About half a year after birth, your baby is ready for the first complementary food. Only by breastfeeding, the child can now namely no longer be supplied with enough nutrients. Our complementary feeding plan offers you an overview of how your baby’s diet changes between the fifth and tenth month of life. The complementary feeding plan begins with the transition from breastfeeding to complementary feeding and ends with the transition from complementary feeding to family food.
Complementary feeding from the fifth month
From the fifth month of life, your baby may not only have milk, but also the first complementary food. However, always remember that every child develops differently – some babies are not ready for their first porridge until a little later. However, if you notice major deviations from the norm, you should talk about it with the pediatrician in charge. When introducing complementary food, you should bear in mind that your baby has so far only been used to liquid food – the somewhat firmer porridge is a completely new experience for him. For this reason, you should only gradually exchange breastfeeding meals for porridge meals. This way, your baby can slowly get used to the new food. Also, introduce new foods slowly – there should be no more than one new food per week.
The first porridge meal
When you start introducing complementary foods, you should first replace midday breastfeeding with a porridge meal. It’s best to start with a pure vegetable porridge, which you give your child in small amounts to try at first. The porridge should be as liquid as possible and finely mashed. If the porridge is too solid, you can dilute it with a little water or fruit juice. Sweet vegetables such as carrots or parsnips are well suited. But other varieties are also recommended – try out what your baby likes best. Only spinach and fennel should be avoided for the time being, as they contain a lot of nitrate. They should be used only when the porridge is additionally prepared with potatoes (and meat). At the first attempts, the porridge meal will probably not yet fill your baby. Therefore, breastfeed your baby additionally or bottle-feed him. However, be sure to increase the amount of porridge slightly from day to day until your baby is eating a whole porridge meal.
Add potatoes and meat
Once baby is eating his vegetable porridge without complaint, you can add potatoes to the porridge and, a little later, meat. Babies up to six months can have about 20 grams of meat per day, and babies up to twelve months can have 30 grams. It is also important that the porridge contains enough fat. That is why you should always add some vegetable oil to home-cooked porridge. Canola oil, for example, is well suited.
Evening porridge: milk cereal porridge.
The cereal porridge is introduced with the second porridge meal. This is offered to the baby between the sixth and eighth month first as Mich cereal porridge, and later as cereal-fruit porridge. The cereal-fruit porridge is introduced about one month after the milk-cereal porridge. The milk-cereal porridge usually replaces the evening breastfeeding meal, and the cereal-fruit porridge eliminates afternoon breastfeeding. A milk-cereal porridge can be prepared with breast milk, breast milk or whole milk. If the milk portion is already included in the prepackage, the porridge only needs to be mixed with water. Which cereal you use for the porridge is up to you. Oats are especially often used for the preparation of complementary food.
Complementary feeding plan: 5th to 7th month of life.
This is what your child’s diet might look like between the fifth and seventh months of life. Remember, however, that every child develops differently.
- In the morning: breast milk or formula.
- Midday: vegetable porridge and milk; vegetable-potato porridge and milk; vegetable-potato-meat porridge and water.
- Afternoon: breast milk or infant milk.
- Evening: breast milk or infant milk
Complementary feeding schedule: 6 to 8 months of life.
This is what your child’s diet might look like between six and eight months of age.
- In the morning: breast milk or formula milk.
- Lunchtime: vegetable-potato-meat porridge and water.
- Afternoon: breast milk or infant milk.
- Evening: milk cereal porridge and water
Complementary feeding plan: 7 to 9 months of life.
This is what your child’s diet might look like between the seventh and ninth months of life.
- In the morning: breast milk or formula milk.
- Lunch: vegetable-potato-meat porridge and water.
- Afternoon: cereal-fruit porridge and water
- Evening: whole milk cereal porridge and water
Introduce family food
From about the tenth month of life, or a little later for some children, your baby can participate in family meals. The four porridge meals are now replaced by three larger meals and two smaller snacks in the morning and afternoon. As with the introduction of complementary feeding, you can also proceed gradually with family meals; for example, replace only one pap meal at first.
Getting baby used to more solid foods
Your baby is now ready for more solid foods – meals no longer need to be pureed because of this, but simply mashing the food is enough. As food becomes increasingly solid, your baby will have an increased need for fluids. Therefore, give your child enough water or tea to drink. What does the family diet look like now? In the morning, for example, you can give your child a cup of milk with some bread. At lunchtime, depending on what is on the menu, your child can have some soft vegetables and mashed potatoes. In the evening, as in the morning, milk and bread with some additional fruit are a good choice. In the morning and afternoon you can offer your child bread, fruit, vegetables or cereals. Attention:
- Refrain from salt and spicy seasoning.
- Do not use flatulent, fatty or hard-to-digest foods.
- Hard objects such as nuts are not suitable for young children, as they can enter the trachea if swallowed.
