Introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding 5. First complementary foods during artificial feeding. General principles for choosing ready-made foods for complementary feeding

When feeding a baby with formula milk, complementary foods can be introduced at 5 months. By this time, the body needs additional nutrients for proper development - iron, phosphorus, calcium, natural vitamins.

Before changing your diet, consult a pediatrician. Qualified employees of the Daughters-Sons online market will tell you everything about ready-made baby food that can be used as complementary foods.

How to introduce complementary foods at 5 months on artificial feeding

The digestive system of a baby fed formula adapts more quickly to adult food than the gastrointestinal tract of a baby fed breast milk. The first portion of complementary foods should be no more than 5 g (1 tsp) of vegetable puree or porridge with a puree consistency. Over 7-10 days, the dosage should gradually increase to 100-150 g per day and ultimately replace one of the five full feedings with formula.

Proper feeding of a five-month-old baby will be facilitated by the following conditions:

• It is better to give additional nutrition before daytime feedings with formula. This will allow you to monitor your body’s tolerance to a new dish;
• It is necessary to prepare food for complementary feeding from one product in order to easily monitor them for allergenicity
• if the dish is well tolerated, the dosage should be doubled every day to 140-150 g (for purees);
• You can offer the next dish after two weeks of successful complementary feeding;
• You cannot force him to eat an additional portion of food; it is better to try giving your baby this dish again in a few days.

Important!

The correct introduction of the first complementary foods determines the adaptation to dense nutrition and the effectiveness of the formation of the baby’s taste preferences. Therefore, you need to offer complementary foods in a minimal amount, monitoring the reaction to each intake of an unusual product.

Features of artificial feeding at 5 months

For children who are underweight, the best food for complementary feeding is milk porridge. The main component should be gluten-free cereals - rice, corn or buckwheat. They do not destabilize the intestines and promote rapid weight gain.

For normally developing babies, you can offer pureed zucchini, broccoli, pumpkin, or baked green apple. This dish is absolutely anti-allergenic and helps replenish the body with vitamins and nutrients.

It is recommended to add up to 3 g of butter or vegetable oil to a serving of milk porridge or vegetable puree. Cottage cheese (up to 1% fat content), which is useful for the development of bone tissue and muscles, will help diversify the menu. Sugar, salt and other food additives should not be added to baby food. They provide additional stress on the pancreas and kidneys.

In our online market you will find ready-made complementary foods in the form of vegetable purees (Gerber pumpkin, cauliflower-potatoes, “FrutoNyanya” cauliflower-zucchini), as well as fruit purees (“Babushkino Lukoshko” apple-apricot, peach-cottage cheese, “ Sady Pridonya" apple-pear-plum, apple-peach), porridge made from rice, buckwheat, corn, wheat, cereals with various additives ("FrutoNyanya" buckwheat with apple, "Malyutka" wheat with banana).

Important!

Parents should not rush to give juice; it is too allergenic for a five-month-old baby's menu. It is better to replace juices with apple compote or other drink suggested by your pediatrician.

conclusions

The ideal complementary feeding option for a 5-month-old baby is baked green apple, zucchini or cauliflower puree, as well as more nutritious milk corn, buckwheat or rice porridge.

One dish is gradually introduced into the diet over 7-10 days. The daily portion of the new product increases to 150 g. Start with a minimum volume - half or one teaspoon. Juices, salt, sugar, as well as cereals containing gluten, which is harmful to the mucous membrane, should not be included in the menu of a child of this age.

The first 12 months of life can be called the most important in the development of every baby. At this time, the foundations of future health are laid. Proper care and nutrition play a huge role in this process. It is so inherent in nature that not a single mammalian creature, including humans, begins to eat food typical of its species right from birth. From the moment of birth until approximately 5-6 months, every human baby feeds on mother's milk. If for some reason breastfeeding is not possible, it is replaced with formula. Complementary feeding for bottle-fed babies starts at 5 months.

Many young mothers do not know where to start complementary feeding. There are several opinions on this issue. The traditional approach, which was used by our grandmothers, involves the early introduction of complementary foods (from 3-4 months), starting with a few drops of juice from vegetables (carrots, pumpkin) and fruits (apples, pears). The famous doctor Komarovsky advises starting with low-fat fermented milk products - cottage cheese and kefir.

Most modern pediatricians, based on the latest research data, recommend starting complementary feeding with cereals or vegetable purees from 5-6 months. If the baby is steadily gaining weight or suffers from constipation, then pureed vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower) should be given. If the baby’s weight is less than the average statistical norm, and he has no problems with stool, then the transition to adult food begins with cereals.

Benefits of cereals

A five-month-old baby eats about a kilogram of food per day. He gradually increases his daily activity, rolls over, tries to crawl or sit down, which consumes a large amount of energy, which porridge can replenish.

Porridge is a healthy and nutritious complementary feeding product that has a beneficial effect on the digestive system, the formation of the bone and nervous systems, and strengthens the immune system. Porridge contains many vitamins and beneficial nutrients: carbohydrates, vegetable proteins, fats, calcium and iron. Porridge can become an additional source of energy for children with low body weight.

Porridges from different cereals have various useful components: organic and folic acids, starch, zinc, iodine, carotene, thiamine, important amino acids, etc.

The purpose of the first complementary feeding is to introduce the gastrointestinal tract to adult food, and not to saturate the child. The main food for a baby at five months is regular milk or formula.

Types of porridges

Based on their composition, all baby cereals are divided into:

1. Gluten-containing. Gluten (gluten) is a complex vegetable protein that is part of many grain crops: wheat, oats, millet, rye, barley. It is difficult for a weak stomach to digest, causing pain, bloating, and gas formation. Some people have a genetic disease - celiac disease, characterized by lifelong intolerance to gluten. In such a situation, treatment and diet are necessary.
2. Gluten-free: from rice, buckwheat and corn. Recommended as the very first complementary food.
3. Dairy. Start giving after 12 months. Cow's milk protein can cause an allergic reaction.
4. Dairy-free. Recommended at the beginning of complementary feeding.
5. Like muesli. They contain additional additives. Introduced into the diet after 9 months.

Based on the method of preparation, baby porridges are divided into two types:

1. Requiring cooking.
2. Instant. These porridges do not need to be cooked. Dry crushed grains are poured with warm water and stirred thoroughly.

Separately, it is worth noting the porridges called wellings. They are actively used by mothers in Sweden, but in Russia they have not yet received widespread use. Wellings are a milk-cereal mixture that is diluted with water and drunk from a cup or bottle. They are ideal for a smooth transition from formula to food from the communal table. Wellings, unlike regular porridges, are low in calories. They do not contain artificial colors or flavors, salt or sugar.

Complementary feeding begins with monocomponent cereals, consisting of one type of cereal, so that if an allergy occurs, its cause can be quickly identified. Multi-component cereals are introduced only when the child has had time to try each of the components separately.

Porridge feeding scheme

The baby receives the first dose of complementary feeding before the second morning feeding. He is given 0.5-1 teaspoon of porridge. If there are no negative reactions from the body, give 2 teaspoons on the second day. In the following days, the portion is increased by 1 teaspoon per day, bringing the norm to 150 within a couple of weeks. At 6-7 months, the norm is 160 g, at 8 months - 170 g, per year - 200 g. Gradually, the proportion of cereal in porridge increase to 10%.

Scheme for introducing different cereals into a child’s diet:

• 5-6 months - buckwheat and rice.
• 6-7 months - corn.
• 7-8 months - barley, oatmeal, semolina, wheat.
• After 8 months, they try porridges made from several types of cereals, with the addition of fruits and dried fruits.

Buckwheat contains fiber, which promotes digestion, and iron, which is necessary for children with iron deficiency anemia.

Semolina porridge is especially popular with many parents, but pediatricians call it “empty” and advise introducing it into the diet last. This is because semolina has few nutrients. It tastes good, but it interferes with the absorption of calcium, which can ultimately lead to the development of rickets.

Liquid porridge should be given to the baby not from a bottle, but from a spoon. Once in the child’s mouth, it is processed by his saliva, which contains the enzymes lysozyme and amylase. If you use a bottle, the food will immediately pass into the throat, esophagus and stomach without preliminary processing in the oral cavity.

Start of complementary feeding

The first portions of children's cereals should be 5 percent. To prepare them, take 5 g of cereal per 100 ml of water. The resulting consistency will be optimal for the child’s body.

The child is fed porridge from a small teaspoon. It is better to purchase a soft rubberized spoon at a pharmacy or specialized children's store so that it does not injure delicate gums.

A 5-month-old child is given porridge before the main feeding, after which breast milk or formula is offered.

Each new product must be given in the morning in order to determine how the body will react to it before evening.

Buy or cook at home?

• hypoallergenic;
• convenient and quick preparation;
• passing mandatory controls;
• absence of hazardous chemicals;
• balanced composition: enriched with iron, calcium and other trace elements.

The method for preparing industrial porridge is indicated on the box. The required amount of dry product is poured with warm boiled water and stirred until completely dissolved so that all lumps disappear.

If a mother does not trust baby food sold in stores, she prepares the porridge herself in several stages:

1. The grain is sorted, washed, dried and ground in a coffee grinder, turning into flour.
2. The cereal is mixed with water. For 5 g of cereal, take 100 ml of water.
3. The porridge is being cooked.
4. If it is necessary to obtain a thinner consistency, add water, breast milk or formula.

Another method of preparation: the porridge is first boiled and then ground in a blender.

Baby food cannot be stored for a long time. Usually, everything that the baby does not eat at once, the relatives finish it or throw it away.

When introducing complementary foods, it is necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of each child’s body. The time and order of introducing new products into the baby’s diet depends on the pace of its development, regular weight gain and height, physical activity, the presence or absence of health problems and other factors. Therefore, when selecting cereals, it is necessary to use an individual approach. When introducing complementary foods, parents should carefully monitor the baby and be sure to consult a pediatrician.

If a child is not fed breast milk, then complementary feeding begins at 4.5 months, and by 5 months they are completely replaced with one feeding.

What can you feed a formula-fed baby at 5 months?

If a mother is faced with the question of where she can start complementary feeding at 5 months with artificial feeding, then preference is usually given to dairy-free or milk-based (less often) cereals. But at this age, instead of porridge, you can start introducing vegetable puree.

How to introduce complementary foods from 5 months with artificial feeding?

If porridge is the complementary food for 5 months, then it is prepared with water and no sugar is added to it. Usually soluble ones are used - about a teaspoon on the first day. The amount of porridge is gradually increased, replacing one feeding with food if tolerated well.

If a mother prepares porridge with milk, then first the porridge should be 5% and only after 2 weeks 10% (5 or 10 g of cereal per 100 ml of milk). For the first complementary foods, choose buckwheat, corn or rice porridge.

If a formula-fed baby's complementary food at 5 months is vegetable puree, then only one vegetable is chosen for this new dish (usually potatoes or carrots). It is boiled until tender and ground with water to a homogeneous pasty consistency. On the first day, give no more than a teaspoon of puree, do not add salt.

When the child digests vegetables well, the amount of puree is gradually increased, and other vegetables can be added to it one at a time. You cannot force feed your child puree, but if the child does not want to eat it, then for a familiar taste you can add a small amount of milk formula for feeding.

At 5 months, the child should usually already receive fruit juice (up to 50 ml) and fruit puree (up to 50 ml), which, with artificial feeding, are introduced from 3 months. To properly introduce complementary foods, parents can use the special complementary feeding table that we offer below.

When should the first complementary foods be introduced during artificial feeding? How to respond to advice from older relatives about using new products as early as 3 months? What products to start with, in what quantity? How to reduce the amount of formula in your baby's diet? Recommendations from pediatricians on introducing complementary foods into the diet of an artificial baby.

There are many speculations regarding the introduction of complementary foods to bottle-fed babies. Who among us has not heard the stories of grandmothers and neighbors that already at five months their child was devouring borscht on both cheeks, and they gave him juice from the age of two months, and nothing, they grew up...

There is no point in blaming relatives for being “behind the times.” Indeed, thirty to forty years ago there were completely different recommendations, on which several generations of children and pediatricians were raised. A global revision of the standards that govern the introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding occurred quite recently - around the beginning of the two thousandth.

Introduction Features

The World Health Organization initiated the revision of outdated standards. Recommendations that artificial feeding should be given early, that babies should be fed porridge with butter as early as 4 months, that fruit purees should be given even earlier, were recognized as not meeting the real needs of the child’s body.

How did such recommendations arise, and why did pediatrics obey them for so long? The fact is that in the twentieth century there was a massive transition of the population of civilized countries to artificial mixtures. However, the technology that would make it possible to produce more or less decent food did not exist.

The first mixture was powdered cow's milk, which the child's body cannot digest until eight months due to the lack of appropriate enzymes. Children were also fed using finely ground cereals (and the finest, as is known, semolina), and kefir. Such a diet could not meet the needs of the child’s body, so doctors advised enriching it with other products.

That is why the start of complementary feeding during artificial feeding was for a period of three to four months, and already at 5 months it was recommended to include porridge, fruits, vegetables, cottage cheese in the diet... Also for this reason, a contradictory stereotype developed about the preparedness of the digestive system of the artificial child for “foreign products”.

The opinion that a formula-fed child needs complementary feeding earlier because his digestive system is familiar with “foreign products” is fundamentally wrong. The transition to a new type of nutrition is easier for infants, since enzymes from mother's milk help them in the digestion process. Artificial animals do not receive these enzymes. Their digestive system matures later than that of infants.

Optimal timing

The change in modern ideas about the timing of the introduction of complementary foods was caused by the development of artificial nutrition. In the last fifteen years, adapted artificial formulas have been developed, which, although they could not come close to the composition of breast milk, have become its completely acceptable analogue.

The essence of the adapted mixture is the breakdown of the protein component in its composition, which allows the child’s body to absorb it fully. The mixtures are also enriched with a whole range of essential substances: microelements, fatty acids, vitamins. The composition of high-quality products clearly corresponds to the basic needs of the child’s body. This eliminates the need for early introduction of complementary foods.

WHO experts recommend the introduction of complementary foods during artificial feeding in the middle of the first year of life. The guideline for the mother should be the age of six months, until which the baby receiving the adapted formula does not need other products.

The deadlines can be shifted in one direction or another. New foods in the diet from about five and a half months are needed if the baby is very active, mobile, and needs more high-calorie food to compensate for energy costs.

It is necessary to wait before switching to an unusual diet if the child is sick, experiencing painful teething, or is restless as a result of an uncomfortable psychological situation at home. How easily new “meals” will be absorbed by the baby’s body directly depends on his physical and emotional state.

Principles

When asking how and when to introduce complementary foods to an artificial baby, adhere to the following rules.

• The mixture is important up to a year. In the first year of life, a child needs a whole range of nutrients. Adapted mixtures are prepared taking them into account. Therefore, the composition of the product for a newborn differs significantly from the composition of the formula for a child older than six months. At the same time, it is impossible to say for sure that by receiving cereal porridge and puree instead of a mixture, the child will be provided with everything necessary for proper development. And it’s not just that the diet is not easy to balance, especially when the little one refuses a number of foods. The problem is that nutrients from food are absorbed differently. For example, adapted formulas contain a huge amount of iron, to a significantly greater extent than the baby’s body needs. Manufacturers saturate them with a “reserve”, because the iron from the mixture is not completely absorbed, but in a volume of approximately 20-25%. For comparison, from red meat or liver, which are considered the main source of iron in the diet, this trace element is absorbed only in a volume of 5-10%.
• The products do not displace the mixture. Of course, as the volume of new food in the child’s diet increases, the volume of the formula will decrease. But it is precisely to decrease, and not to eliminate completely. This essential nutritional element for the baby must be preserved at every feeding.
• Five meals a day. Typically, artificial babies adhere to a feeding schedule by the age of six months. If you followed a free feeding schedule or until now fed your baby more often and in smaller quantities, now you can easily switch to five meals a day. This will be facilitated by increasing the calorie content of feedings.
• New product - once a week. The body of an artificial baby is not at all adapted to food that is “alien” to it. Moreover, his digestive tract is even more vulnerable than that of an infant. Therefore, the introduction of new nutritional components cannot be rushed. One week - one product is the golden rule of healthy complementary feeding. At the same time, it is important for the mother to observe the body’s reaction: if a rash appears, or indigestion occurs, it is necessary to remove this product from the diet.

The task of complementary feeding in the first year of life is not at all to displace the main component of nutrition, which for an artificial child remains a mixture. It introduces texture, tastes, creates conditions for the functioning of the chewing apparatus, teaches table manners and the ability to handle cutlery.

Therefore, do not force your child to eat the product, even if you spent a lot of time preparing it. Don't insist, don't distract him by quietly putting a spoon in his mouth. A more correct approach would be to teach food in the usual conditions of your family: at a common table, when the baby watches his loved ones eat and tries to imitate them. This approach forms the right attitude towards food, in which there is no violence from adults.

Introducing new foods

The scheme for introducing complementary foods during artificial feeding may include products from different groups. The most popular first feeding options:

• milk - kefir;
• cereal - porridge;
• vegetable - puree from hypoallergenic vegetables.

Pediatricians pay attention to the fact that the choice of regimen should take into account the health status and developmental characteristics of the baby. But in each case, dairy components cannot be the product of choice, since they contain milk protein in an undigested form. Until eight months, it is not absorbed by the child’s body, since the digestive system does not produce the necessary enzyme. Therefore, fermented milk ingredients should be introduced into the diet later.

Table - introduction of complementary foods when bottle-feeding babies from six months

Based on the complementary feeding table for artificial infants, determine your baby’s feeding regimen.

• Administer the product in the morning. To see the baby's first reaction, give it the second morning feeding. If diarrhea occurs, it will not happen at night.
• Keep the numbers roughly. The indicated number of products is the maximum for each age. To avoid overfeeding, the baby should not be given more. If he ate less, this is not a cause for concern.
• Reduce the volume of the mixture gradually. Give the mixture after complementary foods. Its volume will decrease from 200 ml to 50 ml at each feeding.
• The consistency of the dishes should be puree. At the first stage, dishes are offered more liquid; by the year the consistency becomes thick, with pieces, and crumbly. The volume for the first acquaintance is half a teaspoon; daily, in the absence of a negative reaction, this volume is doubled. In a week it is brought to the recommended norm.

Vegetables are the first complementary food

It is recommended to use pureed vegetables in the first feeding at six months. They are optimally suited for children with normal development and children with a tendency to constipation. They are offered in the form of monocomponent purees, to which a second product is then added, and a third is gradually introduced. Thus, within one month the baby receives a multi-component puree.

Add vegetable oil to the dish, a little less than a teaspoon. It is important to consider that it is also a new product, and it must be introduced like other nutritional components.

For vegetables, choose zucchini, pumpkin, cauliflower and broccoli, green peas, and potatoes.

Porridge

Cereal dishes are often used as first complementary foods. The reason for this is the love of almost all kids without exception. However, pediatricians recommend starting with them if the child is behind in weight gain or is too active.

At the first stage, the baby’s diet includes dairy-free cereals, homemade or factory-made. The latter are more convenient, since they only need to be dissolved in the specified volume of water. Homemade cereal should be ground to flour in a coffee grinder and boiled in water in a ratio of 1:4. As the child grows, the ratio of water to cereal changes to 1:2 per year.

One-ingredient porridges must contain rice, buckwheat or corn cereals. After eight months, oatmeal and semolina are introduced. Add butter to the dish. Milk is used as an ingredient after eight months, diluting it with water.

Fruits

It is better to start getting acquainted with fruits in the form of purees rather than juices. They contain valuable fiber that improves intestinal function. And they are not supplemented with sugar, like most industrially produced juices. The latter are rich in fruit acids, which have an aggressive effect on the fragile digestive tract, so it is necessary to include them in the diet after a year.

Choose fruits from your region, such as apple, plum, apricot, peach, pear. Use seasonal fruits and monitor the reaction. Banana can be offered as a hypoallergenic complementary food in winter. Fruits are well digestible, so they are suitable both for an independent “snack” and for dessert after porridge.

Meat

A valuable component of nutrition, which most children come to only at the age of eight months. Considering that vegetables and cereals are introduced before this period, there is simply no time left for meat. There is nothing wrong with this, especially since kids are not very willing to take this product. Grind the meat thoroughly in a blender or pass through a meat grinder twice, and then add it to the vegetable puree when boiled.

Use varieties such as turkey, rabbit, lean pork. Then, according to the degree of allergenicity, choose beef and chicken. When the baby learns to chew well, the meat component is not mixed with puree, but offered in its pure form - as a cutlet or meatball. Meat broth should not be given for up to a year.

Fish

It is administered after meat in the same way. Served with vegetable puree. The types of fish chosen are low-fat and hypoallergenic. These are distinguished by the white color of the pulp. Choose hake, pollock, cod. Sea fish is more suitable for baby food than river fish, since the latter has a specific smell. Boil the product and chop with a fork. When the baby grows up, it is enough to disassemble the fish into small pieces.

Cottage cheese

As a source of calcium, it is less relevant for children on a well-adapted formula. It should be introduced into the diet after eight months. Can be mixed with fruit puree. Use low-fat industrial cottage cheese for baby food, the quality of which you can be more confident than in a homemade product from the market.

Yolk

A difficult ingredient in children's diets, difficult for the digestive tract. It is allergic, so it should be handled with care. In terms of allergenicity, the yolk of a quail egg is lower than that of a chicken egg.

Mandatory introduction at four to five months, as required by the recommendations of previous years, is no longer relevant when feeding a child with a high-quality formula. Add the yolk, starting with the crumbs, to the vegetable puree. Do not combine it in one feeding with a meat or fish dish.

From about seven to eight months, the baby can be given hard snacks, baby cookies, and crusts of bread. These products are not complete complementary foods; they are used as “snacks” and are good for stimulating the development of the chewing apparatus.

The technique for introducing complementary foods to a bottle-fed baby largely coincides with the recommendations for infants. Modern pediatrics does not make significant differences between them, since the quality of artificial nutrition today has increased significantly compared to formulas twenty years ago. Do not rush to introduce new products, pay attention to the reaction and desire of the baby. If your baby enjoys eating them, you won’t have problems with his nutrition when he’s older.

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According to the World Health Organization, which collects and analyzes all accumulated experience in the field of medicine and human health, the best food for a child until he reaches the age of six months is breast milk. However, sometimes, for a number of reasons, the mother is not able to feed the child exclusively with breast milk, or the child is completely bottle-fed. In this case, complementary foods are introduced to the child at 5 months, which is due to his physiological needs.

Introduction of complementary foods to a 5-month-old baby with artificial or mixed feeding

Starting from 4-5 months, the child experiences the appearance of the first chewing movements, and the strength of sucking also increases. In addition, along with artificial formulas, children also receive some adaptation to “foreign” nutrition, which significantly facilitates the transition to “adult” nutrition.

The time for introducing complementary foods to a child at 5 months is usually discussed with a pediatrician, who assesses the degree of readiness for this difficult process for the child. You should also discuss with him the scheme for introducing new products.

Complementary feeding for a 5-month-old baby can include:

• Vegetable purees, but it is better to give preference to soft (white and green) vegetables. Full volume – 100-150 g;
• Fruit puree from dull fruits. Total volume – 60 g;
• Porridges, best gluten-free - rice, corn, buckwheat. Full volume – 100-200 g.

Meat and fish dishes, as well as fermented milk products, are recommended to be introduced into a child’s diet at a later age.

General rules for introducing complementary foods to a child at 5 months

The general rules for introducing complementary foods to a 5-month-old child include recommendations that define the rules for introducing new products, the volumes and time required to increase the portion to the required volume, taking into account various factors.

Any new product should be introduced into the complementary feeding of a child at 5 months only when he is completely healthy.

Juices and fruits, which were previously considered the best foods for first complementary feeding, are now recommended to be introduced at a later age - from 7-8 months, since they quite often cause digestive disorders and various allergic reactions.

Complementary feeding of a baby at 5 months should begin with pureed foods. This consistency will gradually prepare the gastrointestinal tract for coarser food, so that by 10-12 months the baby can eat from the common table.

The introduction of complementary foods should begin only with a single product. If you have an allergy or a tendency to it, this approach will help identify negative trends in the early stages. When determining how much complementary feeding to give your child, you should know that the initial portion should be no more than half a teaspoon. The increase in volumes occurs gradually - over 10-14 days. Normally, during this time, a volume of 100-200 g of complementary foods should be reached, which can completely replace one of the feedings.

The child should eat the resulting complementary food with pleasure, and this is what determines how much complementary feeding to give the child. After reaching the full serving volume, butter or vegetable oil is gradually added to porridge or vegetable purees. You can also diversify your diet with fruit supplements. In some cases, you can divide the portion of complementary foods into two times.

It is recommended to spoon feed the baby when introducing complementary foods. Products that are used to prepare food for a child must be thoroughly processed beforehand. Commercial baby food can be used as complementary food for a 5-month-old child. As a rule, environmentally friendly products are used in its preparation, and in some cases such food is additionally enriched with vitamins and minerals necessary for the child.

Sugar and salt should not be added to dishes prepared for children. These products are not only not beneficial for a child at this age, but can also cause significant harm, provoking the development of various diseases.

From the moment complementary feeding begins, a 5-month-old child must be provided with sufficient fluids. This can be either simple drinking water or herbal teas that improve digestion.

Contraindications to the introduction of new products into complementary foods

Hot weather is also considered an unfavorable time for introducing new complementary foods. During this time, the child may be capricious, which may increase the likelihood of rejection of the new product.

During illness, it is better to postpone the introduction of new complementary foods to a child at 5 months. If the baby gets sick when one of the complementary foods has already been introduced into his diet, after recovery it can be returned to the diet in the same volume.

Approximate feeding schedule for a 5 month old baby

Towards the end of the fifth month, the child can be switched to a 5-time feeding regimen, in which the interval between meals will be 4 hours.

An approximate feeding regimen at this age is:

• 6.00 – feeding with breast milk or formula;
• 10.00 – vegetable puree (100-150 g) and 3 tablespoons of fruit puree;
• 14.00 – feeding with breast milk or formula;
• 18.00 – feeding milk or dairy-free porridge with added butter;
• 22.00 - feeding with breast milk or formula.

When introducing complementary foods to a child at 5 months, you should, of course, follow the recommendations of the pediatrician and other authoritative sources. However, in any case, the responsibility for organizing proper feeding lies with the mother, therefore, first of all, you should be attentive to your child and take into account his taste preferences in nutrition, as well as show the necessary flexibility when organizing the diet.