Porridge for Baby

The best food for a baby is, of course, breast milk. However, as the baby grows up, he becomes more active and needs to receive more nutrients, vitamins and minerals. After five months of life (even if the mother has enough milk), the time comes to introduce additional nutrition - complementary feeding. Usually feeding begins with vegetable purees and baby cereals. They help your baby make a smooth transition to solid foods and a varied diet. Gradually, the baby gets used to new food and taste sensations.

Cabbage soup and porridge are our food...
Porridges are widely used in the nutrition of young children. They are one of the main sources of vegetable protein, carbohydrates, minerals and B vitamins. From a variety of cereals, a mother will definitely find one that her baby will love.

The absolute champion among porridges is buckwheat porridge. It contains many salts of phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. Oatmeal ranks second in terms of nutritional value and popularity. It contains a lot of protein, B vitamins, salts and vegetable fats. Rice porridge is considered hypoallergenic, however, it is not recommended for children with stool retention. Corn porridge is rich in starch and iron, but is difficult to digest and takes a very long time to cook. Doctors recommend giving corn, barley and millet porridge to your baby only from the 9th–10th month. Semolina porridge contains little fiber, salts and minerals, and, moreover, it often causes allergies, so it is rarely given to babies before the second year of life.

We feed correctly...
Preparing porridge is not so difficult, but in order for it not to turn out like the heroes of Nosov’s story Mishkina Porridge, you need to remember a few points:

1. Homemade porridge should be liquid so that it flows from a spoon;
2. The dish should have a uniform consistency, without lumps;
3. You need to feed your baby with a spoon patiently and carefully, then he will quickly learn to swallow thick food. You cannot force feed a child!
4. Let your child get used to one dish, only then introduce another into the diet;
5. Complementary foods can only be administered to a healthy child;
6. It is preferable to start introducing porridges with buckwheat porridge;
7. It is advisable to give porridge once during the day, ideally if it is in the morning;
8. There is no need to add butter, salt or sugar to industrial cereals;
9. Mixed cereals can be given only after making sure that the child is not allergic to each component;
10. Up to 8 months, it is better to cook porridge with water or milk formula. It is not recommended to use whole milk, which is poorly digestible and can cause allergies;
11. For a child of the first year of life, the volume of porridge should be less than the volume of a serving of breast milk (150–170 g).

Porridge in Russia is traditionally considered a second complementary food (that is, it is introduced after vegetable puree). Today, industrially produced baby cereals (Heinz, Humana, Semper, Nutricia, Nestlé) are very popular. Modern cereals for feeding infants in the first year of life are quickly soluble and have a predetermined composition, which makes them very convenient to use. They are enriched with essential nutrients, vitamins and iron, do not contain preservatives, artificial colors, stabilizers and chemical additives, and are made from natural, environmentally friendly products, so feeding them to young children is preferable to porridges made from regular cereals.