The introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding: table (monthly)

Newborns need special nutrition and breast milk, which has a completely perfect, balanced composition and absolutely satisfies the urgent needs of a small growing miracle in vitamins, nutrients and minerals in the first twenty-five weeks of a baby's life.

During this period of time, the digestive and enzyme systems mature, and intestinal microflora are formed. In this regard, by the half-year of life, the enzymatic usefulness of breast milk is not enough. The timely start of the introduction of complementary foods simultaneously with breastfeeding contributes to the intake of the necessary fiber and additional minerals necessary for the implementation of motor activity, mental development and proportional growth of the child.

The article discusses issues such as the introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding, table with terms and a list of products.

When should lure start?

Parents look forward to the moment when it is already possible to offer their baby something more than a mixture or mother's milk. And looking at all kinds of colorful jars, I want to do it even faster. But there is a certain “but”, namely, that the indication on the packaging of porridge or juice of the age at which it can be given does not mean at all that it can be done. This is especially true for supplements from four months of age. There is a strong opinion that complementary foods for infants should not be administered earlier than six months of age. It is also advisable because at this time the child is already interested in trying something new himself.

For the introduction of complementary foods with artificial feeding at 3 months, there should be appropriate medical evidence in the form of underweight, anemia, or others. Without special instructions, artificers introduce a new diet from the age of four months.

When is the baby ready?

So, the following indicates the readiness of the baby to receive complementary foods:

• twice as much weight at birth;
• the baby began to sit confidently;
• the child can take something with two fingers;
• the baby can swallow fluids that are slightly thicker than milk and water and do not push them out with their tongue;
• the baby knows how to turn his head if he is already full;
• the child is completely healthy, and the last vaccine was given more than three days ago;
• the baby has a clear interest in new food.

In the case of feeding the crumbs, artificial feeding can be introduced from about three to five months, in connection with the earlier completion of the development of the enzyme system in such children.

What mashed potatoes to start with?

There is still no unanimous opinion on the question of how to properly start feeding a baby with artificial feeding. The health organization and most pediatricians are advised to start with mashed potatoes made from vegetables. This is with the normal development of the baby. If he has problems with weight gain, then you can start complementary foods with cereals.

Significant is the seasonality of the introduced complementary foods. That is, if its beginning falls on the vegetable season, then the zucchini may become the first puree. It is light in consistency, well-digestible, non-allergenic, healthy product.

The first feeding during artificial feeding (the table is presented below) must be started in strictly allotted time. After the addiction, which is expressed in the free consumption of the product, you can begin to introduce the next puree, it can be potato or pumpkin, which has more nutritional value.

Where to start complementary foods: porridge

In some cases, pediatricians are advised to start complementary foods at an earlier age than usual. In this case, porridge is used as the first food. What cereals should one start with so as not to harm the child?

Specialists in baby food recommend choosing such cereals as rice and buckwheat as the introduction of complementary foods for breastfeeding at 5 months. This choice is justified by the fact that these products do not contain gluten, which can cause allergic reactions. And another plus is that the biochemical composition of these cereals, as well as their nutritional value, are fully consistent with the baby's age and needs.

If the crumb organism is prone to periodic constipation, then the best choice in this case is buckwheat and, on the contrary, with a tendency to loose stools, preference should be given to rice groats, it has fastening properties.

If the mother decides not to use ready-made cereals, but to cook them herself, then she should start with small, and then switch to medium grinding.

The first complementary foods Komarovsky

As advised by Dr. Komarovsky, a practicing pediatrician, the introduction of complementary foods during breastfeeding (the table is presented below, you should start with the products that are closest in structure to breast milk containing sour-milk bacteria. This is kefir and cottage cheese. And the next step is to add homemade yoghurts. Products for complementary foods should be low in fat and prepared according to special technology in compliance with all sanitary standards.

Food from vegetables, fruits, meat and fish should be crushed to a puree state. First, they teach them in small doses, gradually increasing them. With a good stomach reaction, the following product can be administered in a week.

The doctor substantiates such recommendations by the fact that the intestines of the child will be colonized with beneficial bacteria, which in the future will contribute to the rapid absorption of food, and adaptation to new products will occur faster.

The introduction of complementary feeding during breastfeeding: table

Tips by Dr. Komarovsky

The first lure, according to the advice of Dr. Komarovsky, should start like this:

1. On the first day, at the time when there should be a second feeding, give the baby two teaspoons of kefir, then feed him the usual food.
2. On the second day, the amount of complementary foods doubled, supplement.
3. The amount of kefir on the third day to increase to sixty milliliters.
4. On the fourth day, introduce one or two teaspoons of cottage cheese into the lure.
5. On the fifth day, add thirty grams of cottage cheese to yogurt.
6. On the sixth and seventh days, complementary foods are already 180 ml, which replaces completely one feeding.
7. Within a week after this, the second feeding is gradually replaced, and further feeding is continued during breastfeeding, the table for months will tell you how to do it correctly.

How to introduce complementary foods infants?

Even if there is no table in front of your eyes, you can gently introduce complementary foods in compliance with the basic rules and product sequence.

And the rules are as follows:

• the time of entering the first feeding - lunch;
• start with a minimum portion, feeding milk or a mixture, bringing a week to the main volume;
• introduce one new product once a week with the condition of a normal reaction of the body;
• if the baby refuses to eat new food, then you do not need to force it, you should wait a while (several weeks), giving another, and then offer again what you did not want;
• for each feeding, you need to prepare a fresh portion, it is not allowed to reheat the old one;
• the density of complementary foods should gradually change from liquid puree to thicker;

• when the child is nine months old, food can be chopped not with a blender, but with a fork, accustoming to a thicker meal;
• by ten months the baby can be offered slices of boiled potatoes and carrots, and by twelve months old - meatballs from minced meat for the development of chewing functions;
• at the age of ten months, three days can be allotted for the introduction of a new product, provided the child feels well;
• when there are already several products in the baby’s diet, it’s important to diversify his menu and not focus on one thing.

Parents should remember that one of the important stages in a child’s life is the first feeding during breastfeeding. The WHO table will certainly help; in case of questions, you need to contact her.

Useful dishes: tips

To increase the usefulness of the introduced complementary foods, the following can be advised:

1. When preparing cereals, add a drop of olive oil not bitter in them.
2. For the independent manufacture of kefir and yogurt, you can use pharmacy natural starter cultures, do not add sugar.
3. For taste in the late period, you can add fruit puree to the cottage cheese.
4. At the eighth month of life, the baby can be offered raw grated fruits (banana, apple) and fresh water diluted in two-thirds.
5. From eight months, up to three grams of butter can be added to porridge.
6. When cooking meat puree for the first time, do not use the broth, as it can cause indigestion.
7. If the baby refuses to eat the yolk, it can be added to porridge or mashed potatoes.

How to persuade a little boy?

Some parents who are starting breastfeeding (the WHO table tells you how to do this) are confronted with the problem that children refuse to eat new foods. The reasons are as follows:

1. I did not like the first experience: complementary foods were too thick, hot or tasteless, in terms of crumbs.
2. The child was not yet physically ready to take complementary foods.
3. Moral errors of adults: scolded if the child grabbed something from the plate.

If for some reason the baby has stopped eating complementary foods, you should not scold him, let alone feed him by force. But to reduce the time in this case between feedings is not necessary, the baby is well hungry for the next meal and will not be capricious. Between meals to exclude snacks and sweets.

The introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding: menu, table

Introduction to the diet of new food for children on artificial feeding is different from those that feed on mother's milk. This is due to the fact that the body first learns to process foreign elements from an early age, the enzymatic system of the intestine develops earlier. Therefore, adaptation to new products is a little easier for them.

The introduction of complementary feeding during artificial feeding: table

Rules for the introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding

The introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding (the table above suggests the timing and volume of food) needs to fulfill certain rules:

1. Lure should be started at the age of three and a half to four months.
2. Extra food should be given only from a spoon, not from a bottle.
3. It is not allowed to introduce two new products at the same time.
4. After complementary foods have been introduced, a feeding regimen should be established five times a day.
5. Feeding is introduced into the baby’s diet at ten-hour feeding or at two in the afternoon.
6. Porridge should be entered on the menu no earlier than a month after the vegetables and when the child reaches six months of age.
7. If the baby’s stomach is poorly absorbed by cow’s milk proteins, then beef and veal should be excluded from the list of complementary foods. These products can be replaced with rabbit, turkey, chicken, lean pork.
8. A couple of times a week, the baby should receive fish instead of meat - easily digestible protein and vitamin B.
9. Sour-milk products fall into the introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding (the table confirms this) no earlier than seven months of age. In this WHO recommendations differ from the advice of Dr. Komarovsky.

Conclusion

Since the health of the child and its further development depend on the introduction of complementary foods, parents should remember that it is necessary to approach this issue quite seriously and responsibly.

No need to rush, new products must be introduced gradually and in compliance with the food sequence, since there is no point in giving the child food that the body is not ready to process. The basic rule is not to harm the baby.