First Food for 4-6 months old Baby

From the fourth month of life, the baby can start complementary feeding. Generally, it begins with the fruit porridge in the afternoon, which will correspond to a snack with a contribution of natural vitamins and fiber that are important for the health of the child.

During this period, non-dairy foods must be introduced with caution, which must be prepared adequately to avoid altering the digestive and renal maturation rhythm of the baby, as well as the progressive neuromuscular development. This stage is propitious to favor the passage of the suction to the spoon, which will allow to taste the food better, and change the texture, from liquid to crushed, and when it already has teeth to the pieces.

First Food for 4-6 Months Old Baby

Baby eats porridge

The feeding patterns of the baby must adapt to the digestive capacity and the state of physiological and neuromotor development, gradually introducing new foods. The gastric capacity of the newborn is 10 to 20 milliliters (ml) and increases during its first year to 200 ml, which will allow the child to make more abundant and less frequent meals.

1. The cereals. You can start to introduce the baby’s food from 4-6 months, but never before four. In the beginning, gluten-free cereals (rice and corn) should be chosen to avoid sensitization and intolerance to this protein (wheat, oats, rye, and barley contain gluten).From 7-8 months, following the recommendations of your pediatrician, can be mixed. Cereals are a source of energy and provide proteins, minerals, vitamins (thiamine, especially), essential fatty acids and slow-absorbing carbohydrates to the baby’s diet, thus allowing a greater distance between the intakes. To prepare the papillae you can use the usual milk and add the necessary cereal, thus maintaining the minimum contribution of 500 cubic centimeters of milk per day. Preparations containing cereals and milk are less recommended, and they are prepared with water since it is more difficult to calculate the amount of milk used.
2. Fruits. From 4-6 months, it is advisable to introduce the fruit porridge in the baby’s diet for its vitamin intake. They should never replace a milk intake but complement it. For its preparation, you should use various fruits (orange, apple, and pear) at the beginning, and then introduce one by one, the banana, the grape or the plum, to educate the taste.OR

   After such as the peach and strawberry, should be avoided by being more allergenic and delayed until the baby turns one year. Although cereals are usually first introduced, and then fruits, it can be done the other way around, first the fruit and then the cereals. You should never sweeten the porridge with sugar, and it is important not to add cookies until after seven months, as these contain gluten.

3. Salted porridge for babies – For six months, it is possible to offer the baby its first salty porridge, which will consist of a puree of vegetables with chicken. It starts with 60-70 grams of chicken to increase in the following days to 100-120 grams. At the same time, the number of intakes per day is reduced, and the starting formula (Milk 1) can be changed to continuation milk (Milk 2).