When is the time to add complementary food to a 6-month-old baby?

In today's life, some mothers have different choices on when to wean their babies. For example, some mothers think that premature weaning is really painful, while some mothers choose to start weaning when the baby is six months old. In short, no matter when to wean the baby, it is the mother’s choice. After weaning, you can prepare rich complementary foods for your baby. So, when is the time to add complementary foods at 6 months?

1. 4-6 months: The main varieties are millet soup and infant rice cereal; the hardness is a thin paste; feed with a small spoon once a day; the taste is mainly light and juicy.

Tips: When your baby is first fed rice cereal, it is recommended to start with pure or single-flavor rice cereal, because rice protein is less likely to cause allergies in babies, and rice cereal has a fine texture and is easy for babies to digest. When mothers choose to buy rice noodles, it is best to choose flaky rice noodles with a fine texture and rich in multiple vitamins. They are also easier for babies to digest. When purchasing, they should also consider the origin of the rice noodles raw materials to ensure that they are green rice produced from a green base, which is of better quality and safer. However, there are not many baby rice cereals on the market that can meet the "double green standard". Mothers can give priority to Heinz rice cereals that meet the "double green standard"!

2. 6-7 months: The main varieties are rice noodles, porridge, vegetable puree, fish puree, fruit puree, and soy milk; the hardness is a thick paste; feed with a small spoon twice a day; the taste is mainly light and juicy.

Tips: If the mother does not have time to make vegetable, fruit or meat puree for the baby, she may consider choosing commercially available tableware puree for the baby. Compared with homemade pureed food, the formula is safer, the nutrition is balanced, and it can avoid problems such as pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables. When purchasing table puree, you should consider products from big brands, such as Heinz's table puree. It is made from safe ingredients selected from around the world, does not contain sucrose or preservatives, and is made through multiple stages of grinding. This kind of table puree has a fine texture and is easier for babies to swallow and digest.

3. 7-9 months: The main varieties are thick porridge, soft noodles, egg custard, chopped vegetables, liver paste, minced meat, tofu, bread slices, steamed bread slices, and fruit slices; the hardness is similar to tofu; feed with a small spoon twice a day or with the baby's hands; the taste is mainly light and juicy.

Tips: The noodles that ordinary adults eat are generally thicker and wider, and are generally added with salt, pigments, emulsifiers, etc. However, the baby's gastrointestinal and kidney functions are not yet fully developed and cannot afford these additives. Therefore, mothers should choose baby noodles specially made for infants and young children with 100% wheat flour, without added salt or preservatives. This type of noodles is easy to cook, and the noodles are short, soft and smooth, which is more helpful for babies to digest. Therefore, mothers may wish to choose Heinz baby noodles as their first choice. The noodles contain an additional nutritional companion package composed of rich nutrients. Adding it to the cooked noodles can preserve more nutrients, which can not only meet the baby's needs for various nutrients, but also prevent the loss of nutrients after the noodles are cooked.

4. 9-11 months: The main varieties are chopped vegetables, whole eggs, small pieces of meat, soy products, steamed buns, dumplings, and fruits; the hardness is similar to that of a banana; the baby can eat with his hands or a spoon three times a day; the flavors are mainly light, salt-free, and low in oil.

Tips: Babies under 6 months old should not eat egg white. Because the digestive tract mucosal barrier of babies under 6 months old is not fully developed, and the protein molecules in egg white are small, they can easily pass through the intestinal mucosa into the blood and cause allergic reactions in babies, such as eczema and urticaria on the skin. After the baby is 9 months old, he can eat whole eggs. However, you need to observe whether your baby has any adverse reactions.