When can you introduce table food to a baby
When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods | Nutrition
For more information about how to know if your baby is ready to starting eating foods, what first foods to offer, and what to expect, watch these videos from 1,000 Days.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old. Introducing foods before 4 months old is not recommended. Every child is different. How do you know if your child is ready for foods other than breast milk or infant formula? You can look for these signs that your child is developmentally ready.
Your child:
- Sits up alone or with support.
- Is able to control head and neck.
- Opens the mouth when food is offered.
- Swallows food rather than pushes it back out onto the chin.
- Brings objects to the mouth.
- Tries to grasp small objects, such as toys or food.
- Transfers food from the front to the back of the tongue to swallow.
What Foods Should I Introduce to My Child First?
The American Academy of Pediatrics says that for most children, you do not need to give foods in a certain order. Your child can begin eating solid foods at about 6 months old. By the time he or she is 7 or 8 months old, your child can eat a variety of foods from different food groups. These foods include infant cereals, meat or other proteins, fruits, vegetables, grains, yogurts and cheeses, and more.
If your child is eating infant cereals, it is important to offer a variety of fortifiedalert icon infant cereals such as oat, barley, and multi-grain instead of only rice cereal. Only providing infant rice cereal is not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration because there is a risk for children to be exposed to arsenic. Visit the U.S. Food & Drug Administrationexternal icon to learn more.
How Should I Introduce My Child to Foods?
Your child needs certain vitamins and minerals to grow healthy and strong.
Now that your child is starting to eat food, be sure to choose foods that give your child all the vitamins and minerals they need.
Click here to learn more about some of these vitamins & minerals.
Let your child try one single-ingredient food at a time at first. This helps you see if your child has any problems with that food, such as food allergies. Wait 3 to 5 days between each new food. Before you know it, your child will be on his or her way to eating and enjoying lots of new foods.
Introduce potentially allergenic foods when other foods are introduced.
Potentially allergenic foods include cow’s milk products, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame. Drinking cow’s milk or fortified soy beverages is not recommended until your child is older than 12 months, but other cow’s milk products, such as yogurt, can be introduced before 12 months. If your child has severe eczema and/or egg allergy, talk with your child’s doctor or nurse about when and how to safely introduce foods with peanuts.
How Should I Prepare Food for My Child to Eat?
At first, it’s easier for your child to eat foods that are mashed, pureed, or strained and very smooth in texture. It can take time for your child to adjust to new food textures. Your child might cough, gag, or spit up. As your baby’s oral skills develop, thicker and lumpier foods can be introduced.
Some foods are potential choking hazards, so it is important to feed your child foods that are the right texture for his or her development. To help prevent choking, prepare foods that can be easily dissolved with saliva and do not require chewing. Feed small portions and encourage your baby to eat slowly. Always watch your child while he or she is eating.
Here are some tips for preparing foods:
- Mix cereals and mashed cooked grains with breast milk, formula, or water to make it smooth and easy for your baby to swallow.
- Mash or puree vegetables, fruits and other foods until they are smooth.
- Hard fruits and vegetables, like apples and carrots, usually need to be cooked so they can be easily mashed or pureed.
- Cook food until it is soft enough to easily mash with a fork.
- Remove all fat, skin, and bones from poultry, meat, and fish, before cooking.
- Remove seeds and hard pits from fruit, and then cut the fruit into small pieces.
- Cut soft food into small pieces or thin slices.
- Cut cylindrical foods like hot dogs, sausage and string cheese into short thin strips instead of round pieces that could get stuck in the airway.
- Cut small spherical foods like grapes, cherries, berries and tomatoes into small pieces.
- Cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels of wheat, barley, rice, and other grains.
Learn more about potential choking hazards and how to prevent your child from choking.
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Feeding Your 8- to 12-Month-Old (for Parents)
By 8 months old, most babies are pros at handling the iron-fortified infant cereals and the puréed foods that are part of their diet, along with breast milk or formula.
Over the next few months, they will start to explore table foods.
Changing Eating Habits
Offer your baby a variety of tastes and textures from all food groups. Start any new food with a trial run (a few days to a week) to look for any allergic reactions. Babies younger than 12 months old should not have:
- honey until after a baby's first birthday. It can cause botulism in babies.
- unpasteurized juice, milk, yogurt, or cheese
- regular cow's milk or soy drinks before 12 months instead of breast milk or formula. It’s OK to offer pasteurized yogurt and cheese.
- foods that may cause choking, such as hot dogs, raw vegetables, grapes, hard cheese, popcorn, and nuts
- foods with added sugars and no-calorie sweeteners
- high-sodium foods
Babies this age are likely showing more interest in table foods. You can fork-mash, cut up, blend, or grind whatever foods the rest of the family eats.
To prevent choking, cook table foods a little longer, until very soft, and cut or shred them into small pieces that your baby can handle safely.
Around 9 months old, infant usually can pick food up between their finger and thumb so they can try feeding themselves.
If you haven't already, have your baby join the rest of the family at meals. They enjoy being at the table.
After the first birthday, babies are ready to switch to cow's milk. If you're breastfeeding, you can continue beyond 1 year, if desired. If you decide to stop breastfeeding before your baby's first birthday, give iron-fortified formula. If your baby is over 12 months, give whole milk.
Let your baby keep working on drinking from a cup, but do not give juice to infants younger than 12 months. After 12 months, you can serve whole milk in a cup, which will help with the move from the bottle.
Feeding Safety
Always supervise when your child is eating. Make sure your child sits up in a high chair or other safe place.
Don't serve foods that your baby could choke on.
If you're unsure about whether a finger food is safe, ask yourself:
- Does it melt in the mouth? Some dry cereals will melt in the mouth, and so will light and flaky crackers.
- Is it cooked enough so that it mashes easily? Well-cooked vegetables and fruits will mash easily. So will canned fruits and vegetables. (Choose canned foods that don't have added sugar or salt.)
- Is it naturally soft? Cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and small pieces of tofu are soft.
- Can it be gummed? Pieces of ripe banana and well-cooked pasta can be gummed.
Making Meals Work
Keep your baby's personality in mind when feeding your baby. A child who likes a lot of stimulation may enjoy it when you "play airplane" with the spoon to get the food into their mouth. But a more sensitive tot might need the focus kept on eating with few distractions.
If your baby rejects new tastes and textures, serve new foods in small portions and don’t give up.
It can take 8-10 tries before a baby accepts a new food.
How Much Should My Baby Eat?
Infant formula and breast milk continue to provide important nutrients for growing infants. But babies will start to drink less as they learn to eat variety of solid foods.
Watch for signs that your child is hungry or full. Respond to these cues and let your child stop when full. A child who is full may suck with less enthusiasm, stop, or turn away from the breast or the bottle. With solid foods, they may turn away, refuse to open their mouth, or spit the food out.
Let your baby finger feed or hold a spoon while you do the actual feeding. This is good preparation for the toddler years, when kids take charge of feeding themselves. And if you haven't already, set regular meal and snack times.
Acquaintance of the baby with "adult" food. – Krya-Krya
08/18/2017
| Section: Blog
| Question from: admin
Your baby has grown up, he can do a lot.
The first few months have flown by, and it seems that it is time to introduce the baby to “adult” food. For this, complementary foods are introduced into the diet. This event raises many questions. How to enter it correctly? From what age? What is the peculiarity of the first feeding?
The first food of a newborn is mother's milk. Studies claim that it contains all the necessary micronutrients for the growth and development of babies. In the case when breastfeeding is not enough due to a lack of milk, newborns are supplemented with an adapted milk formula or completely switched to it. Such mixtures also contain all the necessary nutrients and are as close as possible to breast milk.
When should we start introducing complementary foods?
World Health Organization recommends from 6 months. By this time, the weight of the little one should double, the child begins to be interested in what the rest of the family eats; also, the baby does not push out reflex food, although it can turn away from food, showing that it has already eaten.
Why not sooner? First, we have already found out that breast milk satisfies all the needs of the baby up to this time. Secondly, the children's digestive system is not ready to cope with adult food at an earlier date, as it does not have the necessary enzymes in sufficient quantities.
We introduce complementary foods according to all the rules.
The teaspoon rule. Starting from six months, there is a fascinating and long acquaintance with the whole variety of delicious food. And the task of mom is not to overdo it. Any new product is given for the first time in a minimum amount, starting from 5 grams. Within a week, the volume can be increased to 150 gr. The rules for introducing food say that a new product is introduced no more than once a week. This is done to detect possible allergic reactions.
Who eats complementary foods in the morning, he acts wisely. As they say, that's what morning is for ... That is, in the event of an allergy, you have a day ahead of you to monitor the baby and take action, if necessary.
Complementary food consistency and temperature. Baby food should be at a comfortable temperature, namely around 36 C. It can be a little hot or cold later. The first complementary foods from vegetables are given in a boiled puree-like state. By 8 months, the baby has more teeth, which means that food can be thicker.
Child's well-being. The baby should be in a good mood, not after vaccination and not during illness.
Feed elements. Since we are trying new adult food, then let the serving utensils be like those of adults. The kid should have his own small spoon, plate (deep and not very deep). Until, of course, mother will feed. But it will take quite a bit of time, and the child will learn to eat on his own.
The baby eats with a spoon - the mood and his own spoon play a significant role. The rules are quite simple.
6-month-old baby - Vegetable purees
7-month-old baby - Dairy-free, gluten-free cereals
8-month-old baby - Diet meat, potatoes, yolk
9-month-old baby - Dairy products
10-month-old baby
Complementary foods at 6 months.
Where to begin ?
There are three options for the introduction of the first complementary foods: vegetables, cereals, dairy products. Which one will be the first is not so important. When children do not have enough body weight, it is recommended to start with cereals.
As far as vegetables are concerned, it is better to start your acquaintance with vegetables with zucchini. Then you can try cauliflower, broccoli; after which pumpkin and carrots, rich in carotenoids, go for introduction into complementary foods. Carrots are usually given in soups along with other vegetables no more than three times a week.
6 months: Vegetable puree
Vegetable puree is one of the first to be tasted. Vegetable puree is very easy to prepare. The necessary products are washed, then they are cleaned and boiled in water or steamed. Preference is given to steam cooking - this way the maximum amount of vitamins is preserved. After the cooked vegetables are chopped in a blender, adding water or vegetable broth, bringing them to the consistency of thick sour cream.
Keep 1 day.
Here's a rough weekly complementary feeding schedule:
Monday - a teaspoon of squash puree, followed by supplementary feeding with formula or breast milk.
Tuesday — 10 g of squash puree (corresponding to 2 teaspoons), then breastfeed.
Wednesday - 20 gr + top dressing as usual.
Thursday - 40 gr and supplement with milk.
Friday - double the portion again, 80 g of zucchini puree + supplement with breast milk.
Saturday - 120 gr and additional feeding.
Sunday - 150 gr and supplement with breast or formula.
Next week a new vegetable is taken for sampling and further, according to the scheme. When several products appear in the child's diet, you can prepare multi-component purees, but so far only one of them is taken as the basis. The goal of gradually increasing the portion is to replace one of the feedings with a similar food.
Please note that meals must be voluntary. If the child refuses to eat up, do not force feed him, so to speak, “for mom”, “for dad”.
This is especially true for children who are breastfed.
7 months. Kashi.
It's a new month, which means we're trying a new product: porridge. Children under one year of age are strongly advised to consume gluten-free cereals, which include corn, rice and buckwheat. The fact is that gluten is a protein found in cereals and forms gluten. Some people, including small ones, have a predisposition to gluten intolerance. Therefore, temporary hypofunction of food enzymes can provoke the development of celiac disease. This condition is dangerous because it causes damage to the small intestine. It is for this reason that it is not recommended to give semolina porridge to infants.
8 months. Meat and more.
This month, the child is ready to try meat puree of rabbit, veal and turkey. Such types of meat are considered the most suitable, as they belong to dietary varieties. In addition, they are hypoallergenic. After another month, chicken, beef puree can be added to the diet.
At this age, consumption of no more than 50 g per day is allowed. meat. Closer to the year, this figure will increase to 100. As for pork, its intake should be postponed until one and a half years old, and then exclusively low-fat varieties.
At 8 months it is time to get to know the yolk. This is done carefully for the same reason: allergic reactions. The first time, give the crumbs only 1/10 part, after three days, if everything is fine, a quarter, then a half. Quail eggs are better than chicken eggs. The yolk is given twice a week, preferably in the morning feeding.
At this age, vegetable and butter are also introduced (no more than 5 g per day). They can be alternately added to vegetable puree.
9 months: curds and kefirs.
If you have chosen the same order of introduction of products as described in this article, then it is time for curd puddings and kefir. They also need to be child friendly. If there is a children's dairy kitchen near your place of residence, be sure to sign up for it.
The cottage cheese is chosen low-fat, given at first by a teaspoon, gradually the portion increases to 50 gr. Kefir by the year is 200 ml per day in the child's diet. His reception is planned for the evening hours before bedtime. As for baby cottage cheese, it should not be too greasy.
10 months: sweet season.
Sweet in the sense that the time has come to get acquainted with fruits. At this age, those species that are grown in your area are selected. It is better to wait a little with overseas curiosities. An excellent option would be mashed apples, pears, and prunes. Since the child already has several teeth, you can give him a piece of fruit to chew on. But this should be done, of course, under the supervision of adults.
With regard to red berries such as strawberries, raspberries, currants, it is considered that they should not be given until the age of one because of the risk of an allergic reaction. If you still decide to treat the baby with a red berry, give him one ripe one and watch the reaction during the day.
It is worth noting that cookies and other sweets (especially sweets) are unacceptable for newborns.
Source: http://mladeni.ru
How to introduce a child to adult food
Komsomolskaya Pravda
House. FamilyMom and babyMom and baby: Health
April 7, 2015 16:30
We talk about the rules for introducing the first complementary foods
How to introduce a child to adult food - we will tell in our article!Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
In the first months after birth, the baby's digestion can only cope with mother's milk (or infant formula). For the rest of the food, the body is not yet “ripe”.
Pediatricians recommend introducing your baby to adult food at about 4-6 months of age. Of course, the pediatrician will tell you more exactly the right time to start complementary foods, because the developmental features of your child are important here - his digestion, metabolism, and the functioning of the central nervous system.
As pediatrician Nadezhda Maruseva explained to us , by 5-6 months the gastroenterological tract of a small person becomes more mature, the mucous membrane of the small intestine is no longer so permeable, immunity is “stronger”, important digestive enzymes that can break down and digest "complex" food. And a child under 4 months is simply not able to swallow even semi-liquid food, not to mention pieces of food.
How do you know when the perfect moment has come?
It is dangerous to introduce a new food to a child too soon. The baby may not be able to cope with digestion, and everything will end with a pain in the tummy. And early complementary foods increase the risk of developing food allergies.
But it's not worth delaying the introduction of complementary foods, because if you miss the moment, the baby can start acting up and refuse new foods. At about 6 months, the basic skills are formed: bite, chew, swallow thick and solid food, and untimely introduction of complementary foods can affect the further development of the child as a whole.
And by the age of 6 months, the child's digestive system not only "ripens", but also the energy consumption increases, the baby becomes more active (turns over, sits down, crawls) and light mother's milk no longer replenishes energy costs. It is by the general development of the child that the mother (and pediatrician) can assess whether the baby is ready to try mashed potatoes.
The first one went...
For the first time, offer the baby half a spoonful of puree or porridge. If you didn’t like the puree right away, don’t give up, offer again the next day. If a child spits out food, it does not always mean that he does not like the taste. Perhaps this is still the “push” reflex that babies have from birth (it is needed so that the baby can only swallow milk and not choke). So be patient.
What's in the first spoon?
Puree or porridge - pediatrician will advise. For example, children who are underweight are usually given a hearty porridge first, and vegetables are usually given to robust ones.
“The sequence of introducing complementary foods and the choice of products depends on the state of health of the child,” says FrutoNyanya expert P.V. Shumilov, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Head. Department of Hospital Pediatrics, Russian National Research Medical University named after N.I. Pirogov . – “Children with reduced body weight as the first main complementary food are prescribed cereals of industrial production, enriched with iron, calcium, zinc, iodine, and vegetable puree for overweight children.”
Important Rules for Weaning
- Don't worry or get angry if the porridge hits the wall and the whole table is smeared with puree. Your baby will immediately feel the negativity and will also worry. And you need to turn eating into pleasure!
- The first dish must consist of one component (mashed potatoes from one vegetable, porridge from one cereal). To understand whether the child will not give an allergic reaction to a new dish, offer one product a little at a time, look at the reaction, and only after 5-7 days add the second product.
This way you can track down what triggers the allergy.
- Introduce new food FROM THE SPOON first, then supplement with breast or formula. Otherwise, a well-fed baby will not be interested in even the newest dish.
- Try a new dish in the morning to track the reaction until the evening.
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