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What are the benefits of educational complementary foods?

It is believed that when children are introduced to the diet of foods from the general table at an early age, children become more familiar with the texture and taste of these foods, they develop an active food interest. Feeding food is also considered one of the easiest and most natural ways to introduce solid food into a child's diet, since this method does not require special preparation of food, grinding it in a blender: it is enough just to give your baby products from your table in microdoses, and this will allow your child to take part in meals with the whole family.

An important point here is the established diet of the family.

Here are a few more benefits of complementary food: ¹

• development of active food interest and eating behavior;
• development of motor skills;
• child makes independent decisions;
• reducing the risk of overeating and the formation of eating behaviors leading to fullness (leveling habits that further contribute to overweight).

Would you like to try the infant formula? Let's see where to start!

According to the infant feeding methodology, solid foods are recommended to be introduced when the baby is six months old. Six months is the ideal time to start complementary foods, as most babies at this age can sit without support and have good control of their neck, head, and motor skills. ²

If you choose an energy type of complementary food for yourself and your baby, you can introduce mashed food at the age of four to six months. However, it is better to be careful with solid food and wait until your child is six months old to give him solid food in the form of small pieces.

To make this transition enjoyable for both you and your baby, let's discuss some aspects of complementary foods. Below is an algorithm and useful tips about infant feeding: ^{1 2}

1. Have the child sit at the table. One of the benefits of infant food is that your baby can eat at the table with the whole family. Start with the fact that during lunch, just put the child at the table with everyone. In this way, the child will be able to watch all the members of the family when they are eating, and he will develop an active food interest.
   
2. Give your child food that he can handle. Even though your baby is not getting pureed food as part of complementary foods, but is given small pieces right away, you still need to make sure that the food is well crushed and soft enough so that he does not choke. Cut baby food into small pieces the size of rice that the baby can easily pick up and eat on their own.

   Remember to make sure the food is soft enough for your child to chew and swallow easily. Foods like mashed potatoes, beans, well-cooked pasta, and rice are all great food options to offer your little one.

   For even more variety in your baby's complementary foods, look no further than the Philips Avent 4 in 1 Steamer Blender to prepare delicious and healthy meals with a variety of recipes. You'll discover new ways to prepare homemade vegetables and meats that the whole family can enjoy, as one jar is enough for several servings.

3. Have a glass of water ready. As soon as the child begins to eat on his own, he will also begin to drink on his own. Try using the Natural training cup so that your baby can gradually get used to holding the sippy cup by the handles while drinking from the familiar Natural nipple.

   When you start complementary foods, be aware that dinner will get a little messy! As your child learns to pick up food and eat on his own, dropped food pieces will become commonplace, as will cute smudges of food smeared on your child's cheeks.

   5. Continue breastfeeding or formula.

   And remember that complementary foods do not mean that you should immediately stop breastfeeding or formula. When starting complementary foods at six months of age, think of this time as your baby's introduction to new food textures and flavors. Continue breastfeeding or formula to ensure your baby gets all the nutrients it needs in its first year of life. Remember that the main food for him remains mother's milk or infant formula.

   There will come a time when you and your baby will be ready to stop breastfeeding. You can find out when and how to do this here.

   Now that you know what infant foods are and have a few recommendations in your arsenal about including food from the common table in your baby's diet, you can sit at the table with the whole family! Yes, there will be some confusion, but this is only part of a long journey that you and your child are walking together.

   Philips Avent Articles & Tips

   ¹ Contemporary Pediatrics - Baby-led weaning: Introducing complementary foods in infancy

   ² National Library of Medicine - Baby-Led Weaning: The Evidence to Date & The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) - A Baby-Led Approach to Eating Solids and Risk of Choking

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   Breastfeeding is your baby's health.

   Breastfeeding is the health of your baby.

   The son fell asleep, trustingly and gently

   Pressing her cheek against her mother's chest,

   And we fly, as in space boundless,

   Like two stars in the milky way

   At the beginning of life, what is needed for the crumbs

   To be with your beloved mother, and it's so easy

   Always ready, tasty, close, near,

   An invaluable gift is breast milk.

   Sleep, my angel, and let you dream

   Seas and mountains, stars, clouds

   You can't stay small forever

   You will become strong, brave, but for now

   The Milky Way will give us serenity

   Let every crumb be familiar with him

   And he will be fed with a gentle smile

   Great mother's milk!

   Throughout the existence of mankind, breastfeeding newborns ensured the survival and health of the child. The rapid development of science, the involvement of women in public life, the early exit of a nursing mother to work led to the creation of a whole new industry, the "technology" of artificial feeding. The basis was based on a quantitative approach, the main indicator of nutritional adequacy was the increase in body weight and the amount of food consumed. If the child did not gain enough body weight and did not suck out the prescribed amount of milk in a strictly regulated feeding time, a diagnosis of hypogalactia was made and supplementary feeding from a bottle was prescribed. Replaced breast milk with cow's milk (all milk formulas with cow's or goat's milk), replaced mother's breasts with nipples and pacifiers. This approach was ubiquitous. The number of women breastfeeding has steadily declined. Recent studies have convincingly shown that the deterioration of the health of the child population - an increase in allergic, gastroenterological and nephrological problems, a decrease in the level of physical and mental development, is directly related to an increase in the number of children who are bottle-fed. Luckily for babies, mothers are returning to a natural and evolutionary way of organizing feeding - baby-friendly feeding. For the full development and formation of health in children, breastfeeding is necessary. The right of the child to breastfeeding was declared and enshrined in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

   Breastfeeding is the best way to keep your baby healthy for years to come.

   Today, the physiology of infants and their mysterious baby soul is increasingly attracting the attention of psychologists, doctors and other specialists. It was possible to identify and describe the needs of the little man. They are conditionally divided into physiological and mental: the need for physical contact with the mother, the need for warmth, satiety, comfort, security, incessant care and love, deep emotional contact with the mother, the need for a variety of sensations and impressions. Moreover, the younger the child, the more needs are satisfied by sucking mother's milk. Ideally, the baby should not cry at all - after all, the mother has breasts for sucking and hands to comfort and eliminate the cause of discomfort. The composition of milk includes more than 400 components that guarantee the normal development of the child's body, and the opportunity to receive it gives a timely response to ANY need of the baby: drink, eat, fall asleep, calm down and be comforted, digest a lot of milk, release gas, normalize the intestinal microflora, recover, provide active work of the growing brain, regulate the activity of the nervous system and much more! This is how boundless the dependence of the health and development of the baby on receiving the necessary portion of milk on time to meet its vital needs.

   How exactly do babies ask for breasts? Don't expect demanding lamentations trying to justify the "on demand" name. Offer the breast at the FIRST signs of anxiety. As a rule, this is enough to prevent crumbs from upset. The newborn shows a desire to receive mother's milk, opening his mouth wide, turning his head in search of a nipple, grunting, whimpering, trying to suck a fist or edge of clothing. An older baby can already express himself more specifically: with gestures, movements, interjections, words.

   The general rule for establishing on-demand feedings is to put the baby to the breast in response to any discomfort. And then it will become clear what exactly he wanted - to quench his thirst or hunger, fall asleep, pee, change position, warm up. Or he just got bored alone. The kid calmed down, the mother eliminated the cause of discomfort - and you can continue to live calmly and cheerfully!

   Attention!

   The very concept of "feeding on demand" excludes the possibility of replacing the breast with a dummy or bottle. If the mother uses these items, then it is correct to say that the mother feeds according to the regime, introducing restrictions on the baby's access to the breast.

   One of the reasons that violate the physiology of breastfeeding is the late start of breastfeeding. It seems to many mothers that on the first day she has no milk and the baby is crying from hunger. Meanwhile, the volume of the stomach in a newborn is only 2.0 ml. And those drops of colostrum are enough so that the child does not experience hunger. If a child would need large volumes of liquid immediately after birth, then nature would arrange the woman so that she would be flooded with colostrum immediately after childbirth. And in the first hours of life, a child may worry simply because he was born, and childbirth for a baby is the most stressful thing in life. Therefore, he is looking for his mother, breast sucking and the closeness of his mother soothe the child and he feels that he is loved and not alone in this big world.

   It is very important that the child receives colostrum. Colostrum contains more protein than mature milk. All immune factors, as well as colostrum leukocytes, provide the first protection of the child and prevent infectious and inflammatory diseases. Colostrum has a mild laxative effect, as a result of which the child's intestines are cleared of meconium (original feces), which reduces the duration of physiological jaundice. There is a lot of vitamin A in colostrum. It contains bifidobacteria, immunoglobulin A (envelops the intestinal mucosa) necessary for the formation of a normal biocenosis in the intestine. Given the unique composition of colostrum, it is very important that the child receives it from the first hours of life. That's why in the neonatology department we put the baby to the mother's breast even in the delivery room.

   In the first day, the child needs a fairly frequent attachment to the breast. That is why mother and child are not separated until the very moment of discharge home.

   The only stimulant for lactation is the suckling of the breast by the baby. It is necessary to apply the baby to the breast as often as he asks, especially in the 1st month of life in the period of mutual adaptation of the mother and child. The baby of the first months of life does not separate his personality from the personality of his mother and from her breasts. Mom and her breasts, and everything connected with them, are the universe of the baby and himself.

   How much time can a baby spend at the breast?

   In solving this issue, also be guided by the needs of the baby. With natural breastfeeding, the duration of application can vary from a second to an hour, depending on the task that the baby faces.

   • Short attachments are associated with a feeling of thirst (after all, breast milk is approximately 90% water), with the need to get energy when tired, with the need to ensure the normal functioning of the nervous system during overload (on a walk, in a stressful situation, pain and fear) and support the level of glucose in the blood necessary for the full functioning of the brain. They help the baby get substances from the foremilk, which, with longer sucking, changes its composition, becoming fatty and high-calorie.

   • long feedings (starting from 10 minutes or more) help the baby solve the problems of growth and weight gain, brain growth and development of the gastrointestinal tract, normalize digestion processes and ensure the formation of immunity. Babies can suck for a long time during the first weeks, when falling asleep, when they are sick, teething, in the presence of psychological discomfort, with difficulties in establishing emotional contact with their mother. Especially for a long time, babies suck in the morning - at this time, the mother's body actively produces the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for a sufficient amount of milk.

   Do not take the breast until the baby has released it on its own. Otherwise, he runs the risk of not receiving something important from your milk, and the breast will not receive the “request” for the development of a new portion of precious nutrition.

   Be patient, choose a comfortable position for feeding, make sure not to get bored in these moments (knit, listen to music, read, take a nap), and feed! For as long as the baby requires. Of course, there are exceptions: you need to open the door, go somewhere, do something... But these should be exceptions, not a regular practice.

   The duration of feeding should be determined by the child himself, and not by minutes. I suggest to all mothers reading this text - do not count the application, do not notice their duration. Attach the child, as often as he asks. Having satiated, the child himself will “tear off” from the breast or stop sucking. The shape and size of the mammary glands and nipple, as well as the features of its structure, do not determine the amount of milk and the possibility of breastfeeding.

   When a baby suckles, sensory impulses travel from the nipples to the mammary glands. In response to this, the anterior pituitary gland produces a hormone - prolactin. Prolactin enters the bloodstream of the mammary glands and stimulates the mammary secretory glands that produce milk. Thus, the more the baby suckles, the more milk is produced in the mammary glands. More prolactin is produced at night, so breastfeeding at night is especially beneficial for maintaining milk production.

   How often do you need breast milk? The younger the child, the more of his needs are met by the composition of the milk. For example, a new portion of food helps a month-old baby to comfortably empty his intestines or get rid of the accumulation of gases, and a 5-6-month-old baby will cope with this without sucking. The grown-up little one, if he wants to caress his mother, will climb into her arms and hug her, and the baby knows one way to find deep and tender unity - to suck on his mother's breast. The smaller the child, the more often he asks for a breast, even 10-15 minutes after the previous feeding! The gastrointestinal tract of the baby is designed for round-the-clock supply of breast milk. The stomach itself rests almost all the time ”and does not participate in the digestion of milk - this is done by the intestines. Therefore, feed your baby often during the day and - which is especially important for producing enough milk - at least 3 times a night.

   Usually a child of the first year of life requires up to 15-20 applications per day. After a year, their number can be reduced to 8-12. The baby, ready for weaning, sucks only 1-2 times a day.

   Is long sucking bad for the breast?

   One of the most important concepts in the organization of successful breastfeeding is CORRECT LETTING. The baby should capture the entire brown areola as deeply as possible. The radius of capture of the areola is 2-3 cm from the base of the nipple. The nipple itself is deep in the baby's mouth, without being at risk of injury.

   The main criteria for the correct application:

   - absence of soreness of the breast in the mother;

   - certain external signs: at the moment of sucking, the areola is practically invisible, the lips of the crumbs are turned outward, ensuring the tightness of the attachment (and the air does not enter the baby's stomach), the chin is pressed to the chest, and the cheeks and nose touch it.

   Proper attachment protects the nipples from injury, and due to the effect of high-quality emptying of the mammary gland, it is the prevention of milk stagnation and mastitis. Try to teach your baby how to suckle correctly at the breast as early as possible! If it doesn't work out, use the help of consultants.

   Only the composition of breast milk and the characteristics of the digestive system of an infant are a harmonious mechanism for the formation of a high-quality biocenosis - and a healthy intestine is a healthy person!

   How much energy does a baby need for growth and physical activity. Food sources of energy are fats, carbohydrates and proteins. According to the value criterion, human milk proteins have the highest score. Breast milk contains predominantly whey proteins, l-lactoalbumin and lactoferrin are present in large quantities, which are sources of all essential amino acids (cow's milk contains b-lactoglobulin, which causes a negative antigenic reaction and has an allergenic property). In children of the first months of life, gastric juice has low acidity and enzyme activity - but they are enough to digest breast milk proteins.

   Fats should provide the baby not only with energy, but also with essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K. It is fats that form the intelligence of the child. The ability of infants to synthesize many fatty acids is limited. But nature has provided that these acids are present in sufficient quantities in breast milk. Most artificial mixtures do not contain docosahexaenoic acid and, thus, when building phospholipids of nerve cells in the brain, the body uses other fatty acids, which can affect the level of mental and intellectual development of the child.

   All carbohydrates are absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract in the form of monosaccharides (primarily glucose). Glucose is an indispensable source of energy for nervous tissue, the cells of which are not able to use fats as an energy source. Oligosaccharides determine the bifidogenic properties of breast milk.

   It has long been known that human milk can provide maximum and comprehensive protection of the baby from possible infections. Breast milk contains all classes of immunoglobulins - A, M, O, E. Secretory Ig A (high content in colostrum) protects the intestinal epithelium from antigens in the intestinal cavity and actively stimulates the child's immune system. Lymphocytes and macrophages play an important role in the formation of antibacterial immunity in newborns. Lysozyme has bacteriostatic properties due to the enzymatic destruction of the cell membranes of microbial cells. Thus, secretory Ig A, lactoferrin, lysozyme form a powerful bacteriolytic system of human milk. With mother's milk, all protective antibodies are transmitted to the child, protecting against the implementation of specific infections. These substances are absent in mixtures and milk of animals.

   Breast milk contains specific hormones that promote more intense psychomotor and emotional development. Breastfeeding contributes to greater neurological stability, sociability, and memory development in children.

   Correct bite, which is formed when covering the nipple, reduces the frequency of dental problems in early childhood, reduces the frequency of caries.

   Psychological benefits of breastfeeding:

   Breastfeeding determines a close emotional connection with the mother, which lasts for many years, creates a feeling of closeness and security in the child. A nursing woman evokes a special tenderness of a loving man, colors the feeling of love in new bright colors, creates that specific climate in the family, when a man begins to fully feel his role as a protector of two inextricably linked and important people for him - mother and child!

   The baby, who feels the native smell of the mother's breast, develops a deeper and more restful sleep. The decrease in the frequency and severity of "intestinal colic" in breastfed children is associated with a faster development of microbiocenosis, the maturation of gastrointestinal enzymes, and the formation of proper peristalsis against the background of calm and prolonged sucking.

   The concept of "intestinal colic" is the condition of the child in the first 3 months of life. In newborns, the phenomenon is physiological and is associated with the immaturity of the regulation of motility and the immaturity of the enzyme system, which leads to an increase in gas formation and "bursting" of the intestine. In this regard, they can occur both with breastfeeding and with the use of mixtures. However, only breastfeeding can significantly reduce and alleviate the severity of the manifestations of pain in colic, due to greater ease of digestion and less gas formation. Many believe that "intestinal colic" is associated with intestinal dysbiosis or transient lactase deficiency. In a child of the first months of life, one can hardly speak of dysbacteriosis at all, since microbiocenosis is still being formed during this period. Breast milk has a high content of oligosaccharides, which are the most valuable probiotic factor contributing to the formation of bifidoflora. Its suppression (use of phages, abundance of biological preparations containing bifidobacteria) can contribute to the acquisition of dysbacteriosis. Thus, the study of feces for dysbacteriosis in children of the first months of life is not an informative method, since, on the one hand, changes will certainly be found in the analysis, on the other hand, the treatment of these changes can only lead to a deterioration in the formation of microbiocenosis.

   But what about squeezing?

   If you have organized feeding your baby in a natural way, there is no need for pumping. The mammary gland, responding to the “requests” and “requirements” from the child, produces as much milk as he needs. Frequent sucking with proper breast capture will insure against stagnation that occurs during feeding according to the regime scheme - when each breast is “idle” for 6-8 hours, waiting for its turn.

   You need to pump only if the mother is separated from the baby, or works outside the home. In such cases, it is possible to create a "bank of one's own milk". (Frozen milk in bags can be stored for up to 6 months. In the refrigerator, we store expressed milk for up to 2 days. At room temperature for up to 12 hours)

   How to do everything if you often breastfeed your baby?

   To establish a life with a newborn, a young mother needs help with the housework. The main principle after childbirth: the mother takes care of the child, and others take care of the mother. Most household issues can be completely resolved without the participation of a nursing mother. It's not that hard to leave the laundry in the car, the preparation of quick-frozen foods, the shopping and the cleanliness of the house to the household. Moreover, everyone is interested in the baby growing up healthy, calm, not crying and not being capricious. For the sake of this, while the baby is small, it is worth spending most of the time on feeding - knowing that in the future the situation will change, the need for milk will be less and the mother will have more time. Many people are helped by the use of a sling-sling for carrying children, which allows, without taking the baby off the breast, to do simple household chores, moving freely around the apartment and beyond.

   Breast age of babies up to 2.5 years or more (and not up to 1 year as previously thought).

   In the second year of life, the child receives from mother's milk fats, which are the main source of energy for the baby, all the immune cells that protect against seasonal infections and form a healthy immunity in your crumbs. The modern breastfeeding woman faces a lot of misinformation about breastfeeding, negative social pressures, and a host of other factors that undermine her decision and desire to breastfeed. And if the mother still, in spite of everything, continues to feed the child with her milk even after a year, she has to listen to all kinds of “horror stories” about the dangers of breastfeeding “big” children.

   This negative attitude is a direct legacy of the 20th century. A hundred years ago, no one was surprised that children receive their mother's milk until they are 2-3 years old. Our great-grandmothers remember that the process of lactation is the best contraceptive (the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for the production of milk, suppresses ovulation). But from the 30s to the 40s of the twentieth century, when the ideal of a woman was not a devoted wife and mother, but a shock worker of the labor front, there were less and less opportunities to feed a baby for a long time. In the middle of the last century, maternity leave was 1 month. The consequence of the lack of breastfeeding was the deterioration of the health of the younger generation. Health not only physical, but also mental; children who did not know their mother's breasts are more prone to depression, behavioral problems in adolescence and difficulties in establishing family life. That is why the World Health Organization began to pay close attention to breastfeeding. Numerous studies have been carried out on the composition of human milk, materials have been collected on the impact of breastfeeding on the development of a child, manuals for health workers and brochures for mothers have been written. Together with UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), the 10 Steps to Succeeding What Really?

   The words that after a year there is nothing useful in women's milk is a myth.

   The fat content of breast milk after a year of feeding increases by 2-3 times.

   The amount of antibodies with the growth of the child is constantly increasing, as is the content of immunoglobulin A.

   The level of substances responsible for the maturation of the gastrointestinal tract of the crumbs increases. In the second year of life, 448 ml of breast milk provides energy needs - by 29%, protein - by 43%. in calcium - by 36%, and the need for vitamin A - by 75%. Needs for folates (folic acid derivatives) are satisfied by 76%, in vitamin B12 - by 94%, and in vitamin C - by 60%. Other evidence suggests the impact of long-term feeding on IQ: The biggest gains were in the children who were fed the longest. A relationship was found between the duration of feeding and successful social adaptation at the age of 6-8 years, when the baby goes to school. Babies older than a year are less likely to suffer from allergic diseases. Their immunity is more stable, and in case of illness, the recovery period is shorter than that of their peers who do not receive mother's milk.

   Reasons for reduced lactation:

   • the baby is late attached to the breast (this is why the first attachment in the first hour after birth is important).
   • violation of the technique of attachment to the breast. The sucking mechanism changes if the child has been taught to suck from a pacifier. And it's not about "easier" sucking, but about the technique of the relative position of the tongue, coverage of the lips and the inclusion of muscle groups of the bottom of the oral cavity, cheeks and perioral region, as well as the combination of sucking and swallowing reflexes. If the child technically begins to suckle the breast like a nipple, then this leads to the release of small portions of the "front" milk, stagnation of milk in the ducts, which can lead to lactostasis, as well as the formation of nipple cracks. In the latter case, the pain syndrome slows down both the synthesis of milk and its outflow from the ducts of the mammary glands.
   • rare and short feedings. With effective breastfeeding, the baby receives all the milk he needs and does not require frequent (random) feeding, even with uneven intervals between feedings. If he requires feedings more than 1 hour later, it is likely that he is not properly attached to the breast or the duration of the feedings is so short that he does not have time to suck enough milk.
   • lack of night feedings. The greatest secretion of prolactin occurs at night (prolactin is a hormone that stimulates milk production in the alveoli)
   • use of objects that simulate breasts (nipples and pacifiers). Sucking on the mother's breast is an innate reflex. The child is not designed by nature to suck anything other than the breast. And they always teach to a pacifier. In this case, the natural mechanisms of breast sucking are distorted. The experience of "nipple" sucking is formed. And always a pacifier is given in return for communicating with a child. Sucking on a pacifier can change the bite and affect speech development. Increased chance of breastfeeding. When suckling the breast, the child uses the tongue, which is important for the development of speech, receives more attention from the mother, which affects the psycho-emotional development of the child.

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