When to start solid foods?

Introducing solid food to a baby represents a turning point in a certain sense. If until now the only intake of nutrients was mother's milk or artificial milk formula, complementary foods are an enrichment of the child's diet and mean a certain change for his organism. When to start solid foods?

For properly breastfed children, it is recommended to start with solid foods from the 6th month . However, it is advisable to start feeding calmly as early as the 4th month. If the child is "weaned" on artificial milk , it is recommended to start with complementary foods from the 4th-5th month . Due to the fact that breast milk contains all the necessary nutrients that a child needs, it is not necessary to start feeding before the mentioned six months. With artificial milk, the variety of necessary nutrients is lower, so it is more recommended to start complementary feeding at a younger age.

Complementary feeding, however, does not mean that the mother will immediately wean him from breast milk or artificial substitute. It's just about adding new nutrients to the baby and enriching his diet, which he will gradually get used to. Snacks also develop the oral muscles, whose activity is no longer based only on sucking and swallowing, but also on jaw and tongue movements.

And how to feed the baby in the beginning? It starts with a simple tasting. For example, make a carrot side dish and start with a few spoonfuls. Wait a few days to see how the baby's digestive system reacts to it, in a few days you can try another food or just the same one. It is important to observe how the child reacts to the consumption of food. You can gradually start feeding your baby so that it is the main meal of the day. From the 4th to the 6th month, the child can have one complementary food per day, or you can replace evening breastfeeding with another complementary food. Start with fruit snacks only after the child gets used to vegetable snacks. Start with easily digestible fruit crops, such as banana or fiber. You can also combine carrot and apple.

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