Dishes for children 7 months old. Cabbage and carrot vegetable puree

7 month old babies are curious, active and quite independent. They are tirelessly engaged in exploring the world around them, which requires special attention from their parents. A more active lifestyle requires a change in the child's diet, he needs more nutrients. The feeding rates that were previously suitable for him cannot meet this need. Therefore, the child's menu at 7 months should be more varied.

The baby does not stop eating mother's milk or specialized formulas. It is gradually enriched with new food, typical for "adult" cuisine, during this period it is important to properly teach the baby to new food.

The norm of food consumption at this age is 1000-1100 g per day. In the menu of a 7-month-old breastfed baby, the amount of breast milk should be 900-1000 ml.

To calculate the norm of food consumption necessary for a child, you need to divide the indicator of his body weight by 8. For example, if the weight of the baby is 8 kg, then his daily nutritional intake is 1 kg.

At the age of seven months, the child should receive complementary foods daily. It can be vegetable or fruit puree, liquid milk porridge, yolk, cottage cheese.

The food intake norms developed by doctors and nutritionists are advisory in nature. It should be borne in mind that the amount of food eaten may depend not only on the weight of the baby, but also on his individual characteristics:

• physical activity, mobility;
• physique;
• metabolic rate.

By observing the baby and assessing whether he is getting enough food, parents should control how quickly the child gains weight, how many times he urinates, how often he has stools. Insufficient or unbalanced nutrition can lead to negative consequences:

• vitamin deficiency;
• decrease in the body's immune defenses;
• rickets;
• anemia;
• developmental delay.

Doctors remind that it is important not only to feed children, but also to prevent the appearance of excess weight, which will interfere with fully learning to crawl, walk and get acquainted with the world around them. This can cause problems with physical and mental development. With age, body weight can return to normal. The predisposition to obesity sometimes persists for life.

Differences in the nutrition of infants and artificial

Often, mothers believe that if they have a sufficient level of lactation for a seven-month-old baby to be full, then there is no need to feed him.

To make it clear to parents what the baby's diet should be at 7 months old, there are developed complementary feeding schemes:

Meal time	Nutrition of babies with breastfeeding		Menu for a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby
	Products	Weight in grams	Products	Weight in grams
7.00	breast milk		specialized mixture
10.00	liquid milk porridge, fruit puree	150	liquid milk porridge, fruit puree	180
14.00	50 ml compote (juice)	150	meat puree or vegetable puree, 80 ml compote (juice)	180
18.00	baby cottage cheese, 100 ml of kefir,	40	baby cottage cheese, 150 ml of kefir, half an egg yolk	50
22.00	breast milk		specialized mixture

Pediatricians say: if a child at this age willingly consumes breast milk, the body still needs vitamins and minerals. The kid can get them with new, healthy food.

Therefore, breastfed babies need complementary foods. This should be done carefully: starting with small portions.

The needs of babies who are bottle-fed or mixed-feeding, specialized milk formulas no longer fully satisfy at 4-5 months. The diet of children of the seventh month of life and the approximate amount of food consumed no longer coincide somewhat with the menu of peers who feed on breast milk.

The feeding regime for infants and artificial people is the same. The frequency of feeding is 5 times a day. The breaks between them should be less than 4 hours.

New foods to introduce into the diet

The diet of a seven-month-old baby is gradually enriched. First, vegetable purees are introduced into it, a week later - porridge, a few weeks later - cottage cheese, yolk, meat dishes. The last to be introduced is kefir.

Vegetable purees

The best choices for a first meal are courgettes, carrots, broccoli, and pumpkin. After the child gets used to these products, you can gradually introduce potatoes and beets. Mashed potatoes must be ground until smooth, without adding salt and spices to them.

Porridge

By the age of 7 months, many children are already familiar with some types of cereals. The most useful are:

• buckwheat porridge, rich in iron and other useful microelements;
• rice porridge, which is highly nutritious and suitable for babies prone to loose stools;
• Allergy-friendly corn porridge is gluten-free.

Various types of cereals should be present in the children's menu every day.

Egg yolk

Yolk is an allergenic product, so it should be introduced with caution. The first time you can give 1/8 part and follow the baby's reaction. Subsequently, portions can be increased to half the yolk per day. This product is rich in iron, phosphorus, vitamins.

Meat

Meat is an important source of protein, iron, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins. It is recommended for children with low weight, anemia. Meat products are introduced into the children's diet in the form of canned food, or prepared at home. Babies of the first year of life are allowed to give turkey, rabbit, beef, veal and chicken. You should not eat offal at this age.

Fermented milk products

Pediatricians believe that cow's milk should not be given to children under 1 year old, as it can cause diathesis and is difficult to digest. But fermented milk products are an excellent choice for seven-month-old crumbs. Cottage cheese is good for the child's body due to its rich calcium content, and kefir helps digestion.

How to properly give your child new foods and dishes

It is good if the child enjoys trying and eats new foods with appetite. When introducing complementary foods, parents should observe the following rules:

1. You cannot force a child to eat if he refuses. It is worth trying to offer your baby a new meal later. He may be full, he may have teething, or the new food may be hot.
2. When introducing, gradualness is important. Each dish should contain no more than 1 new ingredient in small quantities.
3. Another secret of proper feeding is the uniform consistency of food. It should not contain lumps and individual pieces. Food should be passed through a blender or wiped through a sieve.
4. The best time to discover a new product is breakfast or lunch. Until evening, parents have the opportunity to observe how the food is absorbed.
5. After feeding, the child can be given compote or juice to drink. It is better to give water as a drink between feedings.
6. The child must be gradually taught to eat not with his hands, but with a spoon.

Child's diet and menu for every day of the week

Pediatricians and psychologists advise to accustom to the regime, starting from an early age. For this, the diet can be divided into 5 meals:

• 6.00-7.00 - first breakfast;
• 10.00-11.00 - second breakfast;
• 14.00-15.00 - lunch;
• 18.00-19.00 - afternoon snack;
• 22.00-23.00 - dinner.

Your first breakfast and last meal before bed should include light meals. The baby should receive the main amount of calories during the day. If the established nutrition schedule deviates from the generally accepted one, and the child feels great at the same time, you should not change it.

Adults should be aware of the need for regular meals. The intervals between meals should not be more than 4 hours.

To help mothers, tables have been developed with an approximate daily menu, taking into account the age and needs of the children. For the first and last feeding, either formula should be present in the diet.

Recipes for delicious and healthy dishes

Many mothers of seven-month-old babies are in a hurry to replenish their cookbooks with healthy and tasty dishes. Here are some recipes:

1. Oatmeal with pumpkin. You will need: 15 g of porridge, 50 ml of water and milk, 50 g of pumpkin pulp, a little butter. Peel and rinse the pumpkin, cut into small pieces, add water and simmer for 30 minutes under a lid. Add cereal, milk and leave on low heat for another 20 minutes. Pass the finished dish through a blender.
2. Puree soup with squash and cauliflower. You will need 100 g of zucchini and cauliflower, 200 ml of water. Rinse vegetables, cut into small pieces, cook. Grind in a blender.
3. Fruit applesauce. You can prepare this dish yourself. It is a substitute for canned products. You will need: 250 g of apples and pears, 600 ml of water. Rinse the fruits, peel, chop, add water, cook until tender, rub through a sieve or grind until smooth with a blender.

Knowing what and how to feed your baby is extremely useful. Proper nutrition and a regimen instilled from an early age are the key to the health and normal development of the child.

The birth of a baby is a great happiness for any family. The first months the baby sleeps and eats a lot. But later, having gained strength, he needs to spend them. The baby is awake more time and eats actively. Complementary foods should be taken seriously, because the health of the child and the work of his digestive system depend on it. By the age of six months, the baby is already familiar with the taste of vegetable and fruit purees. You can start expanding the bottle-fed menu.

Home restaurant

Many mothers panic at the word "complementary foods". After all, feeding with formula or breast milk is safe and easy. But to start introducing vegetables, fruits, meat into food is already a more difficult task. The main rule is the purity and freshness of the food. Never leave your 7 month old baby alone with food. Watch for safety during feeding, give the child well-chopped food.

The menu for a 7-month-old baby is quite varied. The diet contains a lot of vegetables and fruits. This helps to avoid constipation and colic. It is your choice to cook your own food or buy ready-made food in cans. Always try what you are going to give to the baby, check the expiration date of the puree. Then the baby will be full and happy.

Scheduled

Try to feed your baby by the hour. It will be better for his body, and mom will be able to plan her day without hesitation. Make and write down a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby's menu for a week. Stick this piece of paper in a prominent place so you don't get confused about what to cook and when. Breakfast crumbs will be standard - a mixture, as well as which will take place just before bedtime.

• Monday: 10:00 - 150 g oatmeal, pear puree. For lunch, offer your baby chicken broth soup, 30 g of minced meat, applesauce. Afternoon snack - cottage cheese, millet porridge, broccoli puree.
• On Tuesday for lunch, serve rice porridge, some vegetables. At 14:00 lunch, consisting of puree soup, cottage cheese and an apple. An afternoon snack can be diversified with children's cookies, milk porridge.
• Wednesday may start with corn porridge, pumpkin puree. For lunch, offer the crumbs meat soup, pea mousse, a little cottage cheese. A hearty dinner of meat puree and fruit will come in handy.
• Thursday: For breakfast, continue to teach porridge, dairy-free buckwheat and carrot and beetroot puree. A hearty lunch consisting of vegetable soup, blended tongue and biscuits will please a baby. For an afternoon snack, offer fruit puree with cottage cheese.
• Friday: buckwheat porridge, Lunch of meatballs and potatoes. Puree from any fruit, a little meat, stewed with zucchini. For an afternoon snack, cottage cheese and egg yolk.
• Saturday: The weekend menu may include your child's favorite foods. Give him a real holiday.
• Sunday: for lunch - porridge, fruits and cookies. Lunch of meat soup, vegetables and a quarter of an egg. For an afternoon snack, the invariable cottage cheese with fruit.

This is a sample menu for a bottle-fed 7 month old baby. You can vary the dishes as you like. But remember, your food should be balanced. Teach your baby to eat right from the cradle. Then his body will work smoothly.

Porridge is our strength

For proper development and balance in nutrition, the baby must definitely eat cereals. In order for the child to quickly wean from the bottle, do not be lazy and feed him from a spoon. When inviting your baby to try new cereals, start with one teaspoon. Observe your body's response throughout the day. If everything proceeds as usual, the next day, increase the dose to three tablespoons. And so gradually add until you reach one hundred and fifty grams. Add more fruit to your bottle-fed baby's menu. Vitamins are simply necessary for the body at this age.

Diversity

Oatmeal is very healthy and nutritious, and it's easy to cook. Carefully sort out the cereals, put them in boiling water and cook for forty minutes over low heat. You can add some vegetables and start feeding.

Millet porridge is endowed with all the necessary trace elements. Be sure to let your child taste this delicious delicacy. Boil it for a long time, about fifty minutes, and season with olive oil before feeding.

Add buckwheat to your diet. If the child is not too well-fed, you can sometimes pamper him with semolina with berries or jam. Formulate the diet for a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby correctly. Feed him meat and cottage cheese every day. The baby's bones and teeth will get stronger quickly, digestion will be normal.

Smart doctor

Doctor Komarovsky is known to every mother in our country. This smartest man knows the answers to all questions related to children. He pays special attention to the menu of a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby. In his opinion, there is no need to rush to introduce new products. From six months, he recommends diversifying the diet with fermented milk products, cottage cheese. But the seventh month of a baby's life is ideal for entering cereals. The main useful properties are buckwheat, rice, corn grits. He advises to refuse semolina, since it contains a huge amount of gluten, which can cause allergies.

The menu of a 7-month-old baby on artificial feeding according to Komarovsky looks like this:

1. 06:00 - milk mixture.
2. 10:00 - 150 ml of kefir, 40 g of cottage cheese.
3. 14:00 - adapted mixture.
4. 18:00 - mix.
5. 22:00 - 200 ml of porridge.

Komarovsky is of the opinion that there is no need to rush to introduce vegetables, fruits, meat. The baby's body is not designed for experimentation. Therefore, the older he is, the stronger his immunity is, vegetables appear on the crumbs menu only at eight months.

Allergic person

Children under three years old often have an allergic reaction to food. Mom should keep a diary of observations and write down everything that the baby uses. Then you can easily calculate the allergen. The main rule is not to introduce two new foods into the diet in one day.

The menu for a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby with allergies is rather meager:

• dairy-free cereals, mainly rice and corn;
• pumpkin, potatoes, zucchini, cabbage;
• turkey, nutria, rabbit, veal;
• apple, banana.

Some children tolerate buckwheat porridge well, the diet is selected individually. In many cases, allergies in young children arise from the consumption of dairy products, eggs, berries, sweets, gluten. If you notice rashes, peeling on the body of the crumbs, it is better to immediately consult a pediatrician. He will examine the little patient and give recommendations.

Increased activity

Seven months is a funny age. The kid tries to crawl, get up, holding on to the support. Every minute he gets stronger and more curious. If the child has not lived according to the regime until now, be sure to start observing it. It will be difficult to rebuild, but it is necessary for the correct development of the baby. He should sleep at least twice a day for two hours. Children of this age are supposed to have a long night's sleep, about eleven hours. A 7 month old baby by the clock is also very important. His menu has already changed dramatically - two feedings with a mixture have been replaced with vegetables, fruits, cereals. Now you need to try to eat at the same time.

By the hour

Organizing proper nutrition for an infant is not an easy task. You can only use ready-made mashed potatoes and cereals from the store. Then there will be no problem. Opening the lid and putting the baby in the feeding chair is as easy as shelling pears. But if mom cooks on her own, you need to calculate the time. Early breakfast takes place at six in the morning. By 10:00 am, lunch can be served on the schedule at 2:00 pm. It can be meat soup, vegetables, cookies. The next feeding, which will replace the formula, is at 6:00 pm. Better if it is cottage cheese, fruit. But before going to bed, give the child a bottle with the mixture.

Complementary feeding of a baby is a very important step in life. Do not rush to let him try everything, he will still have time to do it. Start with healthy, fresh foods. Always listen to see if there was cotton when you opened the baby food jar. Choose domestic vegetables and fruits, even if they are not ideally beautiful, but do not contain harmful substances. Teach your baby to healthy and wholesome food from the very first spoonfuls!

The kid got older. Many children at this age learn the world while sitting. Once the baby is upright, he is ready to introduce complementary foods. But the little man is tired of eating the same thing! How to diversify the food of a child at 7 months?

By this age, habits appear, a certain schedule of his children's affairs is developed. And mom is thinking about how to diversify the children's menu, because the curious toddler is already looking into the parent's plates.

In baby food there are vegetables and cereals, in addition to formula milk or mother's milk. By this age, children have their first teeth erupted: you can give him a crouton to scratch the gums to facilitate teething. If the baby does not belong to the category of children with allergies, then they give baby cookies, which are pre-soaked in milk until they are mushy.

However, the nutritional regimen of a child at 7 months of age on artificial feeding differs from breastfeeding. Babies much later try the food that is already included in the diet of a 7 month old artificial baby, since mother's milk contains much more nutrients and vitamins. Kids who use the mixture begin to get acquainted with meat, and babies just try cottage cheese and kefir.

When choosing a cooking method, it is better to pay attention to industrial dishes. Homogenized products are made from selected fruits and vegetables and do not contain pieces. Manufacturers of baby food observe safety precautions when preserving any puree, and exclude the addition of sugar and salt. A large assortment of meat, vegetable or fruit purees for children makes it possible to choose a product to taste.

If you still prefer to cook for your little one yourself, then you need to purchase a blender. In the absence of such a technique, a sieve will be needed, but the cooking process will take longer. There are not many products included in the diet of a 7 month old child: porridge, vegetables, fruits. But for a child, this is a new world of taste sensations.

Features of the diet

The diet is formed in parallel with the daily regimen. Daytime sleep at a constant time forms the concept of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Basically, children of this age eat about 5 times a day. The times will vary according to your daily routine:

Breastfeeding baby diet

The baby will get acquainted with complementary foods a month later than the artificial child. For a better understanding of what to include in the diet of a 7 month old baby who is breastfed, a table is presented. Some people wake up earlier or later, the times are approximate.

7.00

• Breast milk.
• 200 ml.

11.00

• Porridge in breast milk with butter 82.5%.
• Fruit puree.
• 150 g + 5 g.
• 30 g

15.00

• Vegetable puree with sunflower oil and yolk.
• Fruit juice.
• 150 g + 5 g + ½ yolk.
• 50 ml.

19.00

• Children's grated cottage cheese.
• Fruit juice or puree.
• Crackers or biscuits.
• Breast milk.
• 40 g
• 40 g
• 2 pcs.

23.00

• Breast milk.
• 200 ml.

Chicken yolk appears in the diet of an infant. If the baby does not suffer from lactose intolerance, then he can try cottage cheese. But keep in mind that not every cottage cheese can be given. Carefully read the instructions on the label that this product is adapted for baby food from 6 months old. Such curd is homogeneous, so the baby will not choke on a random curd lump. For the first feeding, it is better to opt for a product without fruit additives in order to exclude the occurrence of an allergic reaction.

The diet of a bottle-fed child

The nutrition of a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby already includes yolk and curd products. Meat dishes appear in the diet. You should start complementary foods with easily digestible meats, such as rabbit meat. Some children with iron deficiency anemia try meat as early as 6 months. Pork is hard to digest in a baby's tummy. But you should not introduce a child prone to allergic reactions, chicken or beef, into complementary foods.

An approximate diet for a 7 month old breastfed baby is as follows.

7.00

• Milk mixture.
• 200 BC

11.00

• Porridge with chicken or quail egg yolk.
• Fruit puree.
• 150 g + 5 g.
• 80 g

15.00

• Vegetable puree with oil.
• Meat soufflé.
• 170 g + 5 g + ½ yolk.
• 50 g
• 30 ml.

19.00

• Curd soufflé.
• Fruits.
• Crackers.
• Milk mixture.
• 40 g
• 40 g
• 2 pcs.
• 150 g

23.00

• Kefir.
• 200 BC

Meat has become an important component of baby food. You should not cook meat on your own for a baby at this age: he has not yet mastered the skill of chewing and may choke on a vein that has come across. Industrial meat puree is more like mousse. If you buy canned food for babies, look for the mark “for babies from 7 months” on the label.

Diet of an allergic child

Every year there are more and more children suffering from food allergies. Parents start to panic, as the list of food restrictions is long.

Complementary feeding for children with allergies has its own characteristics. If a breastfed baby gets acquainted with vegetables and cereals at six months, and an artificial person at 5 months, then a baby with atopic dermatitis tries the first porridge at 7 months.

In the diet of an allergic person, mainly breast milk or a hypoallergenic mixture. Also, manufacturers of baby products offer soy substitutes or lactose-free formulas. By 7 months, you can try porridge or vegetables. In case the baby is gaining weight poorly, he is offered gluten-free dairy-free porridge (rice, buckwheat, corn). If the child has a strong physique, then vegetable puree will be his first course.

But the baby will taste the meat and yolk only in a month. It is not worth risking children's health and offering such dishes earlier than recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Adhering to a certain diet, of course, is necessary, only decides what and when to eat - the baby. Do not take complementary foods as a child's responsibility. A little fussy will not always follow the food schedule, eating the norm of mashed potatoes and porridge.

Five meals a day is a recommendation. A child aged 7 months can eat 4 or 6 times a day. In this case, adjust the diet so that the little one has consumed the daily rate. A mixed-fed baby eats less complementary foods than an artificial baby.

If you prefer homemade food to industrial products, then cook for the baby separately, without adding salt and sugar. Prepare children's recipes. Eliminate fried and spicy foods.

Play with your toddler. Let him learn by eating. Food is a game for him. Give the little one a separate highchair for feeding, give him a spoon - let him learn the world himself.

If the crumb refuses to eat, then try to find the reason for the refusal. The dish might have been too hot or too cold. The optimum temperature for porridge is up to 36 degrees. Remove this product from the menu for a few days, and then offer it again.

The diet already contains fruits and vegetables. Complementary vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, squash and pumpkin. From fruits - applesauce, prune puree. You can also try carrots or pears.

Monitor your baby's mood and physical condition when introducing new foods to complementary foods. If he has a stomach ache and the baby cries all the time after feeding, exclude the product from the diet.

After six months, the baby begins to actively grow up and develop. You will not even notice how he crawls, sits down, stands on his legs, holding on to a chair or the edge of the bed. Of course, with this regimen, he simply needs additional energy, which he is no longer able to receive only from breast milk or formula. Therefore, his diet is expanding even more, acquiring more and more similarity with the menu of an adult.

All children are different, like their parents. Among young mothers, 3 approaches or views were formed on the nutrition of a child who has passed the six-month milestone. It is difficult to say which one is the most correct. It depends on the individual characteristics of the baby and his mother. Consider these approaches:

1. Milk moms approach. They believe that it is too early for a 7-month-old baby to start adult food in any form. All of your baby's food is still breast milk. Usually their children are well-nourished and active even without the introduction of complementary foods. The lactation crisis will pass by the side of such mothers: their milk is just as fat, its quantity did not even think to decrease. "Dairy mothers" do not add anything to the child's menu until the child himself is interested in food from the common table. And if this happens closer to one year of age, then their ventricle is already mature enough to accept almost any food.
2. The natural parenting approach, or "pedagogical complementary feeding". According to parents who adhere to such views, at 7 months the baby can eat whatever he wants, but in moderation (new food is given to him the size of a pea). Typically, parents are advocates of on-demand breastfeeding and healthy eating habits. This excludes the possibility of "stuffing" a child from 6-7 months of age with fast foods, cereals and other products that have a detrimental effect not only on children, but also on adults.
3. The approach of domestic pediatricians related to the age norms of complementary foods. According to him, at 7 months, the baby should receive food in the composition and dosages indicated in the complementary feeding table. At the same time, the menu of children who were bottle-fed and began to receive new food earlier than their peers (at 4-5 months) is much wider than that offered for 7-month-olds who were breastfed and recently familiarized with mashed potatoes or porridge.

The digestive tract of the little man at the age of 7 months is just ripening. He is not yet able to digest and assimilate much of what adults learn. At the same time, the child's need for nutrients is much stronger than that of adults. The volume of the baby's stomach at this age is still very small, so its nutrition should be rich, easy to digest, small in quantity.

The karapuzik menu is selected from the point of view of complete chemical and biological safety. In this regard, complementary foods from jars, that is, from the factory, are good. Industrial nutrition is also good because it is specially balanced in vitamins and microelements, very finely dispersed, which is an undoubted plus in the direction of its digestibility and usefulness for the child. However, you can cook and grind your child's food yourself if you are 100% sure of its quality.

It should be borne in mind that the need for a baby for 7 months in breast milk is very strong, and the new menu still performs an introductory function. Therefore, breast milk can be used as a thinning component of puree or porridge. The child's appetite will then be stronger, because he will feel such a familiar and familiar taste! And if the baby for some reason refuses food, do not insist, distract him a little, play with him, show him the desire to take food by your own example. He's so fond of imitating adults at this time!

A child's diet at 7 months is richer than 2-3 weeks ago. Kefir, egg yolk, cottage cheese, meat and fish are gradually introduced into the menu. The basis of nutrition remains breast milk (mixture), vegetable purees, cereals and fruit purees. Considering that you are already familiar with the baby's reaction to some foods, they can be combined and combined with each other, inventing all the new complementary foods. At seven months, the baby's menu can be supplemented with cookies soaked in milk (mixture).

An approximate menu for children of seven months will look like this:

• breakfast - breast milk (mixture);
• second breakfast - soup with vegetable broth, vegetable puree with 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil and half of the yolk, meat puree (about 30 gr). It is clear that all this is not "crammed" into the child, but only indicates the possible options for the dishes;
• lunch - breast milk (mixture);
• dinner - porridge (buckwheat, rice, corn) with butter or with the addition of curd;
• before going to bed - breast milk (mixture).

The gram guidelines are not specifically provided. Some kid will eat the whole norm and demand more, but some will not be able to eat what is supposed to be. Therefore, you will have to determine the amount of food experimentally, given that a new product is introduced from a teaspoon, and the volume increases daily. You may have to offer new food more than once: be patient. Pay attention to the fact that the food of the crumbs is built according to the example of the food intake by adults: first a light meal, then a denser one. All products should be the freshest, and after feeding, liquid in the form of breast milk (mixture) is encouraged! Bon appetite to your little ones!

The introduction of complementary foods is one of the important stages in the life of every child. The child's body begins to switch from mother's milk or milk formula to an already adult regular food. This process is gradual and usually takes months.

Gradually, the baby should get acquainted with adult food - for this, complementary foods are needed.

When introducing complementary foods, parents should carefully choose each new product for the baby and monitor its reaction, as some of them can cause allergies in children or cause problems with digestion and stool. The timing is also important when you should start introducing your baby to unfamiliar food. Usually it is 6 months - this is the age set by the World Health Organization to start introducing complementary foods. It is adhered to in Russia as well.

There are times when the time frame for a number of reasons can be shifted both to an earlier and later period. For example, pediatricians recommend starting feeding a baby as early as 5 months if he is gaining weight poorly, and sometimes, on the contrary, you have to move the start of complementary feeding closer to 7 months.

Reasons for starting the introduction of complementary foods at 7 months

There are a number of reasons why the introduction of complementary foods begins later than generally accepted. These include:

1. Mixed feeding. By the age of six months in children who are exclusively breastfed, the enzyme system partially matures. This circumstance makes it possible for them to independently digest some products from the adult diet. In the case of artificial or mixed feeding, the duration of this process takes longer. As a result, for children on a mixed diet, it is advisable to postpone the beginning of complementary foods for a month and continue to fully breastfeed them until that moment.
2. Disease. Due to digestive problems or teething or an acute respiratory viral infection, it is worth delaying the introduction of new foods until the child is completely healthy. Quite often, the body needs about a month to finally recover.
3. Stress. In cases where the atmosphere in the family is restless and emotional stress is present, it is better to endure for about a month after the turn of 6 months, since the body can normally adapt only in the conditions of calmness and peace that are familiar to it.

If a child's teeth are teething, it is better to wait until this painful process is completed.

It is believed that complementary foods at 7 months are ideal for babies who are weakened, have had a difficult birth or were born as a result of a caesarean section. For them, breast milk is more valuable than adding new products to the menu.

Basic principles of introducing complementary foods

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Complementary foods are an addition to the main diet and its purpose is to introduce the child to adult food, since complementary foods make up a very small part of the daily menu. From the moment the complementary foods are introduced, the infant should continue to breastfeed at the usual amount on demand, including night feeds. Artificial children should also receive formula milk as before, depending on their appetite.

Another task of the products with which the baby is supplemented is to provide him with energy. Due to the fact that the volume of a child's stomach is still small, it needs food, small quantities of which have a high energy value. Liquid soups and cereals do not meet this requirement. They are more likely to lead to a depletion of the diet, in particular if they become a substitute for one full breastfeeding or formula.

With breastfeeding

By the age of 7 months, the introduction of complementary foods in children with HB largely depends on the health of the baby. With proper development, it is quite possible to add new foods to the baby's diet, although the World Health Organization claims that until the age of eight months, the infant's energy needs are fully satisfied by breast milk. So in case of illness or poor perception of unfamiliar food by the little one, it is better to postpone new foods.

Also at this age, it is important to adhere to certain rules:

• Mom's milk should remain the main source of food for the baby, and complementary foods are introduced in small portions. In no case should you force events and replace one breastfeeding with an adult meal.
• Familiar products. Preference should be given to those products that are regularly present in the mother's diet. The baby already knows their digestive system.
• It is better to offer a new product before breastfeeding, as it is unlikely that a well-fed baby will eat vegetable puree or porridge. However, many hepatitis B specialists recommend doing the opposite, as it promotes lactation.
• Two options for complementary foods at the request of the parents. The first is pedatric. The child receives the products recommended for his age in the amount corresponding to the norm. The second is pedagogical. It lies in the fact that the baby is offered a variety of food in small volumes, which is on the family's menu, in its usual form without chopping. So the baby gets to know the adult food more effectively. At the same time, breastfeeding on demand avoids digestive disturbances or allergic reactions to a new product.

The principles of pedagogical complementary feeding allow the child to taste adult food at his will

With artificial feeding

The principles of introducing complementary foods with artificial feeding remain practically unchanged. Only the feeding scheme is different. A pedagogical approach with an artificial child is simply impossible due to the peculiarities in the development of his digestive system. Since he does not receive food enzymes from breast milk, the diet should include adapted foods - mixtures, homogenized purees and cereals.

For up to a year, the adapted milk formula should remain the main source of nutrients. This is due to the fact that the mixtures contain the required amount of vitamins and minerals and have a more balanced composition than any other product. For example, although red meat and liver are rich in iron, its availability in them is only 10%, and even less in vegetables and fruits - only 5%. In mixtures, this figure reaches 20%. Manufacturers deliberately saturate the products with iron in order to meet the needs of the child's body in this trace element.

At 7 months, the diet of the crumbs already consists of 5 feedings with a mixture. The new product is also given before feeding, preferably in the afternoon or morning. You can offer it several times a day.

When choosing complementary foods for IV, it is necessary to focus on the weight and work of the child's digestive system. With the problem of constipation and excess weight, it is better to feed with vegetables, with diarrhea and low weight, cereals are ideal.

If the baby suffers from constipation, it is better to introduce complementary foods with vegetables.

What products should be introduced, in what quantity and how?

Below is a table of norms for those products that may already be present in the menu of a 7 month old baby:
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The given norms represent the upper limit of how much a crumb can eat. It is not recommended to exceed it. However, mothers whose children are breastfed do not have time to introduce all the listed products by the age of seven months, and even more so to give them in such a volume. Most often, the diet of a baby at 7 months is not yet so diverse and includes only some vegetables and cereals.

In terms of consistency, the dishes should be moderately thick so that the child is comfortable swallowing. You can already trust him with a spoon so that he tries to eat on his own. He will be much more willing to eat in a company with someone than alone.

If the child already eats himself, you need to trust him with a spoon and allow him to do it.

Vegetables and fruits

At the age of 7 months, the child can already safely try zucchini, pumpkin, beets, green peas, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and white cabbage, carrots. The cooked vegetable is either mashed with a fork or whipped with a blender. A new vegetable should be introduced over a period of 1 week, starting with ½ teaspoon, mixing it with the already introduced products.

Fruits should be introduced only seasonal and those that grew in the region of the baby's residence. In winter and spring, preference should be given to apples, in the summer months - plums, apricots, grapes, pears and peaches. You can make mashed potatoes from them and it is advisable to give it to the crumbs as a separate independent dish, and not as a dessert after the main meal.

Porridge and dairy products

As for porridge, there are two options. The first is to buy store products and prepare them according to the instructions. The second is to make the mixture yourself at home. To do this, the selected cereal must be ground in a coffee grinder until a homogeneous consistency is obtained, then simply boil it in water with a ratio of 1: 4.

You should start complementary foods with buckwheat, rice or corn grits. Also, at 7 months, you can already add butter or a little chicken yolk to the porridge, but only if the baby has already tried eggs and his body has taken them well. In the future, the amount of yolk can be increased to a quarter per day. Such additives in porridge make it more nutritious.

Corn grits are a great option for introducing complementary foods

Dairy products such as kefir, cottage cheese, yogurt can also be present on the menu of a seven-month-old baby. According to Dr. Komarovsky, kefir and cottage cheese are similar in composition to breast milk, it is with them that you need to start feeding children. However, this approach is rather controversial, since these products remain difficult for the body of a small child to digest. Plus, cottage cheese is rich in calcium, which can lead to healing of the fontanelle ahead of schedule.

It is best to take a special kefir, which is produced in a children's dairy kitchen, and the fat content of the curd should not exceed 5%. Also, until the age of one year, dairy products with various additives should be avoided. It is enough just to knead the curd along with kefir, yogurt or mother's milk. At 7 months, the baby is supposed to eat no more than 40 grams of cottage cheese and 100 ml of kefir or yogurt.

Butter is also introduced into the diet of the baby from seven months, adding directly to porridge or mashed potatoes. At the very beginning, its volume is only 1/8 teaspoon, subsequently this amount gradually increases to 20 grams.

Butter is also necessary for the crumb, only it must be introduced gradually

Meat

In most cases, naturally-fed infants begin to give meat at the age of seven months. The main requirements for this product are:

• minimum fat content;
• freshness;
• lack of additives.

It is also strongly discouraged to use frozen meat or ready-made minced meat for complementary foods. Most often, the baby is offered either a soup with meat broth or mashed potatoes with meat. To do this, take a piece of beef, veal, rabbit, turkey or chicken, rinse, peel and remove all bones, veins and skin. After the meat is ready for use, you can first cook the broth from it, and then add to it those vegetables that the child has already tried. The cooked meat itself should be chopped and added to vegetable puree.