Baby food 4 6 months. Entering the first complementary foods if the baby is artificially fed. Filling up the cookbook
Since his birth, the 6-month-old baby has made a huge leap in development. Now the baby knows a lot and is consciously interested in everything that happens around him. The parents of the child are trying their best to make the life of their family active and harmonious, comfortable for everyone. This is where the question arises of how to “adjust” the daily routine of mom, dad, elders and baby.
Frequent situation modern families- when all households revolve around the smallest child. However, this situation often leads to quarrels and conflicts, due to the fact that everyone should neglect their own interests.
Children, first of all, should grow up in happy families This is the guarantee of their health.
When creating comfort for a child, you should not bring it to the point of absurdity, allowing a 6-month-old baby to rule everyone. Cub 6 months old can and should get used to the idea that mom and dad have certain responsibilities, so they need some time to fulfill them.
We care about the health of the baby
The daily routine of a baby at 6 months. must satisfy his biological needs in such a way as not to harm his health, as well as the health of other family members.
Everyone knows that for the health of the crumbs, his daily routine should include healthy sleep, feeding, walking in the fresh air.
How much does the baby sleep
The sleep and wake patterns of a 6-month-old baby have changed significantly since birth. As a rule, by this age the baby should be able to sleep through the night.
Six-month-old babies wake up early in the morning, sleep 2-3 times during the day. Daytime sleep at this age lasts 1-2 hours.
When to eat
From 6 months the long-awaited period of complementary feeding for parents begins. Having studied the necessary literature, mom already knows that new delicacies are introduced into the diet in the middle of the day, not before bedtime. Reaction to a new product can be unpredictable. Do not experiment on the eve of a night's sleep.
From the age of 6 months, a new diet is established, about 4-5 times during the day and, if the mother is lucky, 1-2 times at night.
How much and when to walk
There is never much fresh air, which means that walks have no time limits. However, during the hot season, it is not recommended to stay in the sun from 11:00 to 17:00.
There is an opinion that the mode of walking should not differ in the cold and hot seasons. However, as practice shows, many mothers change the schedule of walks. In winter, they mostly go outside when the sun is at its zenith, as this is the warmest time of the day.
It is most convenient to walk several times a day, so you will make your child's life varied and interesting.
Comfort for mom and dad
The day regimen of an infant by and large significantly affects the life of the whole family. In this regard, parents often experience stress or even depression. The thing is that not every family can quickly "adapt" to the new rhythm of life.
If the mother before pregnancy and childbirth led an active social life, successfully built a career in her favorite business, now she simply has no time to do it. But no matter what, some mothers decide to go to work when the baby is 6 months old.
Is it possible to combine the two professions? Quite! Even the mother of a breastfed child can work part-time, especially if her beloved grandparents are nearby.
Working Mom
The daily routine of a six-month-old child can be subordinated to the routine of his mother. Approximately it looks like this:
6:00 a.m. Mom and baby wake up. Morning feeding. The baby is awake, and the mother is going to work.
8:00 - Mom goes to work, grandparents take over the "duty".
8:30 a.m. - Bottle feeding.
9:00 - sleep.
10:30 am – packing for a walk.
12:30 - lunch.
13:00 - and here's mom!
A 6-month-old baby can be bottle-fed while the mother is away. A breastfeeding mother can take a breast pump with her and express milk throughout the working day.
Is discipline necessary?
No matter how many months the baby, the regime and discipline do not harm him. However, you should always build on the biological needs of the crumbs. You can, of course, teach a child to be able to fall asleep and wake up at the same time, but you should understand that he does not need this.
Each person, regardless of age, has his own biorhythm, which is not recommended to be violated.. Mode sleep and wakefulness is established not by mom and dad, but by nature itself. Adjust or change this routine by 6 months it is possible, but gradually, so as not to harm the mental and physical health of the baby.
How to discipline
Any mode is developed by daily repetition of certain actions.
If mom and dad are consistent in their intention to teach a 6-month-old baby to be able to sleep all night, eat by the clock, walk, play, they will certainly succeed. You just need to follow some recommendations:
- No drastic changes. You will not achieve the desired result if at the time when 6 months. the baby would have to sleep, you will offer him a bath.
- You should do the same things every day.
How is the baby's day
Often, mothers in the park discuss, compare how different their daily routine is from the regimen of other children at 6 months.
Approximately the day of a child at 6 months goes like this:
6:00 - rise. Breastfeeding or formula feeding.
6:30-7:00 - Wash, change diapers.
Waking period.
9:00 - morning sleep.
10:30 - feeding. Including from 6 months. we introduce food.
11:00 - walk.
13:00 - feeding.
13:30 - daytime sleep.
15:30 - a period of wakefulness, games or walks, if possible (a baby at 6 months should be able to play independently).
17:00 - feeding.
17:30 - evening sleep.
18:30 - wakefulness.
19:00 - feeding.
20:00 - swimming.
20:30 - dinner.
21:00 - sleep.
We have given an approximate daily routine for a six-month-old baby. For many children, the time parameters are somewhat shifted, but, as a rule, they do not differ too much. By 6 months The child usually sets this regimen himself, based on his needs.
Focused on the physiology of the baby. And despite the fact that you really want to give your baby all the most delicious and more, you should be very careful in choosing the menu. Fortunately, there are ready-made recommendations for breastfed and bottle-fed babies, as well as for babies with developmental problems, allergic reactions.
Nutrition for a healthy baby
The menu for a six-month-old breastfed baby is determined by the usual pediatric norms. There are 3 types of foods that can be given to babies when they reach six months - these are fruits (in the form of purees and juices), vegetables and cereals. It is necessary to start the introduction of complementary foods with vegetables, because, having introduced the crumbs to something else, tastier, it will be very difficult to return to vegetables.
The correct menu for a child at 6 months may include white and green vegetables, in particular: zucchini, cabbage, peas, potatoes, green beans. Start complementary foods with zucchini, as it has the most delicate structure and will not harm the intestines of the crumbs. Mashed potatoes should not be given alone, as this vegetable is an allergen. It must be added to other vegetables, no more than 20% of the volume of the dish.
Rules for making puree
When preparing mashed potatoes for a 6-month-old baby, follow these rules.
- Do not boil vegetables. It is better to steam them until soft. Then mash with a fork, or better beat in a blender.
- Do not salt the puree, do not add milk to it.
- Do not expect that the crumbs will “pounce” on your dish from the first spoon. Accustom him to the new menu gradually, without violence. Offer puree before the main feeding, starting with half a spoon. Daily increase the serving by 2 times, bringing up to 150 grams.
- A week after getting to know one vegetable, add a few drops of refined and deodorized to the puree. vegetable oil (sunflower, olive or corn). After another week, add the second vegetable to the puree, for example, add half a spoonful of young pea puree to zucchini puree with vegetable oil.
Thus, a menu is formed for a child at 6 months on mixed feeding, an infant and an artificial with normal weight. The ideal introduction of vegetables first is considered in the presence of excess weight. It is also suitable for babies with food allergies, signs of anemia and rickets.
Diet for underweight babies
In the nutrition menu of a child at six months old, prone to underweight, or often spitting up after eating, it is preferable to introduce cereals first. They are higher in calories than breast milk and formula and will help your baby develop properly. Porridges for children of 6 months are prepared from gluten-free cereals, in particular, buckwheat, corn and rice. The very first is buckwheat porridge for a 6-month-old child, cooked not by a caring mother, but in industrial production.
Why? Because in production baby food strict sanitary standards apply. Groats approved for the manufacture of baby porridge are necessarily environmentally friendly, steamed, and all useful components are preserved in it. It is also very convenient: you do not have to boil 1 tablespoon of porridge, just pour it with boiling water and cool.
Rules for making porridge
The diet of children with allergies
Choosing the first products for children prone to the development of allergic reactions should be as careful as possible. Their first food should be vegetables (in particular, zucchini and peas). And then you should introduce dairy-free porridge. Among cereals, choose buckwheat, corn or rice. You can use oatmeal or barley. Powdered cow's milk in such a porridge should not be. But adding breast milk or an adapted formula (with protein hydrolyzate or soy-based) to it is not prohibited.
Fruits are also included in the baby's diet at 6 months. The menu may include apple, pear, plum puree. They are introduced according to the residual principle, after acquaintance with vegetables and porridge. Industrially made “jars” are more preferable here than fresh fruits, as they have a balanced taste and are sure to please the crumbs.
© Galina Mikhalishina / Photobank Lori
Complementary foods are food that is prescribed to a child as he grows up and achieves certain physiological indicators. Complementary foods are used as a supplement to the main diet - breast milk or an adapted milk formula, whose nutritional value no longer fully satisfies the needs of a developing organism.
It is in the first year of a baby's life that his immunity is formed, which depends mainly on proper nutrition. Well-organized complementary foods are the main assistant in this matter.
What to feed a baby at 6 months
Experts say that at six months, any child is ready for complementary foods. This age is considered ideal for the introduction of foods other than the main diet. Although many parents start offering fruit juices, apples and purees to their babies as early as three months, it is best to follow the recommendations of pediatricians and do not give the child anything extra until the age of 6 months.
Depending on the type of basic nutrition of the baby (natural feeding, mixed or artificial), the timing of the first sample of unfamiliar products should be set.
All new foods should be offered to artificial children two weeks earlier than children on breastfeeding. The mixed type of food suggests intermediate dates, but they can always be shifted in favor of any other type.
So, where to start complementary foods at 6 months?
- As a rule, vegetable purees are chosen as the first new product.
- Formula-fed babies are sometimes advised to start with cereals, but only if they are gaining little weight and look thin.
Any unknown food should be started with 1 teaspoon and gradually brought to the amount necessary for saturation. Approximately 2 weeks later, a new product ( vegetable puree) should completely replace one feeding with the main food (milk or formula).
For starters, you can give a try to the crumbs:
- or vegetable marrow, these products contain a huge amount of calcium and phosphorus.
- It contains a lot of betacarotene, which helps digestion.
Carrots are also rich in vitamins, but when unripe, they can cause an allergic reaction. Eggplants, spinach, legumes, beets and tomatoes should be moved to the following months, as they will only harm the weak stomach.
To any vegetable puree, you need to add a few drops of vegetable oil so that the child's body begins to gradually get used to this product.
What to feed a baby at 7 months
- For children who are breastfed, 7 months is the time of the first test of cereal porridge.
For a baby on artificial mixtures, this type of food is best offered a little earlier: immediately after he has mastered vegetable purees.
The consistency of cereals in the first four to five days should be very liquid, gradually it can be brought to the semi-solid state that is familiar to us.
The best cereals to start weaning:
- buckwheat,
- oatmeal
Probably, many will be surprised that the list does not include the beloved semolina porridge, which is so easy to prepare. The fact is that the substances contained in the semolina can cause allergies or indigestion in a child. Therefore, it is better to postpone this porridge until a more mature age.
The number of ingredients for making porridge:
1 teaspoon of cereal, 80 ml of milk (for breastfed children - expressed mother's milk, for artificial children - adapted milk mixture), 20 ml of water.
Most babies refuse to eat unleavened cereals, so pediatricians are allowed to add a little sugar. They should not be abused.
Cooking method:
- Grind the grits in a coffee grinder (or on a special grinder), add water to it and mix thoroughly;
- bring milk or diluted milk mixture to a boil and slowly pour in the cereal with water;
- stirring constantly, cook for 3 minutes (rice porridge - 5 minutes).
To offer the child, again, at first you need only 1-2 spoons. The best time to sample porridge is in the morning, when the second feeding of the main meal usually takes place (between 9 and 11 am). Gradually increasing the portion, it is necessary to bring the amount of porridge to 150 g per day.
If for some reason young parents cannot cook porridge on their own, it can always be purchased at a pharmacy or in the children's departments of supermarkets.
What to feed a baby at 8 months
At this age, pediatricians recommend introducing children to fermented milk products made from cow's milk. In fact, for a child, such food will not be completely unknown, because for the past 8 months he has been quietly eating mother's milk or an adapted mixture. However, cow's milk contains allergens that can create some trouble for new parents. Therefore, it is necessary to give fermented milk products carefully, constantly observing the behavior of the baby.
- The best fermented milk product to start complementary foods is kefir.
It improves digestion and strengthens the immune system. As a test, you can offer your child one teaspoon of unsweetened kefir. It is necessary to gradually increase the portion during the week.
It should be noted that not every kefir is suitable for crumbs. You need to either cook it yourself from homemade milk, or purchase it in specialized baby food stores. The same applies to cottage cheese and yogurt.
Making kefir is easy: you need to bring milk to a boil and cool it, then add a spoonful of sourdough (taken from high-quality kefir) and put in a warm place, wait until the milk curdles.
If, then this kefir should simply be put on fire and boiled a little. After the whey separates, you need to squeeze the cottage cheese and let it cool outside the refrigerator.
So, the child is already eating kefir and is ready to move on to cottage cheese. This product is also first given in the amount of one teaspoon, only it should be diluted with the same kefir.
It turns out that the baby receives both kefir and cottage cheese in acceptable quantities (50 ml of kefir + 80 g of cottage cheese).
- As early as 8 months, it is time for children to try juices.
In general, fruits should be offered when the first erupted tooth appears. In most children, it appears by 7-8 months, but if it is not there, it does not matter! You can wait a little more, and then still start giving fruit puree, even if the teeth have not come out.
From fruit juices in the early days it is better to give preference to:
- apple
- or its mixtures (apple + rosehip, apple + pear, etc.).
- Then you can move on to juices with pulp (only not to orange, which is one of the strongest allergens).
As always, start with a spoon and gradually increase the volume. Up to a year 100 ml per day - maximum. Please note that such juices are not stored open for more than a day.
Fruit puree can be made from grated boiled or baked apple. Formula-fed babies should be offered a baked apple a little earlier than 8 months (at 6-7 months). The maximum proportion of fruit puree per day is 100 g.
What to feed a baby at 9 months
- During this period, the child should receive one of the most nutritious foods - meat.
You need to start complementary foods with dietary options:
- chicken,
- rabbit,
- veal.
Moreover, it is necessary to give meat, and not its broth. It is best to cook meat with vegetables: potatoes, onions and carrots.
Mash the potatoes, cool a little and let the child try. Within two days, observe the reaction of the body and, if there are no complications, you can offer the meat itself directly. It should also be given as part of a liquid puree, in such a combination heavy food is digested much easier.
Before serving, be sure to grind the cooked meat with a blender, chopper or meat grinder. You can also cut it into small pieces and sort it into fibers, but a fragile stomach will absorb such food many times longer.
The initial serving of meat is half a teaspoon. The amount increases gradually and up to a year should not exceed 5 teaspoons.
It should also be noted that meat cannot be baked in the oven, fried or stewed. It can only be boiled and steamed.
- As early as 9 months, babies can be given chicken yolk.
This product contains many vitamins, but it can cause allergies. Therefore, its consumption begins with ¼ teaspoon. Up to a year, it is highly undesirable for a child to eat more than half of the yolk.
Complementary feeding of artificial children and children who are breastfed at 9 months is no different. During this period, as a rule, the amount of vitamins entering the body levels off.
What to feed a 10 month old baby
- 10 months - the time of the first sample of fish dishes.
This product is not only high in phosphorus, but also ideal composition amino acids. The children's stomach copes with the digestion of fish without problems, but sometimes it can cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, you need to offer fish in the morning, so that later during the day you can monitor the reaction of the body.
Pediatricians say that a child should eat fish at least once a week. However, overdoing it here is also not worth it. It is said once a week - so it should be so.
It is sea white fish, such as cod or hake, that is ideal for a children's diet. But it can also be replaced by river representatives if the crumbs do not have negative reactions.
Fish complementary foods should be started with half a teaspoon, up to a year its amount should increase to 50 g per day. You can serve fish as an independent dish with vegetable puree or porridge, or you can add puree to the soup.
- Even at 10 months, it is recommended to add a few crackers to vegetable soup or mashed potatoes.
Children of this age are very teething, so a chicken leg (without meat and without protruding small bones) or a bread crust will be useful. They need to put the baby in the hand and make sure that he does not choke.
What to feed a baby at 11 months
At 11 months, the baby's stomach can easily digest those foods that at 6 months were beyond its power.
So, now you can include in the diet of the child such vegetables How:
- eggplant,
- tomatoes,
- beet,
- legumes,
- White cabbage.
You can cook them by boiling or steaming, you can also try stewing.
The baby should have received vegetable oil from the age of six months, so by 11 months it does not cause problems.
At this time, parents should introduce their baby to new fruits and fruit purees. For example:
- with banana
- or plum.
Although the orange is still banned. Overseas representatives like pineapples and kiwi should not be on the table of a small gourmet: they will bring the body a minimum of benefit and maximum harm.
If a child already has 4 to 6 teeth, then he may well cope with small pieces of food. Therefore, grinding it with a blender or meat grinder now does not make sense. You can simply chop the chicken, and completely replace the mashed meat with a steamed cutlet or meatball.
In vegetable purees and side dishes, you can leave small pieces of potatoes, cabbage or zucchini. But be sure to make sure that the baby does not choke.
- Any baking at 11 months becomes safe.
The only point: you can not give still warm bread (recently baked) and products that have a long shelf life. Rusks in the soup can now be replaced with breadcrumbs. It should also be offered to a child as an addition to meat or fish.
During cooking, pediatricians allow parents to use herbs and sour cream.
What to feed a 12 month old baby
The baby is one year old. It is assumed that he can sit at the same table with adults and eat their food.
In fact, there are a number of products that the child at this time prohibited:
- semi-finished products,
- chocolate,
- sausages,
- sausage,
- fried food,
- spicy seasonings.
But now the little one is allowed:
- milk soup with vermicelli,
- grated vegetables and fruits with sour cream, berries.
- Various kinds of casseroles and puddings are also introduced into the diet.
At 12 months, babies no longer consider milk or formula as their main food, so they can be eliminated. But the amount of kefir should be increased to 150 ml per day, the whole chicken yolk is now available, and not just half of it. Bread is recommended to be consumed no more than 2 times a day.
And remember that all children are individual and have different food tolerances, as well as different taste preferences. Watch the reaction of the child, and your little one will be healthy.
Breast milk has all the nutrients necessary for the normal development of the baby. But over time, not only the digestive system of the child changes, but also the composition of mother's milk, in which the amount of vitamins is reduced. With artificial feeding, the baby gets acquainted with new products in the fourth month, and the first feeding of the “naturalist” begins from six months.
First feeding rules
In a six-month-old baby, the interval between feedings increases, and the general regimen is three times a day for milk and two “snacks” with adult food. Nocturnal awakenings due to hunger are rare. Breastfed children are not as willing to accept new foods as "artificial" ones, so you need to introduce an adult diet gradually.
- Give the new product before milk or formula while the baby is still hungry.
- You need to start with small portions (1 teaspoon), increasing them to the established norms for 12 days. So it will be possible to evaluate the reaction of the body to a new dish and determine the allergy in time.
- If you don’t like a certain dish, you need to replace it with another one and try to offer it again in a week.
- Food (porridge, juice, puree) should be liquid and homogeneous.
- It is better to feed the baby with a soft silicone spoon.
- With artificial feeding, it is recommended to start complementary foods with cereals, and with breastfeeding - with mashed potatoes (vegetable and fruit).
Individual characteristics of the first complementary foods
The feeding schedule for each baby should be drawn up individually, based on the physical condition and hereditary factors. Children with low body weight need food enriched with vitamins, iron and mineral salts. For them, ready-made gluten-free cereals of industrial production (baby food) will be the best food.
With individual hypersensitivity to cow's milk protein, ready-made cereals should be chosen carefully, since many of them are cooked on a dry mixture. Such children begin to experience a lack of protein earlier than others, which is why they are advised to give mashed meat from twice boiled meat as early as the fifth month.
The meat menu of a child at 6 months should consist of lean pork, poultry (turkey, chicken), rabbit and horse meat, since beef and veal contain proteins similar to cow's milk proteins. As for ordinary cereals cooked with soy or water, corn, buckwheat, barley and rice groats will be the most useful for the baby.
Children with signs of anemia, food allergies and rickets should be given to eat vegetable purees. Their preparation is associated with some rules.
- To avoid allergic reactions, you should eat only green and white vegetables: cabbage, peas, asparagus, zucchini and potatoes.
- In summer it is best to use fresh products, and in winter - frozen. As a last resort, canned vegetables with appropriate quality certificates are allowed.
- The maximum proportion of potatoes in vegetable puree is 20%, since this root crop has high allergenic properties.
- When adding vegetable oil to puree, you need to take a deodorized and refined product.
Vegetables and fruits
It is with vegetable puree that complementary foods begin in most babies at 6 months. It can be useful, varied and tasty.
| Ingredients | Shares | Cooking method |
|---|---|---|
|
cauliflower butter |
|
|
|
potato olive oil |
|
|
|
flakes "Hercules" butter |
|
|
|
olive oil |
|
|
|
potato butter |
|
These recipes can be used to mash broccoli, zucchini, and Brussels sprouts by combining these vegetables with carrots and potatoes.
Along with vegetables, a 6-month-old baby's menu can be varied with sweet purees made from seasonal garden fruits, best of all apples and pears. Apricots and plums weaken the child's stool, so their use is individual. All fruits must be thoroughly peeled, since the peel of the fruit is poorly digested, and chopped with a blender. Of the exotic fruits, only bananas are allowed so far, and the most mature fruits (with a blackened peel).
Important! Any grapes, even without seeds, are allowed to be given only at the age of more than one and a half years.
Porridge, meat and cottage cheese
The main dish of the second feeding is porridge, but their preparation has several features:
- the first times it is necessary to cook the most liquid cereals (100 ml of water per 5 g of cereals);
- all cereals, except for semolina, must be filtered after cooking and, if necessary, chopped with a blender;
- it is better to refuse millet and pearl barley, as they are difficult to digest;
- with a low weight of the baby, semolina porridge is preferable, but not daily, since the high content of starch in it can cause allergies;
- in the case of loose stools, rice groats will help normalize bowel function, and oatmeal porridge is useful for constipation;
- children with diathesis need to be fed with buckwheat;
- in case of intolerance to milk, cereals should be boiled in water and seasoned with sugar syrup or vegetable oil.
Children react differently to meat broths, starting with increased appetite and ending with exudative diathesis. Therefore, the first days you can give the child only a few tablespoons of broth, mixing in vegetable puree or porridge. Gradually, the serving size can be increased to 30 ml.
In the absence of allergies, it is recommended to introduce cottage cheese into the baby's diet, starting with a portion of 5 g at 17–18 hours. The child will like this snack and enrich his body with calcium, phosphorus and protein. Gradually, you can increase a single serving to 50 g, without exceeding it, until the baby is one year old. The introduction of kefir and lean cookies in the menu of a 6-month-old child is allowed according to the testimony of a doctor.
Of the drinks, the most useful are fresh juices, rosehip broth, compotes and jelly. The child must receive enough fluids to prevent dehydration, which makes it difficult for the kidneys to work. Apple juice is the most preferred because it is rich in vitamins and has the least allergenic properties. With constipation in infants, plum and pumpkin juice, as well as rosehip broth, will help to relax the intestines.
The baby should not be allowed to drink during feeding, as the liquid inhibits the process of digestion of food.
Menu options for a 6 month old baby
In the exemplary diet of a six-month-old baby, formula milk still prevails, however, every week the menu is replenished with new products. The table will help to correctly form a diet, taking into account individual physiological features child.
| Product | A portion | Options | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | II | III | IV | ||
| Breast milk | |||||
| Milk formula | |||||
| vegetable puree | |||||
| Porridge | |||||
| Fruit juice | |||||
|
fruit puree |
|||||
| Vegetable oil | |||||
| Butter | |||||
| Yolk | |||||
| Cottage cheese | |||||
| Milk porridge | |||||
| Biscuit | |||||
| Soy mix + porridge | |||||
| Meat puree or broth | |||||
Designations:
I - the diet of a healthy child for breastfeeding;
II - the diet of the baby on the IV, whose complementary foods began from 4 months;
III - the menu of a child suffering from an allergy to cow protein;
IV - the menu of a child for breastfeeding, who began to receive complementary foods earlier than 6 months for medical reasons.
The diet is designed for five meals according to the regime: at 06:00 (1), 10:00 (2), 14:00 (3), 18:00 (4) and 22:00 (5) h, and the numbers in the table indicate acceptance. The second column shows the average serving size, and the deviations for each case are given in brackets next to the feeding time. This mode will allow you to correctly "tune" the baby's biological clock. However, feeding times may vary from person to person.
"Cranky" complementary foods
Not all children are willing to try new foods, so any dish should be delicious. In order for the acquaintance to be successful, it is worth using the following secrets:
- the best time for a new product is noon if the baby goes to bed at 20-21 hours; if he is awake until 22–23 h, then you can feed him at 16–18 h;
- you can give the child only fresh food;
- porridge and mashed potatoes should always be tasted for salt;
- during cooking, it is important to interest the child by letting him suck on freshly washed carrots or another product;
- beautiful children's dishes will be an interesting visual reinforcement of food innovation.
Interestingly, most children hereditarily copy the tastes of their parents. If mom and dad love pickles and meat, then it is better to add meat broth or butter with a pinch of salt to the porridge. If the parents have a sweet tooth, then the best choice there will be sugar syrup and tasty juices.
In the infancy period, the baby grows very rapidly, because of this, significant changes occur in its physical and mental development. At 6 months, the child needs an updated daily routine compared to the previous period in order to correctly fulfill the new requirements for raising a baby and take into account his growing needs.
What changes occur in the mode of a 6-month-old baby?
The main differences from the previous period are the reduction in sleep time to 14 hours and the increase in the period of wakefulness, the transition to a new diet.
A child at 6 months already needs much less sleep, so parents should pay attention to the development of the physiological and psycho-emotional skills of the childThe table below shows the distribution regime processes, it is indicated how long they should take, however, parents can vary this schedule in accordance with the characteristics of their baby, his state of health, nutrition, and the general mode of life of the family.
What should be considered in order to properly organize the life of the crumbs?
Dear reader!
This article talks about typical ways to solve your questions, but each case is unique! If you want to know how to solve your particular problem - ask your question. It's fast and free!
- Since the time of wakefulness increases and decreases Time to sleep, it is necessary to correctly organize its periods: night and day. At night, the child sleeps 9-10 hours, the rest of the time is devoted to daytime sleep, which is organized 3 times a day for about 1.5 hours. In spite of individual characteristics, the total time must be observed so that the child rests and gains strength for classes, games. One of the periods daytime sleep need to be outdoors.
- Due to changes in physical condition, motor skills, the emergence of new needs (communication, objective activity) increased time for the period of wakefulness(up to two hours). There is an opportunity for teaching the baby new skills in crawling, communication, manipulation with objects.
- Hygiene procedures(washing, changing a diaper), which are carried out during feeding and other routine processes of the baby, also take quite a lot of time in care. Therefore, they should be given due attention to educate the crumbs in the skills of cleanliness and tidiness.
Bathing the baby and other hygiene procedures still take a lot of time, so they definitely need to take a place in the daily routine
Features of catering and walking
- Particular attention is paid to the process of feeding, as teeth appear and the child's diet changes significantly, complementary foods are introduced. Pediatricians say that the amount of food for daily feeding of a six-month-old baby should consist of 600 mg breast milk and 200-250 g of additional products. With mixed feeding, the baby receives food 4-5 times every four hours with a break for the night. There are different opinions about complementary foods, breastfeeding, all questions can be answered by a specialist, taking into account the individual characteristics and health of the baby.
- Walks should also occupy a certain place in the regime, since they serve as an excellent way to communicate with the child, acquire new knowledge, consolidate skills and abilities. Ideally, you need to walk with your baby 2 times two hours, which does not always work out for mom, as there are still family matters. The way out can be in organizing a full-fledged walk once a day, and then you can organize a dream with an open window.
Approximate distribution of regime processes during the day
Considering the developmental features of a child at 6 months old, it is possible to create a daily routine recommended by pediatricians that is acceptable for the baby and the whole family (we recommend reading:). It must necessarily take into account all the necessary procedures and regime processes. We will find out, among other things, how many times a day the little one should eat:
Morning routines: getting up, exercising, changing a diaper, washing, feeding, 6.00 ‒ 7.00 Communication, training sessions, games 7.00 ‒ 8.30 Walk and sleep in the air or sleep with an open window 8.30 ‒ 10.00 Hygiene procedures after walking and sleeping, feeding 10.00 ‒ 10.30 Educational activities, entertainment, communication 10.30 ‒ 12.30 Hygiene procedures before bedtime, daytime sleep 12.30 ‒ 14.30 Dinner preparation, lunch 14.30 ‒ 15.00 Entertainment, communication, games 15.00 ‒ 16.30 Sleep preparation, naps 16.30 ‒ 18.00 Hygiene procedures after sleep, preparation for meals, dinner 18.00 ‒ 18.30 Play activities while awake 18.30 ‒ 20.30 Preparation for bathing, water procedures 20.30 ‒ 21.00 Night sleep 21.30 - 6.00 Complementary feeding 22.00/1.00/2.00 Mom can vary the proposed daily routine, based on the needs of the child. In addition, the daily routine may have deviations, taking into account weather conditions, time of year, visits to the clinic and other events related to family life.
An important condition is that even if a grandmother or a nanny will replace the mother at certain moments, it is imperative to require them to maintain a daily routine, since the child develops the necessary habits, and their abrupt change may cause unwanted effects.
Features of the implementation of regime processes with a child of 6 months
For a more flexible implementation of the regime, it will be more useful not to unconditionally follow all the recommendations, but to make the necessary adjustments. In order to create comfortable living conditions for the baby and herself, each mother needs to know the features of conducting regime processes, taking into account changes in the behavior of the baby - for example, up to 6 months he slept and was awake for two hours, and now he wants to study and play for 2.5 hours. Mom is used to the fact that the baby sleeps for two or even more hours, she can do household chores at this time, and he already plays more time, sleeps less.
A six-month-old baby has already matured to sleep for about 7 hours at night without waking up. Formula-fed babies have a particularly long night's sleep - they eat porridge for dinner, which allows them to sleep 9 hours without a break for night feeding, which is very convenient for parents who also have the opportunity to sleep. The daily routine of a child during breastfeeding should not differ in any way, therefore it is important to be attentive to the introduction of complementary foods for 6-month-old babies (we recommend reading:).
Feeding a baby porridge at night can be a great option for those kids who bother their mothers with frequent nighttime wakefulness.
New requirements for nutrition and sleep at 6 months
- Feeding arrangements are also changing as complementary foods are introduced. When introducing it, it is necessary to exclude new foods when feeding before a night's sleep - experts recommend introducing new dishes into the child's diet only when he is alert, cheerful, that is, well rested.
- The ideal time for such complementary foods is feeding after the first day of awakening. Mom has the opportunity to observe how the baby took the new food. However, we must not forget that the diet of a child of 6 months implies a combination breastfeeding or milk formula with complementary foods.
- After consulting with a pediatrician, you can start complementary foods with porridge, then a good night's sleep will be ensured for the baby in the same way as for an artificial child.
- Daily laying of the crumbs is carried out in three doses and has its own peculiarity. If earlier the baby slept for 2 hours, played for 2 hours, now the sleep periods are 1.5 hours, and the wakefulness period has increased to 2.5 hours, therefore, in order to adjust the regime processes, the mother should carefully observe the baby and determine the most comfortable sleep periods for him and wakefulness, in order to rest herself too.
Organizing the life of a 6-month-old baby, it would be useful to refer to the recommendations of the famous pediatrician Komarovsky, who speaks of the rule of three "H": work up! Buy up! Feed! Only to do all this is important, taking into account the individual characteristics of the baby.
At the same time, he advises, when drawing up a regimen, to take into account the individual characteristics of the baby and the conditions for the joint actions of the mother and child that developed in the previous period. More detailed recommendations can be found by watching the video lessons of a doctor or other specialists.
