What to do if complementary food leads to constipation?

In many babies, the introduction of infant formula causes the digestive system to become somewhat disrupted. It is therefore normal for the children’s stool behaviour to change somewhat in the first few days and weeks as a result of the ingestion of the supplement. If constipation occurs, it is essential to ensure that the baby has an adequate fluid intake, for example by breastfeeding more frequently.

If the child has abdominal pain, regular gentle abdominal massages can help. If the complaints do not diminish as a result, it should be considered whether the type of complementary food should be changed. Carrots, for example, cause constipation symptoms more often in small children than other vegetables such as parsnip, zucchini or broccoli.

Which side dish of evening porridge is recommended?

The evening meal is usually the second regular supplementary meal that is introduced. This falls into the 6th to 8th month of life. Initially, cereal-milk porridge is recommended as the evening meal.

For this purpose, for example, whole grain flakes can be cooked in milk. The whole is pureed and pureed fruit is added. Another month later, the cereal-milk porridge can be replaced by cereal-fruit porridge without milk. The milk is replaced by water and semolina cooked in water can be added.

What kind of side dish is there without porridge?

With the introduction of the infant’s food, everything that is offered to the child as a main meal is usually mashed up completely. From about 10 – 11 months of age, an attempt can be made to stop pureeing the food, but only to cut or squash it very small. In addition to the main meals, the child can be offered finger food, i.e. food that has not been pureed, from the time of the introduction of the food. Various finger food ideas for babies are listed below.

What amounts of supplementary food does my baby need?

Especially at the beginning of the introduction of infant formula, many babies still eat very little infant formula. The rest of the meal should then be supplemented with breast milk that is familiar to the baby. The more porridge the baby eats, the less breast milk is needed for the meal.

The aim is to gradually replace breast milk completely with the complementary food. After the child has become accustomed to the new food, it will slowly absorb more and more of it. The children should then eat about 200 grams of porridge per meal.

Then it is no longer necessary to complete the meal with breast milk. According to the Research Institute for Child Nutrition, between the 7th and 9th month of life, babies should eat about 190 grams of meat-vegetable porridge per midday meal, including 100 grams of vegetables, 50 grams of potatoes, 30 grams of meat, 13 grams of juice and 8 grams of rapeseed oil. Between the 10th and 12th month of life, it should be about 220 grams of meat-vegetable porridge per midday meal.

Of this, 100 grams of vegetables, 60 grams of potatoes, 30 grams of meat, 20 grams of juice and 10 grams of rapeseed oil. From about the 6th month onwards, the milk-cereal porridge is introduced as an evening meal. The child should eat about 240 grams of this until the age of one year.

Of this, 200 grams of milk, 20 grams of grain and 20 grams of fruit. The cereal-fruit porridge, which is introduced after the milk-cereal porridge and replaces it, should have about 220 grams. Of this, 100 grams of fruit, 90 grams of water, 20 grams of grain and 5 grams of rapeseed oil.