A big congratulations as your little one makes it halfway through the first year. Completing six months is a mini journey in itself with lots of exciting moments and new developments that your little one makes every passing day. You can expect the adventure ride to continue as now is the time when your baby will start doing activities like sitting up on his own, crawling, babbling, and spotting objects.
An important point to note as your baby reaches this milestone is that now he is completely ready to have solid foods. However, there are many moms who are a little anxious and worried as to which solid foods to start with – the food items that are healthy, nutritious, and at the same time easy to digest by the little tummy. Worry not! We understand it can be difficult for the new moms to plan the daily food chart and therefore, have prepared a sample 4-week chart that can surely be of great help.
Easy Tips to Start with Solids
– Always start with one single-ingredient food instead of a mixture of two-three food items. You could either pick a vegetable, a fruit, or a grain. Starting with mashed fruits is a great idea and works in most of the cases.
– Follow a 3-day rule after introducing a particular food item and see if your baby is taking it well and not showing any signs of discomfort.
– Avoid introducing the new food item later in the day. Doctors suggest it is best to try the new food item in breakfast or lunch.
Points To Keep in Mind
– Remember that nothing can replace the nutrients that breast milk or formula milk will give your baby so continue with it along with the solid foods.
– Prepare your own baby food is what most of the doctors and nutritionists will advise. However, if there is a situation where you have to purchase baby food from outside, make sure it is minimally-processed with no preservatives or added sugar.
Tip: Choose reputed organic baby food brands just like you opt for reputed skincare brands like goodness.me when it comes to buying skincare products like best natural baby moisturizer for their super-delicate skin. This is because reputed brands like goodness.me have only certified organic baby skincare products, be it their lotions, creams, foam washes and organic oil.
– Know about the food allergies as the baby can develop an allergic reaction to certain foods. Just how you are mindful about skin allergies and therefore pick only organic skincare products like certified organic baby lotion and baby soap, carefully pick the food items when introducing solids to your baby.
Week 1: Start with mashed fruit, like a mashed banana one time a day. Give it twice on day two and on the third day, you can introduce mashed vegetables like mashed potato in breakfast and bottle gourd soup in lunch. Watch the feeding cues and if you see your baby happily enjoying these foods, feed him with a combination of vegetables and fruits in the next two days. If everything goes well, mashed potato and rice gruel can be given in the last two days of week one.
Week 2: In week two, you can introduce more food items to your baby’s diet. Give him plain rice moong dal khichdi in the afternoon. The next two days you can start giving him three feeds a day- mashed banana in the morning, plain rice gruel in the afternoon, followed by thick bottle gourd soup in dinner. You can then introduce a new vegetable, a carrot in the next two-three days. Feed your baby with a carrot puree in the morning followed by moong soup in dinner.
Week 3: New food items that you can try in week 3 include pureed papaya, ragi porridge, thick bottle gourd soup, mashed sweet potato, and chikoo smoothie. You can also try apple puree, moong dal, and rice khichdi and amaranth cereal as all these are loaded with vitamins A, B, and C, giving your baby the nutrition he deserves.
Week 4: Start week four with mashed banana in the morning followed by ragi puree in the afternoon and a vegetable puree (try pumpkin puree) in the evening. This week, give your baby three feeds every day, with a combination of different mashed fruits, vegetable soups, and purees. Keep a note of the food items your baby shows interest in eating and give him more of those.
Remember, you can always customize the above chart depending upon your baby’s preference, availability of food items, and convenience.
With this chart by your side, introducing solid foods to your baby will be stress-free and exciting at the same time. The little spoons, the rosy-lipped mouth covered in food, and the delighted giggles of your baby as he enjoys eating those foods will surely be a delight to watch.
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