How many months can babies add complementary food? 4 months is the best

With the update of medical research, the concept of infant and young children's supplementary food has also changed from the past. This time, we invite pediatricians to explain clearly, so that parents can solve their doubts and prepare supplementary food for their babies at home!

Concept 1: Babies can start eating complementary foods at 4 months old

In Japan, complementary foods are called weaning foods. They are mainly for the purpose of gradually adapting babies to adult diets, guiding them to gradually transition from formula milk or breast milk to normal meals with adults after the age of 1. Therefore, you can start practicing spoon feeding before the age of 1 to try complementary foods. Pediatrician Fu Linghui said that the old idea of ​​"preparing after 6 months" was mainly because of the fear that some highly allergenic foods would induce allergies in babies. However, the latest research shows that the baby's gastrointestinal tract is in the golden period of "immune tolerance" from 4 to 9 months. If you can start trying complementary foods after 4 months, your baby will be less likely to have allergies in the future!

The World Health Organization recommends that infants who are exclusively breastfed can start to add complementary foods after 6 months. This is mainly for some poor and backward countries, because the food in these places may not be hygienic. In order to prevent infants from eating contaminated food, breast milk is still the main food. Taiwan's hygiene is at a certain level, so there is no need to wait until 6 months.

Infants and young children aged 4 to 6 months can start to eat complementary foods. If the baby is not yet able to sit up, he or she can be fed while being held by an adult. If the baby has learned to sit up, he or she can be fed while sitting in a high chair, but the high chair safety belt must be fastened to prevent the baby from falling off the chair.

Pediatrician Wang Xinhua said that when babies are around 2 to 3 months old, their necks will gradually become stiff, and they can sit up with the help of their parents. Also, when they are 4 to 6 months old, the tongue's instinct to push away foreign objects gradually weakens. In terms of physical development, it is a reasonable process to start trying to add complementary foods when the baby is 4 months old.

Concept 2: BLW = Baby-Led Fasting

Doctors on TV or the Internet have promoted the concept of "BLW" supplementary food. What is BLW? Is it suitable for every baby?

Pediatrician Fu Linghui said that BLW (baby-led weaning) can be understood as "baby-led complementary food feeding method". This method emphasizes that after 6 months of age, when the overall neurological development and swallowing reflex of infants have become more mature, infants can sit in a child dining chair and pick up the strips of food prepared by their parents with their hands and put them into their mouths to eat. For example, cut the steamed broccoli into a size that the baby can hold in one hand, so that they can hold and eat it. At the same time, you can also cut the food that adults eat into small pieces and let the baby eat it, so as to enhance the child's willingness to eat, without having to guess the baby's taste or prepare it separately.

One of the concepts of BLW is that babies can eat adult food. Fu Linghui said that "adult food" refers to normal and natural food, not special occasions; adults generally do not eat fried chicken or spicy hot pot for dinner every day, and most of them are made up of natural ingredients such as grains, fish, meat, eggs, vegetables and seafood. Parents should not over-interpret and misunderstand the original meaning of BLW.

This idea has been quite popular in the UK and New Zealand in recent years. Many parents in Taiwan also support this approach. They generally believe that BLW can make children healthier and make "feeding complementary foods" easier. However, BLW is not currently the mainstream, and it also has shortcomings that worry parents.

A research report shows that 30% of parents who try BLW have experienced at least one choking incident in their baby, most of which were able to resolve the situation themselves, and the most common choking food was apples. Dr. Fu Linghui suggests that if the baby has a bad reaction to spoon feeding and resists complementary foods, BLW can be tried, but the following conditions must be met:

.After 6 months, the baby has complete neurological development and can sit steadily in a baby chair, grab food with hands, put it into the mouth, chew and swallow.

.If giving food to adults, attention must be paid to its softness and not adding extra sugar or salt.

.An adult must accompany you throughout the trip to avoid accidents.

.It is necessary to evaluate whether the amount and variety of baby complementary foods are balanced and sufficient.

.Before 1 year old, breast milk or formula milk is still the main food source for infants.

Furthermore, there are many ideas about complementary foods, and each school has its advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, when a new school or idea becomes popular, parents should first understand the content, discuss and evaluate with the baby's pediatrician, and make sure that the baby is suitable for this method before implementing it.

Natural fruits are very suitable as after-meal snacks for babies. Letting babies take the food they are interested in can not only train their finger muscles, but also enhance their willingness to eat. However, parents are reminded that adults must accompany their babies when they eat to prevent them from choking.

Concept 3: Supplementary foods should be natural and simple

Doctor Fu Linghui suggests that, in addition to honey, other foods such as meat, eggs, beans, seafood, etc. can be fed to ordinary babies between 4 and 6 months. There is no need to stick to the traditional rice cereal, ten-fold porridge, or five-fold porridge model. However, solid food must be soft, and there is no strict rule on how long it takes to eat solids, as long as the baby can accept it.

Five times the porridge is made by cooking 1g of rice with 5g of water.

In addition, babies should eat less sugar and less salt. It is best to avoid sugar and excessive salt before the age of one. Many research reports show that early exposure to sugar will increase the probability of obesity and tooth decay in the future, and early exposure to salt will make babies prone to heavy tastes in the future. As for whether they need less oil? In fact, at least 1/4 of a baby's nutrition should come from fat, so there is no need to reduce the intake of oil and fat.

Doctor Wang Xinhua said that if the baby has a serious family history of allergies, the pediatrician should be consulted before feeding highly allergenic foods such as fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, soy, peanut butter, and nut butter. In case of allergic reactions, oral antihistamines can be given for mild cases, and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible for more serious cases. It is recommended that each time a new food with a single ingredient is added, it can be observed for 3 to 7 days before gradually increasing the feeding amount, and new foods should be tried at home as much as possible, avoiding trying them for the first time in restaurants or when traveling. In short, the timing of feeding highly allergenic complementary foods is the same as other complementary foods. There is no need to deliberately delay the feeding time, but it is necessary to be more cautious, pay attention to observation and timely treatment.

In addition to the fact that complementary foods should be of natural origin, attention should also be paid to hygiene during preparation to prevent unclean utensils from contaminating food and causing gastrointestinal discomfort or bacterial infection in the baby.

Attention! Infants and children under 1 year old are prohibited from eating honey and its products

Doctors explained that honey may contain "botulinum toxin spores", which may produce "botulinum toxin" after ingestion, which will inhibit nerve conduction and prevent muscles from contracting, thereby paralyzing the muscles. When "botulinum toxin" affects respiratory muscles, it will make people unable to breathe and endanger their lives; if it affects intestinal muscles, it will prevent the intestines from moving, resulting in decreased digestion and absorption. Because the gastrointestinal tract of infants under 1 year old is not acidic enough, botulinum toxin can easily multiply in the gastrointestinal tract and produce toxins, causing poisoning or sudden death.