Home » Misc » When do i start feeding my baby real food

When do i start feeding my baby real food


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.

Top of Page

When Can My Baby Start Eating Solid Foods? (for Parents)

A friend just started giving her 3-month-old applesauce and rice cereal. My son is just 2 weeks younger than hers, and I am wondering if I should be introducing solids soon too. When should I start?
– Taylor

Doctors recommend waiting until a baby is about 6 months old to start solid foods. Starting before 4 months is not recommended.

At about 6 months, babies need the added nutrition — such as iron and zinc — that solid foods provide. It’s also the right time to introduce your infant to new tastes and textures. 

Some babies may be ready for solids sooner than 6 months, but don't start until your baby is at least 4 months old.

How do you know it’s the right time to start solid foods? Here are some signs that babies are ready:

  • They have good head and neck control and sit up in a high chair.
  • They're interested in foods. For example, they may watch others eat, reach for food, and open their mouths when food approaches.
  • They don’t push food out of their mouths, which is a natural tongue reflex that disappears when they’re between 4–6 months old.
  • They weigh twice their birth weight, or close to it.

Talk to your doctor about the right time to start solid foods.

How Should I Start Solids?

When the time is right, you can start with a single-grain, iron-fortified baby cereal. Start with 1 or 2 tablespoons of cereal mixed with breast milk, formula, or water. Feed your baby with a small baby spoon. Don’t add cereal or other food to a baby's bottle because it can lead to too much weight gain. Let your baby practice eating from a spoon and learn to stop when full.

When your baby gets the hang of eating the first food, introduce others, such as puréed meat, fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, or yogurt. Try one food at a time and wait a few days before trying something else new to make sure your baby doesn't have an allergic reaction.

Foods that are more likely to cause allergies can be among the foods you introduce to your baby. These include peanuts, eggs, cow’s milk, seafood, nuts, wheat, and soy. Waiting to start these foods does not prevent food allergies. Talk to your doctor if you are concerned about food allergies, especially if any close family members have allergies, food allergies, or allergy-related conditions, like eczema or asthma.

Infants with severe eczema or egg allergies are more likely to have allergies to peanuts. Talk to your doctor about how and when to introduce these foods to your child.

When starting your baby on solids, avoid:

  • foods with added sugars and no-calorie sweeteners
  • high-sodium foods
  • honey, until after the 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 carrots, grapes, popcorn, and nuts

Also, do not give fruit juices to infants younger than 12 months old.

Over the next few months, introduce a variety of foods from all the food groups. If your baby doesn't seem to like something, don’t give up. It can take 8 to 10 tries or more before babies learn to like new foods.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

Date reviewed: February 2021

Stories of the finalists of the second season of the competition

Dudko Maria. Keys

So... Tick... So...

The voice of the old grandfather clock from the hallway already met me, but I could not open the door. Well, where are these keys?... Really lost? Only this was not enough, and so the day didn't work out!.. Ah, no, that's it...

The clock struck eight when I stepped on the creaky parquet of the hallway. How I missed the quietness of my apartment! I just wanted to fall apart on a shabby sofa, and lie there until the morning ... But instead, I trudged to the computer. While the old unit, inherited from the dinosaurs, turned on, I made myself coffee. Today you will need more than one mug. Article for the night, and inspiration from gulkin's nose. They also threaten to make layoffs at work. You can not delay, otherwise the dismissal cannot be avoided. And it would not be bad to update the blog, otherwise the last subscribers will soon scatter. Eh…

I worked in the editorial office of a magazine that was in demand in our district, and in the city in general. The editor - Fedot Stepanovich - always put only the best into print.

The best. Yes. It means not me. For some reason, lately my writing has not been impressive at all. Even myself. Honestly, not surprised. It looks like I've lost the spark, like there was nothing to write about. It's funny somehow: I live in a metropolis, where something happens every day, but I look as if into a void. Other people's problems ceased to excite, everyone here is a drop in the ocean. So my news is gray, alien, distant and unnecessary, in general, to no one.

What did I write about? As I then still thought, about the important. About eternal, to some extent. I noticed that the people around were so closed that they seemed to stop seeing each other, let alone feel and understand. Everyone at some point withdraws into himself and loses the key to the door he entered. Locks up the heart. Puts on a mask. Indifferent. And silently walks along the gray stones of the pavement...

I just wanted to be heard... I thought I would become the key to the world on this side of the mask. I will help those in need with my word, I will teach people to listen and hear, I will save the world... But it seems that something went wrong. And now... Now I don't even know how to save myself. So in response I get the cry of tearing paper and the famous last warning from the lips of Fedot Stepanych. Last chance. Tomorrow I will not come with a sensation - that's it. Well... It looks like it's time to forget about your reasoning for a while and plunge into the world of human intrigues. Write what will be read. What is expected of me. No not like this. What do you expect from an article in our magazine.

What are the stone jungles talking about these days? What is the wind of change carrying along their paved paths? The most discussed topic was a series of strange deaths, however, as is usually the case. For a long time now, criminals taken into custody have been dying one after another. The most different: from simple pickpockets to almost murderers, adults and still teenagers of fourteen years. Most of them haven't even been sentenced yet. And they all have the same diagnosis - poisoning. What is still a mystery. This happened with some frequency in different parts of the city, but most often in our police department. And, by pure chance, none other than my older brother, officer Yuri Diskarin, worked there.

How I could use his help now... But no. My brother and I don't get along. And they never got along. It just so happened ... Probably, we are just too different. Yurik is secretive, distrustful. He never told me anything, he preferred to do everything himself, and I felt that he did not need me at all. I must have been a little jealous of my brother. He is successful, just the pride of the family, and I grab the last chance to stay at work.

...Grabbing for one last chance to stay at work. Although ... You can try to find out about the high-profile case first hand, so to speak. This, for sure, would interest Fedot Stepanych, but he would have to turn to his brother for help. Yeah ... And once again become a loser in the eyes of a whole family. Hell no! Even for the sake of work, I will not ask for the help of this person!

Well, nothing. I prepared, collected materials, now I will write and saved! I manage myself. If only I could make it in the morning…

GO!!!

The sound took me by surprise. It was a signal that the factory was over, from the old watch in the corridor. The matter is fixable. I got up, went to the clock, opened the lid and reached for the key with a familiar gesture. Only the key was missing. What's the strange thing? In my house, I valued order, but such incidents simply unsettled ... What should I do now, look for this lost key? Looks like I'll have to...

Casting a sad glance at the computer, I began to remember where I could put this old piece of iron. So I have already climbed several shelves, looked into the boxes and ...

What is this? There was an envelope in the dresser. And, if I was ready to see the key to the winding mechanism among the socks, with my absent-mindedness, then there’s no strange message at all. Although, maybe I'm too naive? Oh, I don't like it all...

Naturally, I opened the envelope and immediately recognized Yurik's handwriting.

"I'm not sure I wasn't followed. Check your mail. I never forgot your birthday!
Yu.»

What jokes? I knew that it was necessary to take away the keys from him when he moved in! Wait, there's something on the back...

"KeyHole4u. .."

I ran my eyes over the hastily written lines again. The text seemed devoid of meaning and meant nothing to me.

What is he? For henbane, it seems, it’s not the season ... Just in case, I checked the calendar and made sure that my birthday is not today and not even in the coming days. The only thing that made sense was to check your email.

What am I doing with my time? Before my hand could close the text editor, a window popped up asking if I really wanted to do it. Here, even it is mocking...

I actually received one letter in the mail. So, why is Yurik doing this: invading my house with a strange note and tweeting on the Internet at the same time? After all, isn't it easier to call? Of course, I would not jump with delight when something would make our asterisk descend to mere mortals, but why reinvent the wheel?

So I thought as I sipped my cold coffee while waiting for the text to load. Finally, the following lines loomed before my eyes:

“Hello, Egor.

I know you'll be surprised by my letter, but I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't really serious. I wanted to call, but my new phone didn't have your number. My number hasn't changed, if you're interested...

Let's get down to business. We need to talk. But the conversation must be face to face. Come today at nine at the intersection of Pskovskaya and Myasnaya, there, in the courtyard of house 26, I will be waiting for you.

It's about a series of prisoner deaths. Correction, about a series of murders... I thought it might interest you, I'll explain everything at the meeting, if, of course, you show up... your fault. But I ask you to believe me one single time. You are my last key to hope. I expect you to read this letter and come.

Your brother Yuri Diskarin

Hmm…

Everything is getting weirder and weirder, as the heroine of a famous fairy tale used to say…

I re-read the message several times to make sure that I really stopped understanding anything. Except, perhaps, for the fact that some kind of mystery lies in this whole affair, and Yurka for me now is the key to all answers. Besides, since he himself calls me to talk, I will not fail to interview the lead investigator ... Unless, of course, this is a stupid attempt at a joke ... But it is unlikely that he would write to me for fun.

And what, now it's raining again, right?.. But he came home! Okay, I’ll figure it out quickly, and I’ll have another six hours for the article ... I glanced at the clock, belatedly remembering that this was pointless. Another advertising message comes to the phone, helpfully suggesting that I need to go out if I want to be in time for a meeting. Having extinguished the monitor that had just woken up and abruptly grabbed my raincoat, which had not yet dried out after a day's walk, I jumped out into the entrance.

Only at the car I hesitated a little. Isn't it too easy for me to fit in? Just a couple of minutes ago, I was sure that for the sake of my brother I would not lift an eyebrow, and for my own sake I would not mess with him. What did this message do to me?

It filled me with a sense of self-importance. Finally, something depended on me, on me alone! Probably, I was driven by the desire to prove that I was worth something ... But I didn’t want to admit such motives. From this, an incomprehensible annoyance settled in my head, but I stubbornly explained it only by the spent time taken away from writing the article.

Stopping at the appointed place, I looked at my watch. Another full five minutes ... It was possible to leave later, although ... as if it would give me something. Around no one like Yuri.

An unpleasant, vile fog reigned in the street. I hid from him in the car.

The sun has long since set behind the clouds, and the city has lit its fires. Lanterns, not stars. I sometimes thought about how this noisy world lacked stars. Each of them is unique, even though there are billions of them in the darkness of the sky. It's the same with people, isn't it? But we almost purposely forget about that, therefore we hide from condemning burning looks from the depths of the immense.

And just now the thought flashed through my head: how often do I myself think about others? It would seem that constantly ...

I digressed from philosophical reflections to look at the time. Five minutes. There was no one even humanoid in sight, the yard was empty.

Ten... I'm checking my phone, mail. Not a line about being late.

Twenty! No, it's not serious anymore! I shouldn't have come... Nervously dialing a number, preparing a scathing speech. In response, only long beeps are heard. Okay... Let's wait... You never know. He's got a job too... Trying to calm down seems to be working until I remember that damned article never started! Where the hell are these fools?!

"I'm waiting another fifteen minutes and I'm leaving" - I angrily type a message and press "Send" furiously.

Time is running out and the message hasn't even been read! Twenty-five minutes... thirty... Still silence. There is no point in waiting any longer.

To clear my conscience, I call again. A melodious female voice is heard from the handset:

- The device of the called subscriber is turned off or is out of network coverage ... - the lady says, slowly repeating the phrase in English.

- Damn you! .. - hissing irritably, I throw the phone on the next seat. - So... Okay... I warned you, I waited... waited longer than promised. Now you can go home with a clear conscience.

As I looked down the road, I was surprised to find myself not so much angry as nervous. It pissed me off even more…

***

There was less and less time left for work, and I continued to pace the apartment. Usually such a calm creak of the floorboards now mocked my poor hearing with all its might. It was by no means the article that occupied my thoughts, despite the fact that they would not forgive me if I screwed up such material...

Minutes passed slowly. I felt them even without the usual ticking of the clock. OK. I will be frank with myself, because my strength is no more, and then to work! All this is strange! What exactly? That I couldn't get through. Yura does not turn off the phone and diligently monitors its charge, he should always be in touch, should I, as a brother, know about this. Also this line from that note, it is no coincidence that it is the very first ...

So... don't panic. What the hell is this blockhead in general so businesslike settled in my head?! Anything happens. Everything! Article. Only an article.

By an effort of will, I managed to sit down in front of the monitor and even write a couple of lines before I again plunged into thought. And yet... what could have happened?..

***

The days passed like clockwork, but not mine. I never found the key, and I haven’t tried, to be honest, since that evening. They froze, showing half past nine, as if that day had not yet passed. I didn't show up for work the next morning. I don't believe it myself... how could I put everything on the altar for the sake of a person whom I was mortally envious of, whose disappearance I dreamed of... the one whom I knew all my life and with whom I was still connected invisibly?!. .

And the apartment! Oh... if the old me had seen what my temple of comfort had turned into... however, he would have shot himself right away, leaving behind only the gloomy aesthetics of a broken creator... All the tables were cluttered with dirty mugs and fast food packages. The entire floor is full of shoe marks. Here and there were meticulously compiled lists of those with whom my brother could communicate, where he could go, who could wish him harm...

But none of that mattered anymore...

“- Yegor Diskarin? - I heard a calm male voice from my phone this morning.

- Yes. I answered nervously.

- The police are bothering you - my heart threatened to break my chest. It must be from stress and lack of sleep ... And in the meantime, in my head: "If only they could find ...".

- Your brother was found today at noon, - a slight pause, as if to realize what was said, - He is dead. The circumstances of death are being investigated. - just as calmly, as if nothing had happened, the man on the other end of the wire continues. - We offer our condolences. Today you should come to the department ... "

Followed by instructions and occasional questions to which I answered things like "yes", "no" and "understood". Be afraid of your desires. Found...

I spent the next half day in the same department. Some papers, some formalities, a funeral... And a conversation.

From that conversation I learned something that struck me. Yura was suspect. They said that he killed the prisoners by slipping poison into their food or something like that. There was not much evidence, so they only planned to arrest him, but now the main version of my brother's death is suicide during an attempt to escape from justice. What heresy… But at that moment I could not object anything. Exactly like believing even a single word.

And now I'm back in my home again. Devastated, with only one thought in his head: “he is no more”…

What are words? A set of letters, a set of sounds, nothing more. .. But some become keys. This key with three heavy teeth will open one of the most terrible doors: the door of despair and pain. Maybe I should have phrased it a little more bluntly? But as? What would it change? There is only one key, no matter how you decorate it, and there is only one door, and you are standing on the threshold. You can't go back. And the castle succumbed. Started...

I look around the apartment with a detached look, slowly falling into a rage.

- Damn! - comes out of the chest. How long have I not uttered this word, - Damn! - I repeat louder, clasping my hands sharply. My whole army of mugs is flying down to the sound of glass. A blanket of scribbled sheets covers them from above.

- Dunce! Brat! Freak! I scream, not remembering myself.

- Look... Look what you've done, you bastard! I lost everything because of you! Inspiration! Work! Dreams! How can I pay my bills now? I've wasted so much time on you, damn it, even the key to the clock. .. - silence hurt my ears, so I continued to throw empty phrases, trying to throw out everything that had accumulated inside me. My voice broke, growled and wheezed, turned into hysterical laughter, and I didn’t even understand why I was so angry ... At myself?

Yes… I was jealous of my brother in black! The pride of the family, a great future, office authority, lofty goals, a dream job - everything I wanted to hear about myself, I heard about Yurashi! I remained his little brother, always second, always underestimated. It was an axiom that everything was easy for him. But for some reason it did not occur to me that we were actually brothers. Our conditions were the same. And I seemed to be blind, I did not see what he had to go through. And what did I do when I got tired of being a shadow? Exactly. He erected that very wall, the wall of indifference. I didn't care. And there is one more drop in the ocean. It was not Yura who closed himself off from me, but I from him. And what did it lead to? “He is no more,” and I can’t even say with certainty that I’m not the brother of the killer! And all because I don't know! I don’t know how he lived all these years, I don’t know what was going on in his soul, I don’t know if he called me to stop the rumors in the bud, or to repent of what he had done even a little to his own creature, albeit such a vile one, how I . .. And I will probably never know, my key to this secret is forever lost ... What a blockhead I am ... What are all my arguments about feelings, words, stars, but all about the same keys worth now! How could I have changed the world when I myself could not find those vices for which I reproached mankind?! That's why my articles weren't being read. When changing the world, start with yourself, otherwise everything is empty words. Gray, alien, distant and unnecessary, in general, no one ... Such words will not become keys ... Keys ... I return to them over and over again. Oh, this world is really crazy about them! We have the keys to everything, they are even where we don’t think to find them, because they have entered our lives so deeply that everything now rests on them alone, and we don’t even notice. Yes, and life itself is like a constant picking of locks! But even that is not important. The important thing is that there is no key leading from There. This is what gives meaning to all other keys. No matter how hard I try, I won't start Yurik's time again like the old clock. But who knows from what doors, I would have taken him away, if only I was there ... It's a pity, I realized it too late ...

- I'll never sit down to write again... - I said to myself, almost delirious, barely recognizing my own hoarse voice. After that, I fell asleep and didn’t think about anything anymore.

***

I spent the next day almost without getting up. Only in the evening I somehow tried to eliminate the consequences of my yesterday's insanity ... But the attempt was nipped in the bud, as soon as the very note that I found among the socks caught my eye ... Surprisingly, all the time while I was busy looking for my brother, I almost did not remember her, as a thing that does not carry any meaning in itself. But there were so many questions connected with it! I re-read it. As expected, nothing new appeared ... And yet ... Why was she needed?

I immersed myself in memories of the day when I lost the key to the clock, which was so silent for the last week… It seems that since that time I have not turned on the computer… How is it, my old man?

The legacy of the ancestors, as expected, grumbled and buzzed at my long absence, but in the end it had mercy and opened my e-mail page for me. Yurik's letter has not disappeared anywhere. I didn't reread it. One thing is a note with unclear text, and another is an invitation to a meeting that was not destined to take place ...

"Check your mail..." echoed in my ears. The sudden realization made me jump. What if... This strange text on the back is nothing but a username?..

What nonsense... I'm chasing again, I don't know what... Stupid assumption! But my hands are unstoppable...

Hastily logging out of my account, I entered the characters into the appropriate box. But you need a password... Password... Another stupid thought... "I never forgot your birthday!" I enter.

Only one digit changed on the monitor, but I didn't believe it. This eternity could not last for one miserable minute.

- It worked… - I said, looking into this luminous box in a frenzy. Another account. And only one letter.

The entire apartment fell into absolute silence as I read what was written here.

“Egor, I knew that you would solve my message! Help out, brother! I need you, we all need you!

For several months now I have been busy with the death of several criminals in custody. These are not just deaths, Yegor, these are murders. I'm sure I got very close to the solution. I have two prime suspects. But there's a problem. Both of them are my work colleagues. And I don't know if any of them acted alone or in concert. In other words, I don't know who in the police force I can trust with regards to this case.

Also, I notice that I am being watched. Apparently, the attacker feels that I got too close, and will soon try to eliminate me. Well, that's what I use to pinpoint the culprit. How? I told one of us about our upcoming meeting. If I guessed right, and he's not a criminal, then you don't have to read this, I'll tell you everything myself. But, if I made a mistake, and you are still reading this, then most likely I am already dead ...

Brother, now only you can solve this case. And only you can I trust him. To this letter I will attach documents in which my evidence is collected, there you will find the details of the plan, all the names, all the evidence. Publish them in your journal, let everyone know, and then the villains will have nowhere to go! I hope for you. I know you won't let me down..."0041

For some reason, my heart skipped a beat. Brother... I won't let you down!

***

Never say never. For the next few days, I did not let go of the keyboard. I know, I promised myself, for writing, no, no, but the last, last time! For Yurik! This will be my best article...

And it really became the best. Where did I get it from? Just my blog would not be enough for such an important mission. So I had to visit Fedot Stepanovich. I almost begged him on my knees to read my work. But he still read it. Read it and put it on the first page!

A few days later I had to go to our police station again. There, of course, there are again formalities, thanks, apologies ... But they did not interest me. He was arrested. I wanted to talk to him. With a killer. I wanted to look into his eyes. For help in solving the case, I was even allowed to do so.

I was taken to a special room. He sat opposite me and froze with his cold gaze. But there was nothing in the eyes... He was... Empty. However, the first one spoke.

- Because I saw how souls died, - he answered my question before I could ask him, - Every criminal who was brought here did not set foot on this path from a good life. The world has treated them cruelly. It's wild, but for some, crime is still a way to survive. Not for everyone... But I didn't talk to everyone. Do you know why? Because they don't listen, you know? And when I talked to them in this very room, they just wanted to be heard ... And I listened to them, watching how the eyes on the contrary go out, and how hopelessness penetrates into the very heart. They had not yet been sentenced, but they no longer believed that something could be changed. Outcasts of humanity. They could only hide in themselves and wait for the end. Then I gave them the key to freedom. An ampoule with poison, as the end of all torment. You won't understand, must be...

- And now, being in their place, would you like the same? I asked quietly. My interlocutor was silent. And I continued, - Do you know why? Because there is no key from there. As long as you're alive, you can still fix it...

We talked with him for a while, and then I went out into the street. It was already getting dark and the lights were on. The downpour threw fragments of stars right under my feet, and they flared for a moment with earthly human light, breaking on the wet asphalt. I silently walked along the gray stones of the pavement, finally throwing off my indifferent mask. Raindrops on my cheeks from something became salty. His image stood before my eyes. Indifference. The way I saw him once on Bolotnaya Square - not seeing, not hearing, impregnable. The source of human vices. I wanted to run away from him, and I even ran, as if it could help. God! Who would have known that it hurts so much to open your heart to the world! The dialogue with the murderer still sounded in his thoughts, and his brother's voice echoed in his soul. But, if you were already hiding from all this behind a wall of indifference, then only after going through this pain you can go back, again know the truth. Insults, murders, wars... How many more lives will be shed before each of us conquers this evil in ourselves? The hearts of the people are closed and the key is lost. But what can I do?..

I thought about it already at the entrance, slowly going up the stairs. Perhaps... No, but I promised myself... And yet...

Keys. I could turn words into keys. I could write again. Opening people's hearts and helping to cope with pain. No, I'm not going back to the editorial office. No articles. I will write a book. I can't shut up now. "It's decided!" I thought as I opened the door. But first…

Slowly, slowly, I picked up the key from the floor. He opened the glass door. Inserted into the well. And turned. The voice of the old grandfather clock in the hallway greeted me again. He said, fix it ...

Tick... Tick... Tick. ..

How to properly feed a puppy from one month to a year

Today I want to tell you about how to properly feed a puppy. After all, your fluffy must receive everything necessary for a growing body and grew up strong and healthy.

Of course, you won't be able to remember all the subtleties of this process right away. But every day you will gain more and more experience, constantly learn something new and useful. In the end, you will become well versed in the natural feeding of the dog.

And I hope that my advice will help you with this.

Basic rules for feeding a puppy

Here are the main points that every novice dog breeder should know:

  • Feed the tail at the same time.
  • Food should be at room temperature.
  • Give your baby 10-15 minutes for each feed. If during this time he has not finished his portion, then it must be put in the refrigerator so that it does not deteriorate.
  • If the puppy does not eat well, do not increase the prescribed portion at the next feeding. Give food as much as always.
  • The food should have the consistency of thick cream, not liquid soup.
  • Do not exercise your dog immediately after feeding. You need to play active games 1-2 hours after eating.
  • A bowl of fresh water should be kept on hand at all times. The puppy should always have access to it.
  • Do not mix dry food with natural food. If you're feeding your pet dry food and want to switch to a natural diet, read about transitioning your dog to a natural diet.
  • For proper skeletal development, it is recommended to feed the quadruped from an adjustable stand, on which bowls for food and water are placed. With a tripod, you can adjust the height of the bowl as your puppy grows.
  • Salt is not required. All foods in nature already contain a certain amount of salt.
  • In order to properly feed a puppy, in no case should you replace one product with another (for example, put more cereal instead of the required amount of meat). A puppy's diet should include all the necessary foods and in the right amount.
  • There is no strict feeding schedule. You can substitute one equivalent product for another. For example, fish can be replaced with meat, and cottage cheese with sour cream.
  • If you have milk feeding according to the schedule, but it turned out that there is neither sour cream nor cottage cheese at home, it's okay. Offer the tailed meat portion or something else.
  • If your baby refuses to eat a certain food, give him something he likes. Take a short break and don't give him anything that makes him turn up his nose at all. Some time will pass and the appetite for foods that he refused will return.
  • Do not give dairy and meat products in the same feeding.
  • If you feed raw meat to your dog, be sure to freeze it for at least 3 days before feeding it to your dog.
  • Never give your puppy bones. In the future, you will already choose the type of food that is most suitable for your dog. Perhaps it will be a raw food diet. Some types of raw diets allow meaty bones to be eaten. But, you need to teach your baby to chew, and not swallow the bones whole. In addition, you must know which bones can be given to a dog and which are strictly prohibited.

Basic puppy food

Feeding your puppy properly is not that hard. You just need to know which products can be given to him, and which are strictly prohibited. Read about what is useful to feed the dog, and what should not be given in any case.

Additional supplements and treats

In addition to the main products, the following supplements can be included in the daily diet of the little barbosik:

  • Chalk.
  • Crushed quail shell.
  • Honey (a teaspoon a day).
  • Fish oil (teaspoon per day).
  • Brewer's yeast.
  • Bran.
  • Laminaria.
  • Germinated cereal seeds.
  • From 3 months you can give beef cartilage, chicken necks.
  • From the age of 5 months, beef tripe and other by-products can already be included in the baby's diet.

How many times a day should a puppy be fed?

How much to feed a puppy

On a natural diet, the daily amount of food consumed by a dog should be approximately 6-8% of the dog's weight. For example, if your pet weighs 10 kilograms, then 7% would be 700 grams.

Feeding your puppy the right way doesn't mean giving him enough food. Overfeeding is much worse than underfeeding.

The number of servings you should determine yourself, based on age and level of physical activity. Appetite can be influenced by many factors. For example, in the summer, in the heat, dogs eat much less than in the cold season. Read about what to do if your pet is not eating well.

Finding out if your puppy is hungry or not is easy. If the baby licks the bowl after feeding, leaving nothing there, then this means that the fluffy has not eaten. In this case, you should increase the portion. Well, if the baby leaves excess porridge in the bowl, then he is completely satisfied.

Feeding a puppy from one month to a year

At a young age (approximately up to three months), dairy products should be the main in the diet of the four-legged. The puppy should receive 40-50% dairy products from the total daily diet, 35-50% meat products and approximately 15-25% cereals and vegetables. In milk, you need to cook porridge. Kefir, milk, fermented baked milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and sour cream - all this should be present in the diet of a fluffy baby. With age, the amount of dairy products should decrease, but meat, on the contrary, increase.

After 3 months, the puppy should be fed according to the following scheme: 25-30% dairy products, 50-70% meat, 20% vegetables and 10-15% cereals. Read which foods should be given to the caudate, and which are absolutely not allowed.

All diagrams below are examples. You can experiment and be imaginative.

It is useful to add mineral supplements to the feed (chalk, crushed eggshells, fish oil, dry seaweed).

Feeding plan from one to two months

From the age of three weeks, puppies can already be offered solid food. New foods should be introduced gradually, starting with one type of protein (such as beef or veal). Products must be fresh and natural. Once a week, a raw quail or boiled chicken egg.

One teaspoon of vegetable oil can be added to one of the daily meals to prevent constipation. I propose the following feeding schedule:

  • 7.00 - natural cottage cheese, with milk or sour cream.
  • 10.00 - boiled (or scalded beef / veal) + a little boiled rice.
  • 13.00 - milk feeding (milk, cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt, fermented baked milk, sour cream).
  • 16.00 - boiled (or scalded beef/trimmed beef) + some rice.
  • 19.00 - milk feeding with the addition of eggs.
  • 22. 00 - raw scalded meat. It is useful to give raw meat at night so that the dog sleeps better. Look at recipes for "raw" feeding.

If you give your pet raw meat, then do not forget that before feeding it must be frozen for at least 3 days in the freezer, and scalded with boiling water immediately before feeding.

Feeding plan from two to four months

From 8 weeks you can gradually introduce new foods, one every 3-4 days. It can be muscular meat of lamb, horse meat, rabbit meat, fish, poultry. You can also diversify the assortment of vegetables and fruits: cucumber, carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, apples, lettuce and other greens, berries. Vegetables and fruits also need to be administered every 3 days, and alternate. By introducing vegetables one at a time, you observe the body's reaction to a new product, and reject the possibility of an allergy to one or another type of new product for a puppy.

Here is the feeding schedule:

  • 7.00 - cottage cheese mixed with milk or sour cream. Or rice porridge boiled in milk + a teaspoon of honey.
  • 10.00 - boiled or scalded meat (or poultry) + a little rice + grated carrots (or other vegetables). At first, it is better to stew vegetables a little in plain water.
  • 14.00 - milk feeding (cottage cheese, sour cream) + fruit (or egg).
  • 18.00 - boiled turkey (fish) + grated stewed vegetables and herbs.
  • 22.00 - raw scalded (or boiled) meat or fish with vegetables. If your diet allows, you can add a little boiled cereal to your food.

Feeding Plan Four to Six Months

During this feeding period, start offering offal to the puppy. Do not forget that the amount of offal should not be more than 10-15% of the total meat diet of the animal.

Feeding schedule:

  • 7.00 - milk feeding (cottage cheese, sour cream) + fruit (or egg).
  • 12.00 - by-products (heart, spleen, liver, kidneys, etc.) + some boiled rice + vegetables + greens.
  • 17.00 - milk feeding.
  • 22.00 - raw scalded (or boiled) meat or fish with vegetables. If your diet allows, you can add a little boiled cereal to your food.

Six to ten month feeding plan

Puppy already eats like an adult dog. Raw meat bones can be introduced into the diet.

Remember: bones should only be raw. Boiled, stewed or fried bones are strictly contraindicated for animals. The bones must be intact. Under no circumstances should you offer chopped bones to your dog. For starters, chicken necks, milk (young) lamb ribs are perfect.

You can feed like this:

  • 7.00 – cottage cheese mixed with milk or sour cream. Or rice porridge boiled in milk + a teaspoon of honey.
  • 14.00 - boiled or scalded meat, fish or poultry + a little rice (if necessary) + various vegetables grated on a grater to which the dog is not allergic (carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber ....) + greens.
  • 21.00 - raw scalded (or boiled) meat or fish with vegetables. If your diet allows, you can add a little boiled cereal to your food.

If you offer soft bones to your pet, it is best to feed them during the day at first, and under your supervision.

From the age of 6 months, beef tripe can be included in the baby's diet, replacing one of the feedings with it. The scar is recommended to give 2-3 times a week. Check out these beef tripe recipes.

Feeding plan from ten to twelve months

At this stage, dairy products in the diet are significantly reduced. You can feed according to this schedule:

  • 7.00 – you can alternate meat and milk feeding (meat feeding for two days, on the third day we replace meat feeding with milk feeding).
  • 20.00 - raw scalded (or boiled) meat or fish with vegetables. If your diet allows, you can add a little boiled cereal to your food.

Do not forget to give your puppy boiled chicken or raw quail eggs 1-3 times a week. Fish oil, seaweed and other natural supplements for dogs, vegetables and fruits.

It is not necessary to calculate the weight to the milligram and adhere to a strict diet. It is not necessary to run to the market if there is no pumpkin, zucchini or cucumber in the refrigerator today. The main thing is that throughout the week the dog receives all the necessary set of vitamins and minerals. You can, at your discretion, alternate meat, fish, poultry, organ meats. But be sure to have vegetables, herbs, and possibly cereals every day. Several times a week cottage cheese, sour cream, eggs.

Between feedings, you can give your puppy treats and treats that you have prepared yourself. Well, now you yourself see that it is not so difficult to feed a puppy properly. You yourself can adjust the order and diet of feeding.

Although our Jack is no longer a puppy, I think this video will be of interest to every novice dog breeder.

How we feed our Jack

This video is about natural dog food.

Learn more