Baby food diversification: we start between 4 and 6 months

On average, food diversification begins between the fourth month and the sixth month of baby, on the advice of your pediatrician. Which food goes first in baby’s diet? How much to give him? We take stock.

How and when to start food diversification?

To respect the evolution of your little one, his ability to chew, swallow and digest, it is necessary to go step by step and not to force him. New foods appear one by one, in small quantities, and always mixed. And it will not be necessary to add sugar or salt to force their taste. This will allow your baby to awaken his taste buds naturally.

How much baby milk during food diversification?

Throughout diversification, the appropriate milk diet (breast milk or 2nd age milk) must remain the basis of baby’s diet : 500 ml per day at least, with around 6-7 months, the additional introduction of dairy products. At the start: 3 teaspoons, then, around the eighth month, a whole portion of yogurt, petit-suisse or “special baby” dessert cream.

How much cereal for my infant?

For babies who are not satisfied with their bottles of milk, you can introduce, from time to time, 1 tablespoon of infant cereals, gluten-free, leveled (i.e. 5 g) in one or two 210 ml bottles of follow-on milk. These quantities may be, at 7-8 months, 2 to 3 tbsp. soup. But cereals are also crusts of bread, cookies specially designed for babies, semolina, tapioca and small pasta with which you can thicken your soups. Prefer: whole grains and wholemeal bread, which is richer in iron.

In video: 5 golden rules of food diversification

Which vegetable to give my baby from 4 months?

For a successful introduction: start with the vegetablesbefore fruits to introduce him to flavors other than sweet that he always innately prefers. The first preparation can be an unsalted broth of steamed vegetables, in place of the milk dilution water from the midday bottle. Then, soups and purees (without salt), made from vegetables, steamed, in the microwave or in a saucepan with water, very smoothly mixed.

The right choice: vegetables that have a discreet taste, such as leek, carrot, green beans … If you can buy them fresh, it is better, otherwise opt for frozen (the portions are very practical) or small jars, the composition of which is studied as closely as possible to the needs of babies.

Introduce the vegetables one by one and in increasing quantities : 2 to 3 teaspoons at lunch, then, quickly, 100-130 g. A few weeks later, you can also offer her a vegetable puree in the evening.

Baby: at what age to start bearing fruit?

Fruits are often a child’s favorite food, unless of course they have a tendency to be allergic, or if their gut and stomach react badly to this sour food. Generally, it is advisable to wait 1 to 2 weeks after the vegetables to introduce the fruits.

The first preparation is often a compote cooked fruit, then, around 8-9 months, the purée of strawberries, raspberries, freshly mixed, a little crushed banana, grated apple, apricot (still in a compote).

The right choices: apple, pear, banana and orange, stripped of their pulp and diluted in water. Other fruits are well supported by the still immature stomachs of our children, such as peaches or prunes for example.

Amounts: 2 to 3 teaspoons of applesauce at lunch at first, then 4 to 5 tablespoons over the next 5 weeks to reach 130 g.

Meat, fish and eggs: minimal amounts on baby’s plate

The introduction of meat and fish occurs around 6-7 months, and once a day maximum, most often at lunchtime. You can cook them with a little bit of fat (oil or margarine) or, better, by poaching them or in foils. It will be necessary to mix the meat or fish with the mash of your child, or give him a vegetable-meat jar.

From 6 months, you can also add fat to its main course, either a knob of fresh butter or a drizzle of oil (4-oils or rapeseed, olive, sunflower).

The right choice: lean, more digestible pieces. Meat side: veal, beef, chicken, cooked ham without rind. On the fish side: hake, sole, dab, whiting.

Amounts: 1 to 2 teaspoons mixed at lunch (approximately 10 g).

Or: half an egg yolk or a quarter of a hard-boiled egg once or twice a week.