Sample menu for a 6 month old baby. Features of the diet of a six-month-old child on artificial feeding. Rules for eating new dishes

Child's menu by month. Month 6th
When is it time to introduce complementary foods?

Some pediatricians take a rather tough position regarding the start of introducing solid foods into the child's diet and believe that this can be done no earlier than 6 months (if we are talking about children who are exclusively breastfed). Indeed, the World Health Organization has formulated this principle, but clarified that the introduction of complementary foods from 6 months can lead to iron deficiency, and there is also a risk of possible growth retardation and the development of certain nutrient deficiencies.

By the way, Russia is characterized by later actual dates for the introduction of complementary foods compared to Europe: according to statistics, in our country cereals get on the table to the baby at about 4.5-5.5 months, in Europe - at 3.5-4 months .

Where to begin?
Previously, pediatricians recommended starting the introduction of complementary foods with juices. In recent years, it has been proven that the introduction of juices into the child's diet has practically no effect on the fortification of food, so you can start introducing complementary foods with vegetable puree, especially if the child has a tendency to constipation, there are signs of diathesis (redness, peeling of the skin of the cheeks, limbs, buttocks) , the baby was born prematurely, growing rapidly.

It's best to start with puree from one type of vegetable: this avoids food allergies that can occur when using puree from several vegetables, and if an allergy occurs, it will be easier to recognize the food that caused it. For the “debut”, industrial-made vegetable puree is suitable - special baby food in jars - or home-made vegetable puree. Which vegetable to offer first, choose for yourself: zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, carrots. Potatoes contain too much starch, which causes food allergies. Therefore, despite the fact that it is easiest to make mashed potatoes at home, it is added to the child’s diet later and no more than 1/3 of the total volume of vegetable puree.

For self-preparation of vegetable puree, you need to take one type of vegetable, for example, cauliflower, rinse it thoroughly, pour a small amount of water and simmer in a closed enameled bowl for 15 minutes. Wipe the finished vegetable in hot form together with the broth until a homogeneous mass is obtained.

Remember that during the period of introducing complementary foods, the child should be healthy and in a good mood (it is unlikely that a naughty or unwell baby is capable of a positive perception of a new taste). To “get acquainted” with new products, select the time in the morning to be able to follow the reaction of the body: observe the condition of the skin (whether it turns red, does it appear a rash), the nature of the stool (whether it becomes more frequent, whether it appears in the stool there is an admixture of mucus, greenery, lumps, etc.).

The first acquaintance with "adult" food

So, the solemn moment has come: the vegetable puree is cooked or the jar with the finished product is opened. The kid is dressed in a beautiful and still clean apron and placed in a freshly bought high chair or on his knees. The spoon is rinsed again with boiling water and cooled. How much can you eat on the first day after such long preparations? Quite a bit - only 1-2 teaspoons of puree (5-10 g). And then offer your baby a breast or a bottle of formula (depending on the type of feeding), as in normal feeding.

That is, the menu on the first day of the introduction of mashed potatoes looks something like this:

14.00 - vegetable puree 5-10 g + mixture 180.0 or breast milk;

On the second day (if the skin condition and the nature of the stool have not changed), the baby can already be given 30-40 g of vegetable puree.

By the end of the week, the diet looks like this:

6.00 - a mixture of 200.0 or breast milk;
10.00 - a mixture of 200.0 or breast milk;
14.00 - vegetable puree 150 g + mixture 50.0 or breast milk;
18.00 - a mixture of 200.0 or breast milk;
22.00 - a mixture of 200.0 or breast milk.

All this time we offered the child only one kind of vegetables. The next week, you can not change anything in the diet, watching the assimilation of new food (stool, skin, weight gain).

For the next two weeks, you can introduce new types of vegetables into the menu, always in the same GRADUAL way.

For example, the child is already eating zucchini, we introduce a pumpkin (we follow the skin and stool):

6.00 - a mixture of 200.0 or breast milk;
10.00 - a mixture of 200.0 or breast milk;
14.00 - zucchini puree 130.0 + pumpkin puree 20.0 + mixture 50.0 or breast milk;
18.00 - a mixture of 200.0 or breast milk;
22.00 - a mixture of 200.0 or breast milk.

If you are preparing a vegetable puree at home, after introducing the full volume (150 g), add 5 ml of vegetable oil (preferably olive oil obtained from the first cold pressing without the use of chemicals, in which case the label is labeled "Extra Virgin"). When using industrial products, carefully read the composition of the puree: if vegetable oil is not included in it, you can add it yourself. Puree of industrial production is better to choose without the addition of salt, spices, starch (especially potato).

If something doesn't work...

It is not always desirable for a baby to get acquainted with a new food: he can spit out mashed potatoes, turn away from a spoon or cry. There are no ready-made recipes for these cases. You can try to take a break until the next feeding or for a day or two, offer a different type of puree in a few days (for example, instead of broccoli, give the baby zucchini), add breast milk to the puree (perhaps the familiar and favorite taste of mother’s milk will “push” the baby to a new dish). The main thing is not to get angry and not show the child how unhappy you are: nothing terrible is happening.

The next type of complementary foods - porridge - can be introduced about a month after the introduction of vegetables.

Child's menu by month. Month 7th

Porridge for baby

Next up is porridge. We will postpone the traditionally beloved semolina porridge for up to a year, since it contains gluten (in some children, this protein can cause gluten enteropathy), and pay attention to gluten-free varieties: rice, buckwheat and corn (we are talking about a special children's corn porridge). Moreover, if the baby has a tendency to constipation, start with buckwheat, in the presence of exudative diathesis - with rice or corn porridge. Switching to milk porridge (with cow's milk) in the first year of a child's life is not at all necessary, and even more so, you should not cook porridge with whole milk. It is better to use mixtures intended for children 6-12 months.

How to cook porridge?

Sort and rinse the cereal well, boil the porridge - preferably in water, then you can add expressed breast milk. If the child is bottle-fed, the mixture used in the diet can be added to the cooked porridge. Then it is better to rub the porridge through a sieve and bring it to a boil again. Another option is also possible - grind the cereal in advance in a coffee grinder (provided that the latter is well washed and there are no coffee residues in it). The ratio of cereals and water for home cooking is gradually changing: in the first 2-3 weeks, the child receives 5% porridge (that is, 5 g of cereal per 100 ml of water), later, with good tolerability of the product, 10% (that is, 10 g of cereal per 100 ml of water).

You can also purchase ready-made porridge of industrial production. Choose those that do not contain sugar - the taste of the child is different from yours, and it is not worth accustoming the baby to sweets early.

At first, dilute the porridge exactly according to the instructions, later you can be less accurate, gradually increasing the density of the porridge with age. But even very liquid porridge must be given with a spoon, and not use a bottle for this.

Porridge is introduced into the menu in much the same way as vegetable puree. But, unlike vegetables, porridge is given for breakfast:
6.00 - breast milk or formula (200 g)
10.00 - dairy-free porridge (10-15 g) plus breast milk or formula (185-190 g)

At 10-hour feeding, gradually increase the volume of porridge to 150 g and reduce the volume of the mixture to 50 ml.

By the end of the week, you get the following menu:

6.00 - breast milk or formula (200 g)
10.00 - dairy-free porridge (150 g) plus breast milk or formula (50 g)
14.00 - vegetable puree (150 g) plus mixture (50 g.)
18.00 - breast milk or formula (200 g.)
22.00 - breast milk or formula (200 g.)

Just as with the introduction of vegetable puree, you need to monitor how the baby learns a new product for himself. Pay attention to the condition of the skin, stool, weight gain. After introducing the full volume of porridge (150 g) into the diet, butter is added to the finished dish (5 g of oil per 150 g of porridge).

And do not forget: that at night, a natural child can be given a breast, and a bottle-fed baby - only water, but not a mixture.

With extreme caution

Some parents already at the age of 3-4 months begin to introduce juices and even fruit purees into the baby's diet. It is unlikely that such an approach to nutrition can be considered correct, but if this happened and fruits are normally absorbed by the body,

The menu will look like this:

6.00 - breast milk (mixture 200 g.)
10.00 - dairy-free porridge 150 g plus breast milk (juice or fruit puree - 30 ml)
14.00 - vegetable puree 150 g plus breast milk (juice or fruit puree - 40 ml)
18.00 - breast milk (mixture 200 g.)
22.00 - breast milk (mixture 200 g.)

The amount of juice and fruit puree per day is calculated according to the following formula: N x 10 ml, where N is the child's age in months. Thus, a seven-month-old child can receive 70 ml of juice or 70 ml of fruit puree per day.

Another product that can be introduced into the diet of a baby at this age is a hard-boiled egg yolk. This is a valuable source of healthy fats, vitamin A, as well as iron, phosphorus and some other minerals, but at first the child is allowed to try only a few grains. In the absence of an allergic reaction, the amount can be increased to half 1 yolk 2 times a week, and by the year - up to 1 yolk every other day (or half a yolk every day). The yolk is ground with breast milk or a mixture, given with porridge or vegetable puree.

Celiac enteropathy is an intestinal disease associated with insufficient production of enzymes that break down gluten, a vegetable protein found in some cereals: rye, barley, oats, and also in wheat, from which semolina is made.

Child's menu by month. Month 8th

Meat for baby

Meat is a valuable source of animal protein and minerals (phosphorus, potassium, iron). It can be lean beef or veal, lean pork, horse meat, venison, rabbit or chicken, and tongue.

ATTENTION. Veal and chicken require caution. If a child has an intolerance to cow's milk, it is better to refuse veal, and chicken in some cases can cause an allergic reaction.

Cook at home. If you are preparing meat puree at home, remember that it must be very well chopped, because the baby is not yet able to chew properly. Boil meat without fat, cleaned of veins and films, and turn it twice through a meat grinder, then wipe through a sieve. But even in this form, at first, the baby may not like it, because in its consistency it differs from the usual mushy food. So that the child does not have a negative reaction to this necessary product, you can mix minced meat with vegetable puree in the first days. After a week or two, try not to mix it with vegetables, but give it separately. To keep the minced meat dry, mash it with breast milk or formula, and put the puree on a plate on the side as a side dish.

At 9 months, a child can be offered meatballs, and at a year - steam cutlets. Meat broths are not used in the nutrition of children of the first year of life - they contain substances boiled out from meat and can adversely affect the children's body. It is much more useful to use vegetable broths without salt and spices for cooking meat dishes (they will also be very useful for a young mother, who often suffers from excess weight accumulated during pregnancy). Use all cooked meat dishes immediately, do not store.

Shop puree. If you prefer to buy ready-made baby food, choose mashed potatoes made from one type of meat (mono) without spices or potato starch. This is especially important if the child is prone to food allergies. It is necessary to select a meat product for it, taking into account individual tolerance. In the future, you can expand the range of meat dishes by introducing canned meat and vegetable, but you still need to pay attention to their composition and degree of grinding (the age from which this product can be used is indicated on the package). Many canned meat and vegetable products contain carrots, besides, it is often included in various juices - healthy children can be given these products no more than 1-2 times a week, otherwise excess beta-carotene will be deposited in the skin, and it can turn yellow.

At first, it is convenient to use jars of baby food marked "1st step". In them, the volume of the product is small, and the meat puree is subject to the greatest degree of grinding.

The contents of the jars are sterile, ready to use and, regardless of seasonality, include the necessary nutrients.

When choosing mashed potatoes for a child, one should pay attention to the indicated age recommendations, that is, the terms from which this product can be introduced into the baby's diet. Unfortunately, these instructions do not always coincide with the recommendations of domestic pediatricians and nutritionists. Therefore, before you buy and even more so give your child something new, you should first consult with a specialist.

We accustom gradually

You can start introducing meat puree into the child’s diet literally from half a teaspoon, then, the next day, if the product is well tolerated, a teaspoon (5 g). Over the next week, the volume of complementary foods is adjusted to 5-6 teaspoons (25-30 g). A full portion of meat at the 9th, 10th month - 40 g, and by 11-12 months - 50-70 g per day.

An 8 month old baby's menu might look something like this:
6:00 - breast milk or formula (200 g);

10:00 - dairy-free porridge (150 g), ½ yolk (after the introduction of meat, it is advisable to transfer the yolk to breakfast), breast milk or a mixture (50 g);

14:00 (lunch) - vegetable broth (20-30 ml), vegetable puree (150 g), meat puree (30 g), breast milk or formula (50 g). Of course, you can give not just broth, but actually vegetable soup (vegetable broth and some mashed vegetables);

18:00 - breast milk or formula (200 g);

22:00 - breast milk or formula (200 g).

If juices and fruit purees were introduced earlier (at 3-4 months), then the menu may look different:

6:00 - breast milk (mixture 200 g);

10:00 - dairy-free porridge (150 g), ½ yolk, juice (20-30 ml), fruit puree or breast milk (30-40 ml);

14:00 (lunch) - vegetable broth (20-30 ml), vegetable puree (150 g), meat puree (30 g), juice or breast milk (30-40 ml);

18:00 - breast milk or formula (160-170 g), fruit puree (30-40 ml);

22:00 - breast milk (mixture 200 g).

Recall that the volume of each feeding is approximately 200-250 ml. Thus, per day (with a five-time feeding regimen), the child receives about 1000 ml of food.

When buying canned meat for future use, pay attention to the expiration date: it should be “with a margin” of up to one and a half years.
Reheat canned meats just before eating.

An open glass jar with unused puree can be stored in the refrigerator, but not more than a day.

The contents of the opened tin can should be transferred to a glass dish with a lid and also stored in the refrigerator. There is another solution: one of the household members will eat the half-eaten food.

Child's menu by month. Month 9

Cottage cheese, according to the methodological recommendations officially existing in our country, can be introduced into the diet from 5-6 months. In practice, such an early introduction of cottage cheese into the menu of a healthy child is not always justified: an excess of proteins in a baby’s diet at an early age can “respond” in an unpleasant way in adulthood - high blood pressure and metabolic disorders. Some pediatricians insist that until the baby is 1 year old, you need to refrain from cottage cheese. But most often the child is offered to “acquaint” with this protein product from about 8-9 months (after the introduction of porridge, vegetable and meat puree).

The introduction of kefir also requires careful attention. Recent studies have shown that this should not be done until the baby is 9 months old. The fact is that its earlier use can adversely affect the child's body: the use of 400 ml of kefir per day can cause hemorrhages in the intestines with the development of anemia.

With the introduction of fermented milk products, the type of feeding of the child also matters. Recently, in the publications of domestic nutritionists, the following order of introduction of complementary foods is recommended. For a naturalist child: vegetable puree, then meat, cereals, cottage cheese, kefir, etc. For an artificial child, the order of prescribing complementary foods may correspond to traditional recommendations: vegetable puree, cereals, meat, cottage cheese, etc.

Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese, like any fermented milk product, is given to the baby once a day. It is better to introduce it into the 18-hour feeding: on the first day, you can give no more than ½ teaspoon. The increase should take place as slowly as possible: first, the volume is brought to 20 g, then to 30-35 g, and only by the year the volume of cottage cheese can be increased to about 50 g per day.

Of course, it is not permissible to use cottage cheese bought in a regular store in the diet of the crumbs - only a special children's one is suitable for these purposes. However, cottage cheese can be prepared at home (it is stored in the refrigerator for no more than 24 hours). Domestic nutritionists offer two cooking options: fresh (calcined) and sour (kefir).

Calcined cottage cheese is prepared using a solution of calcium chloride purchased from a pharmacy. To 3 ml of this drug add 300 ml of milk, which is pre-boiled and cooled. The resulting mixture is stirred, brought to a boil (it is desirable to use enamelware), then cooled to room temperature. The resulting curd is thrown onto a sieve covered with clean gauze, squeezed and transferred to a sterile dish.

For the preparation of sour cottage cheese, children's or one percent kefir is used. It is poured into a jar, which is placed in a pot of water. A cloth napkin is first placed at the bottom of the pan (so that the jar does not burst). 5 minutes after the water boils, the clot formed in the jar is thrown back onto clean gauze. As soon as the cottage cheese has cooled down, it can be given to the baby. To get 50 grams of cottage cheese, you need about 100 grams. kefir.

Kefir, like cottage cheese, is usually offered for "dinner" - at 18-hour feeding. Start also with a small volume (20-30 ml) and gradually bring it up to 200 ml. Do not exceed the recommended amount. Be sure to feed from a cup.

Of course, this should not be an "adult" sour-milk drink, but its children's version ("Theme", "Agusha", etc.), the composition and quality of which best suits the needs of your baby.

It is possible to use fermented milk mixtures intended for children aged 6 to 12 months. (especially if the child does not like the taste of traditional kefir). As with other foods, do not force feed your baby. But it is better not to leave a portion unfinished (in extreme cases, if there is no one to finish the portion, the cup can be left in the refrigerator until the next day).

When fermented milk products are introduced in full, the menu may look like this:

10.00 - porridge (150 ml), egg (½ yolk), breast milk or formula (50 ml)

14.00 - vegetable broth (20-30 ml), vegetable puree (150 ml), meat puree (35-40 g), breast milk

18.00 - kefir or fermented milk mixture (170-180 ml), cottage cheese (20-30 g)

Another menu option is for a baby already familiar with juices and fruit purees:

6.00 - breast milk or formula (200 ml)

10.00 - porridge (150 ml), egg (½ yolk), fruit puree (30-40 ml), juice or breast milk (20-30 ml)

14.00 - vegetable broth (20-30 ml), vegetable puree (150 g), meat puree (35-40 g), juice or breast milk (60-70 ml)

18.00 - kefir or fermented milk mixture (150 ml), cottage cheese (20-30 g), fruit puree or breast milk (50-60 ml)

22.00 - breast milk or formula (200 ml)

After any meal, if the child wishes, you can give him breast milk.

Bread and other products

If your baby already has front teeth (there may be four or five by this age), then along with kefir you can offer him a special children's instant biscuit. Once in the mouth, such cookies dissolve easily under the action of saliva, so that the danger of choking is practically eliminated. However, the child should eat early only in your presence. Start small, literally with 3-5g of cookies, then work your way up to 10-15g.

From the moment the baby began to be introduced to a new food other than breast milk or formula, most of the time was spent gradually introducing new foods and monitoring their absorption. Therefore, there was practically no opportunity for a variety of dishes. But after you make sure that the child tolerates kefir and cottage cheese well (the tummy does not hurt, there are no skin rashes, normal stools), try introducing new types of cereals, vegetable and meat purees. And do not forget: everything should happen gradually. Only one new product can be introduced per day, no more, and you need to start with small doses.

Anemia is anemia, a condition characterized by a decrease in hemoglobin in the blood. Since hemoglobin carries oxygen, its deficiency leads to painful changes associated with a poor supply of oxygen to the body.

Child's menu by month. Month 10th

Juices and fruit purees

If over the past months the introduction of new products into the child's diet has passed without complications and painful reactions of the body, if you have not had to interrupt the process, postponing further expansion of the menu, then your baby is ready for juices and fruit purees to appear on his menu. To date, among experts there is no consensus on the timing of their introduction. But they agree on one thing: juices and fruit purees in the menu of the first year may appear much later than previously recommended (at 3-4 months, as the first product of complementary foods). After all, the main purpose of introducing new food into the children's diet is to provide the baby's body with more energy and nutrients necessary for active growth and development, while breast milk or milk formula can no longer meet the needs of a fairly large child in basic nutritional ingredients. It has been established that the nutritional value of fruit juices and purees is not great, they provide only 2% of the crumbs in vitamins, and can also irritate the intestines, causing bloating, rumbling, abdominal pain and unstable stools or allergic reactions. Such phenomena postpone the introduction of new complementary foods, and the baby remains in the "lose". Based on this, pediatricians and pediatric nutritionists first of all recommend enriching the child's diet with foods that really have nutritional value: vegetable purees, cereals, meat purees. The appearance of fruit juices and purees in the baby's menu can be considered as a pleasant addition. Therefore, one of the options for the timing of the introduction of juices may be as follows: their introduction after all the main complementary foods, at about 10 months. Of course, if the child is transferred to artificial feeding, then it is quite possible for him to introduce juices and fruit purees at an earlier date (at 4-5 months; it is believed that the gastrointestinal tract of an artificial baby has time to adapt to “alien” food by this time) , which corresponds to the current methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia. Usually acquaintance begins with literally a few drops of apple juice (as the least allergenic, with good digestibility and low acidity) in one of the morning feedings. If the baby liked the juice, the stool has not changed, and there are no rashes on the skin, then the next day feel free to increase the portion of the drink to a teaspoon, and then gradually increase it to 100 ml. It is not at all necessary to give the entire portion at once: divide into two doses (for breakfast and lunch; keep an open jar in the refrigerator). When using commercial baby juices, choose clarified and no added sugar. To make juice at home, you will need a juicer and sterilized dishes (for ready-made juice), but it is also possible to use a plastic grater (pour well-washed green apples with boiling water, peel, grate, transfer to sterile gauze and squeeze the juice). Be sure to dilute the resulting juice with boiled water (at the rate of 1:1).

After getting used to apple juice, crumbs can be offered other types of juice: pear, plum, cherry, apricot, peach, blackcurrant; as well as vegetables: carrot, cabbage, beetroot. It is advisable to postpone grape juice for a later period (after a year), as it increases gas formation in the intestines, causing bloating and pain in the abdomen.

Since the child is already well acquainted with solid foods, after the introduction of the full volume of apple juice (and if it is well tolerated), applesauce can also be offered (starting with 5-10 g and in just a few days bringing the daily volume to 100 g).

So the kid's menu might look like this:

10.00 - porridge (150 ml), egg (½ yolk), applesauce (30-40 ml), apple juice (20-30 ml);

14.00 - vegetable broth (20-30 ml), vegetable puree (150 g), meat puree (35-40 g), apple juice (60-70 ml);

18.00 - kefir or fermented milk mixture (150 ml), cottage cheese (20-30 g), applesauce (50-60 ml);

But the introduction of new types of juice and fruit puree, again, should be gradual (with observation of the stool and skin).

Please note: some types of juices and purees have a fixing effect - they can cause constipation (blueberry, blackcurrant, pomegranate, cherry juices, apple and banana puree), so they are useful for children with unstable stools (of course, not replacing the necessary treatment for possible pathology) . And apple-apricot puree, prune puree, cabbage and beetroot juices can be given to children with a tendency to constipation.

Meat dishes
What else will change in the diet of a ten-month-old baby? Meat puree can be alternated with meatballs, soufflé or meatballs. In stores or departments of baby food, ready-made meatballs from turkey or veal in broth are sold, produced specifically for children (without the addition of spices, preservatives, and other additives harmful to the child's body). But it is not difficult to prepare them yourself.

meat recipes

Meatballs: meat is cleaned of films, fat, passed through a meat grinder along with wheat bread soaked in milk, again passed through a meat grinder. Add a little milk (mixture), butter and yolk, knead well, form meatballs and cook in boiling water for 10-15 minutes.

Animal or bird meat soufflé: boil meat, cleaned of films and fat, pass twice through a meat grinder, add milk (mixture), flour, egg yolk and mix thoroughly, then add beaten egg white into foam. Put the mass into greased molds and bake in the oven until fully cooked for about half an hour.

Allergy Danger

If the baby had allergic reactions to any products, then it is worth waiting with the introduction of chicken meat and fish into the diet (at least until the age of 1-1.5 years). Such children are recommended rabbit meat, horse meat, turkey, lean pork, beef. We remind you that foods with high allergenicity (that is, more often than others causing allergic reactions) include whole milk, fish, eggs, seafood (shrimp, mussels, squid, etc.), carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, oranges, tangerines, kiwi , pineapples, pomegranates, mango, melon, persimmon, chocolate, mushrooms, nuts, honey, wheat, rye.

Of the products with medium allergenicity (but also often causing allergic reactions), bananas and chicken meat should be noted. As a rule, such products are recommended for use in baby food after the baby is one year old (and nuts, mushrooms, seafood - after 3 years).

It must be remembered that for a healthy child of ten months, up to 100-150 ml of additional liquid is needed (it can be offered between feedings): it can be boiled water, a rosehip decoction, and an infusion of apples. per day, and in hot weather - up to 180-200 ml. Preparing a rosehip decoction is not at all difficult: wash and dry the rosehips, chop, dip in boiling water for 10 minutes, then leave for 3-4 hours (preferably in a thermos). After that, strain and add some fructose. An infusion of apples is prepared in approximately the same way: rinse the apples thoroughly, cut them, pour boiling water over them and boil for 10 minutes, and then insist for a day. Fructose can be added to the finished infusion.

Child's menu by month. Month 11th

What, how and in what volume to feed the baby is one of the favorite topics of long conversations and discussions among young mothers on the playground. After all, the health of the baby directly depends on proper nutrition. Of course, this can only be judged by a number of factors. If the baby is gaining weight well and gaining height (while the weight of the child corresponds to his height - there is no excess or deficiency of body weight in relation to height), if the baby is cheerful, not irritable, sleeps calmly, his teeth erupt in time, psychomotor development corresponds age, the blood test is normal (the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin values ​​are normal, i.e., there are no signs of anemia), while you adhere to the recommended feeding volumes and a set of products, then most likely the child’s diet is correct.

Eleven months is the age when the baby, on the one hand, has already grown so much that he can receive almost all types of food (cereals, vegetables, meat, cottage cheese and other dairy products, bakery products, fruits), on the other hand, his nutrition has its own characteristics.

Recall:

- it is desirable to introduce some types of foods at an older age (at 1-3 years), for example, foods that have a high ability to cause allergies: exotic fruits, citrus fruits, nuts, whole milk, fish, etc.;

- the degree of grinding food is still different from the "adult";

- lack of spices, potato starch and other additives in food;

- Food is steamed or boiled. Offering fried or grilled meals is not worth at least 3 years.

So, the menu of a child at the age of eleven months looks something like this:

6.00 - breast milk or mixture (200 ml);

10.00 - porridge (150 ml), egg (½ yolk), fruit puree (30-40 ml), fruit juice (20-30 ml);

14.00 - vegetable broth (20-30 ml), vegetable puree (150 g), meat puree (35-40 g), fruit juice (60-70 ml);

18.00 - kefir or fermented milk mixture (150 ml), cottage cheese (20-30 g), fruit puree (50-60 ml);

22.00 - breast milk or formula (200 ml).

After each feeding (and at any time - at the request of the child), breast milk can be offered.

How to diversify the baby's diet?

What can you offer him, for example, for lunch as a meat dish? This is a steam cutlet, and a soufflé from various types of meat, and meatballs. For garnish - mashed vegetables (potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, etc.). As a "snack" by the year, a healthy child is also allowed salads from raw vegetables (for example, carrots seasoned with vegetable oil or cucumber and tomato salad with vegetable oil or natural yogurt, or baby cream). Vegetables are rubbed on a grater. At the end of the dinner, offer the baby juice, jelly, fruit compote, rosehip infusion.

A gradual transition to an "adult" diet will lead to the formation of breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, plus a glass of baby kefir (children's drinking yogurt) before bed.

Breakfast - porridge, yolk, fruit puree.

Lunch - vegetable salad, soup, vegetable puree, meat puree (cutlet, meatballs, etc.), juice.

Snack - kefir (children's drinking yogurt), cottage cheese (curd soufflé), juice.

Dinner - vegetable puree, meat or cereal-vegetable dish, fruit puree or juice.

Before going to bed - a sour-milk drink.

Some moms may get the impression that now you need to spend the whole day in the kitchen. But everything is not so scary. You can combine the preparation of children's meals at home with industrial products. For example, prepare a vegetable soup and add ready-made baby food to it - turkey or beef meatballs. By the way, you can cook such meatballs yourself from fresh meat, then form portions (for example, 8-10 pieces, depending on their size and the age of the baby). You can store such semi-finished products in the freezer and use as needed. You can mix "homemade" mashed potatoes with ready-made mashed potatoes in a jar of carrots, zucchini or pumpkin. The range of industrial cereals offered in children's stores is also very wide. You can diversify breakfasts by mixing different cereals (for example, oatmeal with milk and peach and buckwheat porridge).

And do not forget that you need to cook food only in a good mood, not to mention the fact that the feeding process should be joyful and enjoyable for both you and the baby.

Child's menu by month. 1 year

If you are one of the mothers who have maintained lactation to this day, do not rush to wean your beloved child from the breast. Research confirms the value of even episodic breastfeeding of a child in the second year of life. So, in the morning and in the evening (or at any time and in any place), we continue to give the baby not only food, but also a sense of peace, security and confidence in mother's love.

During this time, the baby's diet has also expanded significantly: now it is not only breast milk or formula, but also other types of products. Let's take a closer look.

So, for breakfast, you can offer porridge plus half the yolk, fruit puree (fruits can be added to porridge). A one-year-old baby can be given both gluten-free (corn, buckwheat, rice) and gluten-containing cereals (wheat, oatmeal, semolina). The volume of porridge remains the same - 150 - 200 ml. Do not forget to add butter (5 g) to the porridge. From drinks - tea, fruit infusion, juice. Another breakfast option is a steam omelet, both from yolks and proteins. The daily intake of eggs is ½ pieces, but since you will give an omelette only 2-3 times a week, a single serving will increase accordingly. For scrambled eggs - a piece of bread with butter (at the age of one to one and a half years, a baby can receive up to 15 - 20 g of butter per day) or cheese and a drink (compote, jelly). Bread for a child of this age is better to choose white varieties, as it is easier to digest (volume - up to 40 g per day).

Lunch can be started with a salad of vegetables - cucumbers, tomatoes or carrots, finely chopped or grated on a coarse grater, with the addition of vegetable oil (5-7 g) or sour cream (5-10 g). Soup options: milk with vermicelli (note: pasta is not given often - about 1 time per week, in a small amount of 30-35 g), vegetable (from cauliflower, cabbage soup, borscht, etc., including puree soups). On the second - vegetable puree (after twelve months, turnips, beets, radishes, green peas, beans are added to already consumed vegetables) and a meat dish (note that the meat is cooked separately, not in soup) - mashed potatoes, soufflé or meatballs. Potatoes should not be abused, as they contain a large amount of starch that can provoke allergies, frequent stools, increased gas formation, excessive accumulation of fatty tissue). Therefore, it is better if the volume of potatoes is no more than 1/3 of the total volume of vegetable puree. After a year, the baby's diet expands due to offal (tongue, heart, liver) and chicken meat. Fatty varieties of pork, lamb, as well as indigestible duck and goose meat are not recommended for such babies. And, of course, you don’t need to offer your child sausages, sausages or sausages. 1 - 2 times a week, instead of meat, give low-fat varieties of river or sea fish (in the absence of an allergic reaction) - for example, hake or pollock. The introduction of fish into the diet should follow all the rules for introducing new complementary foods: from small amounts (5-10 g), gradually increasing the volume, observing tolerance (stool, skin condition). The daily intake of fish for a child of this age is about 25 - 30 g, which means that by offering fish a couple of times a week, you can give the child about 70 - 80 g of fish at a time. From drinks, prepare jelly, compote, fruit infusion or offer your child juice (both freshly squeezed and industrially produced, but always specialized for children).

For an afternoon snack (except for the baby cottage cheese and kefir already familiar to the baby), it is possible to cook dishes from cottage cheese (curd soufflé, cottage cheese with sour cream, closer to a year and a half (happy owners of a large number of teeth) - pancakes with cottage cheese (of course, not often - once a week) In addition, give juice or fruit puree, as well as low-fat varieties of cookies (for example, every other day).Pay attention to the need to use only specialized children's kefir and cottage cheese in the baby's diet (the quality control of the manufacture and composition of baby food is higher than "adults "Products") But from the usual purchased cottage cheese, you can cook cottage cheese and soufflé (that is, it is worth offering the baby "adult" cottage cheese only after heat treatment).

A one-year-old baby’s dinner may consist of a vegetable-meat or vegetable-cereal dish (options offered by domestic nutritionists - zucchini soufflé with meat puree, oatmeal with pumpkin, stewed beets with apples, vegetable stew with meat puree) plus juice or fruit puree . The range of offered fruits (as well as purees and juices) at this age is replenished by introducing the so-called exotic fruits (for example, kiwi), as well as citrus fruits (oranges), strawberries, and other species (if the child has not tried them before) - gooseberries, raspberries , blackberries, cherries and cranberries. Usually the baby is offered no more than 100 ml of juice and no more than 100 g of fruit puree per day.

Before going to bed - breast milk or a fermented milk drink (baby kefir).

The child’s diet should not include (as much as mom and especially grandparents would not like) cakes, pastries, and even more so chocolates. If you really want to pamper your baby with something sweet, choose marshmallow, jam, jam (better if they are on fructose), marmalade.

And remember the basic rules: feeding a baby aged from one to one and a half years - four to five meals a day, that is, with a break between feedings of about 4 hours. Try to follow the diet strictly enough so that the child develops a conditioned reflex (that is, by a certain time the digestive system will be ready to accept and digest food). The calorie content of meals is different: the most high-calorie should be lunch, then in descending order - dinner, breakfast, afternoon tea. The daily amount of food (not counting the liquid) is 1000 - 1200 ml (such recommendations remain for about a year and a half).

Be sure to follow the rules for the introduction of new products, keep the food fresh and the cleanliness of the baby's dishes (as well as his and your hands) in order to avoid intestinal infection.

Gluten is a vegetable protein found in some cereals: rye, barley, oats, as well as in wheat, from which semolina is made, which can cause damage to small intestine cells in young children - celiac disease and allergic reactions, since babies have a deficiency of the peptidase enzyme that breaks down gluten.

Dear Parents! Your baby has already reached 6 months, this is the first serious date in his life. At this stage, it is very important to choose the right nutrition plan and choose the most balanced diet for your child, which will provide his growing body with all the nutrients, minerals and vitamins.

6 month old baby meal plan

We offer you several options for meal plans for a six-month-old baby.

Meal Plan #1

1. Second breakfast - fruit puree and fruit juice
2. Snack - breast milk or formula
3. Dinner - milk porridge

Meal Plan #2

1. Breakfast - breast milk or formula
2. Second breakfast - breast milk or formula and fruit juice
3. Lunch - vegetable or meat puree (can be alternated every other day) + yolk (2-3 times a week)
4. Snack - fruit puree
5. Dinner - milk porridge

Diet for a 6 month old baby

A child at 6 months actively rolls over, tries to stand up, holding on to a support, tries to sit down - all this requires additional energy. A six-month-old baby's diet should include fruits, vegetables, grains, and meat.

If you are not breastfeeding or have already stopped breastfeeding, at 6 months the baby should already be offered 6-month-old formula (stage 2), replacing it with formula for babies “from 0 to 6 months”. The composition of mother's breast milk changes itself, adjusting to all the needs of the child, therefore it is recommended to change the mixture in order to provide the baby with the set of vitamins and microelements he needs.

By 6 months, many tastes for the baby have already become familiar. Now you can safely experiment with its menu. If you are just starting to give your baby complementary foods, pay attention to the following articles: Feeding a 4-month-old baby and Feeding a 5-month-old baby.

Fruit and vegetable purees can already consist of 2 or more components. Also, from 6 months you can give your baby fruit purees from exotic fruits. In the evening feeding, so that the baby sleeps soundly and does not wake up in the middle of the night, milk porridge from buckwheat, rice or corn is suitable for the child. They are the least allergic, nutritious, and easily absorbed by the baby. The rest of the cereals contain gluten, so it is better to offer them to your baby from 8-9 months. For more detailed information about the composition of cereals, the content of useful elements and vitamins in them, you can follow the link Nutrition for a 5-month-old baby.

At 6 months, pediatricians recommend adding yolk, chicken or quail to the child's diet. Earlier introduction of this product is not desirable, because, despite the benefits of the yolk, it is poorly absorbed by the digestive system of an infant under the age of 6 months. The composition of chicken and quail yolks includes proteins, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, B12, D, H, choline, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorus, iodine, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, copper, chromium. The content of useful substances and vitamins in 5 quail eggs (which correspond to one chicken in mass) and one chicken is approximately equal. However, it should be noted that since quails never get sick with salmonellosis (unlike chickens), their eggs are safer for the baby. Also, quail eggs do not cause allergic reactions, so they are recommended for feeding children with diathesis. The yolk, due to the large amount of vitamins and other useful elements in it, should be given to the baby 2-3 times a week.

From 6 months, the child begins to move a lot, so his diet should include not only vegetables and grains, but also meat. Meat contains proteins, vitamins B1, B2, PP, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. Iron is simply necessary for the baby, because. its supply, obtained with mother's milk, is depleted by 6 months. Scientists confirm that the daily consumption of meat by a child will help to avoid anemia. You should start introducing meat into the child's diet with 5 g of one-component puree, gradually increasing the portion (by 12 months it should be about 60 g). We do not advise you to cook meat for the baby yourself, because. it is very difficult to achieve a balanced consistency even with the use of modern kitchen appliances. It should also be noted that the quality of the meat sold these days leaves much to be desired. Therefore, you should not risk the health of your baby and use the finished product (pay attention - puree should not contain starch, sugar and salt!). To begin with, you can offer your child meat of a rabbit, turkey, veal (alone, or in addition to vegetables already tested by your child). Later, you can add pork, beef and chicken to the menu for your baby (this meat is considered the most allergenic, so it should be introduced last).

Good luck to you and your child!

The baby is growing, and every month his body's need for nutrients increases. What should be the proper nutrition of a child at 6 months?

Food types. What to choose?

Currently, two methods of introducing complementary foods are popular:

Pediatric

It is of two types:

• Designed in accordance with the recommendations of the WHO (World Health Organization). Today it is the most popular and most rational in terms of child physiology. Recommended from 6 months.
• Developed taking into account the recommendations of the Ministry of Health. It is similar to the method that the WHO proposes, however, the dates are shifted here: from 6 months it is introduced to babies who are breastfed, and to artificial ones - already from 4 months.

Pedagogical complementary food

It is popular due to its ease: there is no need to cook specifically for the child, since the baby receives food from the adult menu in microdoses. However, this method can only take place with natural feeding. It should also be borne in mind that the parent's table should consist exclusively of healthy food. If mom and dad eat only fried potatoes, like spicy and salty dishes such as canned cucumbers and smoked fish, pedagogical complementary foods are impossible.

Maria, mother of 9-month-old Alina: “I heard a lot about how good pedagogical complementary foods are, so I decided to feed them myself. She gave meat and potatoes the size of a match head. But the breast milk was too thin, and the baby did not gain weight at all in a month! Such complementary foods did not suit us, we had to catch up with our peers on cereals.

It should be borne in mind that the ideal formula for the introduction of complementary foods has not yet been identified. However, according to WHO, pediatric complementary foods are considered the most rational: it takes into account physiological factors to a greater extent.

Complementary foods are not a substitute for breastfeeding, but an addition to it. His goal is not to “feed”, but to gradually introduce the baby’s gastrointestinal tract to the food that he will have to eat in the future.

How to feed correctly?

6 months is the period when the child is already 24 weeks old. Some mothers mistakenly believe that the beginning of the sixth month is the time to introduce complementary foods. But in fact, by this date, the baby is still only 20 weeks old, and this is too early to switch to adult food.

What you need to know:

• You need to feed with a spoon before giving milk (breast or artificial). Food must be warm.
• Starting complementary foods, the first days should be introduced no more than half a spoonful of a new product, gradually, over 10 days, increasing the volume to the required rate. The subsequent introduction of other products can be reduced to 5-7 days. This interval between doses is necessary in order to be able to control the reaction of the child's body to a new product. You need to monitor not only skin rashes, but also the baby's stool.
• Monocomponent products should be introduced into the child's diet first.
• It is better to give the product for the first time before lunch. It is not so much the diet that is important here, but the child's reaction to new food. Do not give the same new type of complementary foods twice a day.
• If the baby is sick or vaccinations are coming, then the day of the introduction of complementary foods should be postponed. The same rule applies to every product introduced for the first time.

You need to start introducing complementary foods with vegetable purees or cereals. From vegetables, zucchini, cabbage and potatoes are best suited as the least allergenic foods. And it is better to introduce fruit puree later, because after tasting sweets, children can then refuse vegetables and cereals.

If the baby has a tendency to constipation, irregular stools, and weight is more than normal, then vegetable puree should be preferred. You can choose from both jar-packed and home-cooked meals.

In the event that the crumbs are diagnosed with a lack of weight, the likelihood of developing anemia, then cereals should be the first complementary foods. If the baby is prone to allergies, it is better to start with dairy-free and gluten-free cereals (rice, buckwheat, corn).

Irina, Serezha's mother, 1.5 years old: “Seryozha was born prematurely, he gained weight poorly, albeit on breast milk. From 5 months they began to introduce cereals, as advised by the pediatrician. But there were problems with the stool: constipation. I had to switch to vegetables, and cereals were postponed until 9 months.

Meat is an important part of a child's diet and should be introduced about 8-9 weeks after vegetables. With a standard complementary feeding schedule from 6 months, meat can be introduced into the diet at 8-8.5 months. If the baby receives complementary foods from 4 months, then you can give meat to taste by the middle of the 6th month. Start with rabbit and turkey.

Soups can be introduced into the child's diet only after he has become acquainted with the individual ingredients of this dish. It is best if they contain only vegetables, and if meat is present, then you should choose a dietary one: rabbit, turkey. Fish in the child's menu should be included only after a year: the risk of allergies is too great.

Table - scheme for the introduction of complementary foods for a child up to a year

Name of products and dishes	Age (months)
	4	5	6	7	8	9	9-12
Fruit juice, ml.	5-30	40-50	50-60	60	70	80	90-100
Fruit purees, ml (minimum 2 weeks after juice)	5-30	40-50	50-60	60	70	80	90-100
Curd, g			10-30	40	40	40	50
Egg yolk, pcs.				0,25	0,5	0,5	0,5
Vegetable puree, g		5-100	150	150	170	180	200
Kashi, g			50-100	150	150	180	200
Meat purees, g					5-30	50	60-70
Kefir and other fermented milk products, ml.						100	200
Fish puree, g							30-60
Bread (wheat), g				3-5	5	5	10-15
Cookies, crackers, g				3-5	5	5	10-15
Vegetable oil, g		1-3	3	3	5	5	6
Butter, g			1-4	4	4	5	6

Type of primary feeding and complementary foods

Depending on what type of feeding the baby is on, the pattern of introducing complementary foods may vary slightly.

For artificial children, pediatricians recommend using partially free feeding. With this method, certain hours are added to the daily routine for feeding the crumbs. The nutrition of a 6-month-old breastfed baby differs from the menu of artificial babies in that complementary foods are introduced later. There is no need to start it with cereal cereals if the mother eats fully, and the child does not lag behind in physical indicators.

Today, however, not all pediatricians share this view: “This misconception about the earlier introduction of complementary foods to artificial children dates back to the old days, when formulas consisted of diluted cow's milk,” says Dr. Komarovsky. - Today, the composition of milk mixtures is as close as possible to breast milk. Therefore, the type of main feeding of the child does not really matter for the start of complementary feeding.”

With the beginning of the introduction of complementary foods, the children's daily routine changes: meals become 5 meals a day.

If the child stubbornly refuses to accept a new dish, do not immediately move on to another product. You can offer him this product up to ten more times. After all, it is very important to form the taste habits of the baby now. In the future, this will greatly facilitate his stay in a kindergarten or school: there, as a rule, the menu includes “tasteless”, but healthy products.

Table of the feeding regimen and the menu of the child at 6 months: menu (approximate)

The table contains an approximate feeding scheme, calculated on the fact that the daily nutrition of a 6-month-old baby on artificial feeding includes complementary foods introduced from 4 months:

Feeding time	Products	Food volume
feeding 1st (morning, 6:00)	milk mixture180 - 200 ml	180-200 ml
2nd feeding (morning, 10:00)	rice or buckwheat porridge (milk) fruit puree (industrial or home-made)	120-150 g, 60 g
3rd feeding (morning, 14:00)	vegetable puree grated egg yolk with milk (egg is given a maximum of 3 times a week!) juice (preferably homemade fruit or vegetable)	about 150 g 1/4 about 30 ml
4th feeding (morning, 18:00)	milk formula cottage cheese for children (maximum 3 times a week) biscuits (can be dissolved in milk)	150 ml 40 g 3 g
5th feeding (morning, 22:00)	mixture (milk or sour milk)	up to 200 ml

If the child is fed with mother's milk, then in the morning the second feeding includes porridge without milk, and the third - puree (vegetable or fruit) plus supplementary feeding with milk; the rest of the meals are breast milk.

The nutrition of a child at 6 months on mixed feeding is close to the diet of an infant, only daily intakes of mother's milk are replaced, if necessary, with milk formulas.

Recipes for a six-month-old baby

Self-preparation of food for the baby gives parents confidence that he receives quality food. Good helpers in this matter will be a double boiler, slow cooker and blender.

It is important to remember that the child must be familiar with each component of the dish if it consists of several ingredients.

This applies even to such “simple” products as milk, olive oil, etc.

Vegetables:

1. Cauliflower in a slow cooker

Washed cabbage (100 grams) put on the multicooker grate. Steam for 15 minutes. Next, grind the product with a blender, cool.

2.pumpkin puree

Pumpkin pulp (the volume depends on how much the baby eats) cut into cubes and place on the steamer grate. Cook in the "steam" mode for 20 minutes, chop with a blender.

3.carrot puree

Peel the carrots, cut into slices and place in a double boiler for 20 minutes (you can simply boil in a saucepan), cook until the fibers are completely softened. Next, chop the carrots with a blender.

4.Carrot puree with milk

One large carrot; milk - 4 tbsp. spoons; a few drops of oil (the best option is olive oil).

Grind boiled carrots in a blender, add hot milk. Boil for a couple of minutes over low heat, add oil.

5.Mashed potatoes

Soak peeled potatoes in water to remove starch (12-24 hours). Rub the boiled potatoes through a sieve, pour in the milk to the desired consistency, boil for a couple of minutes.

6.Assorted vegetables (zucchini, carrots, potatoes)

100 g zucchini pulp, half a medium carrot, 1 potato, 1 teaspoon olive oil, half a glass of water.

Peeled vegetables cut into cubes and put in a double boiler bowl. Cook 20 minutes. Transfer them to a blender bowl, add boiled water and oil, chop.

Fruit:

1.Applesauce

An apple (sour-sweet and sour, green) is scalded with boiling water and the peel is removed. Cut into pieces, remove the seeds. Grate or grind in a blender. Puree should be prepared immediately before eating, otherwise it will darken.

2.Stewed apple puree

Grate the washed and peeled apple and, adding a couple of tablespoons of water, simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

3.Apple-carrot puree

Peel apple and carrot (one at a time), grind in a blender. Add a spoonful of water and boil for a minute or two.

4.Prunes puree

Pour boiling water over prunes and leave under a closed lid for three to four hours. Rub the steamed prunes through a fine-grained sieve, add a spoonful of water in which it was infused, and boil for a minute.

5.Dried apricot puree

Rinse a good clean dried apricots, soak in boiling water for several hours. Boil in the same water for 7-10 minutes. Drain the water, and rub the dried fruits through a fine-mesh sieve or grind with a blender.

Kashi

1.Dairy-free rice porridge

Grind rice in a coffee grinder. Pour rice flour into boiled water (3 tablespoons per glass of water). Stirring constantly, cook for 10 minutes.

2.Corn porridge (dairy-free)

Corn grits - 3 tablespoons; glass of water.

Pour the cereal into boiling water and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the fire to a minimum and cook until the cereal is completely softened (up to 30 minutes). Grind the finished porridge to a puree consistency in a blender, pour into an enameled bowl and let it boil.

3.Milk porridge (from buckwheat, rice or oatmeal)

Rinse the cereal until clear water and place in a saucepan, filling with water 2 fingers above the cereal. Cook on low heat until done. Grind the porridge through a fine-mesh sieve or chop in a blender. Pour hot milk to the desired consistency and boil for a few minutes, you can add a little butter.

Meat

1.Carrot and meat puree

100 g turkey (rabbit, chicken); 1 carrot, 80 g milk.

Meat cut into cubes and boil until tender. Boil the carrots separately. Grind the products with a blender, transfer to a saucepan, pour in the milk. Bring to a boil over low heat, cool.

2.Meat with rice

Boil meat and rice (in water) separately. Twist the meat in a meat grinder, mix with rice and puree the mixture with a blender. Put the mixture in a saucepan, pour milk and bring to a boil, cool.

Soups

1.Fruit and vegetable soup (in a slow cooker)

2 apples, 1 carrot, water - one and a half glasses.

Cut carrot into slices, apple into slices. Put in a slow cooker, pour water. On the "stew" mode, cook for about 30 minutes. Grind the cooled soup with a blender.

2.Pumpkin puree soup

A small piece of pumpkin (about 100 g), carrots (1 pc.), Quail egg yolk, milk 150 ml, salt (a small pinch), butter (a piece of 1 by 1 cm).

Cut the pumpkin and carrot into pieces and boil until fully cooked. Grind with a blender, pour in milk, add butter. Boil.

Juices

1.Apple

Peel a juicy apple, rub it on a medium grater (it is better to use a plastic one to prevent oxidation). Squeeze through gauze. Can be diluted with boiled water.

2.Pumpkin juice with apple

Cut the pumpkin pulp into slices, an apple without peel and seeds into slices. Make juice in a juicer. You can grate and squeeze through gauze (more time-consuming process).

Related videos

Your baby has crossed the six-month milestone. He has grown significantly, has become more active, begins to “talk”, i.e. make various repetitive sounds, reacts to the conversation of adults. Most likely, you are breastfeeding him, because you know how good it is for your baby. But over time, children require more and more new products for their body, they grow up, and mother's milk is not always enough for their development. It's time to talk about what to feed a baby at 6 months.

What to feed a 6 month old baby

If you feed your baby with breast milk, and at the same time he develops in accordance with the necessary norms, without deviations, then up to 5-6 months he is unlikely to need additional nutrition. But, as we have already said, it is time for the child to get used to the "adult" environment.

In order for the child to receive all the necessary minerals and vitamins, it is necessary to diversify his diet.

During this period, you can include in his diet apple juice or applesauce, banana puree, vegetables, cereals cooked in water, with the addition of milk and a few drops of vegetable oil, and if everything is in order, then you can try adding butter to cereals . From cereals, preference is given to rice and buckwheat. If a child shows signs of rickets, it is better to cook porridge on a vegetable broth.

The pumpkin is very logged for kids. Prepare rice porridge with pumpkin. Pumpkin will soften the fixing effect of rice, and the baby will get a delicious porridge. You can also cook milk porridge with carrots, beets, turnips. Do not forget that the child is still small, and all cereals should be well rubbed.

How to feed a 6 month old baby for a variety of menus

Starting from about 6.5 months, combined purees can be included in the diet. You can make mashed carrots with rice, carrots with potatoes. Toddlers love mashed cauliflower with potatoes. All this can be lightly seasoned with oil (vegetable or creamy).

Vegetable oil is usually added to vegetable purees, butter in the amount of 5 grams per day is added to cereals.

It's time to start cooking vegetable soups for him, using beets, beans, green peas. Season soups with celery, dill.

If all this is well absorbed by your baby, consider introducing low-fat broths from beef and chicken into the feeding. Accustom him gradually, starting with 2 teaspoons. For 6-10 days, bring the volume of the broth to 30-40 grams. Meat broths of about 20-30 grams are usually given before vegetable puree. You can pamper the child and give him a small white cracker. You can also add half an egg yolk to your baby's diet.

We introduce cottage cheese into the child's menu

Everyone knows about the benefits of cottage cheese. And therefore, asking the question of how to feed a child for 6 months, many mothers are interested in when the baby can be introduced to cottage cheese.

With a favorable assimilation of the first complementary foods, cottage cheese can be introduced from about 6.5-7 months. It is not recommended to introduce cottage cheese into complementary foods too early because the child who is breastfed does not feel an acute shortage of protein. The fact is that protein-rich cottage cheese can cause unwanted problems with the excretion of its decay products through the kidneys. Therefore, they begin complementary foods with cottage cheese closer to seven months. They begin to give cottage cheese well mashed with breast milk from half a teaspoon. Up to seven months, it is not recommended to give it more than 40 grams per day.

What you need to know about what to feed a baby at 6 months of age

Any product is introduced gradually, starting with small portions. Complementary foods are given before breastfeeding. Don't give your baby a new food when they're sick. Keep a food diary - this will help you not to get confused. Don't give the same food twice a day. Be wary of exotic foods. They can cause allergies. Sometimes children refuse a certain dish - do not force it.

When deciding what to feed a baby at 6 months, do not forget that the importance of breast milk for a 6 month old baby is still relevant, and its benefits are invaluable.

By the age of six months, your baby is probably already eating cereals, various fruit and vegetable purees. He can receive complementary foods 1, 2 or 3 times a day. A sample menu for a child consists of porridge for breakfast, vegetables and bean curd or well-cooked beans for lunch, porridge and fruits for dinner. However, there can be no strict rules here. It all depends on the child's appetite and your preferences.

For example, a child with a not too good appetite can be given fruit for breakfast, tofu with vegetables or beans for lunch, and porridge for dinner. If the baby has a tendency to constipation, he can be given prunes with porridge every evening, and other fruits for breakfast and lunch. You can also give your child beans and vegetables for dinner, like all family members, and porridge and fruits for lunch.

Many infants and some artificial babies do not start eating solid foods until 6 months of age. Their digestion and taste preferences are better formed by this time than at 4 months. They can be offered new food more often and, accordingly, move on to three meals a day faster.

Hand eating at 6 months

By the time the baby is 6-7 months old, he wants to take food in his hands, suck and lick it. This is a good preparation for independent eating with a spoon at the age of one. If children have never been allowed to eat with their hands, they may not want to try eating with a spoon.

Traditionally, the first food that is given to the child in the hand is a stale bread crust or cracker. A small dry bun will do too. Children happily suck and gnaw it with their toothless gums. If they are teething at this time, then the gums itch, and biting gives them special pleasure. As the saliva softens the bread, some of it goes into the mouth and the child feels like he is eating something. Of course, most bread gets on hands, face, hair and furniture. Cookies often contain too much sugar, which makes the child accustomed to sweets. Therefore, it is better to give him something more harmless.

At 8-9 months, most children have already developed enough coordination of movements to pick up small objects with their fingers. At this moment, you can put pieces of fruit, boiled vegetables or bean curd on the table in front of the child so that he takes them with his hands. (This is exactly the age when you need to be careful that there are no small objects on the floor that a child can choke on. There is a good rule of thumb: an object is dangerous for a baby if it passes through the opening of a toilet roll.)

Children love it when parents give them pieces of food from their plates. Some babies refuse food given to them by their parents, but will gladly take it with their own hands. Many children put everything in their mouths at once, so it's best to start by offering them food one at a time.

Usually the first teeth appear by 7 months. In a year, many children already have 4-6 sharp front teeth in their mouths. (However, there is no strict schedule for teething, and this process occurs differently in all children. In many healthy babies, the first teeth do not grow until after a year.) The first molars, which can be used to chew food, do not appear in most children until 15 months . However, with or without teeth, they are somehow so successful at eating that by their first birthday, most of them are able to refuse specially prepared baby food and can eat with their hands the same thing that everyone else in the family eats. , provided that the food is finely chopped and does not contain hard pieces that can be choked on.

Puree and pieces after 6 months

After 6 months, it is necessary to accustom the child to food in pieces. If after this age he continues to eat only pureed food, then it will be more and more difficult for you to make this transition.
Some children seem to naturally handle bits of food easily. Others, even at an older age, easily choke on pieces of food. This is most likely because the parents either tried too hard or too late to move them from mashed potatoes to pieces, or forced the children to eat when they did not want to.

When you go from pureed food to chunks, there are two important things to keep in mind. First, the transition must be gradual. The first time you give your child vegetables in chunks, mash them thoroughly with a fork. Don't put too much food in your baby's mouth. When he gets used to this consistency of food, knead it less thoroughly. Secondly, allow the child to take small pieces with his hands and put them in his mouth. But don't try to put a full spoonful of bits in his mouth that he's not used to.

So, start changing your eating habits at about 6 months, allowing your baby to pick up food with his hands. You can cook your baby's food in both puree and chunks from those boiled vegetables and fruits that you use for the rest of the family, or buy him baby food that uses chopped foods. It is not at all necessary to give all the food in the form of pieces, but it is useful for the child to get used to the fact that every day he receives not only mashed potatoes.

If you give your child meat, then it must be carefully chopped. Most children do not like to chew on large pieces of meat. They chew them for a long time and do not dare to swallow them, as adults do. This may cause the child to choke. There are other reasons why you should stop eating meat, or at least postpone the introduction of it into the baby's diet until an older age.

Most children love potatoes, pasta and rice. They can be given to the child along with other food. Pasta made from whole grains of wheat and brown rice contain more fiber and vitamins than refined foods.

Homemade baby food for babies at 6 months

Many parents prefer to prepare meals for their little ones themselves from time to time or constantly. There is nothing particularly difficult about this. When you cook yourself, you have more control over the ingredients of the dishes and how they are prepared. You can use fresh products grown on organic fertilizers for this. In addition, home-cooked food is cheaper than store-bought.

There are many good recipe books for children. To prepare food, you will need a mixer, blender or food processor.

Be sure to mix reheated food thoroughly and check the temperature before feeding your baby, especially if you heated it in a microwave oven, where the food is heated from the inside, which may cause hot spots in it. As a result, one spoon may be cold and the other too hot. You can prepare food for your child in a consistency that suits him. If necessary, it can be diluted with water, expressed breast milk or formula. Alternatively, freeze in an ice cube tray and store for as long as needed.

Food for a child under the age of one should not contain any seasonings.

If the baby eats the same food as you, you will have to change your taste preferences a little in terms of the use of salt and sugar and grind all foods thoroughly.

Ready-made baby food at 6 months of age

When baby food was first introduced in jars, it was either all vegetables, all fruits, or all meat. These days, purée companies offer vegetable and starch purees, fruit and starch purees, and combined meat and vegetable purees that include starch, vegetables, and meat. Most often, refined rice, corn or wheat are used to make starch.

If you buy ready-made meals for your child, carefully read the labels on the package, made in small letters. The jar might say “Bean Puree” in large letters, with a small caption saying “Corn Starch Beans.” Try to buy just vegetable or fruit purees to be sure that the child receives these valuable products, and not refined starch. Avoid foods that contain sugar or salt.

Do not accustom your child to puddings and desserts containing gelatin. They do not have the necessary nutritional value and contain a lot of sugar. It is better to give the baby ordinary pureed fruits. If the child has never tasted refined sugar, then the fruit will have a natural sweet taste for him.

What if the child chokes?

All babies sometimes choke when they start eating solid food, just like they fall when they learn to walk. The following are the most common foods that children under 5 years of age most often choke on:

• pieces of meat;
• dragee candy;
• slices of raw carrots;
• peanut;
• grape;
• apple slices;
• cookies;
• popcorn.

Nine times out of ten, children choke and easily spit out food or swallow it without help. When the baby fails, remove the stuck piece with your fingers if you can see it. If it is not visible, place the child on your knees, belly down, and tap vigorously between the shoulder blades with the palm of your hand. This almost always helps and the child can start eating again. In some cases, you may need to take urgent action.

Some parents are so worried about the child's choking that they belatedly allow him to take food with his hands and give food in pieces.

The problem is not that children cannot chew or swallow. Most often this happens when a child takes a deep breath while eating. This can happen if the baby laughs, cries or is surprised. At this point, food from the mouth enters directly into the respiratory tract, blocking them.

This does not mean that a child under 5 years of age should not be given the above products (although I would not recommend dragees at any age). However, children should eat sitting at the table under the constant supervision of adults. Teach them to chew their food thoroughly and bite off larger pieces into smaller ones.