, and so on.
This is not an exact menu, but only an approximate one. At this age, the child becomes more active. And mother's milk becomes very little for him. That is why every mother should think about what kind of nutrition she should have. active child. Parents can keep a diary where they can write down the baby’s meals for every day and stick to this menu. Then they will not get confused, and the food will become balanced and varied. In addition, you should remember that it is unacceptable to enter several products into the menu at one time. There is no need to rush in this matter, otherwise various problems are likely to arise (rash, tummy pain, moodiness). After all, a baby cannot immediately adapt to unusual food.
Schedule
In order to know exactly what to feed a 6-month-old baby, you should schedule meals by day.
1 day. Apple juice, buckwheat banana puree.
Day 2. Compotes, rice porridge, apple or pear broccoli or cauliflower, a little cottage cheese.
Day 3. Oatmeal with the addition of milk, preferably breast milk. Kissel, fruit puree - plum or pumpkin.
Day 4 Buckwheat, mashed potatoes, kefir, fruit puree.
Day 5 Rice porrige. A little boiled egg yolk (less than half), jelly, zucchini puree, carrot juice.
The first and fourth feedings should consist of only breast milk or formula.
If you write down your child’s menu in this way, then it will be balanced and healthy. At six months of age, the baby gets used to new food, closer to 7 he already receives all the basic food products. At 6 months, you should not give porridge more than once. It is nutritious, so there is no need to be surprised if the child may refuse the next feeding. There is no need to force him, it means that the previous food was enough for him. If a child constantly refuses a certain food, then he simply overate this product (or he simply does not like it). You need to give the baby time to forget about it and try again.
What should you feed a 6 month old baby if he has teeth? First peel the apple or carrot and let it chew, but only very carefully! There is no need to leave your baby unattended if he eats a vegetable or fruit. Important: it is advisable to start complementary feeding with vegetables, gradually moving on to cereals. Fruit purees and juices should be introduced after them. Meat in the diet should be present in very small quantities. Dairy products should be introduced after others. Egg yolk, citrus fruits, and strawberries can cause allergies, so they must be given very carefully. Chocolate under 3 years of age is not recommended at all.
Conclusion
Now you know what it should be. We hope that our advice will help you create proper diet. Remember that the right and balanced diet will ensure growth, activity and healthy image life.
It’s one thing to know about a child’s nutritional problems “theoretically” and quite another to face them in practice. How to organize? At what time, in what form and in what quantity should they be offered? These questions often confuse moms and dads. We hope that the sample menus for a growing child, which we are starting to publish in this issue, will become a model that will help you create an individual menu for your baby.
TO 6 months baby He grew up noticeably and became more active and productive. He is interested in objects that come into his field of vision, looks at them carefully, and increasingly makes guttural, melodious sounds, repeating them with different intonations. The child’s emotional reactions have become much richer: he smiles joyfully at his mother, father, and other people whom he often sees, and is wary at the sight of strangers, reacting to the intonation of adults. Of course, you are still breastfeeding your baby, but the composition of breast milk can no longer fully meet his needs. This means that it is time to think about complementary feeding.
Menu for a 6 month old baby: new dishes
If a breastfed baby develops normally, then until 4-6 months he does not need any additional food products, including fruit puree and juices. This also applies to those children who are breastfed prone to allergies: if the pediatrician does not identify any deficiency nutrition for a 6 month old baby, then complementary foods are introduced at the usual time, taking into account individual tolerance of the products.
Artificially-bred children quickly begin to experience a lack of a number of substances necessary for normal growth and development. Consequently, the need for additional nutrition for children 6 months old. Therefore, new products in the form of juices and then fruit purees are introduced into their diet at approximately 3.5 - 4 months. Children receiving formulas based on soy protein or protein hydrolyzate (this happens in the case of an allergy to cow's milk proteins), they experience a lack of animal protein earlier than others. Therefore, meat puree from twice-cooked meat is introduced into their diet already at 5 - 5.5 months. If you are intolerant to beef, veal, the proteins of which are similar in composition to cow's milk proteins, it is recommended to use lean pork, horse meat, rabbit, turkey or chicken, as well as baby food containing horse meat or pork. However, these products must be administered to children with allergies carefully, taking into account individual tolerance.
Menu for a 6 month old baby: new diet
On 5 months of baby's life should be fed not 6, but 5 times a day at intervals of 3.5 hours and a 10-hour night break. Complementary feeding is best given at lunch (about 13 hours), and if for some reason this is inconvenient, then at any other feeding except the first and last. In this case, it will be easier for the child to wean himself off the first feeding (at 6 a.m.), and overeating at night is just as harmful for children as it is for adults.
A non-dairy product should be offered before breastfeeding or formula feeding - while the baby is still hungry and attracted to food. Start with a small volume (a few drops of juice, half a teaspoon of puree or porridge). Over the course of 10 - 12 days, gradually increase the amount of food to the desired volume (for complementary foods, this volume is about 150 grams). In order for a child to learn to swallow thick food, he must be fed with a spoon patiently and carefully; It is advisable that the baby’s first spoon be soft (for example, silicone).
If the child does not like the dish, do not insist; Force feeding is unacceptable!
Let your child get used to one dish first and only then introduce him to another. Introducing the new kind complementary foods, try one product first, gradually increasing its quantity, and then gradually “dilute” this product with a new one. For example, vegetable complementary foods you can start with half a teaspoon of zucchini puree. For a week, give your baby only this puree, gradually increasing its volume. After a week, add half a teaspoon of pea puree to the zucchini puree. Continue to gradually increase the volume of the zucchini-pea mixture, etc.
You should start complementary feeding with either porridge or vegetable puree. In cases where a child has signs of rickets, anemia, or food allergies, we recommend starting with vegetable puree. Part puree for children with food allergies, it is necessary to include only green and white vegetables (zucchini, cabbage, green beans, peas, potatoes). Since potatoes have fairly high allergenic properties, their amount should not exceed 20% of the total volume of puree. To prepare puree, you can use both natural (including frozen) vegetables and canned vegetables for baby food from the above light-colored vegetables. Vegetable oil (sunflower, corn, olive) is added to the vegetable puree - preferably refined and deodorized.
Menu for a 6 month old baby those with insufficient body weight, as well as children who regurgitate frequently, can be given porridge as their first complementary food. In the diet of healthy children, porridge is usually introduced after vegetables. It is better to start with gluten-free milk porridges (buckwheat, corn, rice). In this case, preference should be given to cereals for baby food industrial production, which are prepared from environmentally friendly raw materials, enriched with vitamins, mineral salts (including iron) and do not require cooking. Even if your baby is healthy, has no signs of allergies, and you prefer to prepare porridge yourself, it is advisable not to use whole cow’s milk to prepare porridge until 8 months. It can be cooked breast milk, the mixture that the baby is fed, if necessary - with water. Many industrially produced porridges already contain powdered milk, you can also give them at 5-6 months. In the first days, the porridge is prepared at 5 percent strength (5 grams of cereal per 100 grams of liquid): the porridge should be liquid - such that it flows from a spoon. Gradually cook the porridge thicker. You can add it to the finished porridge butter(from 5 months) and 1/4 hard-boiled egg yolk (from 6 months).
For children suffering from cow's milk protein intolerance, a second complementary food - dairy-free porridge - is introduced from 5 months. It can be buckwheat, corn, rice, oatmeal, barley porridge (the range of cereals is selected individually). When purchasing ready-made porridge, make sure that it does not contain powdered cow's milk. Porridges are prepared with water or with a specialized mixture that the child receives (based on soy or protein hydrolysate).
Menu for a 6 month old baby
Option 1. If your baby received exclusively breast milk up to 5 - 6 months and was growing and developing normally, then now is the time to start introducing new foods into his diet. Depending on the individual characteristics child, doctor’s recommendations and your personal wishes, it can be juice, puree - fruit or vegetable. If a child is prone to allergic reactions, as a first, new baby product in some cases, vegetable puree can be recommended (from half a teaspoon, gradually increase the serving volume to 150 g). 2 - 3 weeks after this, the child can be offered another new product. A month after the baby started receiving new foods, his menu may look something like this:
Option 2. If your child starts receiving additional nutrition and complementary feeding in more early dates(from 4 - 4.5 months) as prescribed by the doctor, then by 6 months his diet may look something like this:
Option 3. Approximate daily diet for a 6 month old child on artificial feeding and receiving new products from 4 months:
Option 4. Approximate daily diet for a 6-month-old child with an allergy to cow's milk proteins:
|
I feeding |
Breast milk Soy mixture |
|
|
II feeding |
8-10% dairy-free porridge with the addition of breast milk, fermented milk product, soy mixture or hydrolysate Ghee (vegetable) oil Fruit puree (apple, pear, plum) |
3 g (1/2 tsp) |
|
III feeding |
Vegetable puree Vegetable oil Meat puree Fruit puree |
3 g (1/2 tsp) 20 – 50 g (4 tsp) 20 g (4 tsp) |
|
IV feeding |
Dish of cereals and vegetables dish (zucchini+rice; cauliflower+buckwheat 1:1) Vegetable oil Meat puree Fruit puree |
3 g (1/2 tsp) |
|
V feeding |
Breast milk Fermented milk product Soy mixture Protein hydrolyzate mixture |
By six months of age, your baby is probably eating cereals and a variety of fruit and vegetable purees. He can receive complementary foods 1, 2 or 3 times a day. Sample menu for a child consists of porridge for breakfast, vegetables and bean curd or well-cooked beans for lunch, porridge and fruit for dinner. However, there cannot be strict rules here. It all depends on the child’s appetite and your preferences.
For example, a child with a poor appetite can be given fruit for breakfast, tofu with vegetables or beans for lunch, and porridge for dinner. If your baby is prone to constipation, you can give him prunes with porridge every evening, and other fruits for breakfast and lunch. You can also give your child beans and vegetables for dinner, like all family members, and porridge and fruit for lunch.
Many infants and some artificial children begin to eat solid food only by 6 months. Their digestion and taste preferences by this time are better formed than at 4 months. They can be offered new food more often and, accordingly, move to three meals a day faster.
Eating with hands at 6 months
By the time a baby is 6-7 months old, he wants to pick up food, suck and lick it. This is good preparation for independent feeding with a spoon at one year of age. If children have never been allowed to eat with their hands, they will likely be reluctant to try eating with a spoon.
Traditionally, the first food that is given to a child is a stale crust of bread or cracker. A small dry bun will also do. Children happily suck and chew it with their toothless gums. If they are teething at this time, their gums itch, and biting gives them special pleasure. As saliva softens the bread, some of it enters the mouth, and the child feels that he is eating something. Of course, bread mostly ends up on your hands, face, hair and furniture. Cookies often contain too much sugar, which makes children addicted to sweets. Therefore, it is better to give him something more harmless.
At 8-9 months, most children already have sufficiently developed coordination of movements to grasp small objects with their fingers. At this moment, you can put pieces of fruit, boiled vegetables or bean curd on the table in front of the child so that he can pick them up with his hands. (This is exactly the age when you need to carefully monitor that there are no small objects lying on the floor that a child could choke on. There is good rule: The object is dangerous for the baby if it fits into the hole in the toilet paper roll.)
Children love it when their parents give them pieces of food from their plates. Some babies refuse food given to them by their parents, but will gladly take it as their own. with my own hands. Many children put everything in their mouths at once, so it’s better to start by offering them one piece of food at a time.
Usually the first teeth appear by 7 months. Many children already have 4-6 sharp front teeth in their mouths per year. (However, there is no strict timetable for teething, and the process occurs differently for every child. Many healthy babies don't grow their first teeth until after they're a year old.) Most children don't have their first molars, which can be used to chew food, until they're 15 months old. . However, teeth or no teeth, they are somehow so good at eating that by their first birthday, most of them are able to refuse specially prepared baby food and can eat with their hands the same thing that the rest of the family eats. , provided that the food is finely chopped and does not contain hard pieces that could cause choking.
Purees and chunks after 6 months
After 6 months, the child should be taught to eat food in pieces. If after this age he continues to eat only pureed food, then it will become increasingly difficult for you to make this transition.
Some children seem to naturally handle morsels easily. Others, even at an older age, easily choke on pieces of food. This most likely happens because parents either tried too hard or too late to switch them from purees to kibble, or forced children to eat when they didn’t want to.
There are two important things to consider when making the transition from pureed food to kibbles. First, the transition must be gradual. When you first give your child vegetables in pieces, mash them thoroughly with a fork. Don't put too much food in your baby's mouth. When he gets used to this consistency of food, knead it less thoroughly. Secondly, allow your child to pick up small pieces with his hands and put them in his mouth. But don't try to shove a spoonful of morsels into his mouth that he's not used to.
So, start changing your feeding pattern around 6 months by allowing your baby to pick up food with his hands. You can prepare food for your child in the form of purees and pieces from those boiled vegetables and fruits that you use for the rest of the family, or buy him baby food that uses crushed products. It is not at all necessary to give all food in the form of pieces, but it is useful for the child to get used to the fact that every day he receives not only purees.
If you give your child meat, it should be thoroughly chopped. Most children do not like to chew large pieces of meat. They chew them for a long time and do not dare to swallow them, as adults do. This may cause the baby to choke. There are other reasons why you should stop eating meat, or at least postpone introducing it into your baby’s diet until an older age.
Most children love potatoes, pasta and rice. They can be given to the child along with other foods. Pasta made from whole wheat grains and brown rice contain more fiber and vitamins than refined foods.
Homemade baby food for 6 month olds
Many parents prefer to prepare food for their babies themselves from time to time or constantly. There is nothing particularly difficult about this. When you cook yourself, you have more control over the ingredients in your dishes and how they are prepared. You can use fresh produce grown with organic fertilizers for this. Plus, home-cooked food is cheaper than store-bought food.
There are many good books with recipes for children. To prepare food, you will need a mixer, blender or food processor.
Before feeding your baby, be sure to thoroughly stir reheated food and check its temperature, especially if you reheated it in a microwave oven, which heats the food from the inside, which may cause hot spots in the food. As a result, one spoon may turn out to be cold and the other too hot. You can prepare food for your baby at a consistency that suits him. If necessary, it can be diluted with water, expressed breast milk or artificial milk formula. Or freeze in an ice tray and store as needed.
Food for a child under one year of age should not contain any seasonings.
If your baby eats the same food as you, you will have to slightly change your taste preferences in terms of using salt and sugar and carefully grind all foods.
Ready-made baby food aged 6 months
When they first started producing baby food in jars, it consisted of either only vegetables, or only fruits, or only meat. Nowadays, companies producing it offer purees consisting of vegetables and starch, fruits and starch, as well as combined meat-vegetable purees, which include starch, vegetables and meat. Most often, refined rice, corn or wheat are used to make starch.
If you buy ready-made food for your child, carefully read the small letters on the packaging. The can may say "Mashed Beans" in large letters, but in small print it may say "Cornstarched Beans." Try to buy just vegetable or fruit purees to be sure that the child receives these valuable products and not refined starch. Avoid foods that contain sugar or salt.
Do not expose your child to puddings and desserts containing gelatin. They do not have the necessary nutritional value and contain a lot of sugar. It is better to give your baby regular pureed fruits. If your child has never tried refined sugar, fruit will taste naturally sweet to him.
What to do if a child chokes?
All children choke sometimes when they start eating solid foods, just as they fall when they learn to walk. The following are the most common foods that children under 5 years of age most often choke on:
- pieces of meat;
- dragee candies;
- pieces of raw carrots;
- peanut;
- grape;
- apple pieces;
- cookie;
- popcorn.
Nine times out of ten, children who choke easily spit out food or swallow it without help. When your baby fails to do this, remove the stuck piece with your fingers if you can see it. If it is not visible, place the baby on your lap, belly down, and vigorously tap your palm between the shoulder blades. This almost always helps and the child can start eating again. In some cases, you may need to take immediate action.
Some parents are so worried about the child choking that they are too late in allowing him to handle food with his hands and give him food in pieces.
The problem is not that children cannot chew or swallow. Most often this happens when the child takes a deep breath while eating. This can happen if the baby laughs, cries, or is surprised. At this point, food from the mouth enters directly into the respiratory tract, blocking it.
This does not mean that a child under 5 years old should not be given the above products (although I would not recommend the pills at any age). However, children should eat while sitting at a table under constant adult supervision. Teach them to chew their food thoroughly and take smaller bites from larger pieces.
The introduction of the first complementary foods is allowed from 6 months. It is important to know what foods to offer your baby and at what point. If you plan your diet correctly for the whole day, then the products will be beneficial and enjoyable.
By the end of six months of age, the nutrients found in breast milk become insufficient for the growing body. It is this period that is associated with the first complementary foods. By this age, the digestive organs are already able to accept and digest more complex food. The mother is faced with the question of what can be given, where to start complementary feeding and in what quantity. To answer these questions, you need to take into account the child’s health characteristics and type of feeding. There is a basic scheme for entering products.
Product inclusion order
Before 6 months, introducing new food into the menu of a breastfed baby is not only not worth it, but also impossible. The body does not produce enzymes that can break down food. Therefore it will become useless. The risk of developing digestive diseases increases.
In bottle-fed children, enzymes begin to be produced a little earlier, so complementary foods can be introduced from 5 months.
Additional signs that complementary feeding can be started and the baby is ready to receive adult food include the following:
- shows interest in what is on an adult’s plate;
- The first teeth begin to erupt;
- baby sits independently;
- The child knows how to hold a spoon in his hands.
Products should be included in the menu in small quantities, not exceeding 5 grams. You cannot introduce several types of new products at the same time. Every day, if no allergic reactions have been detected, the portion is increased and in 7 days it is brought to approximately 100 grams.
As soon as the child turns 6 months old, parents are faced with the question of where to start the first complementary feeding.
The table for the introduction of foods by month for breast-fed children will help you navigate the inclusion of certain foods in the diet.
| Child's age | Authorized Products | Important points |
| 6 months | Purée zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin or carrots. | It is better to start with vegetables that are not brightly colored. |
| 7 months | Porridge made from rice, buckwheat or corn. | Cereals should not contain gluten; they should be cooked in water without adding salt or sugar. |
| 8 months | Beef, turkey, chicken, plus mashed potatoes and yolk. | All products are introduced gradually and after two days. |
| 9 months | Fermented milk products, such as cottage cheese, kefir. | It is better to choose a product that has a short shelf life (no more than 5 days), or make it yourself. |
| 10 months | Fruits (dried fruits, apples, pears). | Many fruits cause fermentation and increased gas formation, so it is better to cook compotes, bake or add fruit to other dishes. |
Complementary feeding, as the table shows, is best to start with vegetables. In rare cases, they cause allergies, contain more fiber, and therefore help activate intestinal motility. In addition, if you start introducing complementary foods with fruits, then it is more difficult to introduce vegetables after them, since they do not have a sweet taste.
If children, while breastfed, do not gain weight well, then porridge is first introduced into the menu, and only after that vegetables. Each new type of product should be given separately and for a whole month.
If mom herself prepares pureed vegetables or porridge, then you can add vegetable oil. Administration scheme vegetable oil as follows.
- On the first day you need to start with one drop.
- On the second day, the dosage is increased to 2 drops.
- On the third day, add up to 5 drops.
- Fourth day – you can include ¼ teaspoon.
- On the fifth day, the amount of oil will be 3 grams (half a teaspoon).
- In the following days, a portion of vegetable oil is equal to one teaspoon (5 grams).
After you have mastered the hypoallergenic vegetable dishes of zucchini, cauliflower and broccoli, it is worth starting to introduce carrot and pumpkin dishes. But it is not recommended to offer them to a child more than 3 times a week.
As soon as the baby gets acquainted with various types vegetables separately, you can start mixing several products in one dish. But this is the case if there was no reaction from the body to any of the components in the form of diarrhea, vomiting, or rash.
For example, the scheme for introducing cauliflower puree into the menu is as follows.
On the 1st day, in the morning before the main feeding, the baby is offered a teaspoon of puree and 180 ml of formula or breast milk.
On the 2nd day - two teaspoons.
Day 3 – four teaspoons.
4th day – 40 grams.
Day 5 – 80 grams.
Day 6 – 120 grams.
On the 7th day, the amount of vegetable puree is increased to 150 grams, and the portion of formula or breast milk is reduced to 50 ml.
Complementary foods made from vegetable puree should be offered in the morning during breakfast before the main feeding with breast milk or formula.
On the 8th day, the administration regimen is repeated again, only with another vegetable, for example broccoli. By the end of the week, you can add this vegetable to cauliflower.
You should not force your child to eat. If he doesn't like the dish, you can try introducing it after a few days or even weeks. You should not add spices (salt or sugar) thinking that this will make the dish tastier.
Rules for eating new dishes
Sometimes a child’s body reacts to the first complementary foods. Diarrhea or constipation occurs, frequent regurgitation and vomiting are observed, a rash appears on the body, pain and colic appear in the abdomen. If such reactions occur, the introduction of complementary foods should be stopped; reintroduction of the product into the diet can be repeated after a month.
Products that should not be given to children under one year of age and especially as initial complementary foods at 6 months:
- juices, as they can cause increased stomach acidity;
- cereals made from cereals that contain gluten;
- You cannot feed your child fresh vegetables, as they cause increased formation of gases in the stomach and are difficult to digest by the body;
- cookies and other similar sweet desserts;
- cow's milk is also prohibited.
In order for the first complementary feeding to be beneficial and not harm the child’s health, you need to know where to start and how to properly include foods in the diet.
- A new dish should be introduced into the diet only when the child is completely healthy.
- Complementary feeding begins on the principle of slowly increasing, from 5 grams. Up to a year, complementary feeding should not exceed 180 grams.
- You need to start with a one-component dish, liquid in consistency.
- Feeding is carried out using a spoon, while the baby must sit.
- Complementary feeding is offered once a day.
- You cannot introduce a new dish on the days of supposed preventive vaccinations.
After the baby has digested cereals and vegetables, they can be included in the diet at the same time. The total volume of each of these dishes should not exceed 160 grams. A child at 6 months is fed 5-6 times a day. A child's meal plan at six months may look like this:
- The first breakfast will consist of adapted mixture or breast milk.
- Second breakfast - any type of gluten-free porridge.
- The next feeding will take place during the lunch period and will consist of vegetable puree.
- The fourth and subsequent feedings will include only formula or breast milk.
For each feeding, the baby should drink about 200 ml of formula or mother's milk.
Recipes for making fruit and vegetable purees, as well as cereals, should resemble breast milk in consistency. It is allowed to add vegetable oil. Do not give undiluted juices.
How should a six-month-old baby eat?
The table will clearly show what an approximate food menu will look like, including the first complementary foods.
| Age | 5 months | 6 months | 6.5 months | 7 months |
| Breakfast | Mono-component vegetable puree. Start with 5 g and work up to 50 g. | Vegetable puree 70 g with the addition of a drop of vegetable oil. | Gluten-free porridge – from 30 g. | Porridge – 100 g, fruit compote – 10–20 g. |
| Dinner | Puree of hypoallergenic vegetables with the addition of 2 g of vegetable oil. | Vegetable puree - about 140 grams with the addition of 3 g of vegetable oil. | ||
| Afternoon snack | One-component fruit puree – from 5 to 40 g. | Pear or apple puree – from 30 to 50 g. | You can offer fruit puree, mixed from different components, about 50 g. | |
| Dinner | Kefir or cottage cheese – 10–15 g. |
The fruit menu of a child who is 6 months old should include bananas, plums, pears and a green apple.
If fruit juices are included in your diet, they must be diluted with water. It is recommended to introduce fruit puree only 2-3 weeks after juices. The introduction of berries is not recommended until 10 months.
How to introduce a new dish to a child’s menu, and where to start - the answer largely depends on the type of feeding. The table will help you understand how the diet differs between foods for breast-fed and bottle-fed children.
| Products | Child's age (months) | |||||||||
| Natural feeding | Artificial feeding | |||||||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| Breast milk or formula | 800 | 550 | 850 | 750 | 400 | 350 | 300 | |||
| Porridge, g | 88 | 130 | 80 | 120 | 150 | |||||
| Vegetable puree, g | 100 | 150 | 80 | 120 | 150 | 170 | ||||
| Fruit puree, g | 50 | 65 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | |||
| Butter, tsp. | 0,25 | 0,5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| Cottage cheese | 30 | 30 | 35 | 40 | ||||||
| Meat puree | 30 | 30 | 40 | |||||||
| Yolk, pcs. | 1/4 | 1/4 | 1/2 | |||||||
| Cookies, g | 3-4 | 3-4 | 4-5 | |||||||
| Fruit juice, ml | 50 | 25 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | ||||
| Dairy products | 150 | |||||||||
As the table shows, complementary foods are introduced into the diet of artificial babies a little earlier. Vegetables and cereals are introduced into the diet in the same way. You need to start with porridge cooked in water, then half and half with milk, and only closer to a year can you add whole milk.
An approximate menu for a bottle-fed baby (provided that cereals, vegetables and fruits have been consumed) will look something like this.
- The first breakfast is only a mixture.
- Second breakfast – porridge without milk and mixture.
- Lunch – pureed vegetables and mixture.
- Dinner is just a mixture.
During lunch, you can offer fruit juice and replace vegetable puree with fruit puree.
Sample menu for breastfed children:
- The first breakfast is only milk.
- Second breakfast - porridge or vegetables and breast milk.
- Lunch – main feeding with breast milk and fruit juice.
- Dinner - only breast milk.
As soon as the baby gets used to the new food, complementary foods should be introduced breastfeeding to the background.
Complementary foods should be introduced into the diet in a timely manner. There is no need to rush too much, but you should not leave your baby on only breast milk or formula for a long time, this will not be beneficial for the growing body. The baby’s condition and a doctor’s consultation will help you plan the menu correctly for each day.
World health standards recommend starting to expand your baby’s menu with additional products from the age of six months. A child's diet at 6 months becomes more varied. Baby products often have labels on them that confuse mothers, making complementary feeding a very complicated issue.
Many mothers who feel that their baby does not have enough milk introduce complementary foods literally from 2-3 months, because they see no reason why carrot juice or pear puree could be harmful. They try to stimulate appetite so that the baby asks for the breast more often, but they get a completely different effect:
- tendency to obesity;
- persistent food allergies;
- chronic digestive disorders;
- diathesis.
If lactation is insufficient, then it is necessary to give the baby not porridge or puree, but a milk drink prepared from a dry mixture, which the pediatrician will recommend. If a child has a decreased appetite, it is also necessary to contact a local doctor for consultation and diagnostics. Remember that up to 5-6 months, the body of a healthy baby most often cannot cope with digesting food other than breast milk or formula for mixed or artificial feeding. These indicators are average, so pediatricians recommend introducing complementary foods when the baby:
- healthy;
- shows interest in food;
- doubled my weight since birth;
- sits independently;
- begins to demand food more often;
- I almost stopped spitting up.
A child's diet at 6 months most often involves replacing 1-2 feedings with other dishes. The consequences of late complementary feeding are no less dire: rickets, anemia, retardation in psychomotor development, dystrophy. Carefully select the products that you will give to your baby, as multi-component purees can cause allergies. You should not introduce your baby to several types of purees, porridge and other products at the same time.
Many manufacturers label canned purees for babies that they are allowed after 4 months. You shouldn’t focus on it and rush to replenish your little one’s menu with them.
Basic Rules
When breastfed, food 6 one month old baby must be built according to the rules.
- Introduce new foods when the baby does not have indigestion (constipation or diarrhea), he should not suffer from colds, and his body temperature should be normal. It is prohibited to introduce new dishes 5-7 days before the expected date of vaccination and the same period after it.
- Additional nutrition is given before breast milk. After complementary feeding, he needs to be supplemented.
- The temperature of the dish should be moderately warm, and the consistency should be as watery as possible, without lumps or pieces. There are no special recipes for cooking food for a baby. If you cook yourself, you must first steam the vegetables, then chop them in a blender or puree them. Porridges are first boiled in water and then diluted with milk. The first feeding is best done with lactose-free cereals.
- You need to feed your baby while sitting, from a spoon. It is forbidden to feed a lying baby or give porridge at the same time as formula.
- The first portion of a new product should not exceed a quarter teaspoon in size. You need to give a new product only once a day, gradually increasing its volume to 150 grams per day. This usually takes up to 2 weeks. This portion will completely replace one breastfeeding.
- You can proceed to the introduction of the next product after adapting to the previous one. For this reason, the diet of a 6-month-old baby will not be large: in one month you can manage to introduce 2-3 products.
- During the period of introducing complementary foods, monitor the condition of the baby.
To make it easier for you to introduce complementary foods later, simultaneously with replenishing the baby’s diet, begin feeding according to the schedule, with an approximate interval of 4 hours. The nutrition of a 6-month-old breastfed baby is not much different from what is recommended for a bottle-fed baby. The menu will be more extensive if the baby has received additional products from 4 months.
How to diversify a child's diet?
Based on individual characteristics, pediatricians recommend products for starting complementary feeding. The nutrition of a 6-month-old bottle-fed baby is different, since they do not need high-calorie foods. Children who drink artificial formula should not use porridge as a first course, as they usually have no problems with weight gain.
With breastfeeding, the weight of a baby older than six months increases slowly. He is recommended to start introducing new foods with cereal dishes, since breast milk is no longer able to provide the required amount of nutrients.
With slow weight gain, feeding a baby at 6 months on artificial or natural feeding involves the primary introduction of cereals. These must be gluten-free cereals. Start complementary feeding with single-ingredient cereal dishes. To prepare them, use the following grains:
- rice;
- corn;
- buckwheat
After 3 weeks, make mixtures from these cereals; the little ones especially like rice and corn. To prepare your own dishes, grind the grains with a coffee grinder, cook first in water, and then add a little milk. Regardless of whether you use ready-made porridge mixtures or cook them yourself, you need to add a little butter to each ready-made portion.
If the baby is breastfed, then you can cook porridge with breast milk.
If by six months the child has more than doubled his birth weight, then the first new dish should be vegetables with a small amount of vegetable oil. They are also recommended for artificial people. The most hypoallergenic options are:
- zucchini (especially if you are prone to constipation);
- potato;
- cauliflower and broccoli.
The second stage of getting to know vegetables begins with the introduction of green pea puree. Vegetables with red pigment are introduced closer to 8 months, at the third stage. These vegetables include pumpkin, beets, and carrots.
Make the puree yourself by steaming the fruits or purchase ready-made options. Add sunflower or olive oil, and once a week the yolk. Start by adding 1 drop, gradually increasing its volume to a teaspoon. When introducing vegetables with yolks, there is no need to mix them. From the second week of complementary feeding, you can add a quarter of the yolk, gradually increasing the amount to the whole.
The first fruits on your baby’s menu should be:
- green pear;
- plum or prune;
- green apple;
- ripe banana.
Fruits and juices are introduced after vegetables and cereals are firmly established in the child’s diet at 6 months. This is due to the fact that they have a pleasant sweetish taste, which babies really like. They may become so accustomed to fruit that they stop eating other foods. The rules for introducing fruit puree are the same as for vegetable puree. The only difference is that before chopping the sweet fruits, you do not need to cook them.
You need to prepare food for your baby without sugar or salt.
Rules for creating a menu
Pediatricians often give a ready-made menu, but young mothers do not understand how to introduce dishes correctly and begin to feed the child according to it right away, not taking into account that the little body needs to be rebuilt. This leads to digestive disorders of the baby, because he is not yet ready for a large number new products. The diet of a 6-month-old baby is organized week by week.
An example menu in this case would look like this:
- first week - you need to introduce porridge in the morning;
- second: continue to increase the portion of cereals, offer your baby vegetables at lunchtime;
- third: increase the portions of previously introduced dishes;
- fourth: no later than 3 pm, add fruit to your diet.
By the fifth week, porridge and vegetables should be given in full portions, and by the sixth week, increase the portion of fruits, add juice, which you will give between lunch and dinner. After you have brought one product to a full serving, you can begin to get acquainted with the next one. You need to try any dish with a minimum quantity.
You may encounter an unforeseen situation - a child refusing a new product. Postpone its introduction, try again to offer a new dish in 3-4 weeks. Another problem is decreased appetite. You should not force your baby to eat, otherwise he may refuse the new dish.
If you do not force your baby to eat the prescribed amount of food, this will maintain food interest.
What to feed babies who are fed early?
If, for medical reasons, complementary feeding was introduced to the child early, from 4 months of age, then the nutrition of a 6-month-old bottle-fed child will be somewhat different. According to the WHO table, in this case you can include a larger number of products in your diet:
- milk porridge from two components;
- fruits and vegetables with red pigment;
- vegetable broth soups;
- cottage cheese and kefir;
- cookie.
These products need to be distributed over 4 feedings, which will be completely replaced by 7-8 months of age. Try to wait 4 hours between feedings. Artificial producers need to start introducing new products with vegetables and fruits, and later introduce cereals and other products.
Soups can only be cooked in vegetable broth; you can add rice and yolk to them. This is due to the fact that the baby’s kidneys are still underdeveloped, and meat broths containing purine bases put an excessive load on them. When introducing complementary foods to children using this type of feeding, it is forbidden to increase the portions; it is better to offer the baby a small amount of the mixture after eating.
Since babies who were introduced to complementary foods early are already switching to an expanded menu, you can begin to introduce them to fish and meat purees. They should be given along with vegetables. You can make a complete lunch from a portion of soup, vegetables, pureed meat or fish. In this case, supplementary feeding is prohibited. The first to puree meat or fish should be ready-made varieties, as they have a consistency that cannot be achieved at home. If you don’t trust factory products, then use a blender to make purees and buy only lean meats.
It is permissible to prepare dishes for children from six months of age from:
- veal;
- rabbit meat;
- Chicken;
- turkeys
Babies who drink formula are prone to obesity. Therefore, you should not give them semolina and other high-calorie foods that are not beneficial. It has been proven that semolina porridge large quantities can lead to the development of anemia and rickets, since it contains a minimal amount of useful substances, but it saturates for a long time. It is recommended to choose low-fat cottage cheese for them: you can buy the one that is sold for children in portions with a fixed weight. Its advantage is its creamy consistency, without grains.
