Feeding children from 4 months of age

Complementary feeding of children from 4 months is a burning issue that is of great interest to mothers of babies who have reached the age of four months. It is during this period that the child requires additional substances and microelements that are not found in mother's milk. Such innovations in the baby's diet should be carefully prepared and thought out; it is better if complementary feeding of children from 4 months - its menu, regimen and dosage are selected by the attending pediatrician, and not by an all-knowing neighbor or caring grandmother. Classic options for complementary feeding are considered to be mashed cereals and pureed boiled vegetables. In addition to supplementing the diet with useful vitamins and calories, such supplements help to develop the child's chewing skill, which should soon displace the sucking reflex.

The beginning of complementary feeding, as a rule, falls between the fourth and sixth month of the child's life. Early complementary feeding is undesirable, since up to 4 months the internal organs and systems of the baby are not yet formed to accept such food, a later period - after six months is also not justified, since mother's milk cannot replace the entire range of nutritional value of complementary feeding. Also, the introduction of late complementary feeding is fraught with rejection of unusually dense food, because the baby already gets used to the liquid substance of milk in six months and has difficulty adapting to new food. Complementary feeding of children from 4 months is not a strict recommendation, supplements can be introduced from 4.5 months and from 5 months, it all depends on the individual characteristics of the baby's development and health. The optimal timing is as follows:

• Artificial feeding – introduction of complementary foods from 4 or 4.5 months;
• Breastfeeding – introduction of complementary foods from 5 or 5.5 months of life.