First complementary foods - rules: how and when to introduce complementary foods while breastfeeding

Choosing the type of complementary food that is best

Let's figure out how the two main directions in complementary feeding differ from each other: pedagogical and pediatric.

Pediatric complementary foods are the most common and recommended by pediatricians. According to this method, the baby is offered special baby food, the first complementary foods are introduced according to the scheme, the order in which the products are introduced is important. However, it is not recommended to abruptly replace breast milk with complementary foods. It is recommended to introduce complementary foods from 4 to 6 months; the child is not entertained while eating and is not forced to eat.
Pedagogical (or natural) complementary feeding for infants is called so because this approach is based on the desire to arouse a child’s interest in food, form healthy eating behavior, and teach him how to behave at the table. Within the framework of this technique, there are no longer any special feeding schemes.

Many feeding consultants recommend a combination of these two approaches. We will talk about pediatric complementary feeding.

When to give complementary foods?

If the child does not show much interest in the environment during the first three months of life, then by four months the picture changes radically. He becomes more active, recognizes familiar faces, smiles, tries to grab and examine objects in front of his eyes. By this age, breast milk becomes insufficient to meet the body's nutritional needs. There is a need to think about the first complementary foods.

Pediatricians recommend doing this at the age of 4-6 months. There is no need to rush with complementary foods. The first three months of life, the child’s digestive tract is still very weak and is not ready to meet “adult” foods. Early complementary feeding is fraught with digestive problems and the development of allergic reactions. But by four months the picture changes. Moreover, the baby's ejection reflex disappears and he can swallow thicker food than breast milk.

As for late complementary feeding, it is also fraught with serious consequences. Firstly, the child’s body begins to experience a deficiency of vitamins and vital elements. This can lead to developmental delays. Secondly, this approach will slow down the development of chewing skills and, possibly, provoke speech problems in the future.

Thus, feeding complementary foods too early or too late brings with it many problems. The optimal period is 4-6 months of age. However, before introducing “adult” food, you need to consult with a pediatrician and focus on the individual characteristics of your baby’s body.

When to introduce complementary foods

According to the recommendations of the Union of Pediatricians of Russia, it is recommended to introduce complementary foods in the range of 4–6 months. At this time, the growing body requires more and more vitamins and minerals every week, and later introduction of complementary foods can cause a pronounced deficiency of some micronutrients. In addition, the enzyme system of the child’s gastrointestinal tract is already ready to accept new food, and he himself begins to demonstrate interest in food.

Our grandmothers said that a child is ready for solid food when he can loudly tap a tooth with a spoon.

But it is important to remember the following:

during the period of teething, the baby is busy with his sensations and his interest in food is reduced;
Complementary feeding cannot be introduced until 4 months, because the baby’s body is not capable of digesting food other than breast milk or formula;
You should not introduce complementary foods later than 6 months to prevent a lack of nutrients in the child’s diet;
Complementary foods should be introduced after consultation with a pediatrician.

At what age is it time to introduce the first complementary foods?

According to the recommendations of the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, the first complementary foods can be introduced from 4.5 to 5 months, regardless of the type of feeding. This is "on average". In practice, the choice of time to start introducing complementary foods still depends on the individual characteristics of the child. For example, we will not introduce complementary foods to a child with widespread atopic dermatitis (diathesis) until at least acute skin symptoms, such as cracks, weeping or secondary eczema, have disappeared. Increased dryness and flaking of the skin, of course, require constant application of moisturizers to the skin, but in no case are they a contraindication to the introduction of the first complementary foods.

Another important point when choosing the time to start introducing complementary foods is the dynamics of the child’s weight gain. The more rapidly a child gains height and weight, the sooner he may need additional calories, since the energy value of breast milk or formula alone will most likely not be enough for a child who is growing faster than his peers, most likely by 4–5 months. We must not forget that natural products contain a fairly wide range of minerals and vitamins, and the mother’s body, alas, cannot be an eternal and bottomless source of useful nutrients; somewhere somewhere something will gradually begin to be lacking.

In addition, the nature of the mother’s lactation has a great influence on the timing of the introduction of complementary foods. If a nursing mother begins to feel a lack of milk, I would prefer to first give her advice on stimulating lactation, and at the same time begin introducing complementary foods. This will be better than introducing an artificial mixture. But I repeat that the earliest date for starting the introduction of the first complementary foods is the age of 4 months; before that, the child’s body is not yet ready, and the risk of developing allergies is high.

So, we agree that the first complementary foods can be introduced no earlier than 4 months of a child’s life.

General rules for introducing complementary foods by timing

From 4 to 6 months, vegetable puree is introduced. If a child has insufficient weight gain or frequent bowel movements, then it is better to start introducing complementary foods with gluten-free, dairy-free porridge.
There is no need to start the first feeding with fruits and juices: having become familiar with sweet tastes, the baby may lose interest in vegetable and any other ones.
The second complementary feeding should be offered to the child 3 to 4 weeks after the first.
The same amount of time should pass before you offer your baby a third complementary food.
Here's how to introduce basic foods into your diet: porridge, then vegetables and meat; porridge, then meat and vegetables; vegetables, then porridge and meat; vegetables, then meat and porridge.
Of course, during the introduction of complementary feeding to the newborn, you need to continue breastfeeding; it still comes first.
The baby can try fruits and juices after the first or second feeding - but only as a treat, and not as a main meal.
It is advisable to offer the egg yolk to the baby when he is almost a year old.
Adapted fermented milk mixtures are a “baby” version of kefir; they can be given to a baby at 9 months.
When your child is 8–9 months old, you can give him 3 servings of complementary foods per day, and the total weight of “adult food” at this age is 400–600 g per day.

Complementary feeding calendar

How to start complementary feeding correctly? We present an indicative calendar for the introduction of complementary foods for children from 4-6 to 12 months. Its main points are based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Union of Pediatricians of Russia.

Diet for a 4-5 month old baby

For those who are thinking about introducing their baby to new foods at 4 months, we advise you to consult your pediatrician. He will see if there is a need for this and give recommendations on where and how best to start.

How to properly introduce complementary foods at 5 months?

Complementary feeding at this age is best introduced with vegetable puree or porridge. These products are the easiest for a child's body to digest.

For example, you can start complementary feeding with vegetables with 0.5 tsp (3g) of zucchini puree. During the first week, you need to limit yourself to only this product for breakfast, increasing the volume every day and bringing it to 27 spoons (166 grams). When the volume of puree is more than 100 g. It is recommended to add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to it. We finish breakfast with breast milk or formula until completely saturated.

Next week we will begin introducing a new vegetable – cauliflower. We prepare two types of puree for breakfast - introduced zucchini and new cauliflower puree. First we offer 3 grams. new puree, and then add the previously introduced 166 grams. puree. Over the course of one week, introduce cauliflower entirely, replacing zucchini with it.

For the third week, broccoli puree is good. We also introduce 3 g. and feed the rest with the already familiar puree to a whole portion.

After your baby has successfully mastered vegetable purees, when you have already increased their volume to a whole serving, you can try making porridge for breakfast. For example, we introduce buckwheat for breakfast. We proceed in the same way, increasing the volume from 3 grams. up to 166g. per week with the addition of 1 tsp/l butter with 100 g. porridge. We eat the previously introduced vegetables in full for lunch.

How to properly introduce complementary foods at 6 months?

If by this period you have already introduced a number of products, then continue to use them, adding new ones to them.

Then you can add, for example, rice or buckwheat porridge, proceed in the same way as with puree. We take 0.5 spoons of new porridge, and feed the rest with the already introduced porridge with butter. We eat the previously introduced vegetables for lunch.

For lunch, you should offer new purees, such as pumpkin. At the same time, we leave breakfast unchanged, without introducing new types of cereals.

A wide selection of fruit and vegetable purees for children from 6 months, as well as a variety of cereals for children from 4 months, produced with an adapted milk formula based on goat's milk, is presented on our website. Due to the presence of prebiotics and a special DigestX complex, the risk of colic and constipation is reduced, the immune system is strengthened, energy metabolism and digestion in general are improved. And every baby likes the delicate creamy taste of Kabrita cereals and purees!

Diet of a 7 month old baby

Next, we include fruit (apple and pear) and meat purees (turkey and rabbit) in the child’s diet. We introduce fruit puree for breakfast, also starting from 0.5 tsp/l and increasing the volume to 10 tsp/l, and supplement with the previously introduced porridge.

We include rabbit meat puree after the applesauce has been completely introduced. We offer for breakfast starting from 0.5 tsp/l and slowly increasing to 8 tsp/l. We supplement the food with the previously introduced porridge.

When thinking about your baby’s nutrition, try to organize nutritious breakfasts and lunches for him, teaching him to eat at a certain time.

Diet for an 8 month old baby

Most likely, your baby will make his first attempts at feeding on his own around the age of eight months. Support your baby in this endeavor and give him small pieces of vegetables and fruits that he can hold in his hand on his own.

Also, this time is suitable for introducing fish, cottage cheese (no more than 50 g/day) and children’s kefir/biolact (up to 200 g/day) into the diet. For fish, give preference to cod, pollock, sea bass, salmon, pike perch or carp, and give it no more than twice a week.

You can start combining products with each other, adding, for example, berries to porridge or cottage cheese. We also begin to give a little bit at a time, gradually increasing the amount.

Diet of a child 9-12 months

By nine months, most of the foods needed now have most likely already been introduced, so continue to increase the baby’s diet, move away from the puree type and switch to a finely and coarsely ground consistency. As the year approaches, it’s great to start including fresh herbs from the garden in your diet.

At about one year of age, most children tend to pick up cutlery while sitting at the table independently and drink from a mug. Don’t disturb your child, but on the contrary, encourage his aspirations, even if it doesn’t work out well yet, because this is a complex skill that needs to be developed gradually, and an excellent workout for the brain.

WHO recommends continuing breastfeeding and formula feeding after the introduction of complementary foods.

Home cooking or industrial products?

Industrially produced porridges and purees provide a 100% guarantee that the products have passed all stages of testing and are safe for children. You can be sure that they do not contain heavy metal salts or pesticides, not to mention nitrates or GMOs. Therefore, porridges are great for first feeding. But purees that are prepared at home may contain harmful impurities, even if the original vegetables and fruits were grown independently.

Trust only verified ones. From the “First Spoon” range of products you can choose delicious and healthy dishes - in accordance with the baby’s age and his preferences.

Introducing vegetables (complementary feeding from vegetables)

What and in what order to introduce complementary foods will be advised by your pediatrician, who knows everything about the development and health of your child and has sufficient experience to make recommendations.

Most often, children's nutritionists and pediatricians recommend vegetable purees or cereals as the very first complementary foods. At the age of about 4 – 6 months, the baby’s body is already ready to accept the first pureed food and get acquainted with new tastes. Therefore, vegetables, the purees of which are least likely to cause allergies in infants, are traditionally considered the first “adult food” for babies. What kind of vegetables are these?

The very first “test” products for breastfed babies in our latitudes are traditionally considered to be hypoallergenic zucchini and cauliflower, and then broccoli and pumpkin. Your baby should be given zucchini complementary foods no earlier than 4 months, exclusively in the form of a completely homogenized puree, that is, without pieces.

Safety comes first!

The ingredients used in the preparation of industrial baby purees are grown on the territory of specialized farms in environmentally safe places and undergo multi-stage testing, so such purees are the safest for children.

The introduction of complementary foods is an important step in the development of a child, a serious stage in growing up. Children's vegetable purees "Agusha" have been thoroughly tested and are prepared in compliance with all safety rules - they introduce the baby to new tastes and help smoothly transition to new foods.

How much puree to give your baby:

First of all, it is worth determining whether the baby is allergic to the selected product. Therefore, the first purees are given in the afternoon, after morning breastfeeding.

The baby is first offered very small portions - from 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per day.
Over the course of a week, the amount of puree is increased to approximately 7 teaspoons per day. Of course, only if the little gourmet liked this dish and the little one was not allergic to it!
Again, to avoid allergies, the little taster should try no more than one vegetable puree per week. At the same time, no matter how much a young mother would like to experiment with flavors, the first purees should be monocomponent, that is, consist of one ingredient.
Purees should under no circumstances contain salt or sugar—such products should not be included in the diet for at least a year.

Only after your baby has approved all the main types of “safe” vegetables can you start mixing them. If one of the products is clearly rejected by the child, it is worth remembering about it in about a month: perhaps the grown-up child will reconsider his attitude towards the previously “rejected” vegetable. In addition, your baby simply might not like the presentation form or the amount of puree, so try again!

What do we introduce after the first vegetables:

After the main vegetables for baby food, potatoes and white cabbage are considered (be careful when introducing these products into your diet if you have colic and bloating!), as well as carrots.

Vegetables that can cause allergies (sometimes severe) in children traditionally include tomatoes, vegetables of bright colors, including bright orange pumpkin, carrots, celery, beets, and green peppers. They should be given to children carefully, completely excluded from the list of first foods if there have been cases of allergies to this product in the family.

Nutrition for a child up to one year: how to combine complementary feeding and breastfeeding?

The first year of a child’s life is perhaps the most important and eventful. During this time, the baby not only grows (on average, a child’s weight triples by year, and body length increases by one and a half times), he masters the basic skills necessary for later life: learns to move (sit, crawl, walk), communicate (smile, laugh, walk, talk), play, becomes more independent and self-reliant. Proper balanced nutrition for a child up to one year is of the same exceptional importance as parental love and care.

At the same time, questions most often arise related to compliance with the diet of a child up to one year old, because at this age it changes significantly several times! Let's consider the main options for the diet of children under one year old, allowing you to avoid possible problems and preserve breastfeeding as much as possible.

Nutrition for a child up to one year: from birth to 4 months

This is the time when the baby receives all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and microelements from breast milk or adapted milk formula. The benefits of exclusive breastfeeding during this period are obvious and proven by many scientific studies. But, if for some reason full feeding with mother’s milk is impossible, the use of modern adapted milk formulas will also allow the child to develop and grow properly.

The ideal feeding regimen for a baby in the first month of life while breastfeeding is feeding on demand, that is, according to the child’s needs, at least 8 times a day without a night break (up to a maximum of 12–16 times). Indicators of a sufficient amount of milk are the baby’s presence of at least 6-7 urinations per day, regular bowel movements, and weight gain. When artificial or mixed feeding, it is important to maintain a three-hour break between feedings to avoid overfeeding.

From the second to the fourth month of life, children who are exclusively breastfed gradually establish the child's feeding schedule themselves, with breaks between feedings of 3–3.5 hours. The feeding reflex in children of this age is just beginning to form, so breastfeeding strictly by the clock is not advisable. If the baby is sleeping when, according to the mother’s calculations, it is already time for the next feeding, you should not wake him up (except in rare cases of significant underweight when the mother has insufficient milk). And, conversely, if the baby is prematurely restless, it can be assumed that he did not eat the required amount of milk the previous time and by crying expresses precisely the feeling of hunger. This means that you need to put the baby to the breast without waiting for the conditional time. Fluctuations between meal times on free feeding within 1–1.5 hours are quite acceptable.

A night break in feeding is extremely undesirable until the baby is 6 months old, since it is at night that the most prolactin (the hormone responsible for milk production) is produced, and, accordingly, ideal conditions are created for successful and long-term breastfeeding. If, nevertheless, the child himself “wakes up” during the night feeding, this break should not exceed 5–6 hours.

When artificial feeding, due to the greater protein load on the child’s body, it is necessary to maintain feeding intervals of 3.5–4 hours, with a night break of 6 hours.

In a child of 4–5 months, a breastfeeding schedule is usually established after 4 hours, sometimes a night break of up to 5–6 hours is possible. On artificial feeding, the baby is fed 5 times a day every 4 hours with a night break of 6–7 hours.

Nutrition for a child up to one year: from 4 months to one year

From the 4th month of life, doctors recommend introducing the first complementary foods to some children. However, according to the recommendations of WHO and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the optimal period for introducing new products for breastfed babies is 6 months. At this time, the reflex of pushing out solid food with the tongue fades, digestive enzymes and local factors of intestinal immune defense are activated. We do not recommend introducing complementary foods before 5–6 months, as this can lead to allergization of the baby’s body, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, and the appearance and consolidation of a negative reaction to feeding.

The general rules are as follows: each new product is given gradually, starting with 1-2 teaspoons once a day. It is advisable to introduce the child to a new type of complementary food in the morning. In this case, the mother has the opportunity to observe the child’s reaction to him throughout the day. This is especially true for children prone to allergies. After getting used to the new product, it can be given either during one of the daytime feedings, when the baby is active, or in the evening, when the amount of milk produced by the mother naturally decreases.

It is important to remember that complementary feeding is just additional nutrition for a child up to one year old; it should not replace or displace breast milk! Complementary feeding is intended to meet the baby's increasing needs for energy, vitamins and microelements, and not to reduce the number of breastfeeding, as some pediatricians still mistakenly believe.

Approximate diet for a 6 month old baby:

6:00 – Breast milk or formula 180–200 ml.
10:00 – Porridge with breast milk or formula 150–180 ml.
14:00 – Vegetable puree 100–150 g, breast milk (formula) 50–100 ml.
18:00 – Breast milk or formula 180–200 ml.
22:00 – Breast milk or formula 180–200 ml.

When breastfeeding, the night break is set depending on the baby's needs and is still not very beneficial for lactation.

Starting from the 7th month of a child’s life, meat can be added to his diet. Meat complementary foods are introduced into daily feeding along with vegetables, gradually, up to 50 g per day. After meat, cottage cheese is introduced into the baby’s menu. It is recommended to gradually increase the volume of cottage cheese to 50 g per day during the week, in the evening feeding.

Approximate diet for a 7 month old baby:

6:00 – Breast milk or formula 180–200 ml.
10:00 – Porridge with breast milk or formula 150–180 ml.
14:00 – Vegetable puree 150 g + meat puree 50 g.
18:00 – Cottage cheese 50 g + breast milk or formula 150 ml.
22:00 – Breast milk or formula 180–200 ml.

Breast milk should still make up the majority of the diet for a 7 month old baby. Attachment to the breast should end any feeding of solid food. If your baby is not so willing to breastfeed during the day, you can try giving him complementary foods only after breastfeeding or feeding him more often at night.

The volume of motor and mental activity of an 8-month-old child is already quite large, and he needs all new nutritional components for full development. At this time, the yolk of a chicken or quail egg is introduced; it is added to the porridge 3 times a week. There is an introduction to fermented milk products (kefir, yogurt). Babies who are still breastfed on demand often refuse additional fluids. It's not scary, the mother just has to give the child the opportunity to choose.

Approximate diet for an 8 month old baby:

6:00 – Breast milk or formula 180–200 ml.
10:00 – Porridge with breast milk or formula 150–180 ml, 1/2 yolk.
14:00 – Vegetable puree 150 g + meat puree 50 g.
18:00 – Kefir 150 ml + cottage cheese 50 g.
22:00 – Breast milk or formula 180–200 ml.

After the 9th month of the baby’s life, the introduction of new products occurs at a faster pace. The child can already chew small pieces of food and is actively learning to eat independently. Its menu is becoming more and more diverse. It is recommended to feed the baby 5 times a day every 4–4.5 hours. It is important that during this period the main liquid that the baby receives remains breast milk. To maintain breastfeeding, it is necessary to take into account the wishes of the child and continue to attach him to the breast during the day and, if required, at night.

Thus, if parents follow these recommendations, by the age of one year the child gets used to a certain feeding regimen, which has a beneficial effect on the condition and functioning of his gastrointestinal tract, immune defense, and health in general. The baby sincerely considers feeding an interesting and useful activity, showing the first signs of independence and self-organization. At the same time, he receives almost all types of products necessary for full growth and development, and significantly expands the range of his taste sensations.

Currently, most experts recommend continuing to breastfeed your baby until at least one and a half years old, which is a good prevention of infectious and allergic diseases, creates a feeling of security and close contact with the mother in the child, and increases stress resistance.

What's first?

Traditionally, it is recommended to give the baby complementary foods first, and then breastfeed or give him formula. However, if the mother’s milk production is insufficient and to stimulate further active lactation, it is better to start with basic nutrition (breast or formula) and only at the end offer the baby complementary foods.

In this case, an additional advantage is that the baby’s digestive enzymes are already sufficiently activated and the digestion process is more complete, which also reduces the likelihood of an allergic reaction.

We introduce complementary foods from porridge

Porridge is traditionally introduced as complementary food after your baby has already become familiar with vegetables. This usually occurs within a period of about six months and not earlier than 4 months. Complementary food for a bottle-fed or mixed-fed baby may consist of porridge a little earlier than for infants.

Which porridge should I start complementary feeding with? The fact is that the main protein of cereals, gluten, can cause severe allergies and unpleasant phenomena such as pain and bloating in children.

So you need to start with gluten-free grains: rice and corn grits. Buckwheat porridge is also very suitable for complementary feeding.

Start with one type of cereal and then gradually, a week after introducing the first porridge, offer your baby a new one; even later you can switch to a mixture of cereals.
Preference should be given to industrially produced cereals - as they meet high safety standards, are made from proven raw materials and have the right consistency, ideal for a small body.
Try starting with dairy-free porridge prepared with water or breast milk (and for bottle-fed babies, with the formula you usually feed them).
Complementary feeding and constipation. If a child is prone to constipation, it is better to avoid rice porridges, giving preference to buckwheat or corn porridges. Milk-free porridges are suitable for children with lactose intolerance or allergies.

You should start giving porridge with small quantities - literally from half a teaspoon, gradually increasing the volume to 100 g per week. Moreover, first introduce one type of porridge and after about a week or two, move on to another.

First, offer your baby monoporridge and only then - porridge with several components or with additives. It should be taken into account that millet, oats, barley and semolina contain gluten, which means they can be given as complementary foods later than other cereals.

Sample menu for a 6 month old baby

Morning (6:30 -7:00):
breast milk or formula (if the baby is bottle-fed) 200 ml
Second breakfast (10:30):
porridge 150 g + butter 4 g + fruit puree 30 g
Lunch (14:00):
vegetable puree 150 g + vegetable oil 3 ml + meat puree 5-30 g + fruit juice 60 ml
Dinner (18:00):
fruit puree 30 g + cottage cheese from 10 to 40 g + breast milk 150 – 170 ml
At night (23:00 – 23:30):
breast milk or formula 200 ml

Thus, a six-month-old child should eat at least five times during the day. Three main meals and two snacks. You can feed food lovers six times, but don’t get carried away.

Add fruit puree

After the child has tried vegetables and cereals, he can get acquainted with fruit purees. The baby may like this taste so much that he will begin to refuse the dishes that he ate before. To avoid this, you can start by adding just a little fruit puree to your porridge or vegetables.

First, babies are given apple and pear puree, because they are rarely allergic to them. Then you can offer your child peach, apricot and plum.
Do not mix different tastes; let the baby try them one by one.
If mom prepares puree at home, then there is no need to add sugar: baked fruits are already sweet enough.

Introducing fruit juices

Juices are offered to babies aged 6 – 12 months. As the very first new taste, it is recommended to give babies one-ingredient green apple juice without pulp. This juice is usually the least allergenic. Children's nutritionists advise starting with industrially produced juices, since both the ingredients themselves and the production process of these products undergo very strict testing. The above applies to Agusha juices and compotes, created from selected natural ingredients. They contain useful minerals (such as potassium), dietary fiber (in purees and juices with pulp), which will be a valuable addition to the daily diet of the baby and mother.

The right amount.

The baby should be given apple juice to try after morning feeding, one teaspoon at a time. If the little gourmet responded well to his first “adult” drink, the next day you can give the baby one more spoon of juice. During the second week, the volume of juice can be increased to 30 g per day, and the number of doses - up to 2 - 3 per day. By 12 months, a child’s daily diet may contain about 100 g of the drink.

It is safest to start introducing juices into a child's diet with apple juice. It has been clinically proven that clarified apple juice "Agusha" is a hypoallergenic drink. The entire line of Agusha products. The first spoon" was created specifically for the first feeding. They are made from natural ingredients and undergo strict quality control, so you can be confident in choosing the right first food for your baby.

2 - 3 weeks after apple juice, the child can be given other one-component juices without pulp: pear, banana, peach, apricot, plum, pumpkin. These products should not contain sugar, which is not recommended for infant nutrition. If the baby accepts the new product well, then his menu can be diversified with juices from cherries and black currants.
After another 2 - 3 weeks, you can introduce juices from several ingredients: apple - pear, apple - pumpkin, apple - apricot, etc. Juices with pulp - apple, apricot, peach, plum - contain dietary fiber and are able to participate in maintaining bowel function. Kids love their thick and rich taste!
Be careful with juices from fruits, vegetables and allergenic berries: strawberries, citrus fruits, raspberries, tomatoes - they are introduced into the diet of children no earlier than one year. If after drinking any juice the baby has an allergic reaction (diathesis, rash, urticaria), then it should be immediately excluded from the diet.

Where to start feeding your baby?

Until recently, complementary feeding for infants began with juices and fruit purees. Now this dietary pattern is being criticized: juices can cause irritation of the stomach and intestines, and fruits can discourage people from eating less sweet foods.

Another scheme for complementary feeding of children under one year is based on the introduction of fermented milk products into the diet. But there are arguments against: cow's milk contains a large amount of proteins, which can be difficult for an infant's untrained digestive system and lead to allergies.

The third complementary feeding option, which was popular among previous generations, is semolina porridge. It has been the most accessible product for centuries and has helped solve the problem of underweight in children. Nowadays, semolina has fallen out of favor: it contains gluten - gluten, which can trigger the mechanism of allergic reactions and turn into intolerance. However, an alternative to semolina can be gluten-free cereals - buckwheat, rice and corn.

Vegetables are considered the best products for introducing adult food. Experts recommend using zucchini puree as a first course for your baby. However, before introducing something new to the baby’s menu, the mother should consult a doctor.

Introducing meat

Meat complementary foods can be introduced into the baby’s diet no earlier than 6 months. Meat complementary foods are, first of all, the main source of protein in a child’s diet. From 100 g of meat, he receives 14 - 16 g of protein, containing a full range of essential amino acids. Plus iron, zinc, some B vitamins.

The first meat foods are rabbit, turkey, and chicken. After them, you can introduce veal, beef, horse meat. Today it is believed that it is better to use industrially produced meat purees, since these canned foods undergo strict quality control and, accordingly, are safe for the baby. Refrain from buying meat from unfamiliar places.

Beef is rich in protein and iron, contains minerals, including phosphorus and potassium, as well as some B vitamins. Sometimes babies with an allergy to cow's milk may also develop an allergy to beef protein, in which case it can be replaced with other types of meat for the first feeding - rabbit or turkey.
Compared to other types of meat, rabbit meat contains the maximum amount of protein - about 20%, and the proportion of fat, on the contrary, is minimal - about 15%. In addition, rabbit meat is very juicy and tender - and kids adore it.
Turkey is low in calories and fat, but the meat is very nutritious.
Chicken meat, according to modern pediatric standards, should not be given to children under one year of age. An exception may be industrially produced baby puree or home-grown poultry purchased from a trusted place.
As for pork, this meat has a very high fat content, so it is not suitable for a children's diet. It is better to wait until the age of 2.5–3 years to introduce pork into children’s diets.

Rules for introducing meat complementary foods

You need to introduce meat from half a teaspoon, gradually increasing the weekly weight to 30 g. For several days it is worth leaving the amount unchanged, checking the child’s reaction to the new product. After all, we not only need to feed the baby, but also avoid allergies! Since the mother already knows which vegetable purees the child eats with a bang, they can be mixed with the first meat puree. This way the baby will understand the new food more clearly. At 8 - 8.5 months, a baby’s diet can contain up to 50 g of meat, and by 1.5 years, the amount of meat in the daily diet can already reach 80 - 90 g, that is, 560 - 630 g per week. Rabbit meat is considered ideal for children prone to allergies and also experiencing digestive problems. Kids love a homogeneous consistency - after all, pieces of food are still completely unusual for them. Homemade puree has a coarser “structure” and is often rejected by little gourmets. Proper nutrition for children who refuse meat.

For a child under 1–2 years of age, meat is not a mandatory component of the diet. If your baby is not gaining weight well, you don’t need to look for reasons solely in insufficient amounts of meat: this can be influenced by heredity, the functions of the endocrine system, a lack of microelements in the body and a number of other reasons. It happens that children under one year old categorically refuse meat and do not want to eat it in any form. It's not a disaster.

If your baby refuses meat, you need to wait one or two weeks to introduce this complementary food and then try again.
If you can’t introduce meat into your baby’s diet, you need to include cottage cheese, milk porridge in the menu, and after 9 months - kefir and cheese, which are also a rich source of protein.

Whatever choice your baby makes, whether he “agreed” to have meat in his diet or not, listen to his wishes, do not persist with new foods and do not insist on the need to try them. Remember that all children are different and each develops at their own pace.

Introduce chicken egg

Let's get acquainted with one of the most controversial products on the children's menu. Often mothers are afraid to introduce eggs into their baby’s diet due to the risk of allergies. At the same time, many believe that this is the most important complementary food for the first year of life.

Useful properties of eggs.

Without eggs, breakfasts wouldn't be as cozy, birthday cakes wouldn't be as tasty, and kids' diets wouldn't be as interesting. Eggs are very nutritious and have high energy value.

The proteins and fats that make up them are well absorbed by the body.
Eggs are a source of microelements essential for children.
The yolk contains an impressive amount of vitamin D, which is so necessary for the growth of the baby. It helps absorb calcium, thereby participating in the formation of teeth and bones.
A valuable component of protein is lysozyme, which has a bactericidal and anti-inflammatory effect.

For the first time, your baby can try pureed yolk with Agusha porridge. Take a few grains of hard-boiled yolk, add 0.5 - 1 teaspoon of your favorite Agusha porridge and serve from a spoon.

How to introduce eggs into your diet:

If at 7 months your baby has already become familiar with some vegetables and cereals, you can offer him literally a few grains of hard-boiled yolk, mixing it with already familiar complementary foods. By 8 months you can increase this amount to ¼ yolk at a time, and by your first birthday your baby can eat half a yolk.

If you notice even the slightest hint of an allergic reaction in a child, then the yolk should be completely excluded from the diet. Unfortunately, children prone to allergies sometimes have to wait more than 2 years to try their first egg.

Egg whites begin to be introduced into the diet after 1.5 years. However, if you have doubts that your baby will respond well to a new product, it is better to wait until 2 years to introduce protein.

Rules for selecting and preparing eggs:

The main rule is only fresh eggs.
Before you start cooking for your baby, the egg should be washed well with a sponge or brush under running water, removing all dirt from the shell.
Wipe with a cloth or paper towel and leave for a while at room temperature before cooking.
For children under one year old, eggs should be boiled in boiling water for up to 10 minutes, and then placed under running cold water.
If you cook an egg over high heat, the white will become denser than the yolk, and when cooked over low heat, the opposite will happen.
Do not offer your baby boiled eggs that have been stored in the refrigerator.
Buy eggs only from a trusted manufacturer.
Raw eggs are absolutely contraindicated for baby food! They may contain salmonella bacteria.
It is worth completely excluding eggs of waterfowl (ducks, geese) from the child’s diet, as they can be infected with pathogens of dangerous infections.

Children with allergies often respond well to quail egg yolk; they can begin to be introduced into their diet at about one year of age. Therefore, quail eggs can be an excellent alternative to chicken eggs, and they can also be included in regular children's dishes. Quail eggs are richer in vitamins and nutrients than chicken eggs, but when heat treated, their beneficial properties become almost identical.

Salmonella is rarely found in quail eggs, since their thick shell membrane prevents the penetration of this pathogenic bacterium. Also, due to their high body temperature, quails are resistant to infectious diseases, so they are kept without vaccination.