Do I need a baby food in 4 months?
The main food of a newborn baby is mom's milk. If for some reason it is impossible to give it to the crumbs, the adapted mixture becomes the main food for the baby. But as the baby grows, questions arise when one can begin to give the child other food. Can I start a lure at 4 months of age and how to do it correctly?
Breast milk - the best for baby
Mother's milk is the best food for any baby. Breastmilk is a perfectly balanced composition of food, varying with each nursing mother, depending on the needs of her baby.
In breast milk, there are not only proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and fats that any adapted mixture can give to a child. It also contains special biological substances for intestinal maturation, enzymes, hormones, immunoglobulins and many other valuable compounds. That is why it is worth trying to feed the baby with mother's milk for at least the first months of life.
How to understand that the child is ready to lure?
The first sign of the readiness of the little ones to try something new, besides milk, is the extinction of the ejection reflex. A baby that has entered the mouth no longer pushes the tongue out.
Other signs by which you can judge the readiness of the peanut are:
- Increase the activity of the baby.
- Doubling the weight of the baby compared to the mass with which the baby was born.
- The baby’s great interest in what adults eat.
- More frequent latching to the chest (the baby has stopped filling up).
Who should be given supplements as early as 4 months?
The child should start giving new dishes in such situations:
- The baby has artificial feeding.
- Baby breastfeeding, but his mother’s milk is not enough (the baby doesn’t eat enough and doesn’t gain weight).
- Baby shows an active interest in adult food.
- The child has anemia, rickets or frequent constipation.
Complementary feeding rules
- A new dish for a child should be offered at the beginning of feeding, after which it should be fed with a habitual diet (mother's milk or a mixture).
- You can not give several types of products at the same time, since it will be difficult for you to determine the reaction to new dishes. All products are first introduced single component.
- Trying to start a new product with a microdose - quarters or half a teaspoon. With normal tolerance, the dose is doubled the next day. So continue to give the same product, watching the behavior and health of the baby, until they reach the age standards. Only then can the next product be given to the baby, again starting with micro doses.
- Lure is not administered if the crumb is sick or vaccination is planned in the coming days. If an undesirable reaction appears on the introduced dish, it is immediately canceled and the infant is shown to the doctor.Sample foods should be resumed when all manifestations of allergies or digestive disorders pass.
- To make the food more pleasant and familiar to the baby, they can be diluted with my mother's milk or a mixture. It will also make the product more liquid, which will facilitate and improve its digestion.
How much should a baby eat?
The total amount of food to eat per day four month old childcalculated on the basis of the weight of the baby. The body weight of the child should be divided by 7. The resulting figure will show the daily amount of food needed by the baby. It is divided by the number of feedings. On average, a 4-month-old baby eats 800-900 ml of food per day and 140-150 ml per feeding.
What products can be given to a child?
As a first meal, most pediatricians advise to choose vegetable puree. Only babies that are not gaining weight should begin to enter porridge at 4 months.
From vegetables for the first sample recommend zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower. For the first porridge, which can be given to a small baby, you should choose buckwheat, corn or rice.
Diet
A four-month baby eats an average of 6 times a day at intervals of about 3.5 hours. Approximate hours of feeding a baby of this age can be:
- 6: 00-6: 30
- 9: 30-10: 00
- 13: 00-13: 30
- 16: 30-17: 00
- 20: 00-20: 30
- 23: 30-00: 00
Some babies at this age independently switch to five meals a day, then the intervals between feedings are extended to 4 hours.
Power schedule
The formula-fed baby or the baby, who was decided to introduce supplemental food before six months for good reasons, feeds at four months like this:
Meal | Products and dishes |
The first | Mom's milk or adapted mixture |
Second | Vegetable puree up to 100 g |
Third | Mom's milk or adapted mixture |
Fourth | Mom's milk or adapted mixture |
Fifth | Mom's milk or adapted mixture |
Sixth | Mom's milk or adapted mixture |
Tips
Cook and give crumbs exactly the same mashed potatoes as he will eat in one go. Residues should be discarded. If you give your child ready meals, remember that an open portion can not be stored for longer than 24 hours, even in the refrigerator.
Consider the following nuances:
- Use a blender or sieve for preparing baby dishes, since all food for a four-month-old baby should be well ground and homogeneous.
- Watch the temperature of the food you give to the crumbs. Puree should not be cold, but it can not be overheated. Stir the dish evenly so that its temperature is the same.
- Do not force your child to try a new dish, even if it seems very tasty to you and you have spent a lot of time preparing it. Postpone the sample for a while, and then again offer the toddler a new food.
