The World Health Organization, WHO, recommends exclusive breastfeeding until the baby is 6 months old. The care of the newborn is extreme at this stage to ensure that the little one grows strong and healthy. Parents, from half a year of life, should introduce complementary feeding gradually and according to the pediatrician’s prescription to avoid intolerances or allergies. The WHO emphasizes that food should be administered in appropriate amounts to meet the nutritional needs of the growing child, without abandoning breastfeeding. After 6 months, babies will take additional food 2 or 3 times a day. From 9 months, they will eat 3 or 4 times, adding small nutritious snacks for lgg 1 or 2 times a day, generally as lunch or snack.
Feeding For Babies Over 6 Months
This is an interesting guide that condenses the essential information on baby feeding. In general, the ideal is to start with the following foods:
At 6 months
- Sweet: cereal porridge, crushed fruit (pear, banana … the softest first)
- Salty: vegetable purees (do not use green leafy vegetables until 12 months).
- Tricks: The first vegetables that the baby takes are the potato, the carrot or the onion. If the child rejects these salty porridge you can try to introduce it into the crushed pumpkin, its sweet flavor helps them in the transition. If the little one rejects the fruit porridge, you can also introduce gluten-free cereals in it to reduce the acidity.
At 7 months
- Sweet: cereal porridge, crushed fruit (introduce new flavors every 3 days)
- Salty: vegetable purees (do not use green leafy vegetables until 12 months), vegetable purees with white meat such as turkey or chicken.
- Tricks: Space the introduction of new foods. In this way you will be able to detect possible allergies or intolerances and will allow the baby to adapt to the new flavors and begin to enjoy eating.
At 8 months
- Sweet: cereal porridge, crushed fruit (introduce new flavors every 3 days).
- Salty: vegetable purees with white meat and from this moment also with veal.
- Tricks: The baby already shows clear preferences for one type of porridge or another. At 8 months they enjoy complementary feeding and are more open to new textures.