Newborn
Breast milk is the best food for your newborn baby. If breastfeeding is not possible, babies are given special infant formula as an alternative.
Breast milk
Infant formula
If the mother cannot breastfeed, babies are given a special infant formula. For babies with an increased risk of allergies, manufacturers offer hypoallergenic infant formula. In this food, the large proteins have been broken down into smaller ones. This is said to trigger allergies less often. However, it is unclear how effectively hypoallergenic infant formula can actually prevent allergies. Read more about this topic in the article Allergy – Prevention.
Introduction of complementary feeding
When introducing complementary foods, it is important to proceed slowly and gently. Here are some tips:
Introduce gradually
Give time
Always allow a few days, preferably a week, to pass before trying a new porridge. This way you can see if your baby is allergic to certain foods. If the baby can’t tolerate carrot, you can try another vegetable (like squash, zucchini, fennel, broccoli or cauliflower).
Variety
You can then add other ingredients step by step: First give your child a vegetable mashed potatoes (refined with a little canola oil). After some time, you can also add meat (lean meat with a little fruit juice).
For more variety, you can sometimes replace the potato portion with pasta, rice or cereals. Once or twice a week you should give your child fish instead of meat, for example salmon.
Patience
At about the end of the first month after starting complementary feeding, the complete midday meal should have been changed to complementary food.
Sixth to eighth month
After about half a year, the baby learns to chew. From the age of about eight months, he or she can move the tongue sideways in the mouth and in this way mix the food with the saliva. From this point on, you do not mash the food quite as thoroughly.
At about the end of the first month after starting complementary feeding, the complete midday meal should have been changed to complementary food.
Sixth to eighth month
After about half a year, the baby learns to chew. From the age of about eight months, he or she can move the tongue sideways in the mouth and in this way mix the food with the saliva. From this point on, you do not mash the food quite as thoroughly.
Eighth to twelfth month
Your child’s digestive function is now fully developed. Your baby can now sit in a high chair at the table and occasionally eat with the adults. However, heavily salted or spiced foods are taboo. Depending on the number of teeth he has, his food may only need to be roughly mashed with a fork or cut into small pieces.
Avoid convenience foods that are not specifically designed for young children. They contain too much salt, sugar and additives. Also avoid low-calorie foods. The fats needed for healthy development are not found in skim milk or skim milk products. Sweets and sweetened foods are bad for your baby’s teeth. You can sweeten porridge or grits with applesauce, for example.
Whole nuts and other foods that can be easily swallowed should be avoided until 4 years of age.
Why vitamins and minerals are important
Iron supplementation is not usually necessary in children with a balanced diet. Iron is mainly found in meat and egg yolks.
In the first year of life, completely abandon honey. It sometimes contains botulinum bacteria, with which the baby’s immune defenses can not cope. These bacteria are very resistant to heat. Botulinum infection causes paralysis. If the respiratory muscles are affected, the infection is usually fatal.
