First complementary foods during breastfeeding: complementary feeding table. How to introduce complementary foods correctly? From what months should complementary foods be introduced?

Baby's readiness to introduce complementary foods

In addition to the mother’s desire to feed the child something other than breast milk or formula, the child must be ready for such actions.

IMPORTANT: Assess whether the following statements apply to the child:

• the child sits in a high chair, holding his head steady;
• the child does not spit out solid food;
• the child demands to eat more often than usual;
• the child does not allow you to eat in peace, constantly looking into your plate;
• the scale shows a figure twice as high as at birth.

The WHO opinion is that at 6 months it is necessary to introduce complementary foods to a child who is fed exclusively on breast milk. If the child is bottle-fed, you can start a month earlier. The arguments are that a child’s actively growing body needs additional nutrients and calories.

If you are a nursing mother and you decide to follow these recommendations, then remember that you yourself must eat well. Only then will you provide your baby with the necessary nutrients before he reaches the age of 6 months

Why is complementary feeding needed?

With full feeding, when the mother observes feeding times, the baby is active, grows, develops normally, supplementary feeding is not introduced before six months. Supplementary feeding is not required due to the fact that the baby does not eat enough. By six months, the baby is ready to take other foods, its food needs increase, proteins, vitamins, and minerals are needed. The introduction of the first complementary foods is a responsible step.

Early complementary feeding from 4 months is justified only by the use of artificial formula when there are not enough nutrients. Each baby is individual, and you can start complementary feeding in different ways. There are many questions to which a woman should seek answers from a pediatrician or specialized literature.

What product should be a baby's first complementary food?

Pediatricians recommend choosing vegetable purees for the first complementary feeding. Offer your child zucchini, cauliflower and broccoli first. The body digests these vegetables easily and allergies to them are less common than to others. If your pediatrician keeps assuring you that your baby is not gaining weight well, then start complementary feeding with dairy-free porridge. According to the same criteria, the optimal porridges for starting complementary feeding are: rice, corn, buckwheat. Among these three porridges, buckwheat most often causes allergies, and rice most often causes constipation. Take this into account.

Since the taste of vegetable purees and dairy-free cereals leaves much to be desired, mothers want to give their children something tasty. At the beginning of complementary feeding, you can dilute unleavened vegetables and cereals with fruit purees and juices. These products are not only tasty, they are also a storehouse of vitamins.

IMPORTANT: remember: after trying delicious fruit purees, your child may refuse less tasty vegetable purees.

Products for starting complementary feeding

The introduction of new food is chosen depending on weight. When breastfed, you should start complementary feeding at 3 months with gluten-free cereals if your weight gain is weak. In other cases, complementary feeding with vegetable puree is started first.

We recommend reading: Feeding a baby by month to one year when breastfeeding

Types of vegetable complementary foods based on allergenicity:

• Slightly allergenic (broccoli, zucchini, green peas, cabbage).
• Moderate (pepper, pumpkin, cucumber, corn).
• Allergenic (garlic, beets, tomatoes).

During pregnancy, expectant mothers study the nutrition of children under one year old month by month. It is a mistake to think that complementary feeding starts with fruit juices. This drink has an aggressive effect on the digestive system and causes allergic reactions.

Fruits according to allergenicity:

• Slightly allergenic (green apple, pear, gooseberry).
• Moderate (banana, peach, red apple).
• Particularly allergenic (pomegranate, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry).

Rice, buckwheat and corn porridges are allowed. Goat and cow's milk is introduced after a year, so porridge is boiled in water. The preferred eggs are quail eggs, which are given twice a week. Nutrition should be introduced gradually and one product at a time.

Scheme for introducing complementary feeding to a baby

Start giving each product with half a teaspoon and within a month increase the portion to 150 grams. First introduce two or three types of vegetables, only then start giving porridge. Or vice versa.

IMPORTANT: Do not immediately feed puree from two or more vegetables, or porridge from two or more grains. This will not only put a lot of stress on your baby’s digestive system, but will also make it impossible for you to determine what the reaction is to.

Introduce each product for 3-5 days. If there is no reaction to the product these days, introduce another one little by little, while simultaneously increasing the portion of the previous one. Your ultimate goal is to replace one breastfeeding or formula feeding with full feeding with complementary foods. If a child asks his mother to breastfeed after eating, then do not refuse. After all, most likely he just wants to drink.

IMPORTANT: Introduce each new product in the morning, otherwise you will deprive yourself of the opportunity to monitor how the child’s body accepts it throughout the day.

3 days after introducing a new product and if there is no reaction, start giving the product at the prescribed time

Table of introduction of complementary foods by month

With artificial feeding

The rules for complementary feeding of formula-fed infants are slightly different, but the only difference is in how many months new food can be given. The guideline is also six months, but, as practice shows, artificial babies eat less well, so doctors allowed this to be done starting from 4 months.

There is evidence of children who ate it on artificial nutrition up to 8 months, but this is very rare. It is impossible to increase the fat content of finished milk porridge, and even if you give it to the child in large quantities, there will be no benefit for the body.

The main sign that complementary foods can be introduced is how effectively the baby gains weight.

It is worth noting that the enzymes necessary for the absorption of food are produced faster in children who are given ready-made formulas. So by 4 months, most parents begin to think about complementary feeding.

In such cases, great care must be taken. After all, in the case of breastfeeding, the mother will always come to the rescue, but if it is not possible to introduce a new product into the diet of the artificial baby, he will have to return to porridge for help, but it is no longer enough.

Dr. Komarovsky's advice on introducing complementary feeding to a child

The topic of complementary feeding according to Komarovsky requires special coverage. The doctor, contrary to the recommendations of most pediatricians, maintains his personal opinion on this matter.

IMPORTANT: Do not start complementary feeding before 6 months. The order of introduction of products is as follows:

• low-fat kefir . You need to start with 3 teaspoons and increase exponentially to 150 ml;
• cottage cheese . We start with one teaspoon added to kefir and end with 30 g. This way you replace the morning feeding between 9 am and 11 am with a full breakfast;
• milk and cereal porridge : rice, oatmeal, buckwheat. We start with 3 teaspoons and similarly increase to 200 ml. Thus, we replace another feeding. It is better if it is the last one, before going to bed at night;
• vegetables . We start with vegetable decoctions. We offer the baby 30-50 g of decoction and observe, as usual. If everything is good, then increase the portion, and after 5 days we give vegetable puree. Here's a complete lunch for your little one;
• fruits and juices . We give it when the first tooth has erupted, but not earlier than 6 months;
• meat . We introduce it 2-3 weeks after the vegetables. The procedure for administration is similar to the introduction of vegetables. First - broth, then - meat. So lunch becomes meat and vegetable.

The scheme for introducing complementary foods according to Dr. Komarovsky’s method will be more understandable when studying visual diagrams for the ages of 6, 7, 8 months, respectively.

Most common questions

Let’s summarize and try to answer the most common questions regarding complementary feeding by month and more:

1. Where to start the first complementary feeding? If weight gain is normal, vegetables appear first in the diet, then fruits and cereals; if not, then cereals appear first, and the doctor can recommend which ones.
2. When to introduce the first complementary foods during mixed feeding? With mixed feeding, complementary foods are given in the same way as with breastfeeding.
3. When should complementary foods be introduced to a breastfeeding baby? First feeding in the morning, then supplementing with mother's milk.
4. What should you do if your child is constipated after introducing complementary foods? Try adding more vegetables.
5. What to do if the baby’s first feeding is accompanied by diarrhea? If there is no foul odor, there is no need to panic.
6. At what month should you start preparing for complementary feeding? From 2-3 months, by adding water from a spoon.
7. What to do if the child is already more than 2 years old, but he still cannot do without breastfeeding? Most likely, this is a purely psychological addiction, so just replace the expressions of love.
8. Is it possible to change the complementary feeding table by month? It is possible, but not on your own, but after consultation with specialists.
9. What to do if you do not agree with the recommendations regarding the first feeding of the child, which the pediatrician advises? Contact another doctor, or several.
10. At what age can breastfeeding or milk porridge replacing it be completely eliminated? After 1.5 years, the child does not feel the need for breastfeeding.

Now you know the basic information about the first complementary feeding, where to start and how to determine whether a new food is suitable for the baby, when to introduce complementary feeding during mixed feeding and during breastfeeding. Let the period of acquaintance with adult food be as comfortable as possible for you and your baby.

Should you prepare your baby’s complementary foods yourself or buy them ready-made?

Every mother must find the answer to this herself. There is no consensus on this matter. Everywhere has its positive and negative aspects.

Advantages of ready-made products for babies:

• saving time;
• the ability to take it with you on the road;
• ideal consistency for little ones;
• porridges are enriched with additional vitamins and prebiotics;
• the opportunity to diversify the diet with multi-component dishes.

Disadvantages of finished products:

• high price;
• storage for 24 hours after opening vegetable, fruit and meat purees. At first, the child does not eat even half of the contents of the jar, which means the rest has to be thrown into the trash;
• storage for 2 weeks (usually) after opening the porridge. Likewise, when a child eats in small portions, he does not eat all the porridge in 2 weeks. This means we also put the porridge in the trash bin;
• The taste of vegetable purees is much worse than those that you can prepare yourself.

Pros of home-cooked meals:

• Tastes better than store-bought ones, as a rule;
• saving money;
• You can adjust the consistency at your discretion.

Disadvantages of home-cooked meals:

• the cooking process takes a lot of time;
• inability to cook outside the home;
• It’s difficult to diversify a dish with new flavors.

Tips and reviews from experienced mothers on introducing complementary feeding to their baby:

• take your time. Don't rush to introduce every new product. When you introduce many products in a row and your baby has an allergic reaction, you will be forced to cancel everything. Otherwise, continuing to feed at this pace will only make the situation worse. And the baby’s health is the main thing;
• If you are a supporter of purchased baby food, try to cook it yourself at least occasionally. Otherwise, there is a chance that the accustomed child will refuse the food you prepare. And it will be quite difficult to accustom him to it. But sooner or later the child must be transferred to the common table;
• When purchasing ready-made baby food, carefully study the composition. There you can see a product that your child should not eat;
• Give complementary foods first, and only then breast or formula. If you give breast or formula first and then try to give solids, the baby may refuse. The chance of feeding complementary foods to a hungry child is much higher.

As you can see, the topic of complementary feeding is quite complex and responsible.

IMPORTANT: Follow the instructions, but remember that the mother feels the child’s needs in a way that others do not. Listen to your maternal feelings.

First complementary feeding during breastfeeding: general rules

A lot of attention is paid to the first feeding of a baby. In recent decades, attitudes toward introducing infants to conventional foods have changed greatly. If previously a newborn was given juice from the age of one month, and semolina porridge was given by the age of three months, now such recommendations can be found extremely rarely. Usually, early complementary feeding is recommended by pediatricians of the Soviet school, who have been practicing for more than 30 years, or by neighboring grandmothers who say that you will not be satisfied with breast milk.

Modern pediatricians agree with breastfeeding consultants on the issue of introducing first complementary foods. Recommendations from the World Health Organization:

• With the introduction of complementary foods, breastfeeding continues to be the foundation of children's diets. Up to one year, the child receives breast milk or its substitute in addition to regular foods.
• A baby should be introduced to adult food after six months. It should not be administered earlier, since the baby’s gastrointestinal tract is not yet ready for this.
• Complementary foods are introduced when the baby can sit independently. You should not feed a lying baby.
• The first feeding is just a transition from breastfeeding to a regular diet. The child is just getting acquainted with new food; it should not become the only source of nutrients at this time.
• All products are introduced gradually, starting with small portions. At this stage, it is important to evaluate the infant's response to dietary changes.

When introducing new products, it is important to take your time. You should not try to immediately curtail lactation and transfer the child to regular food by seven months. This is fraught with problems with the gastrointestinal tract, allergic reactions and other difficulties.