How old is the baby to add complementary food?

Because babies have weak digestive abilities, mothers nowadays don’t dare to easily add complementary foods to their children. Some babies are still mainly breastfed at one year old, which is far from meeting the nutritional needs of babies. Sometimes improper additions by mothers always cause diarrhea in babies. So let me introduce to mothers how old the baby should be to add complementary foods. I hope it will be helpful to you.

If the baby is exclusively breastfed, wait until the baby is six months old before adding complementary foods; if the baby is bottle-fed, complementary foods should be added when the baby is four months old.

The purpose of adding complementary food to babies:

First, it supplements the nutritional deficiencies of human milk;

The second is to increase nutrition to meet rapid growth and development;

3. Prepare for weaning.

When adding complementary foods to your baby, you must increase the amount gradually according to the baby's digestive ability and nutritional needs. Try one type first, and after three to five days or a week, if the baby has no indigestion, add another type. Do not add 2-3 types within 1-2 days. The amount of food added should be increased from small to large, from liquid to semi-liquid, and then to solid. For example, give the baby rice soup first, then thin porridge, thick porridge, soft rice, and finally steamed buns. For babies who do not like to eat complementary foods, it is especially important to feed them before breastfeeding, because babies are more likely to accept other foods when they are hungry. When children are sick, such as with fever, diarrhea, etc., or in the hot summer, the addition of new foods should be delayed to prevent the children from not adapting and causing indigestion. Each time you add new complementary food, you should closely observe its digestion. If you find abnormal stools or other conditions, such as increased frequency of bowel movements, or excretion of undigested food residues, you should stop feeding this food. After the stool returns to normal, you can try to add it slowly from small amounts.

Procedure for adding complementary food:

4 months: Start adding egg yolk;

5-6 months: Eat mushy rice porridge, vegetable puree, fish soup, etc.

After 7-8 months: minced lean meat, minced fish, steamed eggs, chicken liver, pork liver;

11 months: dumplings, steamed buns, soft rice, etc.

Since the baby's gastrointestinal digestion ability is weak, make sure the food is warm. It's okay for the baby to have diarrhea occasionally. If there are curds in the stool and long-term diarrhea, you need to go to a regular hospital to check the cause and receive targeted treatment. I believe that mothers now have a certain understanding of how old the baby should be to add complementary food. I hope this can help you and wish you good health.