When it comes to feeding, a young mother often falls into a stupor - where to start? Which foods will benefit the baby, and which ones can harm? Very often the revelations of grandmothers or advanced mothers are shocking: "Our cousin was already sucking pickles at 5 months old. So what, what about vinegar? They are homemade ..."
The opinion of pediatricians is that complementary foods should be introduced from 4 months for babies who are breast-fed, and from 6 months for babies who are breast-fed. However, it should be remembered that in this matter it is impossible to be categorical, because each baby is individual.
There are a number of signs that make it possible to determine that a child is ready to expand his diet:
• The appearance of the first teeth,
• Confident sitting on a highchair,
• Interest in the meal of adults, an attempt to try food,
• Lack of satiation with breast milk, a decrease in the time interval between feedings.
If these signs are present, the question immediately arises - where to start complementary foods? A child’s nutrition at 5 months should be nutritious, especially when underweight, as well as rich in vitamins and minerals. Lure should be started with mashed vegetables, if the child’s weight is normal, or with porridge, if the weight does not reach normal.
Vegetables recommended for complementary foods:
• Zucchini,
• Cauliflower,
• Broccoli,
Recommended Fruits:
• An Apple,
• Pear,
• Banana
Porridge should be selected dairy-free, gluten-free.
It’s too early to try meat and fish purees and broths at 5 months, as the baby’s intestines are not yet ready to digest heavy food.
Meals should be held at intervals of 4 hours, per day the baby should eat 5-6 times.
Sample menu for the day:
6: 00-7: 00 - breast milk or mixture (180-200 g),
10: 00-11: 00 - vegetable puree (80-100 g),
14: 00-15: 00 - fruit puree (80-100 g), supplemented with breast milk or a mixture,
18: 00-19: 00 - some fruit juice (10-15 g), supplemented with breast milk or a mixture,
22: 00-23: 00 - breast milk or a mixture (180-200 g).
How to choose vegetable or fruit puree?
Shops offer a wide range of fruit, vegetable and berry purees. A large number of manufacturing companies, the price range is wide.
You can pick up any mashed potatoes to feed a child 5 months old or older. Contrary to the opinion of skeptics, these purees are of high quality and absolutely safe for babies (by itself, except in those cases when the child is allergic to a particular vegetable or fruit).
Using mashed potatoes in jars is very convenient, it saves time and effort in preparing homemade mashed potatoes. But if you have the time and desire to cook mashed potatoes for the baby yourself - that's great!
In this case, the whole cooking process will be under the control of the mother - from choosing a vegetable or fruit to placing the finished mashed potatoes on the shelf of the refrigerator.
Zucchini puree recipe
Ingredients: zucchini - 1 pc.
You should choose young green zucchini no longer than 18-22 cm. Before buying, carefully inspect the vegetable - it must be fresh, without damage and rot. Also nearby on the counter should not be spoiled copies.
Cooking:
Wash the zucchini thoroughly with soap, cut off the stem and tip, and peel it. Cut into rings 1-1.5 cm thick or into cubes. Put in a pan, add water (about a third of the total volume of the pan), bring to a boil and simmer for no more than 15 minutes. The next step is to turn the cooked zucchini into mashed potatoes using a blender. Pass the puree through a sieve to remove large pieces. Transfer to a clean glass or ceramic container with a tight lid, cool. Before use, slightly warm, add a couple of drops of vegetable oil or a few grams of breast milk. Such mashed potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Broccoli Puree Recipe
Ingredients: broccoli cabbage - 1 pc.
When choosing broccoli, you should pay attention to the head of cabbage - you should feel a fresh smell from it, the inflorescences are painted in a beautiful green color without yellowing, dark inclusions, damage and rot.
Cooking:
Wash the cabbage thoroughly under running water, take it apart for inflorescences and leave it for 2 hours in a container with cold water - this will help get rid of dirt, insects, harmful substances. You can steam the broccoli or boil it in slightly salted water. If there is a double boiler, some questions disappear, but if it is not there, it does not matter either. It is enough to place a colander or sieve with inflorescences over boiling water so that the vegetable does not touch the water. Cooking time - 8-10 minutes. Grind the finished steamed broccoli with a blender and rub through a sieve. Before use, you can add a little vegetable oil. Store in the refrigerator for no more than a day.
Similarly, you can make fruit puree from apples or pears. It should be remembered that only one-component purees are initially suitable for feeding a baby at 5 months of age. But as soon as the baby gets to know and gets used to one or another taste, you can prepare puree from two components.
Peach and Banana Puree Recipe
Ingredients: banana - 0.5 pcs., peach - 0.5 pcs.
Banana is considered the only tropical fruit allowed for children under one year old. For mashed potatoes should choose a ripe (not green and not overripe) fruit without damage and rot. Similarly choose a peach.
Cooking:
Wash the banana and peach thoroughly with soap. Pour boiling water over the peach so that the skin peels off easily, cut in half, remove the stone. Grind the pulp in mashed potatoes with a blender, pass through a sieve to make the mashed potatoes homogeneous. Peel a half of a banana, grind it with a blender, add peach puree, bring the blender to a homogeneous state. Before serving, fruit puree does not need to be heated.
When choosing a baby’s diet at 5 months old, it should be remembered that each baby is unique, and not a single pediatrician or familiar experienced mother can predict the baby’s reaction to a particular product. After meeting with a new product, mom should observe the reaction of a small organism, and at the slightest suspicion of an allergy, stop giving this product and consult a pediatrician.
