If it has not yet taken place, this month will be dedicated to a very big step in your baby’s life: that of food diversification. Gently, you will be able to introduce new flavors and make your child discover the joys of gastronomy for the little ones! Remember to immortalize these first spoons!

At six months, baby’s days are similar to the days of older children: in addition to his regular naps, he eats in the morning when he wakes up, then around noon, then takes a snack around 15 pm-16pm and eats his last meal. in the evening, before bedtime.

Whether it is bottle-fed or breastfed, it therefore takes four meals per day from 210 ml to 240 ml of milk per meal, depending on his appetite: 210 ml of water + 7 measures of milk or 240 ml of water + 8 measures of milk.

If he is bottle-fed, you will switch this month from 1st age milk to 2nd age milk, a milk that is a little more concentrated in proteins, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids to better meet your child’s needs. This milk is in fact normally offered from 6 months.

At six months, if it has not already been done, a big step takes place: that of food diversification. Indeed, from this age, breast or infant milk consumed exclusively is no longer sufficient to cover the nutritional needs of the baby. It is therefore important to expand the diet of the child who is now able to chew and swallow foods other than milk.

However, be aware that even if your 6 month old baby will start to spoon feed – or already spoon feed like a grown-up – milk is still her main food. The other foods that are offered to him in a very progressive way, simply come in addition to his milk diet.

If you have already started to diversify your child’s diet, the big news for his 6 months will be the introduction of proteins such as meat, fish and eggs. These foods are a great source of iron for your child, whose needs are important at this age.

Generally, it is advisable to introduce proteins only one month after the start of food diversification. At six months, you can start to introduce certain proteins such as:

• Du turkey or chicken breast, grilled then mixed
• Du cooked white ham, skinned and defatted mixed
• Du lean fish well done like cod, hake or hake for example. Take care to carefully remove the bones and mix the fish. You can opt for fresh or frozen fish but avoid breaded fish.
• Eggs: choose them extra-fresh (laid a maximum of 7 days ago) and offer your child a halfhard-boiled egg yolk, instead of meat or fish. Mix it with the vegetables. Avoid white known to be very allergenic, at first.

The choice is therefore wide enough for the start of dietary diversification: take the opportunity to vary the sources of protein and make your child discover the different flavors of each. The ideal remains to vary between meats, fish and egg yolk on a regular basis. Ideally, offer your child two servings of fish per week.

The proteins will be offered at the meal during which you will offer your baby the vegetables (noon or evening) and will be mixed directly into the mash.

Regarding quantities, be careful: the recommendations in terms of proteins are very often exceeded as the baby’s needs are minimal at 6 months. Be sure to introduce only one portion of meat, fish or egg per day: either at noon or in the evening, in addition to vegetables. From 6 to 8 months the recommended amounts are 10 g in total per day only. This corresponds to 2 teaspoons of meat or fish or only 1/2 egg yolk per day !

Can a baby be a vegetarian?

Well-planned vegetarianism in babies is generally accepted by the medical profession and is not considered to cause major problems. However, the same is not true for veganism which is described as too difficult to implement to ensure the nutritional needs of the child.

If parents want a vegetarian diet for their child, special attention should be paid to the quantity and quality of protein, iron, calcium and fatty acids, in particular.

Thus, it will be necessary to favor:

• Proteins: egg yolk and fish (if tolerated by parents) will be the main sources of animal protein. Vegetable proteins will come as a complement. Be careful, however: all soy-based products (tofu, tempeh, seitan, steak and soy yogurts, etc.) should be excluded in children!
• Do : green vegetables (parsley, spinach, watercress), seaweed (sea lettuce, wakame), cereals such as oats and millet, and curry are good sources of iron. If they are well tolerated at the intestinal level, legumes will be introduced for their richness in iron: red and white beans, chickpeas, split peas and lentils. In this case, it will be necessary to cook them well, or even overcook them.
• calcium: green leafy vegetables (spinach, watercress, chard leaves, etc.), mineral waters rich in calcium (Talians®, Hépar®, Contrex®, Courmayeur®) will help prevent deficiencies. The major mistake is to use a simple commercial vegetable drink (soy, almond, hazelnut, spelled, etc.) to replace infant milk. Please note: these drinks are not suitable for infants and carry real risks to their health!
• Fatty acids : the eggs (egg yolk only at first) of hens fed with flax seeds will be preferred and oils rich in Omega-3 will be added to baby’s meals: perilla, camelina, nigella, hemp, walnuts, rapeseed , soy.

Your six-month-old baby will therefore discover the joys of new colors, new textures and new flavors… if the discovery has not yet started!

Thus, baby meals will now gradually evolve to switch to a varied and balanced diet around the age of one year. At six months, beyond the proteins which the subject has been discussed above, baby will taste the joys of vegetables, fruits and possibly starches. Always start with small amounts and gradually increase the doses according to your baby’s reactions and his thirst for discovery. It is indeed important to respect your rhythm because food diversification can be a difficult exercise for babies who are most reluctant to new things. Forcing it would then be counterproductive. Take your time well, or rather: let your baby take his time.

The vegetables

Only the very fibrous vegetables like artichoke heart, salsify, leek leaves are not recommended at first because of the digestion difficulties they can cause. Avoid them, especially if you notice that your child has sensitive intestines. From the age of six months, your child will be able to discover all the other vegetables, in the form of purees:

• Carrots
• Green beans, flat coconut beans
• Spinach
• courgettes
• Broccoli
• Leek white
• Beet
• Eggplant
• Pumpkin, pumpkin, buternut squash, etc.

Prefer fresh seasonal vegetables, and possibly opt for frozen vegetables. However, avoid canned foods that contain salt. Just make sure to wash well (if they are fresh), to cook the vegetables well enough and to mix them finely to obtain a very smooth puree that you will offer your baby either with a spoon or in a bottle of milk (in this case). case, change the pacifier!), at noon or in the evening. However, do not add never salt !

Starchy foods

The introduction of starchy foods is not mandatory at the start of dietary diversification if you want to offer your baby 100% vegetable puree, but it is quite possible, to thicken and soften purees for example. To start, choose smooth textures such as:

• Mashed potato
• The mashed sweet potato
• Polenta mixed directly with vegetables

Legumes (lentils, split peas, chickpeas, white and red beans.), – also called “pulses” – will on the other hand be avoided throughout the baby’s first year because they are too indigestible because of their fiber content. .

The fruits

Fruits, with their sweet flavor, are generally very popular with children. Again, prefer fresh, seasonal and ripe fruit to treat your baby’s taste buds and give him the benefit of their vitamins, minerals and antioxidants! And if your child refuses to take his milk after tasting the joys of fruit, simply take care to always offer him a bottle or breastfeed before his puree. Whether or not you have already started food diversification, you can offer your 6 month old baby the following fruits:

• Apple
• Fishing
• Quince
• Pear
• Nectarine
• banana

These fruits will generally be offered as a snack in addition to a bottle or breastfeeding and will preferably be given with a spoon. It is however possible to mix fruit puree with milk in the bottle, especially if baby is reluctant to new flavors.

On the other hand, nuts such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and peanuts should be excluded.

Dairy products

At six months, you can introduce your children to yogurt. You will offer him as a replacement for part of his bottle: generally a children’s yogurt weighs 60 g: then reduce the quantity of milk by 60 ml (60 ml of water and 2 doses of milk). For dairy products, whether yoghurts, small Swiss or cottage cheese, you should preferably opt for infant dairy products sold in the baby department rather than those sold in the fresh section: they are made with infant milk, perfectly suited to the nutritional needs of young children, without excess protein to protect their kidneys.

Here’s an example of a typical eating day for your six-month-old. Of course, the quantities are given as an indication, and are to be adapted – revise them upwards or downwards – according to your child’s appetite.

• Morning:

Breastfeeding or bottle of 210 to 240 ml of 2nd age milk (210 ml of water + 7 measures of milk or 240 ml of water + 8 measures of milk)

• Midday :

Mashed vegetables with a spoon + 1 tbsp. to c. of oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds): progressive quantities starting with a few spoons then gradually increasing the volume of puree, depending on the stage of diversification of the baby and of his appetite.

Optional, depending on the age at which you started the food diversification: 10 g meat, fish or egg yolk = 2 teaspoons of meat or fish or 1/2 egg yolk

Breastfeeding or bottle of 210 to 240 ml of 2nd age milk (210 ml of water + 7 measures of milk or 240 ml of water + 8 measures of milk)

• To taste :

Fruit compote: from a few spoons to 60 or even 100 g depending on the stage of diversification of the baby and his appetite.

Breastfeeding or bottle of 210 to 240 ml of 2nd age milk (210 ml of water + 7 measures of milk or 240 ml of water + 8 measures of milk) or bottle of 150 ml to 180 ml of 2nd age milk and 1 yogurt with infant milk

• Dinner:

Breastfeeding or bottle of 210 to 240 ml of 2nd age milk (210 ml of water + 7 measures of milk or 240 ml of water + 8 measures of milk).