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Six months already, the baby has grown well: food diversification is there for everyone, the first teeth are sometimes felt, he has exceeded 7 kg, and it is often the end of exclusive breastfeeding! Our advice on feeding babies at 6 months.
What does a 6 month old baby eat and how to diversify?
At six months, baby begins dietary diversification if it hasn’t already. We prefer to start vegetables and fruits always well washed, peeled, pitted and seeded, steamed and without adding other ingredients or spices, so that our child has at least once the natural taste of the food.
The texture can be gradually a little thickened with cereals : we get closer to the appearance of a puree.
As we go along, we gradually expand the baby’s repertoire: we can offer our child raw vegetables and condiments, always in very small quantities. ” Your children are all different and unique, so don’t look at what is happening elsewhere but focus on your baby: he will be able to tell you if his diet is suitable for him and what his rhythm is », Says Céline de Sousa, chef and kitchen consultant, specialist in infant nutrition.
It is recommended to wait two months between the introduction of the first vegetables and fruits and the first proteins, according to Marjorie Crémadès, dietician specializing in infant nutrition and the fight against obesity.
At six months, baby can therefore eat the vegetables and fruits that are easier to digest, because they are less rich in fiber, but also garlic, onion, spices, shallots, then lentils, tiny bits and pieces. chicken or other low-fat meat, but also fish and shellfish – always being careful about the possibility of allergy.
6 month old baby: introduce food one by one
The goal of food diversification is to offer new foods to the baby and thus avoid the development of allergy or intolerance. For this, it is recommended tointroduce new foods one by one. If an allergy appears, it is therefore easily identifiable.
We try to vary the shapes as much as possible offered for each food (mash, compote, custard…). Above all, we do not turn our attention if the baby refuses a food: ” If possible, it is good to try to make your child taste a food 10 to 15 times over three years before excluding it from his diet because he does not like it. », Underlines Céline de Sousa.
Typical meal for a 6 month old baby
- Breakfast: 180 to 240 ml of milk
- Lunch: 150 g of vegetables with 1/4 mashed hard-boiled egg + 100 g of fruit compote
- Snack: a ripe raw fruit + 150 to 210 ml of milk
- Dinner: 180 to 240 ml of milk + a few spoons of vegetable puree
Food: how much should my 6 month old child eat?
In terms of quantities, at six months, we stay on very small portions: 100 to 200 grams mixed vegetables or fruit, and no more than 10 grams per day of animal protein other than milk.
The important novelty of this month is the introduction of fat – in addition to breast or infant milk – in baby’s diet. This is absolutely essential for the proper development of our child’s brain.
How much milk for my infant?
The milk therefore always remains the main source protein, vitamins or fatty acids for my child. Even if the food diversification began two months ago and is well established, we must not go below the limit of 500 ml of milk per day minimum.
If you are still breastfeeding your baby, this may be the time to start weaning. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for up to 6 months. But each mother is free, of course, to continue breastfeeding as long as she wishes, while introducing other foods, necessary for the child’s nutritional balance.
To wean your child, gradually alternate a feed with a bottle of 1st or 2nd age milk, depending on the progress of its food diversification. It is first a feed which is replaced, then 2 after 7 days and finally 3 after 15. Count minimum two weeks to achieve a gradual weaning of the baby.
Food diversification: when to start the evening meal and what type of meal to make?
If you started dietary diversification at 4 months, you can start replace a bottle with a meal, at noon or in the evening. Try as much as possible to be listening to your baby’s needs and do not hesitate to talk to your pediatrician if you notice that the growth curve of your child is not progressing as before.
But it’s not just food in diversification! Céline de Sousa thus recalls that this big change in the baby’s life does not happen only inside himself: “ It is also a big step for him and for you because the baby will no longer be fed while lying down. but semi-seated or seated. This is a new feeding position for him, and it is important that he is well wedged, with the feet on a support, to concentrate on this little spoon despite everything on what is going on around! It’s also baby’s time to see other faces feeding him, and not only those who breastfeed or bottle-feed … It is a time when great relationships of trust develop, it is important that the face of the person who feeds it is reassuring. ».
This part of food diversification is not to be neglected, according to the specialist: your face will partly encourage baby to eat or not what you give him. The way you present food to him is also important: your child is used to seeing from below and from the front the person who is feeding him from a bottle or breastfeeding: it is therefore preferable to position yourself further right in the face from him.