When the baby is about half a year old, he will start to add complementary food, but for this matter, many parents have some confusion, such as whether rice noodles can be mixed with milk powder for the baby to drink, whether to add salt to complementary food, and so on.
Today, we have summarized several common misunderstandings of complementary foods made by mothers, and talk to you about the things that add complementary food to your baby.
1. Can rice noodles be mixed with formula milk?
Some mothers mix rice noodles with the whole bottle of formula milk in order to save trouble, thinking that this is convenient, but this is actually wrong.
Adding mushy food to your baby is to add nutrition to him on the one hand, and on the other hand, to let your baby practice his tongue's stirring ability and his ability to swallow mushy food.
Pureed food requires your baby to use his tongue to move food deeper into his mouth and then swallow it, which is something that needs to be learned. Therefore, it is correct for parents to mix rice noodles (with water or formula milk) into a paste and feed them to their babies with a spoon.
And the brewing temperature of rice flour and milk powder is generally different, the brewing temperature of general milk powder is about 40 °C, and the brewing temperature of rice flour is relatively high, if the water temperature is too high, it will destroy the nutrients in the milk powder, the water temperature is low, the rice flour may not be dissolved, affecting the baby's eating at the same time, it may also increase the baby's gastrointestinal burden, causing indigestion.
2. Is the more broken the complementary food, the better for the baby?
One of the purposes of the complementary food is to develop the baby's taste, smell, vision, swallowing function, etc., and the fineness of the baby's complementary food should change with age, so as to promote the development of their above functions, chewing ability and maxillofacial muscles. Therefore, from the initial mud paste, then to crushed grains, coarse grains gradually transitioned.
After 12 months, soft rice, dumplings, wontons, finely processed vegetables and meat can all help your baby consolidate the development of chewing function.
During this period, more and more teeth erupt, the baby's chewing and swallowing movements are more coordinated, and slowly they can learn the "primary" eating process, such as using teeth to bite and grind coarse and hard food.
These movements can exercise the function and coordination of the tongue and the entire maxillofacial muscles, laying a good foundation for the baby's comprehensive, balanced nutrition and language development in the future.
3. Add salt to the baby's complementary food, otherwise the baby will have no strength?
Babies under 1 year old, eat plain food, no need to add salt, light and original food, can exercise the baby's sensitive sense of taste, more interested in natural food to try.
After 1 year of age, a small amount of salt can be added, and the total amount per day should not exceed 1 gram. Adults should not judge whether the baby's food tastes good by their own taste. We have a difference of 5 to 10 times in weight, and of course there is a difference in the amount of salt.
It is recommended that mothers start from their usual feeding and life, and do not add salt and other condiments to their babies too early. Premature and excessive salt intake will increase the burden on the baby's kidneys and induce diseases such as hypertension in the baby's future adulthood.
4. Should I drink milk after adding complementary food?
Of course, the baby needs to drink milk, and the reason why it is called complementary food is because these foods are supplementary foods for the baby's milk-based period.
In terms of milk volume, mothers can refer to: 6-month-old baby, when adding complementary food, should also maintain 600~900 ml per day, 7~9 months, 600~700 ml per day, 10~12 months, 500~600 ml per day, over 1 year old, preferably not less than 500 ml per day.
Moms should remember that dairy products are a good source of high-quality protein and calcium for their babies.
5. Is fruit juice more nutritious for babies to drink?
According to the "Guidelines for Drinking Juice for Children" published by Pediatrics in the United States, it is absolutely not necessary for children under 1 year of age to drink fruit juice.
From the perspective of nutritional integrity, the nutrition of whole fruits is higher than that of fruit juices. Most of the pectin in the pulp, all cellulose, calcium, iron and other water-insoluble components are all discarded with the peel or pomace, which is equivalent to giving up the most important part of the nutrients in the fruit, which greatly reduces the nutritional value.
Many people know that carbonated drinks can erode their teeth, but they think that juices made from natural fruit presses are safe.
In fact, fruit juice is no less acidic to teeth than carbonated drinks. Because the fruit juice will release more sugar and fruit acid, soften the tooth enamel, when the bacteria in the mouth meet high sugar, it will also ferment and produce acid, accelerate the demineralization and dissolution of tooth enamel, causing tooth decay in babies.
Therefore, please keep in mind that it is not recommended for babies under 1 year old to drink any juice, even if it is squeezed by yourself. Children over 1 year old can drink a moderate amount of juice, but only in limited amounts.