Supplementary Foods for Babies

Introducing complementary foods is a challenge for many parents: When is the right time for the first porridge meal? How much porridge does my baby need? And which foods are suitable at all? We provide you with extensive information on the topic of complementary feeding and give you delicious porridge recipes to cook yourself.

Beikost – from when?

In the first months after birth, breast milk is the best nutrition for your child. But as time goes by, the infant’s nutritional needs can no longer be met through breastfeeding alone. Now is the right time to start complementary feeding. As a rule, you can give your baby its first porridge to try from the fifth month of life. By the seventh month of life at the latest, all babies should be given complementary foods.

Introducing complementary foods properly

Every child reacts differently to their first porridge – while some like complementary foods from the start, others have a hard time making the transition. As a general rule, you should only ever replace your baby’s milk meals with porridge meals step by step. You should also make the transition as gentle as possible: Start with just a few spoonfuls of porridge and continue to breastfeed your baby mainly. Over time, you can then slowly increase the proportion of porridge meals. As a rule, the milk meal at midday is initially replaced by a vegetable porridge. Over time, this can be enriched with potatoes and meat. About a month later, another milk meal can be replaced by a cereal-milk porridge. After another month, you can then give your baby the dairy-free cereal-fruit porridge to try.

How to make the introduction work

The first porridge food does not always taste good to the baby – it is often an uphill battle for parents until the infant accepts the porridge without crying. We give you tips to make the transition go better:

  • Match the right time for the first complementary food: You notice yourself when your baby becomes curious about other foods, for example, when he reaches for food or puts it in his mouth. Then the time has come to try it with the first spoons of porridge.
  • Get your child used to the spoon in time: you can give your baby the plastic spoon to play with a few weeks before it starts complementary feeding. So your child can slowly get used to the foreign object.
  • Let your child touch the porridge quietly with his hands if he wants. It is normal that babies are curious about the foreign food.
  • Stay patient when feeding: your baby will not eat his porridge at the first go without complaint, but probably spit out some again at the beginning. Also that when feeding initially some misses is normal.
  • If your child wants to eat the porridge partout not or has problems while eating, give him some more time. Maybe you just try it again after a week or ten days, then it certainly works better.

It is also important for the introduction of complementary food that your baby has certain physical requirements. So it should sit upright and be able to hold the head independently.

Complementary feeding: start with vegetable porridge

To introduce complementary feeding, a vegetable porridge is usually used. Suitable vegetables include carrots, pumpkins or parsnips. After some time, the porridge can also be enriched with potatoes, meat or fish. Once your baby has become accustomed to the vegetable porridge after a few weeks, the milk-cereal porridge and a little later the fruit-cereal porridge can be introduced. As a general rule, anything that tastes good to your child and does not harm him or her can be put on the table. However, you should not overload your child: One new food per week is enough.

Constipation due to complementary food

Complementary food should be given to the baby at the earliest from the fifth month of life, because before that the gastrointestinal tract is not yet sufficiently developed. If the child nevertheless already receives solid food, diarrhea, constipation or abdominal pain may occur. If problems with bowel movements occur with the first complementary food, there are usually harmless causes behind the complaints. Perhaps your baby can’t tolerate the newly introduced food or you haven’t given him or her enough fluids. However, if the problems do not disappear on their own or if there are further signs of illness, you should consult a doctor. To avoid constipation, it is important that your child drinks enough.At the beginning of the complementary feeding period, when only one porridge meal is given, the baby still gets a relatively large amount of fluid through breastfeeding. However, the more porridge the child eats, the more liquid he or she should drink at mealtimes. In general, from the first porridge meal onwards, there is nothing to stop offering the child some water or unsweetened tea with the meal.

Cooking complementary food yourself?

Whether you cook the complementary food yourself or resort to ready-made baby jars is your decision. Baby jars offer the advantage that they are available in many different flavors and only need to be warmed up. They are also great for on the go. However, in contrast to home-cooked baby food, you cannot decide for yourself which ingredients go into the porridge. Thus, salt and sugar, which are contained in many baby jars, can be dispensed with when you make your own.