Addition of complementary foods for babies

As infants grow up, milk food is gradually not suitable for infant growth and development requirements, and children always have to transition to adult diet, so timely addition of semi-liquid food, soft food, solid food, so that infants can gradually adapt to all kinds of food, absorb richer nutrition, is very necessary, but also to prepare for weaning. Therefore, both breastfed and artificially fed children should add complementary foods in time. When is the right time to add complementary foods (weaning foods)? It is generally said that complementary foods can be added when the infant is 4 months old, because at this time the infant’s saliva secretion increases, amylase also increases, stomach capacity increases compared to the birth, and gastrointestinal function should be gradually improved. After 6 months of age, infants can slowly reduce milk and increase complementary foods to exercise their chewing ability and to supplement the nutritional composition of milk, so that infants will not suffer from gastrointestinal disorders caused by sudden changes in the nature of food, which will affect their normal growth and development. Infants should follow certain principles and methods to add complementary foods. The principle of adding complementary foods: should be added gradually according to the infant’s age and digestive ability, too early addition will lead to indigestion. Adding too late can cause nutritional deficiencies in infants, which are not good for children. At first, you can add pureed food, such as porridge. Each add a food to observe three or four days to a week, to be used to the child before adding another, if the child refuses to eat, do not force, can be fed again after a few days. The addition of complementary foods should be gradual, from less to more, from thin to thick, from soft to hard, from one to many. It is best to add complementary foods before breastfeeding, because infants may easily accept new foods when they are hungry. When your child is sick or in hot weather, it is best to leave it out for a while and add it gradually when things get better. When adding a new food, pay attention to the baby’s digestion and the nature of the stool, if there is any abnormality, it should be suspended and then start with a small amount after the situation is normal. The added food should be fresh, hygienic and tasty, the utensils should be clean and hygienic, it is best to eat now, to steam, not to fry, and not to put salt before 6 months. Commercially available weaning foods can also be used, but the source must be reliable. The method of adding complementary foods: infants born 15 days – 1 month should add vitamin A + D, to 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day is appropriate, because of the small amount of vitamin D in breast milk or milk, in order to prevent pediatric rickets which is necessary. Infants 1-3 months can be fed juice, vegetable water, starting with 1-2 tablespoons per day and gradually increasing. Artificially fed children need more water and can be added from half a month after birth. The baby’s iron stores are depleted at 4-6 months of age, so iron-containing complementary foods and starchy foods should be added, such as rotten porridge, egg yolk, vegetable puree, and a little oil can be added to the food, and the egg yolk can be gradually increased from 1/4. 6 months when the baby starts to teethe, cookies and steamed bun pieces can be added. In addition to feeding the above foods, infants 7-9 months old can add rotten noodles, fish puree, liver puree, tofu and meat froth, which can be added to the porridge and noodles. Infants 10-12 months can eat egg custard, soft rice, minced vegetables, minced meat, wonton, small buns, etc. According to the above method, when the infant eats supplementary food gradually increases, it can replace milk once, so that by the age of one year, the supplementary food has become the main food, and the infant eats three times during the day, and eats milk once in the morning and once in the evening. And prepare to wean, after weaning should still eat moderate amounts of milk for life.