Breast milk is the perfect food for newborn babies, However, after 6 months, the nutrition provided by liquid foods such as breast milk or formula milk, The transition from exclusive breastfeeding to household food is called the supplementary feeding stage, which is no longer able to meet the nutritional needs of infants for sustained and rapid growth. Especially at the age of 6 to 18 to 24 months. At this stage, the baby’s diet transits from milk to semi-solid or solid soft food, holding food in hand, and finally eating family adult food. How old is it best for the baby to start adding solid food? The World Health Organization recommends that infants should take supplementary foods on the basis of breastfeeding from the age of 6 months. At the age of 6-8 months, Starting from 2-3 times a day, It gradually increased to 3-4 times a day during 9-11 months, At the age of 12-24 months, supplementary nutritional food shall be provided 1-2 times a day as required. The digestive system of the baby is not fully developed before the age of 6 months. The intestines and stomach lack the digestive enzymes necessary to digest solid food. Certain foods, The digestive system is difficult to absorb, Therefore, feeding solid food to babies less than six months old will lead to food allergy or fear of food. At the same time, Feeding solid food to babies less than six months old, It will also reduce the number of breastfeeding, Reduce milk production. It is not too late to add solid food to your baby. Babies over six months old may insist on chewing and swallowing food, There is no evidence yet that, Delaying the addition of supplementary foods after six months can keep the baby away from food allergy, asthma or eczema. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) pointed out that Unique needs or feeding methods may make individual infants need supplementary foods at the age of 4 months. However, some babies have been rejecting supplementary foods until 8 months old. Just as each baby learns to crawl and walk at different times, When babies can add solid food to their what, it will also vary from person to person. Age is not the only basis for judgment, Mothers can also judge by the following signals. Observe the signals transmitted by the baby. When the baby can receive nutrition other than liquid food, He will give you a very clear signal, Including: 1. The baby sits upright under the condition of support, When the head can be stabilized, You can feed the baby coarse filter food. The baby cannot sit straight on the high chair. When you can’t even sit up straight on a pillow or mattress, Please postpone feeding coarse filter food. When the baby is about seven months old, When you can sit tight on your own, You can start feeding them more lumps of food. 2. The baby will no longer have tongue sticking reaction (the baby’s tongue will reject some objects such as food, This phenomenon is known as the tongue-stiffening reaction, Help your baby avoid choking on food). You can try to mix rice flour with milk powder or breast milk. Feed the baby, If the baby spits out the food, Even after several attempts to spit out food, That means the baby still has tongue sticking reaction, You should wait patiently and try again. 3. Babies can use their tongues to move food from front to back of their mouths. This may be the first exercise. 4. The baby can lower his mouth to eat the food in the spoon. 5. The baby shows interest in food. He may reach for your tableware, bread, Pointing to the food, Or stare at you as you chew, This means your baby wants to try it too. What foods can you add to your baby for about six months? It is suggested to add the following foods to the baby’s daily diet, One at a time: 1. Cereals fortified with iron, Such as rice flour, cereal, wheat paste, These cereals will have crumbs, It can be mixed with breast milk or milk powder to feed the baby. Try only one spoon of cereal. 2. Refined pork and chicken. 3. Mashed well-cooked egg yolks. 4. Well-cooked beans, lentils and chickpeas. 5. Natural vegetables, Such as peas, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, stem baskets or green beans. It is very wise to add vegetables to your baby before it comes into contact with the sweetness of fruits. Compared with green vegetables, Babies prefer yellow vegetables, I like pumpkins and sweet potatoes more than flower stems, sweet baskets and green beans. 6. Fruits, After receiving vegetables in the baby’s diet, Mash bananas and remove dregs to make banana sauce, It is a good choice. Among them, You can also add some cereal to your child’s fruit. Give only one supplementary food at a time as much as possible. Consult a doctor or nutrition professional. This can monitor what kind of food your baby is allergic to or intolerant to. Add one food at a time, After adjusting for a week or more, Add another supplementary food. Repeatedly give new food, Until your baby accepts them. Adding supplementary foods should pay attention to some what and continue breastfeeding. When you start adding supplementary foods to your baby, Continued breastfeeding or bottle feeding should be ensured, Continue breastfeeding according to the feeding time the baby has become accustomed to. With the passage of time, When the baby starts to increase the amount of supplementary food, Breast milk will also decrease accordingly, This is a natural way to wean. If you bottle-feed, Then make sure your baby drinks at least 480 mL of milk powder every day until he is one year old. Babies need an adaptation process. When you start adding supplementary foods to your baby, To understand that spoon feeding is unfamiliar to babies, They have only eaten liquid food before. Eating solid food through spoons requires training. How much the baby eats is not the most important. As long as you continue to breastfeed or bottle-feed your baby, in fact, the initial feeding is only one spoon, at most two spoons, in order to cultivate and train your baby’s sucking, swallowing and digestion and absorption ability. Don’t give your baby milk and honey until you are 1 year old. They may be difficult to digest. Don’t give your baby honey either, Possible risk of botulinum poisoning, At this time, the baby’s immune system is not enough to resist the invasion of botulinum toxin. Don’t force the baby to eat. If the baby starts to get upset, Turn your head away from the food, Don’t want to open your mouth and take another bite, Spit out or throw away food, It means he is full. It is time to stop feeding. Don’t force your baby to eat all the time. Dirty eating is temporary. Babies gradually learn to eat by themselves. Food is bound to stick on small faces, small hands, hair, aprons, high-legged children’s dining chairs, In short, within the reach of their hands, It must be a mess. Learning to eat solid food is a whole-body activity for your baby. You can spread a cushion under the high-footed dining chair. Tie your apron and be patient. The mess will come to an end. Starting to eat solid food is an important milestone in your baby’s life. Breastfeeding opens the way to a nutritious diet for your baby. Dr. Clove hopes to help you keep your baby on the road to a healthy diet through this article. Photo source: shutterstock.com
