6 months old baby food chart

6 Months Old Baby Food Chart Along with Recipes.

Hello dear MoMsters your baby is 6 months old? Wohoooo 🙂 🙂  Congratulations for achieving this milestone, now this is the right time for your baby to start semi-solid foods!

For all nuclear families, who are a little bit confused about how to introduce solids to a 6-month baby, then keep calm, and read this blog. 

Few tips to be taken care of while starting Solids for the first time.

  • Make sure you are not stopping the breastfed as it is still the major diet for 6 months old.
  • Use stainless steel or silver cup for feeding; do not use any plastic product.
  • Make sure that your baby’s feeding utensils are clean and sterilized with hot water, because your baby’s immune system is still weak and baby is vulnerable to infection, hence maintain hygiene.
  • Prefer homemade foods over buying packaged or ready-made foods available in the market, because homemade is the safest and the healthiest.
  • While feeding avoids giving gadgets like mobile or other radiation-emitting substances, which is not good for the baby’s overall development.

All about food tips:

  • Baby’s first food should be semi-liquid, gradually move to a thick consistency as your baby learned to eat.
  • At 6 months, do not introduce non-veg and dairy products.
  • Avoid biscuits, sugar, salt, honey, cow milk till 1 year.
  • Do not mix 2 fruits or 2 veggies.
  • Initially, the purees must be in flowing consistency.
  • After feeding food, give warm water; do not give water from feeding bottles. Use a small cup or glass.
  • You should introduce one new food at a time for your baby, and wait for a minimum of 2 to 3 days before starting another item. This will also help you to understand about any food item that is causing allergy/indigestion in your baby.

How do you know that your baby has an allergy to a particular food?

If a food doesn’t suit your baby, your baby may show the following symptoms:

  • Diarrhea
  • Runny nose
  • Rashes
  • Constipation
  • Vomiting
  • Colic (stomach pain)

If any of the above symptoms are seen, stop using that food and consult your child’s doctor.

Quantity of food:

  • 2 tbsp. of fruit or veg puree, you can gradually increase to 3 tbsp. in the second week.
  • 2 tbsp. of cereal, you can gradually increase to 1/4 cup.

 It’s always better to be guided with your baby’s hunger, as appetite varies from day to day.

First 2 weeks just stick to Breakfast and Lunch. Observe how does his digestive system react and 3rd week onwards start adding semi-solid food for dinner too.

Slowly by 7th month you will get a little idea of his hunger pattern.

Food Plan:

After baby wakes up in the morning, breastfeeding is necessary and provides breakfast only after 1 and half hour gap.

Breakfast: 8 AM fruit Puree or veg puree

You can give mashed banana [Banana variety: I usually give baby (Nino) banana variety which is short chubby banana, because elders say bigger thick-skinned banana can cause wheezing and phlegm problem in babies], / steamed and peeled apple puree / steamed & mashed chikku / steamed pear puree / mashed papaya / ripen avocado mashed / carrot puree.

After 2 – 3 hours gap breastfeeding.         

Lunch: 1 PM.

1st week – Rice porridge (the consistency of food should be flowing type not thicker one).

2nd week – clear moong dal soup.

3rd week – ragi porridge.

4th week – Semolina/Suji/Rava + banana porridge.

After 2 – 3 hours gap breastfed.

4th week onwards repeat any of these recipes for dinner, but do not give moong dal soup for dinner in order to avoid digestion issues.

Suggested Daily Milk Intakes for Babies:

  • 0-3 Months of age: breastfeed every 1-2 hours once.
  • 4-5 Months of age: breastfeed every 2 hours once.
  • 6-8 Months of age: breastfeed or formula feed every 3-4 hours.
  • 9-12 Months of age: breastfeed or formula feed every 4-5 hours once.

“Dear MoMsters these are just guidelines that might give you an idea about introducing solid food, when & what to feed. And these are hourly routines, check the appetite of your baby and feed accordingly.

If the baby doesn’t like food, wait for a few weeks before introducing it again. Don’t force your baby to complete the entire cup; it will take some couple of months to adjust with the food.”

Semolina/Suji/Rava + banana porridge:

Ingredients:

  • Roasted fine rava/suji – 2 tbsp.
  • Hot Water – ½ cup.
  • Banana – ¼ pieces.

Method:

  • (If your baby doesn’t like the texture of suji, make it to a powder by grinding in a blender.)
  • Sterilize the feeding bowl and spoon in a hot water for 5 mins.
  • Take 2 tbsp. of roasted suji in a saucepan to add the required amount of hot water to the suji and mix slowly. Make sure that there are no lumps formed. Cook the suji in medium flame until cooked completely.
  • At last step, you can add a natural sweetener like mashed banana, to the porridge. Mix well and feed the baby.

Ragi porridge:

Ragi is a rich source of iron and calcium. It is one of the best baby foods which is easily digestible and enhances immunity.

Ingredients:

  • The required amount of Ragi seeds to make powder.
  • Formula milk as needed.
  • ½ cup of water.

Method:

  • Take ragi seeds, wash them thoroughly, and put them under sun dry.
  • Roast the dried seeds in a medium flame, cool them, and then grind it finely to make a powder.
  • In a cooking pan add 2 tbsp. of ragi powder and sauté for about one minute.
  • Then pour a half cup of water and break the lumps by continuously stirring.
  • Cook till it reaches semi-thick consistency.
  • Cool and mix formula milk as needed.
  • Serve immediately as formula milk mixed.
  • You can also skip formula milk, just prepare with the help of water for consistency.

Hope, this information might have given you all some idea about introducing solid to your baby.

These are very exciting phases. Make it more memorable by adding more delicious food for your baby.

Cheers !! 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *