Baby led weaning first foods nhs

Your baby's first solid foods

When to start introducing solid foods

Introducing your baby to solid foods, sometimes called complementary feeding or weaning, should start when your baby is around 6 months old.

At the beginning, how much your baby eats is less important than getting them used to the idea of eating.

They'll still be getting most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or first infant formula.

Giving your baby a variety of foods, alongside breast or formula milk, from around 6 months of age will help set your child up for a lifetime of healthier eating.

Gradually, you'll be able to increase the amount and variety of food your baby eats until they can eat the same foods as the rest of the family, in smaller portions.

If your baby was born prematurely, ask your health visitor or GP for advice on when to start introducing solid foods.

Why wait until around 6 months to introduce solids?

It’s a good idea to wait until around 6 months before introducing solid foods because:

breast milk or first infant formula provide the energy and nutrients your baby needs until they're around 6 months old (with the exception of vitamin D in some cases)
if you're breastfeeding, feeding only breast milk up to around 6 months of age will help protect your baby against illness and infections
waiting until around 6 months gives your baby time to develop so they can cope fully with solid foods – this includes solid foods made into purées, cereals and baby rice added to milk
your baby will be more able to feed themselves
your baby will be better at moving food around their mouth, chewing and swallowing it – this may mean they'll be able to progress to a range of tastes and textures (such as mashed, lumpy and finger foods) more quickly, and may not need smooth, blended foods at all

Signs your baby is ready for solid foods

There are 3 clear signs which, when they appear together from around 6 months of age, show your baby is ready for their first solid foods alongside breast milk or first infant formula.

They'll be able to:

stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth by themselves
swallow food (rather than spit it back out)

The following behaviours can be mistaken by parents as signs that their baby is ready for solid foods:

chewing their fists
waking up in the night (more than usual)
wanting extra milk feeds

These are all normal behaviours for babies and not necessarily a sign that they're hungry or ready to start solid food.

Starting solid foods will not make your baby any more likely to sleep through the night. Sometimes a little extra milk will help until they're ready for solid foods.

Get tips to help your baby sleep well

How to start solid foods

In the beginning your baby will only need a small amount of food before their usual milk feed.

Do not worry about how much they eat. The most important thing is getting them used to new tastes and textures, and learning how to move solid foods around their mouths and how to swallow them.

They'll still be getting most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or infant formula.

There are some foods to avoid giving to your baby. For example, do not add sugar or salt (including stock cubes and gravy) to your baby's food or cooking water.

Babies should not eat salty foods as it's not good for their kidneys, and sugar can cause tooth decay.

Tips to get your baby off to a good start with solid foods:

Eating is a whole new skill. Some babies learn to accept new foods and textures more quickly than others. Keep trying, and give your baby lots of encouragement and praise.
Allow plenty of time, especially at first.
Go at your baby's pace and let them show you when they're hungry or full. Stop when your baby shows signs that they've had enough. This could be firmly closing their mouth or turning their head away. If you're using a spoon, wait for your baby to open their mouth before you offer the food. Do not force your baby to eat. Wait until the next time if they're not interested this time.
Be patient and keep offering a variety of foods, even the ones they do not seem to like. It may take 10 tries or more for your baby to get used to new foods, flavours and textures. There will be days when they eat more, some when they eat less, and then days when they reject everything. Do not worry, this is perfectly normal.
Let your baby enjoy touching and holding the food. Allow them to feed themselves, using their fingers, as soon as they show an interest. If you're using a spoon, your baby may like to hold it or another spoon to try feeding themselves.
Keep distractions to a minimum during mealtimes and avoid sitting your baby in front of the television, phone or tablet.
Show them how you eat. Babies copy their parents and other children. Sit down together for family mealtimes as much as possible.

Texture progression

Once you've started introducing solid foods from around 6 months of age, try to move your baby on from puréed or blended foods to mashed, lumpy or finger foods as soon as they can manage them.

This helps them learn how to chew, move solid food around their mouth and swallow.

Some babies like to start with mashed, lumpy or finger foods.

Other babies need a little longer to get used to new textures, so may prefer smooth or blended foods on a spoon at first.

Just keep offering them lumpy textures and they'll eventually get used to it.

Safety and hygiene

When introducing your baby to solid foods, it's important to take extra care to not put them at risk.

Key food safety and hygiene advice:

always wash your hands before preparing food and keep surfaces clean
cool hot food and test it before giving it to your baby
wash and peel fruit and raw vegetables
avoid hard foods like whole nuts, or raw carrot or apple
remove hard pips and stones from fruits, and bones from meat or fish
cut small, round foods, like grapes and cherry tomatoes, into small pieces
eggs produced under the British Lion Code of Practice (stamped with the red lion) are considered very low risk for salmonella and safe for babies to eat partially cooked

Always stay with your baby when they're eating in case they start to choke.

Choking is different from gagging. Your baby may gag when you introduce solid foods.

This is because they're learning how to deal with solid foods and regulate the amount of food they can manage to chew and swallow at one time.

If your baby is gagging:

their eyes may water
they might push their tongue forward (or out of their mouth)
they might retch to bring the food forward in their mouth or vomit

Equipment checklist

High chair. Your baby needs to be sitting safely in an upright position (so they can swallow properly). Always use a securely fitted safety harness in a high chair. Never leave babies unattended on raised surfaces.
Plastic or pelican bibs. It's going to be messy at first!
Soft weaning spoons are gentler on your baby's gums.
Small plastic bowl. You may find it useful to get a special weaning bowl with a suction base to keep the bowl in place.
First cup. Introduce a cup from around 6 months and offer sips of water with meals. Using an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve will help your baby learn to sip and is better for their teeth.
A messy mat or newspaper sheets under the high chair to catch most of the mess.
Plastic containers and ice cube trays can be helpful for batch cooking and freezing small portions.

Find out more:

tips to help your baby enjoy new foods
children's food: safety and hygiene
foods to avoid giving babies and young children
how to stop a child from choking
baby and toddler safety

Feeding your baby: from 0 to 6 months

Breast milk is the best food your baby can have during their first 6 months of life.

It's free, always available and at the perfect temperature, and is tailor-made for your baby.

First infant formula is the only suitable alternative if you do not breastfeed or choose to supplement breast milk.

Other milks or milk substitutes, including cows' milk, should not be introduced as a main drink until 12 months of age.

"Follow-on" formula is not suitable for babies under 6 months, and you do not need to introduce it after 6 months.

Babies do not need baby rice to help them move to solid foods or sleep better.

When using a bottle, do not put anything (such as sugar or cereals) in it other than breast milk or infant formula.

Vitamins for babies

It's recommended that breastfed babies are given a daily supplement containing 8.5 to 10 micrograms (µg) of vitamin D from birth, whether or not you're taking a supplement containing vitamin D yourself.

Babies having 500mls (about a pint) or more of formula a day should not be given vitamin supplements.

This is because formula is fortified with vitamin D and other nutrients.

All children aged 6 months to 5 years should be given vitamin supplements containing vitamins A, C and D every day.

Find out more:

benefits of breastfeeding
how to make up baby formula
vitamins for children

Feeding your baby: from around 6 months

When they first start having solid foods, babies do not need 3 meals a day. Babies have tiny tummies, so start by offering them small amounts of food (just a few pieces, or teaspoons of food).

Pick a time that suits you both, when you do not feel rushed and your baby is not too tired.

Start offering them food before their usual milk feed as they might not be interested if they're full, but do not wait until your baby is too hungry.

Allow plenty of time and let your baby go at their own pace.

Keep offering different foods, even foods your baby has already rejected.

It can take 10 tries or more before your baby will accept a new food or texture, particularly as they get older.

Your baby will still be getting most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or first infant formula.

Breast milk or infant formula should be their main drink during the first year. Do not give them whole cows' (or goats' or sheep's) milk as a drink until they're 1 year old.

You can continue breastfeeding for as long as you both want.

Introduce a cup from around 6 months and offer sips of water with meals. Using an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve will help your baby learn to sip and is better for their teeth.

First foods

You might want to start with single vegetables and fruits.

Try mashed or soft cooked sticks of parsnip, broccoli, potato, yam, sweet potato, carrot, apple or pear.

Include vegetables that are not sweet, such as broccoli, cauliflower and spinach.

This will help your baby get used to a range of flavours (rather than just the sweeter ones, like carrots and sweet potato) and might help prevent them being fussy eaters as they grow up.

Make sure any cooked food has cooled right down before offering it to your baby.

Foods containing allergens (such as peanuts, hens' eggs, gluten and fish) can be introduced from around 6 months of age, 1 at a time and in small amounts so you can spot any reaction.

Cows' milk can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months of age, but should not be given as a drink until your baby is 1 year old.

Full-fat dairy products, such as pasteurised cheese and plain yoghurt or fromage frais, can be given from around 6 months of age. Choose products with no added sugar.

Remember, babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water).

Finger foods

As soon as your baby starts solid foods, encourage them to be involved in mealtimes and have fun touching, holding and exploring food.

Let them feed themselves with their fingers when they want to. This helps develop fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination.

Your baby can show you how much they want to eat, and it gets them familiar with different types and textures of food.

Offering your baby finger foods at each meal is a good way to help them learn to self-feed.

Finger food is food that's cut up into pieces big enough for your baby to hold in their fist with a bit sticking out.

Pieces about the size of your own finger work well.

Start off with finger foods that break up easily in their mouth and are long enough for them to grip.

Avoid hard food, such as whole nuts or raw carrots and apples, to reduce the risk of choking.

Examples of finger foods include:

soft cooked vegetables, such as carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, parsnip, butternut squash
fruit (soft, or cooked without adding sugar), such as apple, pear, peach, melon, banana
grabbable bits of avocado
cooked starchy foods, such as potato, sweet potato, cassava, pasta, noodles, chapatti, rice
pulses, such as beans and lentils
fish without bones
hardboiled eggs
meat without bones, such as chicken and lamb
sticks of pasteurised full-fat hard cheese (choose lower salt options)

Baby-led weaning

Baby-led weaning means giving your baby only finger foods and letting them feed themselves from the start instead of feeding them puréed or mashed food on a spoon.

Some parents prefer baby-led weaning to spoon feeding, while others do a combination of both.

There's no right or wrong way. The most important thing is that your baby eats a wide variety of food and gets all the nutrients they need.

There's no more risk of choking when a baby feeds themselves than when they're fed with a spoon.

Find out more:

help your baby enjoy new foods
drinks and cups for babies and young children
food allergies in babies and young children
foods to avoid giving babies and young children

Feeding your baby: from 7 to 9 months

From about 7 months, your baby will gradually move towards eating 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea), in addition to their usual milk feeds, which may be around 4 a day (for example, on waking, after lunch, after tea and before bed).

As your baby eats more solid foods, they may want less milk at each feed or even drop a milk feed altogether.

If you're breastfeeding, your baby will adapt their feeds according to how much food they're having.

As a guide, formula-fed babies may need around 600ml of milk a day.

Gradually increase the amount and variety of food your baby is offered to ensure they get the energy and nutrients they need.

Try to include food that contains iron, such as meat, fish, fortified breakfast cereals, dark green vegetables, beans and lentils, at each meal.

Your baby's diet should consist of a variety of the following:

fruit and vegetables, including ones with bitter flavours, such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and cabbage
potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other non-dairy sources of protein
pasteurised full-fat dairy products, such as plain yoghurt and cheese (choose lower salt options)

As your baby becomes a more confident eater, remember to offer them more mashed, lumpy and finger foods.

Providing finger foods as part of each meal helps encourage infants to feed themselves, develop hand and eye co-ordination, and learn to bite off, chew and swallow pieces of soft food.

Remember, babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water).

Feeding your baby: from 10 to 12 months

From about 10 months, your baby should now be having 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea), in addition to their usual milk feeds.

Around this age, your baby may have about 3 milk feeds a day (for instance, after breakfast, after lunch and before bed).

Breastfed babies will adapt their milk consumption as their food intake changes.

As a guide, babies fed infant formula will drink about 400ml daily.

Remember that formula-fed babies should take a vitamin D supplement if they're having less than 500ml of formula a day.

All breastfed babies should take a vitamin D supplement.

By now, your baby should be enjoying a wide range of tastes and textures.

They should be able to manage a wider range of finger foods, and be able to pick up small pieces of food and move them to their mouth. They'll use a cup with more confidence.

Lunches and teas can include a main course, and a fruit or unsweetened dairy-based dessert, to move eating patterns closer to those of children over 1 year.

As your baby grows, eating together as a family encourages them to develop good eating habits.

Remember, babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water).

Feeding your baby: from 12 months

From 12 months, your child will be eating 3 meals a day containing a variety of different foods, including:

a minimum of 4 servings a day of starchy food, such as potatoes, bread and rice
a minimum of 4 servings a day of fruit and vegetables
a minimum of 350ml milk or 2 servings of dairy products (or alternatives)
a minimum of 1 serving a day of protein from animal sources (meat, fish and eggs) or 2 from vegetable sources (dhal, beans, chickpeas and lentils)

Your child may also need 2 healthy snacks in between meals.

Go for things like:

fresh fruits, such as apple, banana or small pieces of soft, ripe, peeled pear or peach
cooked or raw vegetable, such as broccoli florets, carrot sticks or cucumber sticks
pasteurised plain full-fat yoghurt
sticks of cheese (choose a lower salt option)
toast, pitta or chapatti fingers
unsalted and unsweetened rice or corn cakes

The World Health Organization recommends that all babies are breastfed for up to 2 years or longer.

You can keep breastfeeding for as long as it suits you both, but your child will need less breast milk to make room for more foods.

Once your child is 12 months old, infant formula is not needed and toddler milks, growing-up milks and goodnight milks are also unnecessary.

Your baby can now drink whole cows' milk. Choose full-fat dairy products, as children under 2 years old need the vitamins and extra energy found in them.

From 2 years old, if they're a good eater and growing well, they can have semi-skimmed milk.

From 5 years old, 1% fat and skimmed milk is OK.

You can give your child unsweetened calcium-fortified milk alternatives, such as soya, oat or almond drinks, from the age of 1 as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Children under 5 years old should not be given rice drinks because of the levels of arsenic in these products.

Find out more:

what to feed young children
foods to avoid giving babies and young children
drinks and cups for babies and young children
vitamins for children

Get Start4Life pregnancy and baby emails

For information and advice you can trust, sign up for weekly Start4Life pregnancy and baby emails.

New campaign promotes advice to introduce babies to solid food

Research led by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) finds 40% of first-time mums introduced solid food before their babies are 5 months old
NHS official advice recommends solid food should be introduced around 6 months alongside breast milk or formula
New campaign backed by Dr Zoe Williams and nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed aims to promote NHS advice and bring awareness of resources to support first-time mums

Parents will be better supported to safely introduce their children to solid food following the launch of a new campaign from OHID.

Weaning is a key milestone within the first 1,001 critical days, influencing children’s eating habits and their health later in life and improving babies abilities to move food around their mouth, chew and swallow.

The campaign will promote NHS advice on weaning and tackle confusion around how to introduce solid foods. The official NHS guidance recommends solid foods should be gradually introduced from around 6 months – alongside breast milk or infant formula.

If a baby is showing these 3 signs, it means they’re ready for weaning:

stay in a sitting position, holding their head steady
coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at food, pick it up and put it in their mouth
swallow food, rather than push it back out

By around 6 months of age, infants are usually developmentally ready to accept foods other than breast (or infant formula) milk.

The introduction of solid foods or infant formula before 6 months can reduce the amount of breast milk consumed and is associated with greater risks of infectious illness in infants. Giving solid foods to breastfed infants before 6 months may also reduce breast milk intake without increasing total energy intake or increasing weight gain.

The campaign comes as new research by OHID found 40% of first-time mums introduced solid food by the time their baby is 5 months old, earlier than the NHS recommendation of around 6 months, and almost two-thirds (64%) say they have received conflicting advice on what age to start weaning.

Health Minister, Maria Caulfield, said:

The first 1,001 days are crucial for development and impact a child’s health for the rest of their life.

Every child should have a solid foundation on which to build their health and I am determined to level up the opportunities and support for all children, no matter their background or where they grow up.

This campaign will ensure parents have the support and confidence to introduce their babies to solid food and ensure they have the opportunity to thrive and achieve their full potential.

The campaign includes an online Start for Life Weaning Hub featuring tips and advice guidelines from the NHS. The hub provides information all in one place to better support parents and reduce confusion and is backed by experts, including GP Dr Zoe Williams and nutritionist and author Charlotte Stirling-Reed.

The Start for Life Weaning hub also contains over 120 healthy and easy to prepare recipes and meal ideas which cover every step of the weaning journey, such as blueberry porridge and fish curry.

With more than 1 in 4 (27.7%) children being overweight when they reach school age, the Better Health Start for Life Weaning campaign will play a crucial role in supporting parents to get their child’s diet right at the earliest stage, encouraging healthy food variety and developing good food habits.

More widely, the government remains committed to improving babies’ and children’s healthy development through the £500 million package to provide support for parents and children, as well as continuing to implement the recommendations from Andrea Leadsom’s Early Years Review to promote best practice across the health system and ensure babies and children can get the best possible start.

Charlotte Stirling Reed, Registered Nutritionist, Association for Nutrition, said:

I know lots of parents may feel nervous and overwhelmed at the thought of introducing their baby to solid foods, but this research just goes to show you’re not alone. The Start for Life weaning hub is a great tool to make parents feel confident about how to wean their baby. It’s so important to teach little ones about food in a fun and relaxed manner as we want them to grow up enjoying mealtimes, so the weaning hub is designed to help parents enjoy this milestone by having lots of helpful advice all in one place.

Dr Zoe Williams, GP and TV doctor, said:

The research released today confirms that with so much conflicting advice available, weaning can be a very confusing time for parents. That’s why it’s so important to have all the information and NHS advice in one place. For most healthy babies, the easiest way to cut through the confusion is to wait until your baby is around 6 months old – this gives them time to develop properly, so they can cope with solid foods. When you do eventually start, there will be days when your baby eats more, some when they eat less, and then days when they reject everything! Don’t worry – this is perfectly normal.

Vicky Sibson, First Steps Nutrition Trust, said:

The introduction of solids is an important and exciting milestone for babies, which can have lasting impacts on their dietary habits and health. To get it right, their parents and carers need information and advice that is practical and independent. For that reason we are pleased to support Better Health – Start for Life’s new ‘introducing solids’ campaign.

Mum of 8-month-old baby Rex said:

We started weaning Rex just after he was 6 months and at the beginning we didn’t know where to start! My friend pointed me in the direction of the Start for Life weaning hub, and it was a godsend. Everything was so clear and easy to understand. As busy parents, we all need some extra help and inspiration from time to time, so we particularly loved the meal ideas and found the recipes really easy to make. We also loved documenting all the funny faces Rex would pull when discovering new foods!

For more information on weaning.

Assets for the campaign.

The research is based on a survey carried out on 1,000 parents with children aged 3 to 18 months and found:

around 3 in 5 (59%) of first-time parents found the decision to start weaning confusing 
almost two-thirds (64%) have received conflicting advice on what age to start introducing solid food 
40% of first-time mums introduced solid food by the time their baby is 5 months old
after partners, grandmothers are the biggest influence on decision making with over a quarter (28%) of first-time mums reporting their mother had the biggest influence on their decision to start weaning 
the majority (74%) agree there should be one official source for weaning advice

As part of the wider commitment to better support new parents, the government is investing £50 million in breastfeeding support services. This funding forms part of £300 million investment in Start for Life and Family Hub services.

Data on children being overweight or living with obesity when they reach school age is available from the National Child Measurement Programme.

what products are possible, features of complementary foods

It is no secret that young and not very experienced mothers receive information on the nutrition of an infant, including recommendations on how to introduce the first complementary foods, mainly from two sources: grandmother's stories and from the Internet. Unfortunately, both of these respected sources of information may voluntarily or not voluntarily, but be very mistaken, since grandmothers grew up in a more prosperous time in terms of environmental conditions, and the Internet is littered with various articles that are rarely written by professionals, moreover, they rely either on explicit outdated guides on baby food, or frankly on unverified information. nine0003

In this article, I will try to combine the latest scientific data and recommendations on how to introduce the first complementary foods with many years of observations from the experience of a practical pediatrician and an allergist-immunologist.

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 - 5 months, regardless of the type of feeding. This is "average". In practice, the choice of when to start introducing complementary foods still depends on the individual characteristics of the child. For example, for a child with widespread atopic dermatitis (diathesis), we will not introduce complementary foods until at least acute skin symptoms, such as cracks, weeping or secondary eczema, have steadily 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 start of the introduction of the first complementary foods. nine0003

Another important point when choosing the time to start introducing complementary foods is the dynamics of the child's weight gain. The more intensively the child gains in height and weight, the sooner he may need additional calories, since the energy value of breast milk or artificial formula alone will most likely not be enough for a child who grows faster than his peers by 4 - 5 months. We must not forget that natural products contain a fairly large range of minerals and vitamins, and a mother’s body, alas, cannot be an eternal and bottomless source of useful nutrients, somewhere something will gradually begin to be missed. nine0003

In addition, the nature of lactation in the mother 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 to introduce complementary foods. It will be better than introducing an artificial mixture. But I repeat that the earliest start date for the introduction of the first complementary foods is the age of 4 months, before the child's body is not yet ready, the risk of developing allergies is also high.

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

First complementary foods: Which foods to choose?

The first complementary foods, as a rule, should consist of vegetable or fruit purees, but in no case juices. Still, juices, even for children, are highly filtered, mainly contain a large amount of organic acids and “light” carbohydrates (that is, sugar, so that everyone understands). I will not waste time explaining why juices are harmful to an infant, but I will describe a clinical case from practice. nine0003

Parents with an 8-month-old girl came to the reception. Somewhere from 5 months she practically did not gain weight, although before that all indicators were normal. In the analyzes, apart from visible signs of iron deficiency, slightly reduced hemoglobin, no pathology was also detected. The main complaint: "does not eat anything." And when I began to find out what she still eats, it turned out that the child drinks half a liter of juice every day. But porridge or cottage cheese, or mashed potatoes cannot be forced together, they spit everything out. I don't like the taste. And so - for three months. The child, of course, became very nervous, yelling at night, demanding juice. nine0003

So draw your own conclusions and be careful.

For the first feeding, this is now recognized by everyone, the best dishes are vegetable purees from green varieties of vegetables: zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli. The first complementary foods are introduced, starting with half a teaspoon, in the morning for three days, then gradually increase the amount of the product to 40-50 grams per week. Supplemented with breast milk or formula.

For problems with stools, constipation, it’s good to start introducing prune puree, green apple, you can try pumpkin, even apricot puree, but in no case start with carrots. Beta-carotenoids, which are abundant in carrots, are generally poorly absorbed and can cause allergies in a child. nine0003

Second food.

Porridge or meat?

Even 5 - 6 years ago, we taught students at the medical institute that from 5 - 5.5 months old, an infant should begin to give cereal porridge for complementary foods. This is rice, buckwheat, corn. The first week you can cook 5% porridge: 5 grams of ground cereal per 100 ml of water. Then the porridges are cooked already denser: 10 grams of cereal per 100 ml of water. But now, basically everyone uses instant (soluble) cereals, which are diluted with water according to the instructions on the package. In addition, ready-to-eat liquid cereals are on sale: for example, Bellakt, Frutonyanya, etc. nine0003

Why meat? You ask. According to modern recommendations (they really began to change quite often), but in this case I support: if a child has a pronounced decrease in hemoglobin in the blood below 100 g / l by the age of 5 months, it makes sense to start introducing fruit or vegetable purees as a second types of complementary foods - meat purees as a source of the most well-absorbed heme iron. You need to choose from varieties such as turkey, rabbit, lamb. Beef and veal can only be offered to children who did not have red cheeks and diathesis. nine0003

In the absence of problems with low hemoglobin, feel free to introduce porridge as the second meal of complementary foods, especially if the child is small and does not gain weight very well. In this case, we can recommend breeding cereals with the addition of breast milk or a mixture (Nan, Nutrilon, Celia, Nanny). With mixtures based on goat's milk, parents of children with a predisposition to allergies should be very careful. Goat milk formulas are not the best choice for babies who are allergic or intolerant to cow's milk protein, whatever the internet says. Believe me, there are serious scientific articles by foreign authors, which provided data on a very high frequency of cross-allergy between cow and goat milk proteins in children who were transferred to goat milk mixtures. And I saw it myself in my practice, when a child with dermatitis was transferred to a mixture of goat's milk, there was a clear improvement for a month or two, and then all over again and with a doubled degree of allergic skin damage. nine0003

Introduction to fermented milk products

This is the most difficult question. I am sure that most of our grandparents demand that their stupid parents start drinking milk and kefir as soon as possible. In a number of cases, children really start to absorb sour-milk products quite well after 6 months, but before this age I am very careful even with sour-milk Agusha, and even introducing milk or kefir before 6 months is a bad form, believe me, and can lead to very bad consequences for the child. I understand the Western European medical community, which has recently banned its pediatricians from recommending fermented milk products for complementary foods for children under 3 years of age, just imagine! nine0003

They (the Europeans) need to do something with their artificial milk mixtures. Even 20 years ago, we did not know other mixtures after the "two", that is, the second formula for children from 6 to 12 months. Then there were formulas for children from 1 to 2 years old, then from 2 to 3 years old, and now there are already mixtures for children up to 4 years old, and I think if this goes on, then until the age of sixteen there will be their own milk substitutes. Dismiss me, I don't think this approach is correct. But the fact is that our grandparents had much better genetics than the generation of our children, alas. In the context of the growth of medical capabilities, genetically determined diseases are also growing, and in this case, intolerance to cow's milk protein, and with every 10 years there are more and more such people among us. But if a child really suffers from an allergy to cow's milk protein or is severely deficient in enzymes, then he will carry this peculiarity through his whole life, and most likely he will not drink milk or kefir himself, and there is no need to force him if he himself won't want to! nine0003

But you are lucky with genetics, and no one in the family has ever had an allergy (which is hard to imagine in our time), and most importantly, if your child has always had perfectly clean skin, then the first of the dairy products - cottage cheese, you will begin to offer your child with 7 months, kefir - from 10 months. Milk - after a year. It will be better this way.

But if your family does not have a very close and joyful relationship with milk, then even the introduction of kefir and yogurt into complementary foods for a child should be postponed until the age of 18 months. nine0003

Fish day and first meal

Fish is a very healthy product, rich in vitamins and antioxidants, but it must also be introduced carefully. I advise you to start introducing the first fish food at about 7-8 months. It is better to start with species such as cod, hake, haddock. The rules are the same: the first three days on the "gram," then slowly add. If there are no problems in a week or two, you can try such delicacies as tuna or salmon, of course, canned children, if you can find it. It is better not to mess with trout and salmon in the first year of life, this fish is all stuffed with dyes and antibiotics. nine0003

No matter how hard I tried, the article about the first complementary foods turned out to be long. Thank you for reading to the end, I hope it will be useful. If you have questions about the introduction of complementary foods, you can write your appeals on our website in the question to a specialist section. A short answer can be obtained on the Internet, but in order to make a diagnosis and give a detailed consultation, of course, you need to come to a face-to-face appointment with a pediatrician and a pediatric allergist.

Feeding for cow's milk protein allergy

Nestlé Health Science
health care
Feeding with CMPA

Feeding and treatment of CMPA

The appearance of allergy symptoms in an infant always causes fear in parents. The first step is to consult a doctor who will conduct an examination, make the correct diagnosis and prescribe competent treatment. With the right approach, most symptoms will disappear within 2-4 weeks. nine0003

Important! Do not experiment with a diet that excludes cow's milk protein without the advice and direction of a doctor.

Breastfeeding is the best nutritional option for you and your baby. Even if your baby has been diagnosed with CMPA, breastfeeding should continue. Based on the severity of the symptoms and the presence of other types of food allergies in the child, the doctor will help determine the most appropriate diet for your child to quickly resolve the symptoms of the allergy. nine0003

Continue breastfeeding

A diagnosis of CMPA should not affect breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is the best nutritional option for your baby. Breast milk contains all the nutrients your baby especially needs during the first 6 months and continues to be beneficial for a long time to come. In addition to nutritional properties, breast milk contains antibodies, leukocytes and immune complexes, which together form the baby's immunity. In rare cases where the baby's immune system reacts to cow's milk proteins in breast milk, your doctor may recommend that you start a diet eliminating cow's milk proteins entirely (remember that a dairy-free diet may not be sufficient, as all traces of cow's milk must be eliminated) . nine0003

Early start: The sooner you start breastfeeding, the better. According to doctors, starting breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth ensures that your baby receives first milk (colostrum) and the protective factors it contains as soon as possible.

Emotional Benefit: Breastfeeding is an important factor in establishing and maintaining a strong emotional bond with your baby.

Long-term health benefits: Breastfeeding will also help develop your baby's immune system and thus protect your baby's health in the long term.

Protection for you and your baby: Studies have shown that breastfeeding reduces the risk of further infections in children, diseases of the digestive tract, diabetes, obesity and even leukemia. Breastfeeding is also good for you! Mothers who breastfeed have a reduced risk of developing diabetes, as well as breast and ovarian cancer. nine0003

Importance and benefits of breastfeeding

The sooner the better

Breastfeeding during the first hour of birth ensures that the baby receives its first milk called colostrum
Exclusive breastfeeding recommended for the first 6 months

Protective role for you and your child

Breast milk is rich in protective factors that promote healthy growth and development in babies and reduce the risk of developing diseases later on.
Mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk of developing diabetes and developing breast and ovarian cancer

Emotional Benefits

You and your child develop and maintain a strong emotional bond. nine0056

What type of food is best for my child?

The only way to eliminate symptoms is to eliminate cow's milk proteins from the child's diet.

Important! Do not experiment with a diet that excludes cow's milk protein without the advice and direction of a doctor.

If breastfeeding is not possible or supplemented with infant formula, your doctor will help you choose an appropriate infant formula that does not contain cow's milk proteins. These infant formulas are formulated with children in mind and contain all the necessary nutrients to support growth and development. nine0003

These specialized infant formulas can be based on:

cow's milk processed in a certain way so that the proteins are no longer recognized by the baby's immune system and therefore do not cause an allergic reaction
amino acids

The table below describes the differences between the two types of infant formula.

	SOGSB	COA
What is it?	WGHB stands for "Whey Protein Hydrolysate Blend". The proteins in cow's milk that cause allergic reactions in a baby are severely broken down (hydrolyzed).	COA stands for "amino acid blend". This mixture does not contain any cow's milk proteins.
What does it consist of?	Cow's milk proteins have been broken down into smaller particles, which means they can no longer be recognized by the baby's immune system. Mixtures contain the macro- and micronutrients necessary for the child. nine0148	For severe allergies, an amino acid mixture is used. This mixture does not contain any cow's milk proteins. The mixture is also enriched with all the necessary elements to support healthy growth and development.

When and how to introduce complementary foods

At 6 months of age, breastfeeding (or special infant formula) is no longer sufficient to fully support a child's growth and development and supplementary foods must be introduced into the diet. But throughout this time, breastfeeding (or special infant formula) is still the main source of nutrition for the baby. nine0003

It is important to introduce complementary foods on time. The reflex responsible for moving solid foods in the mouth and swallowing them usually develops between 4 and 7 months of age. If you start solid foods too early, the baby will not be ready for it. Similarly, if you start too late, your child may not get all the nutritional support he or she needs, which increases the child's risk of developing essential vitamin and mineral deficiencies and stunting. Along with the nutritional benefits, introducing complementary foods will also provide sensory stimulation and improve your baby's motor skills. nine0003

IMPORTANT NOTE: : It is possible to continue breastfeeding if the infant is allergic to cow's milk protein. To do this, the mother needs a special diet with the exclusion of all sources of cow's milk protein. Only if these measures do not bring the desired effect, the doctor recommends the use of a special therapeutic mixture intended for children from 0 to 1 year old.