Pedagogical complementary feeding: natural introduction of solid foods

First spoon

Olezhka is already 6 months old and everyone around his mother Sveta is worried that she still feeds him exclusively with breast milk.
The pediatrician has been saying for 2 months now that it’s time to give the baby apple juice, yolk, and vegetable purees and cereals that are just right for his age. Of course, the mother-in-law and mother are also not far behind - they echo the doctor. Sveta is still holding the siege; she read somewhere that complementary feeding should be introduced just after 6 months. The only thing she cares about is how to administer it. The recommendations of the pediatrician and Olezhenka’s grandmothers do not instill confidence in her; there is something unnatural in them. The thought always arises: how did women cope with these problems 100–200 years ago? Did they really give the baby apple juice drop by drop and porridge from a bottle with a special spoon-shaped tip? It’s unlikely... At that moment we met Sveta. She told me why she was confused by the traditional system of introducing complementary foods - her sister introduced complementary foods to her son in this way. And vivid images remain in Sveta’s memory: the sister sits in front of the baby: she either taps with a spoon, or crows, or slips a newspaper into the baby’s hands - as long as he, engrossed in this, opens his mouth for another spoon. The nephew's attention weakens a little - he stops opening his mouth, even turns away, so she begins to come up with something new. Is it correct?

When and where to start complementary feeding

As the baby grows older, he begins to show interest in everything that surrounds him, including what the adult family members eat. Experts and attentive mothers note that a baby’s interest in food can manifest itself as early as 3-4 months. It is very important not to miss this moment, but on the contrary, to support the child’s desires in every possible way. In the future, he will have a good appetite, and the mother will not have problems with what to feed the baby.

Where to start with pedagogical complementary feeding? Start regularly taking your baby into the kitchen, let him attend family breakfasts and lunches, sitting on his mother’s lap, holding a spoon in his hand.

You can determine your baby’s readiness to get acquainted with new food by the following signs:

• the child confidently holds objects in his hands, brings his palm to his mouth, actively shows interest in what adults eat, reaches for his mother’s plate, trying to take the food in it, he likes to be at the table with adults;
• The baby does not push the pieces of food offered by the mother out of his mouth, but tries to chew with his gums, although this does not happen immediately;
• the child does not experience allergic reactions to new foods, and his digestive system functions normally.

Typically, all these signs are observed in infants from 6-7 months, it is from this age that the World Health Organization recommends starting to feed children. Therefore, there is no need to rush into supplementary feeding. Up to 6 months, the baby receives everything necessary for full development from mother's milk, provided that enough of it is produced.

This is what the technique for introducing a baby to new food for the first time looks like:

• Mom is going to have breakfast. On the table in front of her is a plate with tasty and healthy foods. It can be cottage cheese, bread, boiled vegetables.
• The child is in his mother’s arms, holding his spoon. At first, the baby is completely occupied by the cutlery, then he is interested in his mother’s plate and its contents, and he watches how his mother eats breakfast.
• The baby reaches for food. At this moment, the baby is offered a microdose of the product that interests him. This is literally a tiny portion of the product, the size of a grain of rice or a match head.
• The baby tries the food. It is not at all necessary that the child will eat a new product; it is quite enough that he felt its taste, which means that the first acquaintance has taken place.
• The child asks for more. It is quite possible that after trying a new food, the baby will ask for more. In this case, you can give him 1-2 microdoses of the product per meal.

Remember that the goal of pedagogical complementary feeding is to develop a stable interest in food in the baby, and not to saturate it. Do not try to force feed your baby! Build your baby's interest in food gradually. From a very early age, teach him the rules of table manners and instill a culture of healthy eating.

Modern introduction of complementary feeding

The current system of introducing complementary foods, alas, does not take into account many factors - the age period when complementary foods are introduced, the age-related characteristics of the baby’s psyche, the children’s small appetite, interest in a variety of foods. The child is introduced to certain products at the required age in strictly defined quantities. There is a whole table of when, what and how much a baby should eat. If a baby reaches out for food that is not yet appropriate for him, for example, a mother eats a cutlet, and a 7-month-old baby, looking at her, also wants to try a new dish, then they do not give it to him. The child is given ground food more than once to make it easier for him to swallow. Special food has also been invented for children - vegetables in jars, meat in jars, fish in jars, etc. The “treats” in them have no specific color, smell or taste. This system is a product of our time, invented in laboratories by more than one medical scientist, an attempt to improve nature and a necessity for artificial children.

Let's go back to basics...

Unfortunately, our mothers have stopped trusting their instinct; they trust more in the authority of doctors, who, in their opinion, are better informed about what is necessary and useful for a new family member. Mothers forgot the traditions of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, but they knew how to introduce the baby to food that was new to him.

If you imagine a family 200 years ago, in which there were 10-12 people, and a mother at the stove, who, even if she wanted, would not be able to cook something separate for her grown-up baby. This is how they taught the children to new food: if you wanted a crumb of bread, try a crumb, grabbed a piece of cabbage from your mother’s plate - good luck!

We are trying to revive the old “old-fashioned” way of introducing complementary foods, which was formed over more than one century, based on the observation of babies by many generations of mothers. Nowadays it is called natural complementary feeding, and more and more young mothers are beginning to use this tactic of introducing the baby to new foods.

The difference between it and the traditional “can” is that the child’s interest in food is maintained at the common table. And this will allow in the future, after the baby turns a year or more, parents to be calm that their baby will happily participate in family meals. After all, he will already be able to independently handle a spoon and a cup, he will not have to worry that the child has not eaten, he will not have to run after him with persuasion, and use various tricks to push some kind of food into the little one.

Let's figure out what complementary foods are

Lure

- this is the introduction into the diet of a healthy child at a certain age of any food products, home-made or industrially prepared, that complement breast milk or food simulating it, and contribute to the gradual transfer of the child to the common table. As a rule, complementary foods are thicker in consistency than the baby's previous food. If a child has any health problems, the introduction of complementary foods may have its own characteristics.

Purpose of complementary feeding

in the first year of life, introduce the child to foods other than breast milk/or formula. Learn to swallow and chew solid food in a timely manner. And also avoid deficiency of energy and micronutrients and vitamins.

In the literature and other sources you can find such names as “pediatric” and “pedagogical” complementary feeding?

Pediatric complementary foods

, as its name suggests, these are classic complementary feeding regimens recommended by the pediatrician at the appointment. Schemes in which there is a gradual replacement of breast milk/formula feedings with feeding cereals, fruit/vegetable purees and other types of foods.

Pedagogical complementary feeding

- “Pedagogical” means that first of all the child is taught - they are taught to eat, proper behavior at the table, they are taught that food is joy and pleasure, they are shown new tastes. The essence of pedagogical complementary feeding is that the child’s nutrition begins with “microdoses” (grains of food), which the child receives from the mother’s plate, nothing is pureed or blended, and not even kneaded. The child's meals are shared with the family; he eats as much as he can. Nothing is specially prepared; the family is encouraged to switch to a healthy diet. The disadvantage of this type of complementary feeding is that the child, starting nutrition with “microdoses,” does not adequately increase the amount of complementary feeding, which can lead to malnutrition of the child at an older age.

In my article I will rely on modern research and recommendations, primarily from the WHO (World Health Organization) and the National Program for Optimizing Feeding of Children in the First Year of Life in the Russian Federation.

What requirements must be met in relation to complementary feeding:

1. Complementary feeding should be timely, introduced at the moment when the child's energy and nutritional needs exceed what can be provided through breastfeeding (or formula).
2. Complementary feeding must be adequate, that is, with sufficient energy, protein and micronutrients to meet the nutritional needs of the growing child.
3. Safe - stored or prepared in hygienic conditions, and feeding is carried out with clean hands, using clean utensils - spoons, plates, and not bottles and nipples.
4. Properly introduced - the baby is fed according to hunger cues, and meal frequency and feeding methods should be appropriate for the baby's age.

Natural complementary foods

This system takes into account that a child under one year old does not get enough of new foods - he simply tries them, as if creating for himself a bank of new tastes of those foods that are customary to eat in his family, and his main food continues to be breast milk. This system is based on the child’s natural interest in new food, on the baby’s imitation of adults - he strives to take the same food with his hand and put it in his mouth in the same way as mom or dad, on the gradual adaptation of the baby’s body to new food.

If the baby is already 6 months old and he is actively interested in the contents of his mother’s plate, then it’s time to introduce him to the family menu, however, only if it is healthy food. That is, the family eats a lot of vegetables, fruits, grains and cereals, as well as dairy products, moderate meat (not necessarily every day), and fish. As little as possible of fatty, fried foods, no or a minimum of any sausages, sausages, cakes, sweets, sodas...

If the baby shows interest in his mother’s food before six months, there is no need to rush. It is better to start feeding your baby a couple of weeks later than earlier than 6 months. The digestive system may not yet be ready to accept new food, and by starting complementary foods early, you may disrupt its natural maturation.

The described method of introducing complementary foods can be used only if the child is on naturally organized breastfeeding: it is given on demand, does not supplement with anything, and does not suck a pacifier. In the case of improperly organized breastfeeding, for example, feeding according to a schedule at certain intervals, before introducing complementary foods, it is necessary to change the method of feeding the child to natural.

When do we introduce complementary foods?

The optimal age for introducing complementary foods is 6 months.

If the child is premature, then the timing of the introduction of complementary foods is postponed for as long as this child was born earlier (that is, if the child was born not at 40 weeks, but, for example, at 36, we have the right to postpone the introduction of complementary foods for 4 weeks, but if we see that At 6 months, the child is already quite ready for the introduction of complementary foods, then you can start as early as 6 months). It is advisable to delay the introduction of complementary foods for no more than 2 months. Try to start introducing complementary foods no later than when the child is 8 months old.

Up to 6 months, breastfeeding completely covers the baby’s energy needs. Around 6 months, the baby's energy needs increase sharply, therefore, it is necessary to add something to his diet in addition to liquid nutrition. Breast milk contains 67-68 kcal/100 g in its energy value, the mixture has approximately the same numbers. Breast milk remains a valuable energy product for children not only in the first year of life, but also after one year. It is necessary to take into account that the volume of a child’s stomach by 6 months is about 200 ml, so the food administered to the child must be thicker than formula or breast milk, otherwise we will still not be able to meet the body’s energy needs. The optimal calorie content of complementary feeding products should be at least 100 kcal/100 g.

Liquid food and liquid quickly fill the stomach. To compensate for the energy deficiency, it is necessary to introduce foods with higher energy value than breast milk or formula.

Ways to increase caloric intake according to WHO:

• cook with less liquid
• Replace part of the water for cooking - with breast milk or formula (it must be taken into account that breast milk contains enzymes (lipase) - which begin digesting and breaking down food even before it enters the child’s body, so instant cereals immediately become liquid, but their energy value is not lost.

Let's put it into practice

This method of introducing complementary foods is quite simple and any mother can use it, however, before you start introducing it, it is advisable to consult with a specialist who knows this method of introducing complementary foods to clarify the details. As you understand, such feeding does not require any special tricks. The main thing is to feel the child, not to insist on your own, but to listen to his needs, interests, desires. Do not forget that the introduction of natural or pedagogical complementary feeding occurs against the background of breastfeeding. The baby continues to receive breastfeeding in the same way as before, i.e. on demand. A baby at the age of 6-8 months does not yet need solid complementary feeding to replace any of his breastfeeding - his mother’s milk is enough for him, because it contains all the necessary vitamins, microelements, antibodies and much more. Complementary feeding can become energetically significant at about 9-10 months, and sometimes later. Before this, the baby’s main food is mother’s milk.

The mother should not worry and mistake the child’s active interest in new food for a lack of milk: even with such interest, the love for breast milk and breastfeeding does not disappear.

How does one become familiar with new food? For example, if a mother is going to have breakfast, she takes her grown-up baby to the table with her. In front of mom is a plate of food, for example, pancakes with cottage cheese, apples, tea and cookies. It is better to sit the baby on his mother’s lap and place a teaspoon on the table in front of him (have more spoons in stock, in case the baby drops them). So, the baby is busy with a teaspoon - he takes it, moves it from handle to handle, knocks it, drags it into his mouth - studies it, in a word. At this moment, mom starts eating - she takes a pancake and begins to eat it with appetite. The baby, if he becomes interested in what his mother is doing, will begin to reach for her food, trying to literally pull it out of his mother’s plate. To prevent the baby from causing mischief on his mother’s plate, his actions must be limited. The baby should sit on his mother’s left knee, if the mother is right-handed, and eats with his right hand and the mother’s plate should be moved away so that the baby cannot get food from there. If a baby actively tries to get food for himself, this behavior is called food interest. How to react? Let your baby try what you are eating - pinch off a very small piece of the pancake and put it in the baby’s mouth. The baby may chew a small piece and swallow it, or maybe spit it out of his mouth; this is a normal reaction at first.

• When the baby does not react to the fact that the mother is eating something, but focuses exclusively on the spoon, this means that he has no interest in adult food yet and it is too early to introduce complementary foods to him. Take your time, just try to eat more often with appetite in front of his eyes.
• What to do if the baby, having tried one piece, does not reach for the next one? Should I give my baby this product again so that he can try it? No, mom should under no circumstances insist. After all, your task is to maintain the baby’s interest in new food, and not to feed him a pancake.

And so mom continues to eat. Now she took a juicy apple and took a bite of it, and the baby was attracted by the appetizing crunch and bright color of the fruit - he reaches for it. Offer him a microdose to try, if he likes it and he still reaches for it - okay, give it a couple more times, and then remove the apple so that the baby doesn’t overeat. The baby needs very little for the first time. The baby is just getting acquainted with new food, adapting to it, he does not try to gorge himself on even the most delicious product in his opinion.

It is important that the baby tries the same dishes that the mother eats. Since during this age period the properties of mother's milk change: now it helps the baby to absorb new food by supplying the enzymes necessary for this. Thus, breastfeeding makes it easier for the baby to transition to a new type of food.

Meanwhile, our mother started drinking tea and cookies. And the baby wants it too! Give him one sip to try. It is better to have a separate cup - made of unbreakable material, so that you can give it to your baby without fear. While the baby is just learning to drink from a cup, hold it by the bottom and regulate the flow of liquid into the baby’s mouth. By the way, most likely, the baby himself will not want to try everything at once, but will limit himself to one of the products he likes. After the baby has tried it, or the mother deems it necessary to finish his tests, the baby goes down to the floor, and the mother continues to eat calmly.

Pedagogical complementary feeding: scheme and rules

Pedagogical complementary feeding differs from traditional infant feeding. There are no baby purees or cereals, or special tables with detailed descriptions of foods and serving sizes that a child should receive. What is pedagogical nutrition, how to introduce it and what to give to the baby, explained nutritionist Anastasia Ivanovna Shalunova.

— Anastasia Ivanovna, what features does pedagogical complementary feeding have?

— Pedagogical complementary feeding (or natural complementary feeding, pre-complementary feeding) is nutrition when the baby tries adult food at a common table with his parents.

— Is it possible to combine pedagogical complementary feeding with breast milk or formula feeding?

- You can, but not in one meal. It is better to separate feedings so that the child does not have any confusion about whether he is eating or getting to know food, and to track his body’s reaction to a particular product.

Pedagogical complementary feeding

— Pedagogical and pediatric complementary feeding - is the difference significant?

— Pediatric complementary feeding began to be introduced in the 20th century to children who were fed with formula. Since this system is the same for everyone, it is difficult to adapt to a specific child. In addition, pediatric complementary foods are constantly changing depending on the needs of the time and are reviewed by the World Health Organization. The goal of pediatric complementary feeding is to transfer the child to a common table as soon as possible. To achieve this, the minimum doses at which such complementary feeding begins are increased very quickly, and the diet is constantly expanding.

Pedagogical complementary feeding is more loyal and closer to the natural order of things. Mom knows exactly what her child is trying, without being too rigidly guided by his age. Pre-feeding can take up to a year - the mother always takes into account the individual characteristics of the baby.

“Before introducing pedagogical complementary feeding, many mothers consult a doctor to be on the safe side and not harm the child.”

— What are the rules of pedagogical complementary feeding?

- They depend on what diet the child is on. If this is artificial feeding, problems may arise with pre-feeding - the mixture has precise dosages and intervals between feedings. Breastfeeding with pedagogical complementary feeding is easier; the mother already adapts to the child.

How to introduce pedagogical complementary foods

With the introduction of pedagogical complementary feeding, the child learns to fix himself vertically, develops coordination of movements - he trains to take and put pieces in his mouth or with a spoon, feed an adult and at the same time communicates with his mother.

— Is there a universal scheme for pedagogical complementary feeding?

— Each family focuses on its own diet and eating habits. That is, parents will give their child the foods that they themselves consume.

— Are games with food acceptable during pedagogical complementary feeding?

— Opinions differ. Some experts believe that eating and playing helps to keep a child interested. As a nutritionist, I do not recommend playing with food - or you need to discuss with the mother the age of the baby and what she means by this process. The child must understand his needs, and if he is hungry, then he needs to eat. The mother must determine for herself whether or not to allow the baby to play with food. If this is allowed, then the child must be supervised so that he does not choke, get dirty, get burned, or cut himself.

— What are the consequences of improper pedagogical complementary feeding?

— Late introduction of complementary foods may be wrong here. Pedagogical complementary feeding precedes pediatric complementary feeding. The child is preparing to eat food that adults eat. If parents immediately introduce pediatric complementary foods, they are more likely to encounter the behavior “I want it or I don’t want it,” “I will or I won’t,” that is, the child may not be ready for what is given to him in a spoon. If he had been offered pedagogical complementary feeding earlier, food rejection would not have occurred.

— What if the child refused to try pedagogical complementary feeding?

“We need to be more calm about this: if you didn’t take it, it means you didn’t take it.” Pre-feeding allows you to adapt to your baby. If you don’t want a certain product, there are other options. After all, the goal is not to feed, but to introduce the child to new foods, tastes, and textures.

— Are unhealthy family diets and pedagogical complementary feeding compatible?

— The family can continue to eat junk food, but if pre-feeding is planned, the mother will have to prepare healthy food for the baby separately. If this is not possible, it is better not to start pedagogical complementary feeding, so as not to harm the child’s health.

— How to arouse food interest if a child completely ignores food from the common table?

— The emergence of food interest is an individual question. The most important thing is the personal example of parents. If there are no physiological disturbances in the functioning of the body, then interest will come sooner or later. You need to appear in front of your child more often with food and enjoy eating yourself. For some, food interest will awaken at five months, for others at seven, but this will happen in any case. The baby will not just sit at the table without taking part in what is happening. He will be carried away by the process, and the task of pre-feeding is to combine business with pleasure.

Pedagogical complementary feeding is introduced to introduce the child to different types of foods, their consistency, and also to gradually prepare his digestive tract for new food. You can give healthy foods from the table in minimal quantities, since the purpose of pre-feeding is not to feed, but to give a taste, to get used to adult food, to teach how to hold pieces and a spoon, and to develop hand motor skills. If a child refuses one product, it is necessary to offer him a replacement or choose another time, since a negative reaction to food may appear, for example, during teething or for other temporary reasons. It is better to start pedagogical complementary feeding when the child is not in pain and is in a good mood.

Nutritionist Anastasia Ivanovna Shalunova

*The ideal food for an infant is mother's milk. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. MAMAKO® supports this recommendation. Before introducing new foods into your baby’s diet, consult a specialist.

Independent baby table

In addition to sharing lunches or breakfasts and dinners at a common table with your mother, it’s time to teach your baby to eat independently. By this age, the baby is already able to hold small objects in his hands, so you can offer him pieces of hard vegetables and fruits for testing, those from which the baby cannot bite off much on his own, for example, carrots, zucchini, apples, or bagel, drying, cracker. Children especially love the chicken bone, from which the mother first removes all the meat and cartilage. You can scratch your gums about it, and it’s very tasty!

Of course, during independent feeding, the mother should be close to the baby and monitor the process. If the baby has bitten off a large piece, you need to remove it from the mouth with your index finger.

Children with allergies

The introduction of complementary foods for children suffering from food allergies is a very delicate issue. You need to act carefully, carefully monitoring the process, according to the principle “the slower you go, the further you will go.”

Since the mother herself must adhere to a hypoallergenic diet, the baby begins to get acquainted with food that does not cause allergies. For example, fruits and vegetables are not orange or red, he doesn’t need to try cow’s milk yet, and start getting acquainted with meat with turkey, then you can try veal, and so on. Give your child one product one day, observe for the next 2-3 days: an allergic reaction may appear not from the first, but from 2-3 samples. It turns out that the mother will be able to give the next new product to the baby only after 3-4 days.

Don’t forget that for such a baby, trying new products should end with latching on to the breast.

An allergic child needs a particularly gentle and gradual adaptation to adult food, since his gastrointestinal tract and enzymatic system are especially sensitive. It should also be borne in mind that the child begins to fully absorb vitamins and other useful substances from other foods only after a year, and before that all this is supplied to the baby by mother’s milk, so there is no need to rush into complementary feeding.

Doctor Komarovsky’s opinion on pedagogical complementary feeding

E. Komarovsky considers pedagogical complementary feeding to be simply a fashionable way today to entertain mom and dad. These experiments arose in connection with the widespread popularity of breastfeeding on demand: in this case, somehow getting a baby interested in “adult” food is possible only through various tricks, one of which is pedagogical complementary feeding.

I don’t see anything harmful in pedagogical complementary feeding. But let me draw your attention once again: until it was fashionable to breastfeed a child up to three years of age, no one talked about pedagogical complementary feeding, since there is a convenient, safe system of normal complementary feeding described in many books. It goes without saying that this scheme does not satisfy fanatical supporters of long-term breastfeeding, and hence the ideas, one of which is the method of pedagogical complementary feeding.

E. O. Komarovsky

https://www.komarovskiy.net/faq/pedagogicheskij-prikorm.html

Meanwhile, it is difficult to imagine, for example, a soup that mom prepared for dad and did not add salt or pepper (let’s not forget about the fatty film on its surface). Obviously, such an “adult” dish will not be beneficial for a baby. Therefore, it is worth adhering to a civilized system of complementary feeding with high-quality products, which minimizes all kinds of risks (allergies, etc.). At the same time, the pediatrician does not prohibit the practice of complementary feeding pedagogically, but it must be made safe. So, after a year, the child may well eat from the common table, but at the same time, the mother must again adjust the menu. For example, dad can add pepper and more salt to the same soup directly on his plate.

We continue to try adult food

If the trial of new products was successful and the child was active in this process, then at about 8-10 months the baby may already have formed one or two main complementary foods. For example, breakfast or lunch. True, they can still begin and end with breastfeeding, because the baby washes down adult food with mother’s milk, like water or juice. The child should not be weaned from this. The need to drink something other than mother’s milk arises only after a little over a year, that’s when you can hear something similar to: “Give me some water!” from the baby.

After 9-11 months, the baby can already be seated on a separate chair and offered him a separate plate (before that he ate from his mother’s). Mom helps the little one manage the spoon - she helps him scoop food into it, and the baby himself tries to bring it to his mouth. Be patient - this process is not easy for both the baby and you - spilled soup, fallen potatoes... But this process is necessary, because you did not immediately learn to eat carefully. If your baby spills something, immediately try to wipe it up: let him get used to eating clean.

How we eat after a year

After a year, the child shows great interest in the food of adults; he, like them, sits down at the table 3-4 times, and eats the same food, no different from everyone else. He can eat both the first and second courses if he wants.

If the little one really likes what is put on his plate, but he is already tired of eating on his own, then he does not refuse if his mother helps him eat the rest. In other situations, children do not like to be fed, they tend to eat everything on their own: put a piece into a spoon with their hand, and only then direct it into their mouth.

In between meals, the baby can enjoy something else - eat a carrot, cracker or apple.

Breastfeeding also remains: long-term - when the baby goes to bed or wakes up from sleep, short-term (these attachments for contact with the mother - for 1-2 minutes) - depending on the condition of the baby. On some days there may be few of them, and on others there may be more. Authors: Ksenia Solovey, lactation consultant, psychologist. Liliya Kazakova, pediatrician, lactation consultant. The article was published in the magazine “My Child”, 2003.

• The baby receives a microdose of the product that interests him. A microdose is the minimum amount of food that the mother places between the pads of her index and thumb (the size of a match head).
• For breakfast, the baby can receive three microdoses of each product he likes, this is where the acquaintance with this product ends, you can continue at lunch or dinner.
• If the baby shows a steady interest in a certain product for 3-5 days, then the microdose is increased to one teaspoon.
• Do not overfeed your baby with one product he loves so that he does not lose interest in it. If your child insists on trying something specific, offer him something else.

Rules and techniques for organizing complementary feeding

Although pedagogical complementary feeding does not imply following certain patterns, its approximate stages can be outlined:

1. During meals, mom or dad sits the child at the table (on a special chair or on his lap). You need to prepare an empty baby plate (preferably plastic) and spoons in advance. Surely the baby will begin to pick up these objects, knock, and may even throw them onto the floor. Perhaps the first time he will just play with the dishes and not want to try the food, this is normal.
2. Adults begin to eat the dishes offered with appetite. As soon as the baby reaches out to someone's plate, you need to give him a microdose of food - the mother separates a small piece and puts it on the baby's plate. In this case, the adult plate should be quite far from the baby so that he himself does not grab a large piece and put it in his mouth. Also, you cannot prohibit any product: the child can try everything that is on the table (there should be no more than three products, for example, boiled chicken, mashed potatoes, cheese).
3. Every day, the dose of food on the child’s plate gradually increases (on average, by the end of the first week up to one teaspoon). After some time (it’s different for all children), the baby begins to eat a full breakfast or lunch (dinner is introduced later), washing it down with mother’s milk (being full, he will drink very little of it, but this will still contribute to the production of digestive enzymes ). By the way, in addition to pieces of food on a plate, you can offer your baby an apple, a pear, or a cracker to bite into.

In addition to food in pieces, the baby can pick up and bite or gnaw cookies, crackers, apples, etc.

From the very beginning, you need to encourage the baby to take the spoon himself. At first, of course, an adult will hold her.