At 4 months, your baby becomes more and more curious and may even be showing interest in what you eat. If the milk covers all his needs until he is 6 months old, on the advice of your pediatrician, it is possible to begin to introduce your child to new flavors for a gentle food diversification.

At 4 months, if food diversification can possibly be initiated gradually, milk is still the baby’s main food.

Breastfeeding, bottle feeding or even mixed breastfeeding: this choice is yours. If you bottle-feed your child, you should continue to choose a specific milk: infant formula, also called “infant formula”. This type of milk is suitable for babies from birth to 6 months of age and its composition is carefully established to meet its nutritional needs.

Early age milks all provide the same overall nutritional value, but ranges are specially developed for infants who have concerns about:

• Colic: this is a milk that is easier to digest, without lactose or a protein hydrolyzate.
• Acute diarrhea: it is lactose-containing milk that is offered temporarily to the baby, before reintroducing his usual milk, when the transit returns to normal
• Regurgitation: this milk contains thickeners (proteins, carob or corn flour) to bring more comfort to the child.
• Allergies to cow’s milk proteins: this milk, which does not contain allergenic protein or lactose, is generally offered to babies who are at risk of allergies due to their family history

Whatever early age milk you choose, classic or specific, an average 4 month old baby drinks:

– 5 bottles of 180 ml per 24 hours: 1 bottle = 180 ml of water + 6 measures of milk.

However, these figures are only indicative: each baby has his own rhythm and his own needs. It is therefore necessary to adapt the volume offered for each bottle and the quantity of bottles per day to your child’s appetite.

If you are breastfeeding your baby, you will continue to breastfeed on demand. That said, a real rhythm should now have set in, the feedings are now effective.

Milk covers all the nutritional needs of the child from birth until his first 6 months (completed). So it’s important not to rush through the steps, even if you can’t wait to see your baby eat like a grown-up.

There is also a medical consensus on the beginnings of dietary diversification of the child: it should never be carried out before the child has completed 4 months., therefore before his 5 months, for reasons of metabolism and development. Before 4 months, his bucco-lingual motor skills (tongue and mouth) only allow him to suck and swallow – so he cannot swallow solid food.

In terms of child development, before 4 months old, the kidneys have not yet reached their full capacity, and are not able to evacuate excess protein. Moreover, if other foods are introduced, the quantities of breast milk or formula are necessarily reduced. In the event of dietary diversification before the month, risks of deficiencies exist, in particular in iron, fatty acids and calcium. The development of the child could then be hampered.

On the subject of early dietary diversification – doctors nowadays have enough perspective to say that it carries significant risks for the health of the child with risks of:

• Allergies: As a toddler’s intestinal barrier is still immature, antigens found in food pass directly into the blood, leading to food allergies and an increased risk of eczema.
• Obesity: several studies have shown that overweight adults are mostly children whose food diversification was carried out before 4 months.

From 4 months – ideally from 6 months, and never before 6 months for children at risk of allergy (parent, brother and / or allergic sister) – the food diversification of the little one can be carried out gently and progressive. It corresponds to the gradual transition from a diet consisting exclusively of milk to a varied diet, more or less solid.

The phase of dietary diversification is an important phase in the development process of the child but it is also an exercise for which the enthusiasm is variable from one baby to another. If there is no hurry, before 6 months, it is quite possible that as soon as he is 4 months old, your child will show interest in foods other than milk: baby is agitated, drooling and seems to evoke his hunger. In this case, you can, on the advice of your pediatrician, start to diversify the diet of your child.

Some tips for successful food diversification:

• Fruits and vegetables only : at 4 months, just offer your child fruits and vegetables only. Starchy foods, first of all gluten-free, will come gradually thereafter and proteins (meat, fish and eggs) from only 6 months.
• Respect his rhythm : Give your child time to discover new colors, new tastes and new textures: at 4 months, there is no rush! Each discovery should be a real pleasure for the baby. Above all, do not rush him because it would be counterproductive to force him to override his reluctance. The golden rule is to let your baby guide you to avoid any systematic opposition at mealtimes.
• One food at a time : introduce new foods gradually. Ideally, it is recommended to wait 3 days before offering any new food to the child to be able to more easily determine the origin of a possible allergy.
• A suitable spoon : choose a specific spoon, made of soft plastic or silicone so as not to risk injuring your fragile gums. Before starting the food diversification, you can present the spoon to your baby so that he becomes familiar with it, while playing.
• 4 meals a day : take care to structure your little one’s day properly by setting up 4 meals a day, at relatively fixed times: morning, noon, mid-afternoon and evening.
• Adapt the quantities : we always tend to want to give too much to eat. Always start by offering a spoon or two to your child. You will change this quantity according to his desires. But in any case, never force your child to finish his plate: he knows how to adapt his appetite to his needs very early on.
• Adapted textures : at 4 months, be content to offer your child smooth textures to avoid any risk of taking the wrong path and to let him adapt slowly. At this age, present food in puree or compote by mixing the food finely. Subsequently, the time will come for the mouliné and the small pieces. Once again: there is no rush!
• No salt or sugar : Even though his meals may seem bland to you, remember that your child’s taste buds are much more sensitive than yours. Don’t be tempted to add salt to mash or sugar to compotes.

If you choose to diversify your child at his 4 months (completed), it is important that you take this big step in a gentle and gradual way. To do this, you will need to start by introducing vegetables and fruits only, then offer your child gluten-free starchy foods at first.

When it comes to the order in which foods are introduced, some early childhood professionals recommend starting with vegetables and not introducing fruits until two weeks later to avoid getting baby used to the sweet taste.

Whatever your decision, be sure to introduce the foods one by one so that the child can identify each of them and gradually build his palette of tastes. Remember: ideally, you should wait 3 days before introducing a new food, not only to accustom the child to the new flavor, but also to be able to more easily identify the origin of a possible food allergy.

Vegetables

Choose tender vegetables that will be well tolerated by your baby’s stomach: green beans, spinach, seedless and skinless zucchini, white leeks, carrots, eggplants, pumpkin, etc. However, avoid vegetables rich in fiber, such as the green part of leeks, artichoke hearts and salsify for example, which are difficult to digest.

Whatever vegetables are chosen, they must first be finely mixed after cooking with water or steam. Do not add salt.

In fact, vegetables can be introduced at midday, in addition to milk. Give them either with a spoon or a bottle.

• If you choose to introduce the vegetables in the form of a soup, start by replacing the mineral water in the bottle with the cooking water from the vegetables (do not add salt to the cooking water). Then gradually add a few tablespoons of vegetable soup to the milk until you obtain, after about two weeks, a bottle made up of equal parts of soup and milk. However, remember to replace the first age pacifier with a second age pacifier with a wider slot to facilitate the flow of the liquid.
• If you opt for the “mash with a spoon” formula, your child will discover new flavors, a new tool and a new way of having to swallow. So many new features that will surprise him and for which you will have to be patient. First, offer him a single teaspoon of mash. You will gradually increase the amounts over the days.

Fruits

At 4 months, the fruits will still be introduced with a spoon in the form of a finely mixed compote. If you prepare it at home, choose very ripe seasonal fruits and do not add sugar: apple, pear, strawberries, bananas, peaches, cherries, apricots, etc. The compote will come at snack time, for example, in addition to a bottle or a breastfeed.

At the age of 4 months, the idea is to make recipes that could not be simpler to awaken baby very gradually to new flavors. As you diversify, you can mix the flavors and concoct more elaborate purees and compotes.

His first mashed green beans

Preparation: 5 min – Cooking: approximately 20 min

Ingredients:

• 200 g green beans
• Oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds)

1. Wash, hull and remove the threads from the beans, then cut them in half.
2. Steam them or cook them in a saucepan in a large volume of water for about 20 minutes. You can also use a pressure cooker.
3. Check the cooking: the blade of a knife should easily enter the pieces of green beans.
4. Mix finely and possibly add a little cooking water to smooth the preparation.
5. Serve lukewarm and add a teaspoon of oil.
6. Store leftovers in the freezer by dividing the mash between ice cube trays.

His first zucchini puree

Preparation: 3 min – Cooking: approximately 10 min

• 1 zucchini
• Oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds)

1. Wash and peel the zucchini entirely, then cut it into slices.
2. Steam it or cook it in a saucepan in a large volume of water for about 10 minutes. You can also use a pressure cooker.
3. Check the cooking: the blade of a knife should easily enter the pieces of zucchini.
4. Mix finely and possibly add a little cooking water to smooth the preparation.
5. Serve lukewarm and add a teaspoon of oil.
6. Store leftovers in the freezer by dividing the mash between ice cube trays.

His first pear compote

Preparation: 3 min – Cooking: approximately 15 min

Ingredients:

• 2 pears

1. Peel the pears, core them and cut them into medium sized pieces
2. Steam them or cook them in a saucepan in a large volume of water for about 15 minutes. You can also use a pressure cooker.
3. Mix finely and possibly add a little cooking water to smooth the preparation.
4. Serve the compote at room temperature.
5. Store leftovers in the freezer, dividing the compote into ice cube trays.

His first banana compote

Preparation: 1 min – Cooking: approximately 15 min

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana

1. Peel the banana and cut it into pieces.
2. Mix finely and possibly add a little water to smooth the preparation.
3. Serve the compote at room temperature.
4. Store leftovers in the freezer, dividing the compote into ice cube trays.