Supplementary food for babies

Definition

The term complementary foods includes all foods other than breast milk or infant formula. After a certain age, more and more complementary food should be fed in addition to breast milk. Supplementary food plays an important role in the child’s development and gradually replaces formula. In the beginning, the complementary food is almost always given in the form of porridge, either as purchased porridge in jars or home-made.

When will I be allowed to give my baby food?

Breastfeeding is recommended in the first months of the baby’s life. If the mother can breastfeed and there are no reasons for not breastfeeding (mother’s medication, mother’s illness), mothers are recommended to breastfeed for about 6 months. At the same time, they can then start feeding complementary foods.

It is recommended that supplementary food be added from the 5th month of life at the earliest and from the 7th month of life at the latest. However, the introduction of complementary foods does not mean that a complete switch to complementary foods should be made immediately and breastfeeding should be stopped. It is a slow process in which complementary foods are slowly increased so that they completely replace breastfeeding at the end of the day. The first porridge is usually given at midday. Gradually it then replaces the other milk meals.

Supplementary food plan / Supplementary food table

All foods other than breast milk/infant formula count as complementary foods. When which complementary food is introduced depends mainly on the age of the child. The table below lists essential foods and the recommendation as to when they should be fed.

However, the recommendations are not always the same. In recent years it has become apparent that many foods can be fed earlier than expected. From 5 – 6 months of age: From 6 – 8 months of age: From 9 – 10 months of age: From 12 months of age:

• Potatoes
• Noodles
• Rice
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Courgette
• Pumpkin
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Kohlrabi
• Rice Flakes
• Apple
• Banana
• Oil (e.g. rape seed oil / sunflower oil)
• Butter
• Apple juice
• Meat (e.g. beef, lamb, poultry)
• Cereals (whole grain flakes, oat flakes)
• Whole milk
• Peach
• Pear
• Fish
• Peas
• Apricots
• Mango
• Egg
• Bread
• Yoghurt
• Quark
• Cheese

What is the procedure for introducing a partner?

Between the 5th and 7th month of life, the introduction of insulin can begin. A few rules should be observed to make it as easy as possible for the child and not to overburden him or her at the beginning. The baby is not yet used to swallowing food with a firmer consistency than milk and must be slowly introduced to the new way of eating.

The classic way of introducing the infant to the infant formula is to start with a pure vegetable or fruit porridge. Of course, fruit can also be mixed with vegetables. Examples would be an apple-carrot porridge, a fruit porridge made of banana and apple or a vegetable porridge.

With vegetables in particular, there are already relatively many possible combinations at the beginning and you can try out what your baby likes best. You can mix as you like with carrots, parsnips, pumpkin, zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower. If the first porridge works well after a week, you can add some potatoes to the vegetable porridge.

In the course of time, potatoes can also be replaced by noodles or rice. The next step is to add some meat and some oil. As oil you should choose high-quality refined oil such as rapeseed oil or sunflower oil.

Lean poultry or beef are particularly suitable as meat types. As a rough rule, only one ingredient should be added per week at the beginning of the supplementation in order not to overtax the little one’s digestive system. At the beginning of the induction, the porridge should always be given at midday so that there is enough time for digestion before going to bed.

After about 4-6 weeks, a porridge should now also serve as a main meal in the evening. Here a whole milk-cereal porridge is recommended. Fresh (pasteurized and ultra-high temperature) or long-life whole milk can be used.

For example, whole grain flakes or oat flakes can be used. Some fruit juice or pureed fruit can be added to the porridge. About one month (7th – 9th month) later, breakfast in porridge form is also available.

The milk-free cereal-fruit porridge is recommended for this. It replaces the milk-cereal porridge and is fed in the morning and evening. The wholemeal flakes (or other cereals) should be soaked in water so that they swell.

Then semolina is stirred into boiling water, the ingredients are mixed together and pureed fruit is added. In the meantime, peaches, apricots, mangoes and berries can be used in addition to apples and bananas. During the first few months of the diet, neither salt nor sugar (even in the form of honey) should be added.

The amount of sweet porridge should be limited to one a day. In order not to make fruit porridge too sweet, vegetables can be added. From the eighth month onwards, you can try not to just give porridge, but to cut or crush the food into small pieces.

Foods like noodles, potatoes and rice can be fed in increasing quantities. The little ones should also be given something to drink in the meantime, preferably only water or unsweetened tea (lukewarm or cold!) from a soft beak cup.

Fruit juices can also be given, but should be strongly diluted at the beginning. From the 8th month onwards, foods such as eggs can now also be introduced. However, dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt and quark should be added after the first birthday if possible. From the 10th to 12th month of life, the child can increasingly participate in family meals, whereby the food should of course be cut into bite-sized pieces.