Few things bring as much fun as watching a little kid, who gladly spreads porridge face. This is a fascinating and pretty sight, especially if you do not think about that after the children's meals have to do the cleaning. The lure of the child, or a gradual introduction to the diet more dense food than breast milk for many parents seem to be something complicated and almost frightening. They asked many questions - when to start solid foods, how to start eating better and how much solid food can be given to your child? In practice, it is not too hard - you just follow a few simple rules, which adhere to pediatricians recommend.

When can I introduce solid foods

When today's parents were children, many pediatricians are advised to enter into the diet of porridge and other dense foods when the baby is just a few weeks. It was thought that because of the lure of the children sleep better at night. It is now known that this view is wrong, and the majority of children in the first months of life should not eat cereals. (Some babies suffering from reflux, cereals may benefit, but to introduce them to the diet should be only on the advice of a pediatrician).

Between the fourth and sixth months of life, most children are ready to ensure that the first time to try a dense foods. By this time, the ejection reflex is useful during breastfeeding, weakened, although the child may still push the tongue spoon of porridge if it is something not like it.

How do you know that your child is ready for the introduction of complementary foods

On the readiness of the child to the dense food indicate the following features:

• A child can sit (with assistance), and keeps well head;
• His weight at birth has doubled;
• He is interested in the fact that eating older, and sometimes even tries to grab something from their plates;
• He can hold the food in your mouth, not allowing it to immediately follow;
• He demands to be fed more frequently than in previous months.

In most cases, these changes occur when the child is 4-6 months. At this time, his digestive system is ready to accept a dense food; if you start to introduce solid foods when the child is much older than six months, it likely will reject unfamiliar foods, and to accustom him to it will be more difficult.

Some experts point out another important reason for which to introduce solid foods should be the time when the child is six months: in this age of the natural reserve of iron in his body dries up, and from liquid food is not always possible to get enough of the substance (in infant formulas contained more iron than breast milk, but breast milk is digested much better). For starters, you can enter into the diet of iron-fortified baby cereal. Then it is possible to teach other iron sources, such as meat, beans, and spinach.

Where to begin?

Usually first a cereal is used as a feeding one cereal, such as rice, oats and semolina. These cereals are easy to digest and contain many useful substances. When the child gets used to porridge, start typing in the diet of mashed vegetables and fruits. Fit almost any fruits, such as carrots, pears, plums, avocados, bananas Bananas: the benefits and harms health Peaches Peaches: benefits and harms of sun fruits And much more - it is important that the child's diet was as diverse as possible. You can buy ready-made baby food or cook porridge or mashed own.

How to start solid foods

It is important to introduce solid foods a child at the correct time. For a first attempt is more likely successful, offers him a tight food when not hungry (he just refuses to eat), and not too hungry (in which case he can be upset if you do not get what to expect). Please give him some milk or formula, and then have to try a new dish. In the future, it will not matter in what order you will be giving your child a dense and liquid food. Many mothers choose to breastfeed or formula milk Dairy mixture - selection of useful power   after the child eats solid food, especially after a meal it should be put to bed - so he quickly calms down and often falls asleep for a meal.

Do not introduce solid foods should begin when the child is tired or in a bad mood or ill. In addition, it is better to give the child a new food the morning or afternoon, so you can in the next hours to see the reaction of the child - including the potential for allergic reactions.

If a child is categorically refuses solid food, no need to worry - just ask them to mush after a few days when he would forget about the first negative experience. It's not that the child does not like what you offer - it just suspicious of new foods, as well as many adults. No need to scold the child or try to feed him against his will, to the meals did not he associated with negative emotions Emotions and culture: how to decipher the emotional code .

When you start to introduce solid foods, give your child a tight food once a day or even a day, if it is actively refuse it .  First, the child can eat one or two spoonfuls of porridge a day, or half a mashed banana - this is normal, and no need to rush .  At the age of about six months, most children eat from 700 g to 900 g breast milk or formula milk per day .  By the time they reach one year, the consumption of liquid food will be reduced to 450-650 g, while the remaining 400-500 grams in their diet will be the lure .  Typically, at the age of 8-9 months children eat dense food three times a day .  However, the transition to solid foods is very different, and should allow the child to adjust its .  Allows him to eat solid food as much as he wants - unlike adults, children do not tend either to malnutrition, not to overeat, and eat as much as they need .  Therefore, the task of the adult - to offer a child a useful, nutritious food, helping him to gradually move to the overall diet .

Do not blame yourself if you, for whatever reason, can not or do not want to breastfeed. Infant formula is safe, time-tested alternative meals for children.

Infant formula or breast milk - what to choose?

Breast milk is the preferred food for all infants, including premature and sick for a few exceptions. Pediatricians recommend mothers, if possible, feed the baby exclusively breastfed up to six months and up to a year - breast milk combined with tighter food. Breast milk contains all the necessary nutrients child, it is better digestible than milk mixture; it consists of antibodies (immunoglobulins), which reduce the probability of infection of the child by various infections.

However, some parents still feed the children milk formula; The reasons may be as personal preferences, and some disease in the mother or the baby, in which breastfeeding Breast-feeding: feed - and no nails!   contraindicated. The mixture does not contain antibodies that are found in breast milk, but even before the birth of the baby received the mother stock antibodies Antibodies - "soldiers' immunity Which it will be enough for 4-6 months. After that, his body will itself produce immunoglobulins.

Breastfeeding is contraindicated if the mother takes drugs such as cimetidine, cyclophosphamide, lithium, methotrexate, metronidazole Metronidazole - what is it? , Cyclosporine, bromocriptine. HIV HIV - can be slow, can not be stopped HIV-infected mothers and can not breastfeed.

Another reason that many families prefer an infant formula is the fact that more mothers returning to work soon after giving birth, and can not consistently breastfeed. Since the dairy mixture digested longer, children who eat them, you usually need to feed less often than those who are fed breast milk.

The important advantage of infant formula is that of a child can feed any family member; this will allow the whole family will establish contact with the child, and the mother - more rest, which is especially important if the pregnancy or birth was difficult.

Types of infant formula

Infant formula based on milk prepared from cow's milk; they also added vegetable oils, vitamins and minerals. Such mixtures are suitable for most healthy and born at term children; they are most commonly used for feeding infants as an alternative to breast milk.

Infant formula based on soy protein made from soybeans, vegetable oil, corn syrup and / or sucrose. These mixtures are suitable for children with lactose intolerance or allergy to cow's milk. They can also be used as a supplement to the main food for children whose parents are supporters of a vegetarian diet. Infant formula based on soy is not recommended for children with low birth weight and preterm infants.

Special infant formula. There is a mixture intended for children with low birth weight, a mixture of low-sodium for newborns who need to limit their intake of salt, and mix with the "pre-digested" proteins for children who have allergies are not intact proteins in cow's milk .

The components of infant formula

• Water

Water is an essential part of the diet of the child; the water content in the body of a newborn baby is significantly greater than that of an adult. Properly prepared dairy mixture composed of water by about 85%.

Infant formula is available in three forms; ready-to-drink liquid, concentrated liquid, and dry mixes .  In the first type of mixture does not need to add water and concentrate and dry the mixture was diluted with water .  Before adding water to the mixture, parents need to carefully read the instructions on the packaging .  If we add to concentrate too much water, it can cause water child poisoning condition which in serious cases can lead to a dangerous decrease in the level of sodium in the blood, coma, and even irreparable damage to brain .  If the mixture due to the lack of water will be too concentrated, it can lead to diarrhea and dehydration in a child .  It rarely eating excessively concentrated mixture leads to kidney failure, gangrene of the feet, and coma .  Therefore, parents in any case should not be on its own initiative to change the water content in infant formulas, for example, the child quickly or slowly gaining weight .  If you think that the weight of the child that something is wrong, check with your doctor .

• Carbohydrates

The main carbohydrate in the composition of breast milk, cow's milk and most infant formulas is lactose. Children with lactose intolerance can not digest lactose, because their bodies lack the enzyme lactase, which is needed for normal processing and absorption of carbohydrates. For them, releasing a special milk formula containing other carbohydrates, which the child can digest.

• Proteins

Casein and whey proteins - are the main proteins in breast milk and cow. In 0.5-7.5% of children these proteins cause allergic reactions, which the symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, skin rash. These symptoms disappear soon after a child is excluded from the diet of milk. A child with allergies are not suitable mixture that do not contain lactose; he needs food that contains proteins that have split into smaller components - usually on the amino acids.

• Fats

For a child to get enough fat in milk using different mixtures of vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower or coconut oil.