When is the right time to give additional food to a baby? If a baby is breast fed, you can start giving them additional food from the seventh month onwards. For the first six months, the best food for a baby is breast milk. It’s also the most convenient and the cheapest food and your child will get everything they need, including enough water. Only vitamin D could be necessary to add during this time.
During the seventh month of life, the baby becomes significantly more active and breast milk no longer covers the daily energy need. If you see that your child is already very interested in food and watches you eat during meals, then it’s the right time to warm up the first puree for the child and let them start tasting it.
If it is not possible to breast feed the child, supplementary food can start to be given from the age of four months. This is usually due to, for example, certain medicines prescribed to the mother or insufficient milk production. In the latter case, you should definitely consult a breastfeeding adviser, as the problem may be solvable, see also Breast-feeding counsellor: what to do if you think there is not enough breast milk
- Start with one food and give your child a few days to get used to before taking on the next. Then you can start mixing together the foods your child is already used to.
- The best food for a baby to have first is pumpkin and zucchini, followed by parsnips, carrots, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, kohlrabi, Jerusalem artichokes.
- The first meal should be before noon, and the baby should be healthy.
- For each new food the quantities should start from one teaspoon on the first day and gradually increase according to the child’s appetite – a child knows their own needs and won’t let themselves go hungry.
- Along with additional food, offer your child water to drink.
- If your baby is restless or has an upset stomach, temporarily skip giving any additional food and wait a few days, during this time give only breast milk.
Initially, make the puree more liquid, add either boiled water or breast milk to dilute it. Make a puree of local organic vegetables by steaming or boiling them with a little liquid. If you do not have the necessary ingredients or time, BabyCool frozen purees are a very convenient and nutritional food for your child. Note that canned foods have lost a significant part of their value due to it being heated multiple times. You can read more about what to give a child when the initial acquaintance with supplementary food has been made here – https://babycool.ee/beebide-toitumine/
Also watch the video on the topic:
