Children always want to give their very best. This is especially pronounced in nutrition: parents strive to provide their baby with all vitamins from fruits and vegetables from their garden, homemade chicken and fresh milk. Modern recommendations of pediatricians boil down to a call to start complementary feeding no earlier than six months. If you try to feed with vegetable puree or porridge already at 3 months, because there are so many useful and nutritious substances? What can you give your baby at 3 months to eat and drink?
How to feed a 3 month old baby
What can you feed your baby at 3 months
A full-term baby at the age of 3 months, who is on the GV, does not need such early complementary foods. He successfully receives all the necessary substances from breast milk. He does not need any other sources of power, he should not be fed with anything.
But there are situations when a child is gaining too little weight due to individual characteristics or a lack of breast milk. It is also possible that the baby does not tolerate the milk mixture on the willow. Poorly tolerates - this means that an allergy to several brands of artificial nutrition has appeared, an intolerance to cow protein has been revealed, or a mixture based on goat's milk has not come up, i.e. it was not possible to find an adapted mixture suitable for this particular baby, and he still does not gorge himself. In this case, on the recommendation of the pediatrician, a decision is made to introduce early complementary foods. What can be given to a child at 3 months old is vegetable and fruit purees and juices, as well as milk porridge and kefir.
Important information! "Favorite" complementary foods in the Soviet period were: egg yolk, semolina porridge and carrots with an apple. Now these products are recommended to be introduced no earlier than 6 months.
Vegetable feed
The first vegetable feed can be puree made from the following vegetables:
- zucchini;
- pumpkins;
- cauliflower.
After the successful introduction of these vegetables, potatoes and carrots can be gradually included in the diet. It is advisable to buy vegetables in trusted stores or on the market, having secured a guarantee that they were grown without the use of chemical fertilizers. If there is no such confidence, it is better to use ready-made mashed potatoes of industrial production.
Vegetable feed
Cereals
Gluten-free cereals are selected for the first complementary food, cooked with milk, formula or water. The proportions are as follows: 100 g of liquid and 20 g of cereals. Types of gluten-free cereals:
- buckwheat;
- corn;
- oatmeal;
- rice.
Complementary feeding can be started with porridge or kefir if the baby is not gaining weight well.
The first rice porridge
Juices should be added to complementary foods last, after the successful digestion of vegetables and porridge. It is preferable to start with apple clarified juice without pulp, then pear juice can be added.
Clarified Apple Juice
How to introduce complementary foods into a baby's diet at three months
If the parents, on the recommendation of the pediatrician, decide to start feeding at 3 months, you need to know the following conditions for its introduction:
- the child feels good and is absolutely healthy;
- they did not get vaccinated on this day and do not plan to do it in the next month;
- new products are introduced into the second or third meal per day;
- the first portion should literally consist of a few drops;
- food should be one-component, puree and juices from several fruits and vegetables are introduced closer to 6 months;
- food products - only fresh, just cooked;
- the diet should contain products that are accustomed to consumption in a given area, no exotics and delicacies;
- the temperature and consistency of the new dish should be comfortable for the baby, the food should not be hot and thick.
Rules of conduct after the introduction of a new product
The main rule that must be followed when introducing early complementary foods is not to rush to introduce new products until the reaction to those already introduced is unclear. Therefore, the very process of introducing into the diet, for example, squash puree, takes at least a week: from a few drops to a teaspoon. It will be possible to talk about the complete replacement of one feeding with complementary foods only closer to six months:
- It is necessary to monitor the baby and track changes in behavior, sleep and stool.
- Any deviation from the child's usual behavior is a reason to postpone the introduction of the next product.
- Rashes on the skin, colic can appear several days after eating, so do not rush to increase the portion and introduce a new product.
Complementary feeding rules
What are the dangers of early feeding
Before introducing complementary foods at such an early age, it is necessary to know about the possible negative consequences of this decision.
The introduction of early complementary foods in the diet of a 3-month-old baby threatens with the appearance of serious problems with digestion. At this age, children usually suffer from bouts of colic, while receiving their usual food: breast milk or infant formula. With the introduction of a new product, the load on the stomach and kidneys increases many times over, which will manifest itself in severe abdominal pain, vomiting and frequent regurgitation. Stool disorder is also possible. The duration and severity of the disorder can manifest itself in different ways: it can be short-term and one-time manifestations. More often, there are options for severe disorders of the digestive system, the restoration of which will take a long time and serious drug therapy.
Another negative manifestation of the consequences of early feeding can be food allergies. Its appearance is promoted by the immaturity of the digestive enzymes and the immune system. The reaction can also be mild and manifest as a rash and irritation. Most often there are severe forms of atopic dermatitis, bronchial asthma. When an allergic reaction occurs, the maturation of the immune system is disrupted, which leads to frequent infectious diseases at an older age.
A three-month-old child has not yet matured the mechanisms of swallowing thick food, and frequent regurgitation and vomiting are possible, up to a complete refusal to eat. In addition, since complementary foods reduce the amount of breast milk consumed, there is a risk of cessation of lactation due to a decrease in milk production.
Important information! The consequences of the introduction of early complementary foods can also manifest themselves at a later age. Disrupted work of the digestive system manifests itself in preschool age with frequent abdominal pain, vomiting and upset stools; at a later age, more serious diagnoses are made: gastritis and colitis.
A well-known pediatrician, E. Komarovsky, believes that before reaching six months, the child does not need additional nutrition, regardless of the type of feeding. Considering the possible negative consequences, it is worth listening to his opinion and not introducing complementary foods just because the neighbor's mother did so or a friend advised. All organisms are individual, one will benefit from it, another can cause irreparable harm. Therefore, instead of experimenting, you should consult a doctor and get expert advice.
Dangers of early feeding
Feeding regimen for a baby at 3 months with mixed feeding
At the age of three months, the baby's diet should have 6-7 meals, during the day, the intervals between feedings are 3 hours, at night - 6-8 hours. Weight gain should be 700-800 g, a portion of food should be in the region of 150-180 g. Pediatricians consider feeding a baby with a combination of breast milk and formula, with a portion of breast milk being at least 50% of the total volume. If a mixture prevails in baby food, then it is already called artificial, we are talking about weaning.
Nutritional principles for mixed feeding:
- A new dish is given before the second or third feeding, then the baby is fed with formula or milk. In the first and last feeding, no new products are introduced, so as not to spoil the mood in the morning and not interfere with going to bed.
- The weight of the child is used as a guideline for choosing the first product. If it is insufficient, it is necessary to start with the introduction of one of the types of gluten-free cereals.
- Porridge and vegetables must be cooked in water.
- Juices can be given between feedings or after meals so as not to reduce appetite.
Important! The main indicator of the possibility of introducing complementary foods is the absence of a push-out reflex in the child.
Three month old baby menu
A 3 month old will need patience and dexterity to prepare homemade safe food. Puree and porridge should be free of lumps and pieces that the baby can choke on. You cannot do without knowledge about proper nutrition, in order to know and understand what a 3 month old baby can eat, and what should not be in any case.
You will need a steamer or metal sieve to make vegetable puree. In steamed products, more useful microelements are retained; during cooking in water, they are almost completely destroyed. If you do not have a steamer, you can do the following: pour clean water into a saucepan, bring to a boil, put pieces of vegetables on a sieve and place in a saucepan so that the water does not reach the sieve, cook until soft with the lid closed. Then turn the vegetables into puree using a blender or fork. Give puree only freshly prepared, without salt and spices.
Preparing vegetable puree from zucchini in a double boiler
You can start adding fruit to complementary foods with applesauce or pear puree, prepared from a green or yellow fruit baked in the oven. Then mashed prunes, banana or apricot are introduced into the diet. In the future, you can experiment and give multicomponent compositions for testing. It is not recommended to give tomato, grape, orange, strawberry, tangerine juices at an early age, as they can cause allergies and intensify the fermentation processes in the intestines. For the same reason, the baby should not use freshly squeezed juices, they should be diluted with water.
Making apple fruit puree
Complementary feeding of mashed potatoes begins with a portion equal to ¼ teaspoon, increasing it for a month to 1-2 tablespoons per meal. For complementary feeding with cereals, choose gluten-free so as not to provoke allergies. Rice porridge improves intestinal motility. To prepare it, you need to grind rice into flour, pour cold water and let it swell. Then pour the cereal mixture into boiled milk or water and cook until thick. For the first time, it is better to dilute boiled porridge with breast milk or a mixture. The first serving should be no more than ½ teaspoon. Corn gruel is prepared in a similar way, which is also hypoallergenic.
Corn porridge
When complementary foods, special attention should be paid to the position of the baby's body. He should not lie while eating from a spoon, but he is still not able to sit at 3 months. This is another argument against early feeding. The baby needs to be held in his arms in a reclining position and make sure that he does not choke and begin to regurgitate the food he takes.
A very controversial decision is to start feeding your baby at 3 months. There are many contraindications and a high risk of getting serious stomach problems in adulthood. You should start introducing "adult" foods into your child's diet only for medical reasons, when there is simply no other way to feed and provide him with adequate nutrition.
