Basic Principles of Complementary Nutrition

It is important for babies whose weight gain and height growth are normal during routine follow-ups to be fed only breast milk for the first 5-6 months. After 5-6 months, it is recommended that babies start complementary feeding in addition to breast milk. Here I will talk about the basic principles of complementary feeding.

*For the first 5-6 months, give only breast milk. (If your child's development is not good, consult your pediatrician)

*Breast milk is the basic principle until 9 months. It is a nutritional element.

*Breast milk should cover at least half of the nutrition in the 12th month.

*Breast milk should be continued when we start complementary feeding.

*It is definitely ready. I recommend that you stay away from foods and processed foods.

*We should make sure that the protein, fat and carbohydrate content of the foods we serve are balanced.

*If you develop an allergic reaction after the foods we serve, I recommend that you consult your pediatrician.

 

• We do not want to give five foods until the age of 1;
• Cow's milk
• Egg white
• Honey
• Salt
• Sugar

 

• The first three foods we want to get used to by the end of 6 months are; respectively, yoghurt, vegetable soup and fruit puree. When we start complementary feeding with sweeter fruit juice or fruit puree, it may be difficult for our puppies to accept relatively tasteless and unsalted foods due to the dominance of the sweet taste. That's why first adding yoghurt, then vegetables, and finally fruit puree to the feeding regime.
• Starting complementary feeding when our baby is hungry will make it easier for him to accept the food. By starting the food we give little by little and increasing the same food little by little for a certain period of time (usually for 5-7 days)

In this way, we will have the chance to observe our baby's reaction to the food.

• Giving the food we have just started at noon will allow us to monitor possible side effects during the day.
• If our babies who are 5-6 months old do not have a cow's milk protein allergy, we recommend starting with homemade yoghurt. Then, vegetable soup and fruit puree can be given.
• We should increase the number of meals to two starting from the second week. Until the end of the seventh month We do not recommend giving complementary nutrition for more than one meal.

The variety of foods we will give will increase over time; However, since the number of meals is limited to two, we will need to give foods alternately.)

• No matter what food we give to our baby during complementary feeding, the amount of food we offer should not be more than 150 ml in one meal. Because the stomach capacity of a baby in these months is approximately 150-180 ml. When we give too much, our baby

 

• You can pass the vegetable soup through a mesh strainer, blender or robot in the first week. However, after 1 week, we definitely want you to use neither the blender, the mesh strainer, nor the robot. We want you to crush the vegetables with a fork or spoon so that the food we give will be rough

In this way, our baby will have the opportunity to learn to chew and swallow the food.

• The trick here is; It is to allow our baby to learn how to chew and swallow food. A baby can develop chewing and swallowing coordination easiest and fastest between 5 and 9 months. The plasticity of the brain is at its most suitable during these months. If we give the food to the food processor or blender, our baby may have difficulty in learning this skill. Because our baby will only suck and swallow the formula-like food that is put through the robot or blender. Unfortunately, if a baby cannot learn to chew and swallow between the ages of 5 and 9 months, he may gag when the smallest grain of rice gets stuck in his throat until he is 3 years old.

  6-7. Starting from the first month;

  • We should add egg yolk, dried legumes, grains and meat to the diet.
  • We can easily meet protein needs, especially by making legumes with meat in this period.
  • After a month, we can increase the number of meals to three.

  Here, we do not want to make the morning meal look like breakfast. We should keep in mind to provide nutritious foods in the morning meal, just like lunch or dinner. 9.10 for breakfast.

  • Since meat is an important source of nutrition, we should especially include lamb, mutton, fish and turkey meat, and free-range chicken meat, if available, in our diet. Chicken meat and liver It is important to be careful while melting. Because it is easily and frequently produced industrially, it is beneficial to stay away from chicken meat.
  • We do not want you to give us any processed products such as salami, sausage, sausage, etc.

  All these. I recommend that you monitor your child's weight gain and height growth during the complementary feeding stages, monitor allergic reactions day by day, and be sure to follow up with your pediatrician in such cases.

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