Add complementary food signal

When babies often cry and become restless because they are starving, you can add complementary foods to them. Because they cannot be full if they only eat milk powder and breast milk, and some nutrients in milk powder and breast milk are not enough. In order to give babies balanced nutrition, you should add some complementary foods appropriately. You can add fruits and vegetables to the baby's complementary foods. So what are the signals for adding complementary foods?

1. Why should we add complementary food to babies?

1. Supplement the deficiencies of breast milk and formula

The nutritional components of milk powder and breast milk are relatively simple. When babies reach a certain age, they need more diverse nutrition, which cannot be met by dairy products. If complementary foods are not added to babies in time, malnutrition, anemia and other diseases are likely to occur.

2. Exercise your baby's chewing ability

In the process of adding complementary foods to your baby, you can exercise his chewing ability and muscle coordination ability, enhance his gastrointestinal digestion ability, and prepare for weaning. Therefore, the mother should gradually change the properties of the food according to the baby's development, transitioning from liquid food to semi-liquid food and then to solid food.

3. Promote the growth of baby's teeth

Generally, babies start to grow teeth when they are 6 months old. Gradually adding complementary foods to the child can promote the growth of teeth.

2. When should I add complementary food to my baby?

There are many opinions about this time. Some mothers say that complementary food can be added to the baby when the baby is 4 months old, while some mothers insist on waiting until after 6 months. Babies with different feeding methods cannot be generalized. Generally speaking, babies who are mixed-fed can eat complementary foods at 4 months old, while babies who are exclusively breastfed need to eat complementary foods a little later.

3. What are the signals that indicate it is time to add complementary food to your baby?

1. Your baby's weight gain

As babies gain weight, they need more diverse nutrition to maintain their life activities. When the baby's weight reaches twice its birth weight, mothers can try to give the baby complementary foods. When my baby started eating complementary food, his weight was more than twice that at birth, almost 8 kilograms.

2. Breastfeeding becomes more frequent

If your baby drinks more milk and cries for more food after a while, it means that the baby has entered a growth spurt. Generally, babies will enter a rapid growth period around 6 months old, and their food intake will increase significantly, which is a good time to add complementary foods.

3. Physical development

If the baby can independently complete a series of movements such as raising his head and chest, sitting up, stretching his neck, turning his head, etc., it means he is ready to eat complementary foods.

4. Interest in food

When the baby sees his mother eating, he also wants to try it. He will take the spoon, grab the chopsticks, stuff food into his mouth, and even drool. The mother should quickly let the baby taste the delicious food.