Another milestone in your child's development is reached when they try their first complementary food. They experience new flavours on their little tongue and practise other techniques for ingesting food in addition to sucking. How exciting!
It's also exciting for parents, especially if it's their first child. When breastfeeding, the situation was still clear: milk from mum's breast - as often as the baby wants it. Full stop. Of course, mums who feed their baby with a milk bottle experience the same thing: There is pre-nutrition, as much and as often as the baby wants it.
When it comes to spoons, however, some parents are still unsure. I recently spoke to a mum who would like to introduce complementary foods to her six-month-old daughter. The mum had had her sister, who is experienced with babies, explain the "official porridge timetable" to her in great detail. Her friend, who is also experienced with children, tried to convince her of the relatively new baby led weaning trend from England. You can find out more about this in this text below. Now the mum was standing there, not knowing what was best for her child. And anyway, should she offer her daughter carrots first and then parsnips - or would she prefer broccoli?
First things first: it doesn't matter! You could also start with pumpkin.
I advised the insecure mum what I always recommend to parents in such situations: Please stay calm! Although some findings have been updated in the meantime and some recommendations have changed accordingly, the wheel has not been reinvented. Your child will also show you what it wants - or doesn't like. If you recognise and respect your baby's signals, you are laying a solid foundation for healthy eating habits for your offspring.
When does complementary feeding begin?
Most children show with about half a year Interest in food that goes into the mouths of mum, dad and siblings. Some cheeky tots are already trying to reach for it. This is your child's way of signalling to you: I'm ready for new culinary territory! Other babies, even at six months and older, are not yet interested in anything other than their milk meal. Then be patient and playfully offer your child a little complementary food every now and then. Sooner or later, everyone will acquire a taste for it.
However, you should in no case before the fifth to sixth month of life your child to start offering him solid food. - Not even if "from 4 months" is printed on the porridge jars in the shops! Your child's intestines are not yet sufficiently developed for this before the age of five months. Kidney function and metabolism also need to mature before children can consume anything other than milk. In addition, children have the so-called tongue thrust reflex in their first months of life. This means that the tongue immediately pushes solid food that does not come from the breast or teat out of the mouth. This reflex decreases from around the fourth month of life.
Your child should also be able to sit upright, at least with help, to eat their complementary food better.
When your child fulfils all the signs of maturity, the intestines are also developed enough for complementary foods. However, even children who develop at lightning speed are at least six months old by then.
These are the baby's food marks:
- Your child shows interest in eating. It follows your eating closely with its eyes, imitates how you open your mouth and starts to smack its lips.
- Your child can hold its head up on its own and sit on your lap with your help.
- Your child reaches for the food independently (without your motivation), puts it in their mouth and sucks and chews on it with relish.
- The so-called tongue thrust reflex has disappeared. This means that your child no longer pushes the food out of their mouth with their tongue, but swallows it down.
Only when your child shows all these signs is it old enough to start complementary feeding.
Please give your child time! Only in rare exceptional cases are children ready for parents to start introducing complementary foods before the child is six months old.
It is a common misconception that introducing complementary foods to children at an early age leads to them accepting solid foods more quickly. Apart from the fact that there is no sensible reason for a fast pace when introducing complementary foods, this is also not true in my experience.
If parents start complementary feeding too early, not only do they and their children experience unnecessary stress, the weaning process also takes much longer overall. This is because children at this age can signal very clearly when they are overwhelmed. When complementary foods are introduced, children show this through refusal, digestive problems or a significantly increased frequency of breastfeeding at night.
My tip for you when introducing complementary foods: Don't let yourself be rushed - don't put your child under unnecessary stress!
What's for dinner?
Curiosity wins out: If your baby steals bites from your plate or fork, there's nothing to stop you putting a piece of bread/roll, soft-boiled carrot or potato in such a way that he can reach it. It is then sucked, licked and pressed. It is salivated, masticated and distributed. At this stage, very little of it ends up in the tummy, as the main aim is to familiarise the child with new foods.
Your child's first meal is a firework of experiences: Food has different textures that can be explored with the little fingers and mouth. Food tastes different and no longer as sweet as the usual milk-based meal!
The first spoonfuls of porridge: Lunch is the perfect time for this.
If you want to start with porridge, it is important that you proceed very slowly and carefully. In the first few weeks, porridge is only an additional source of nutrition to the regular milk meal. Breastfeed your child for the first few days and then offer a little porridge. The same applies to bottle-fed babies, of course.
A little cooked vegetable puree (without any seasoning!) is suitable for the start. In the beginning, it's all about trial and error for your child. Start with just one type of vegetable so that the child can get to know the "original" flavour of each vegetable. Many parents start with carrots, as they taste a little sweet and are therefore readily accepted by babies. Carrots are sweet and are therefore well accepted by many children. However, carrots can also trigger allergies. You can therefore also choose a different type of vegetable. Hokaido pumpkin or parsnip are good alternatives that children also accept well.
The milk meal remains: If you offer your child a spoonful but they don't open their mouth (any more) or turn away, the solid meal is finished and they are still getting milk. Even with the introduction of complementary foods, daily milk meals will initially remain the main source of nutrition, regardless of whether you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding your child. Don't tempt your child to continue eating. This is because your child knows exactly when it has had enough or when its need for new food has been met. Healthy children do not need "motivation" to eat. Rather, the often well-intentioned motivation of parents destroys the child's interest in eating. Then the playful character is lost and eating quickly degenerates into a stressful situation for mum and child.
Variety: The next day it can be a different type of vegetable. This also applies to the following days. This way, your child will get to know new flavours and will also appreciate the variety on their plate more readily later on. It used to be recommended that only one new vegetable per week should be introduced to minimise the risk of allergies. Today we know that this will not prevent allergies.
Variations: Gradually you can also start to vary the vegetable porridge with potatoes, rice or pasta (wholemeal). Pureed meat or boneless fish can also be added to the porridge from time to time. In this way, the midday milk meal slowly becomes a complete complementary food meal. The evening milk meal can then slowly become a wholemeal cereal porridge dinner, followed by a fruit and cereal porridge snack in the afternoon.
Whether you introduce the evening porridge first or the afternoon porridge first is entirely up to you. Many breastfeeding mums save it until last to replace the evening meal. This is primarily for emotional reasons. However, I would advise mums to replace the morning meal as the last meal. This has the great advantage that this meal is usually a full breastfeeding meal for which the mum does not have to justify herself to anyone. This makes it easier for many mums to continue breastfeeding part of the time after their child's first birthday. They do not lose the important protection of breast milk and the child can continue to be a baby. And yes: it is best for mum and baby if the breastfeeding relationship is ended as late as possible. No mum should have to justify long-term breastfeeding! And yet I experience every day how much pressure is put on mums. Breastfeeding in the morning can help to avoid this pressure.
Additional liquid: From the third formula feed, when your child is no longer receiving milk, you should offer your child additional liquid to drink. The best choice is water. This can either come from a bottle labelled "Suitable for preparing baby food" or from the tap. Tap water in Germany is consistently of very good quality and meets higher standards than mineral water. It is very suitable for your child. The only exception is if you live in a house with old lead water pipes. Then the water that comes out of your tap is not suitable for your child.
Problems with digestionMothers often report severe digestive problems in connection with the introduction of porridge. Digestive problems cannot be remedied by giving additional water or tea. Rather, they indicate that the proportion of solid food is too high for the child's sensitive digestive tract. The best and simplest therapy in these cases is to significantly increase the proportion of formula (breast or bottle). Breast milk is the ideal food to keep the baby's digestion going. Alternatively, this is the pre-nutrition.
We did it! When the first birthday is just around the corner, the child can eat the family meals at lunchtime. In the morning, oatmeal with natural yoghurt and some fruit (e.g. banana) or a cereal porridge tastes good, while in the evening he can have sandwiches in "handy" bites. Pieces of fruit or vegetables with some rusks, for example, are suitable for in-between meals. This gives your child five "real" meals. And your child can still have milk from the breast or bottle.
The WHO recommends breastfeeding the child beyond its first birthday. In regions where there is a higher risk of infection, even beyond the second birthday. This also applies to Germany!
Prolonged partial breastfeeding also helps children to cope better with the many infections they encounter in daycare centres and kindergartens.
What is Baby Led Weaning?
"Baby Led Weaning (BLW) is a trend with more and more parental fans. And rightly so, because it puts the child's needs at the centre!
As a midwife, I experience every day how much stress the introduction of porridge means for parents and children and how smoothly things run when children are allowed to decide for themselves what they want to try and eat and when.
This means that there is no need for baby food at all. Instead, the parents let the child independently choose finger food from the family table to eat, taste and examine. BLW means something like "baby-led weaning". It is assumed that the baby will receive all the nutrients it needs, even if it is free to choose - provided there is an appropriate selection of foods. This also promotes the baby's self-determination.
It is important that only healthy food that the child is allowed to eat is on the parents' plate. It is also important that the child is not motivated to eat. BLW works well when the child is allowed to reach for food through their own motivation.
However, the Professional Association of Paediatricians (BVKJ) points out that this does not ensure that children get the nutrients they need in sufficient quantities. This could easily lead to iron deficiency, for example. The federal initiative "Gesund ins Leben" (Healthy into Life) also takes a similar stance on this method.
However, this criticism forgets that the BLW implements what is urgently recommended for the porridge meal: Complementary food is an additional food to the regular milk meal. The complete nutrient supply comes from the milk during the first few weeks of practising and trying! BLW thus follows the WHO recommendation that complementary foods are purely ad-on nutrition in the first few weeks and have no claim to being a complete diet.
It is only at the moment when the child reduces the milk meals that it is important that the solid food has a comprehensive nutrient composition.
Well, the studies on BLW nutrition are thin on the ground, with only a few current and reliable findings.
My experience with BLW is that these children eat faster and better than porridge-fed children. These children have no problems with their digestion and the transition between infancy and toddlerhood is completely stress-free.
It is also possible for parents to combine both forms of complementary feeding - traditional and BLW. They are not mutually exclusive. You can do one without giving up the other. Show composure here too. There is nothing to stop a child being given porridge and also being able to "help themselves" at the family table as they please. Even a "porridge child" can decide for themselves when they have had enough or what they don't want. Babies can also be very "consistent" when they don't open their mouths, turn away or send food flying across the room. Many children quickly reach for a spoon themselves or eat their porridge with their fingers. If you allow this, your child can also eat independently.
Respect for the will of the child: I would like to emphasise once again how important it is to respect the child's signals. No child has to finish their plate, even if there are only a few blobs left. So do without all the little 'feeding tricks' that used to be used to encourage children to eat more than they want.
What is coming not on the table?
The first thousand days of your baby's life are particularly important. This also applies to your child's nutrition. This is because your child is busy building its organs and immune system. The quality of the food has a fundamental influence on cell formation and therefore on your child's health development. It is therefore important that your child always has all the nutrients it needs for its development. However, it is also important that the food is of good organic quality. Toxins from production are even more harmful at this age than they will be later on. Organic food is not a fashion trend. It is an important basis for a long and healthy life for your child.
Even if variety on the plate makes your baby happy: There are some foods that you should not feed your child, at least in the first year of life. not should be offered. For example, little ones can choke on raw root vegetables or fruit with a firm skin, such as unpeeled apple pieces or whole grapes. Unground nuts and almonds are taboo until at least the age of four because the risk of children choking on them is still too great.
You should also avoid raw animal foods for your child until their first birthday. This is because it can contain certain bacteria or germs that can cause illness in young children. In addition to raw milk, this also includes eggs that are not fully cooked. What many parents don't realise: Raw animal foods also include honey.
However, your child should also not eat raw cereals, i.e. grains or flakes, for the same reasons. "Raw" means that oats & co. have not been heated for processing or consumption. Oat flakes from the supermarket shelf, on the other hand, are steamed, so you can use them without hesitation.
Sugared, salted and highly seasoned or flavoured foods are also not suitable for small children. Ready meals and fast food are unhealthy for the child - but also for you.
To make it tasty and healthy for the whole family, you can fill an unseasoned baby portion of the family meal and season the rest to taste for the adults.
Beware of ingestion: Don't let your child eat alone! Sit your child on your lap to eat! As practical as the baby seats at the dining table may be: if your child chokes in them, it will take you too long to get your child out of their harness! Only when your child is able to sit up on their own and sit upright and stable is the risk of choking low. Then your child can sit in the highchair at the family table to eat.
It's good if you can help your child take their first steps towards independent eating without fear. You can do this well if you avoid foods that can be dangerous and if you know how to react if your child swallows them. In the First aid course I will show you how you can help your child in this acute emergency.
For complementary food Buy jars or cook them yourself?
Today, baby meals from ready-made jars are consistently of good quality and consist of strictly controlled ingredients. Quickly warmed up, a meal for the little ones is on the table in no time at all. Of course, this comes at a price. It is regularly cheaper to cook the porridge yourself. It's also great for stockpiling. Simply prepare a larger quantity of porridge and then freeze individual portions. This way you have ready-made porridge quickly and easily to hand when needed. Home-cooked porridge also tastes more natural than industrially produced porridge.
But I don't see an either/or in this question either. You can simply mix both alternatives as required. Many parents appreciate a "ready-made" jar for when they are on the go or when things need to be done quickly. They also like to cook their own food and can vary the ingredients and flavours.
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