The diet of a 7 month old breastfed baby. What foods and how much should be on the menu of a seven-month-old baby. About the feeding schedule

The child, who is already 7 months old, managed to get an idea of ​​​​several types of vegetables. Sometimes a baby comes up to this age with a more varied list of dishes in his diet, especially if the first complementary foods came at 4 months. In any case, in the eighth month it is time to expand the crumbs menu, you can offer him meat, yolk, as well as cottage cheese, kefir or yogurt for testing.

Feeding mode

It is very important from a very early age to properly organize the daily routine and nutrition of the child. How many times a day should a baby be fed? According to pediatricians, there should be a gap of 4 hours between feedings of a seven-month-old baby. In this regard, a well-designed diet can be as follows:

• 6-00 - breakfast;
• 10-00 - second breakfast;
• 14-00 - lunch;
• 18-00 - dinner;
• 22-00 - the second dinner before bedtime.

If it is not possible to strictly adhere to the schedule, deviations in one direction or another are acceptable. It is desirable that the delay does not exceed a quarter of an hour. Such a nutrition scheme is most favorable for a child of 7 months, and it will be easy to transform it into a 4-time meal over time.

Calories should be distributed in such a way that the first and last meals are the lightest. At the same time, the calorie content in the daily meal is the maximum.

Approved Products

As we have already mentioned, a breastfed baby by 7 months has time to try very few foods compared to those babies who are formula fed. However, all children, regardless of the type of feeding, should already be eating at the eighth month:

• Several types of vegetables - zucchini, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, pumpkin. If the baby has not yet tried something from the list, it's time to fill in the gaps.
• Porridge - rice, buckwheat are suitable for feeding. Now the baby is ready to try corn, barley and oatmeal.
• Fruits - the child is already allowed to feed applesauce, pear puree (we recommend reading:). For now, it’s worth stopping at this - expanding the child’s fruit menu at 7 months is not recommended.
• Fats - butter and vegetable oils. They are usually added to soups and cereals with no more than half a teaspoon per serving.

Separately, we list additional products that a seven-month-old baby is ready to use on IV, if his complementary foods began earlier than 6 months. Among them:

• Chicken egg - only the yolk is used for food. It must be boiled hard and begin to add to the puree in very small portions - at the tip of a teaspoon. If the child responds well to this product, gradually bring to half the yolk.
• Meat - in the eighth month, it is administered only to those children who are on IV (artificial feeding). The baby should receive this product twice a week, preferably at lunch. In the second half of the year, the baby can eat a rabbit or turkey fillet. Also suitable for him is chicken, from which it is best to take the breast. The meat requires a long heat treatment and thorough grinding - it is served as a pate, mashed potatoes or pudding. For dinner, it is enough to give the child 50 g of puree. However, you should not cook soup with meat broth for your baby - you can only use vegetable broth.
• Low-fat cottage cheese and yogurt (kefir) can also be offered to the baby. It is best to cook cottage cheese on your own, as this product often causes poisoning. If it is granular, it is advisable to wipe the cottage cheese through a sieve.
• Compote.
• Crackers, children's cookies.

sample menu

We have developed an approximate menu for a seven-month-old baby, designed for 1 day. At the same time, the nutrition of a child on breastfeeding is still poorer than that of an artificial one. Due to the fact that each of them is allowed different products, we present two types of diet - for feeding babies on breastfeeding and for artificial people.

In addition, a diet for a baby with an allergy to cow protein is presented separately. For ease of perception, all information is summarized in tables.

Table 1. Menu for a breastfed baby:

Table 2. Menu for an artificial child:

Table 3. Menu for a child with an allergy to cow protein:

Children with an allergy to cow protein are offered either vegetables or dairy-free porridge for lunch, which is diluted with a special formula or breast milk. It is also allowed to feed the baby with mixed dishes - for example, instead of vegetables (170 ml), give dairy-free porridge and vegetables (85 + 85 ml). Such babies should eat according to the schedule, observing the intervals between feedings.

Meals for children 7 months and older

Next, we suggest using our recipes for preparing meals for a 7-month-old baby. Our list includes cereals, soups, compotes, as well as dishes that use a combination of products. In addition, we will talk about homemade recipes for fermented milk products. Check if you are cooking for your child correctly, and at the same time try to cook something from our selection for him.

Kashi

The general rule for cereals intended for babies is their liquid state. Experts note that porridge for children of 7 months should be 5%. To achieve this ratio of liquid and cereal, it is necessary to use only 5 g of cereal (approximately a teaspoon) per half a glass of water to prepare the porridge. When the child gets used to a new dish, and this will happen in 2-3 weeks, a more concentrated version should be prepared - 8-10% porridge. That is, use one and a half to two teaspoons of cereal for half a glass of liquid.

Experienced parents know that it is convenient to cook porridge for a baby in two different ways. Let's describe each of them:

• Rinse the cereal, then dry. After that, it must be ground in a coffee grinder to the state of flour. Pour prepared cereal powder into boiling water, stirring constantly so that there are no lumps. Before use, the porridge is diluted with a mixture or milk.
• Our parents also know the second way. For him, you need to take the washed cereal, pour water and cook under the lid for about an hour. It is important that the heating is kept to a minimum. During this time, the cereal will boil well, and it will not be difficult to rub it through a sieve. Milk or a mixture is added to the mass, and, with stirring, is brought to a boil. It is advisable to add a little butter to the finished porridge.

Soups

Soups for the baby should also have a fairly liquid consistency. They are prepared from vegetables - potatoes, zucchini, carrots, broccoli. You can add cereals to the soup if the child has already tried cereals and vegetables separately. Also with the soup they offer the yolk, mix it with vegetable oil. The main rule is that the soup should be homogeneous, thoroughly grated.

If the child has tried zucchini and cauliflower, you can offer him these vegetables in the form of soup. Would need:

• zucchini without seeds - 50 g;
• cauliflower - 50-70 g;
• butter - 1 tsp;
• water - 200 ml.

Cut the zucchini and several cabbage inflorescences, add water and simmer under the lid for half an hour. Cool, grind in a blender along with a decoction, season with butter.

If the baby is on artificial nutrition, he can cook a more complex soup. We offer a recipe for rice soup with green peas. Would need:

• rice - 10 g;
• green peas (boiled) - ½ cup;
• butter - 5 g;
• water - 200 ml.

Pour the washed rice with water, simmer under the lid for 30 minutes, cool, grind in a blender along with the broth. Separately rub boiled peas through a sieve, combine with rice water. Put the soup on fire, bring to a boil. At the very end, add a little butter.

Dishes from several types of products

At 8-9 months, the child already has time to try many types of dishes (we recommend reading:). Now he can already be offered multi-component dishes. What food combinations are allowed? Porridges are perfectly combined with vegetables. Pediatricians recommend starting with the following combinations:

• rice and zucchini;
• oatmeal and pumpkin;
• buckwheat and broccoli (we recommend reading:).

Both components are taken in equal volume, flavored with butter. Over time, you can try adding the yolk to such a puree.

Meat products are good to combine with vegetables. The following combinations are allowed:

• rabbit meat and carrots;
• turkey meat and zucchini.

The volume of meat puree together with vegetables should be 50 g, the ingredients should be combined after heat treatment. For juiciness and a milder taste, the finished puree is diluted with vegetable broth.

Meat dishes

The child’s gastrointestinal tract is ready for meat purees closer to 8 months, and if the baby is bottle-fed, they begin to offer meat at 7 months (we recommend reading:). It is important to remember that at first only low-fat varieties should be given to the baby, and offal only from 10 months. Rules for cooking and introducing meat into the menu:

• A small piece of meat is thoroughly cleaned of fat, films, veins, poured with water and boiled under a lid until soft. After that, the meat is twisted through a meat grinder twice, or crushed in a blender.
• If the baby does not like the taste of the new product, the meat puree is combined with a familiar vegetable.
• Gradually, the volume of meat puree is adjusted to 50 g. It is recommended to mix meat with vegetable broth to make it more juicy.

Dairy products

Cottage cheese can be safely given to a baby, starting from 8 months (we recommend reading:). Dr. Komarovsky recommends starting with kefir, in which cottage cheese should be added gradually, ½ teaspoon. Since cottage cheese is a perishable product, besides, pathogenic bacteria can get under parchment packaging, it is better for crumbs to cook it yourself.

• To prepare cottage cheese, you need ½ liter of milk and half a glass of kefir. Milk must be brought to a boil, pour kefir into it and remove from heat. Wait until the whey separates (this will happen within 15 minutes), and put the cottage cheese on cheesecloth or a fine sieve. You will get a very small portion of tender cottage cheese. Such a product should be eaten immediately, it should not be left the next day.
• Just like cottage cheese, you can cook kefir. For him, you need boiled milk at room temperature. Add 1 tablespoon of kefir (store-bought) to milk and leave in a warm place until the product is fermented. This yogurt can be used as a starter for the preparation of the following portions.

Kefir, cottage cheese and yogurt can be prepared using special starter cultures. As a basis, it is best to take medium-fat milk, which must certainly be boiled. Fermented milk products using starter cultures are tasty and healthy, because they will contain the required amount of live microorganisms.

Beverages

A seven-month-old baby can already try compotes. First, it is recommended to brew him a drink of green apples without adding sugar. Over time, pears are allowed to be added to apples. It is not desirable that the compote has a rich taste; 1 fruit (apple or pear) should be taken per 500 ml of water. Properly cook compote so that it retains more useful substances. To do this, the fruits are washed, cut, poured with water and brought to a boil. Then tightly cover the pan, remove the heat and leave for a couple of hours to infuse.

After the child gets used to such drinks, he is offered dried fruit compotes. It is important that the apples and pears in the compote are green varieties. A little later, you can offer the baby to drink compote with prunes - a drink with this fruit will have a laxative effect. Next, peaches and apricots are added to the compote, carefully monitoring the child's reaction to new components.

An approximate daily routine for a child at 7 months is usually not particularly strict, since it is at this age that his actively developing body selects for itself the most physiological options for life. The mother of a 7-month-old baby should be ready for an unexpected and rather spontaneous restructuring of the usual daily routine. As a rule, this is due to a decrease in the duration of daytime sleep and a greater activity of the baby during periods of wakefulness.

Table with approximate daily routine

• 6:00-8:30 The period of awakening, morning meal, washing and tempering air baths.
• 8:30-10:00 Morning dream.
• 10:00-12:00 Time for the second meal and active wakefulness with the obligatory performance of gymnastics and a relaxing massage.
• 12:00-14:00 Developing walk in the fresh air, gradually turning into a dream.
• 14:00-16:00 The next feeding of the baby and active cognitive leisure, consisting of alternating educational games and gymnastic exercises.
• 16:00-18:00 Second walk, sleep in the fresh air.
• 18:00-21:30 The fourth feeding of the crumbs, the time of communication with family members, the evening bathing procedure.
• 21:30-22:00 Evening meal.
• 22:00-6:00 Night sleep.

A few more additional options with a daily routine (you will already choose the best option, taking into account the characteristics of your crumbs):

The proposed table is just an example of a rational alternation of regime moments (feeding, sleep periods, walks, classes and hygiene procedures) and should in no way be taken as an instruction that requires strict adherence to each item.

An indicator of the success of any daily routine is the excellent well-being of the crumbs. If he eats with appetite, plays with pleasure and without problems, without throwing tantrums, falls asleep at the hours allotted for this, then the regime meets all his physiological needs.

About sleep mode

7 months is an age that clearly demonstrates how individual the body of each child is. One seven-month-old baby still needs three fairly long (1.5-2 hours) periods of daytime sleep, and the other is already physiologically ready for his daytime rest to become biphasic.

Such children can be given the opportunity to relax in the morning (from 11-00 to 12-30) and evening (from 16-00 to 17-30) hours. It is easy to calculate that the total duration of sleep for some babies is thirteen hours (4.5 during the day and 8.5 at night), while others have only eleven. In the latter case, a significant moment comes in the life of a 7-month-old child: the duration of periods of active wakefulness in them begins to prevail over the duration of periods of sleep.

We repeat once again: if the baby is active enough and is in a great mood, mom should not worry and try to put him to bed in accordance with the previous schedule. Reducing the duration of daytime sleep means only one thing: a grown child simply needs a new daily routine.

There is another option for organizing sleep, which some 7-month-old babies choose for themselves: they prefer to sleep for 2-3 hours while walking in the fresh air, and in the morning and evening they rest for no more than an hour. In a month, the hourly intervals of daytime rest will be reduced to forty minutes.

About walks

In the daily routine of a 7-month-old baby, time must be allocated for at least two walks in the fresh air. They are extraordinarily fruitful both for his physical and intellectual development.

The baby, well aware of the existence of a huge world outside the walls of the apartment, is looking forward to the opportunity to get many new experiences. He rejoices at meetings with people, animals, birds, carefully listens to his mother's comments accompanying these meetings, reacts to them with active cooing, lively facial expressions, waving his arms.

When walking with a child, the mother should take care of observing the safety rules: an actively moving baby that can fall out of the stroller must be securely fastened. You should also carefully protect the delicate skin of the crumbs from bright sunlight.

About the feeding schedule

Feeding seven-month-old babies continues to be five times, and the intervals between feedings should be at least four hours. Some babies still keep waking up at night for a little refreshment (the number of such awakenings can be from one to three).

At 7 months, both babies and artificial babies have already adapted well to complementary foods: cereals, vegetable and fruit soups and purees, children's cottage cheese and all kinds of juices have become full participants in their daily diet. The only difference in their diet is that three times a day, babies continue to receive mother's milk, and artificial children - a bottle of milk formula (at least twice a day).

Most young mothers often wonder which dishes are healthier for a child: factory-made or homemade? If the mother is confident in the complete safety of vegetables and fruits that she will use to make soups and mashed potatoes (this is only possible if they are grown in her garden), then homemade food should be preferred. If there is no such confidence, it is better to give the child juices and mashed potatoes from purchased jars..

We read on the topic of complementary foods: and introduce food

If the mother is going to feed the crumbs with homemade porridge, she must grind the cereal to a state of flour using a blender or coffee grinder. In their absence, it is better to purchase a factory-made semi-finished product intended for baby food.

I would like to pay special attention to the introduction of cottage cheese into the diet of a seven-month-old child. It should be only for children, adapted for the body with an incompletely formed gastrointestinal tract. Its main difference from an adult product is a very low acidity and a more delicate texture.

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All these qualities are possessed by children's cottage cheese, cooked or in a factory specializing in the production of children's products. The closed method of production carried out there excludes the ingress of pathogenic microorganisms into the product. It is better to introduce the baby to cottage cheese by introducing it into fruit puree, starting with one teaspoon and gradually increasing to three or four.

The best time to introduce your baby to new foods is during the daytime. Before a daytime sleep, it is better to give the child a hearty sweet porridge: having eaten well, the baby will sleep much longer and stronger. This point applies to both babies and artificial people.

If the child is hungry a little earlier than the established daily routine prescribes, the mother can retreat a little from him: 15-20 minutes won't solve anything. In the opposite situation, when the baby refuses to eat, you should not force-feed him. The reason for the refusal may be due to the fact that:

• the child did not like the taste or smell of the proposed product;
• the baby is frightened by the too persistent behavior of an adult forcing him to eat;
• The baby is fully fed with breast milk.

What to do with a child

A child at 7 months is an active explorer of the surrounding space, trying all objects both by taste and by touch. Many babies of this age not only crawl well, but also try to stand on their feet, and especially developed ones are already doing it confidently. Such activity requires very great vigilance from parents: knowing that an inquisitive baby drags everything into his mouth, they must remove all small objects (needles, beads, coins, pins) from his path.

For the successful intellectual development of a seven-month-old baby, the following classes will be useful:

1. Reading books and looking at bright illustrations (pages in books should be made of thick cardboard).
2. For the development of the baby's speech, rhymes with repeated sounds are useful. Having memorized constantly repeating sound combinations, the baby will begin to reproduce them independently.
3. A 7-month-old child knows and distinguishes favorite toys well. Having laid out 4-5 objects in front of him, you can ask him to find the right one among them. For each successful fulfillment of your request, the crumbs need to be praised.
4. Introducing the baby to the shape and size of objects, it is very useful to use a pyramid. Mom must first collect it, stringing the rings in decreasing order, commenting on her actions. After that, it is necessary to provide the crumbs with the opportunity to disassemble the assembled pyramid, making it an active participant in the gameplay.
5. A child can buy several dynamic toys: a tumbler, a top, or one of the modern toys, the rotation of which creates new pictures. Watching their movement contributes to the development of the logical thinking of the baby.
6. To develop the search skills of a crumb actively crawling around the apartment, you can use the Hide and Seek game. First, a bright toy is hidden in front of him and asked to find it. When the baby is interested in the process, you need to hide the toy again, but already furtively from him, not forgetting to expose part of it for show: this will facilitate the search and please the baby. At the next stage, the mother can hide herself so that the baby can find her by her voice.
7. Developing fine motor skills of pens, you can give the baby a plastic bucket and ask him to collect scattered, for example, walnuts. Mom should set an example at the beginning of the collection. The baby will be happy to join the process.
8. The same purpose is served by special beads or spirals with balls, cubes and cones strung on them, which can be purchased at any toy department.

When teaching a baby new skills, an emotional, joyful environment should be created: only under this condition will the baby be happy to take part in developmental activities. The main task of developing activities with the baby is the desire to teach him to achieve his goal.

We read in detail: and about skills and . See also the video below:

On the importance of massage and a set of hygiene procedures

Considering the extreme activity of young children, who make a lot of vigorous movements every minute, the mother should focus on massage sessions with elements of gymnastic exercises. An experienced nurse will introduce her to the technique of such a massage and a complex of useful physical exercises during the next preventive examination.

Those who still doubt the expediency of subordinating the life of a 7-month-old baby to any regime should be aware that babies accustomed to a certain cyclical feeding, periods of sleep and wakefulness develop much more successfully than peers who behave quite chaotically.

VIDEO GUIDE: Baby at 7 months: development, nutrition, sleep and daily routine, what he can do

The birth of a baby is a great happiness for any family. The first months the baby sleeps and eats a lot. But later, having gained strength, he needs to spend them. The baby is more awake and actively eats. Complementary foods should be taken seriously, because the health of the child and the work of his digestive system depend on it. By six months, the baby is already familiar with the taste of vegetable and fruit purees. You can start expanding the formula-fed menu.

home restaurant

Many moms at the word "complementary foods" panic. It is safe and easy to feed with formula or breast milk. But to start introducing vegetables, fruits, meat into food is already a more difficult task. The main rule is the purity and freshness of products. Never leave a seven-month-old baby alone with food. Watch out for safety during feeding, give the child well-chopped food.

The menu for a 7-month-old baby is quite varied. The diet contains a lot of vegetables and fruits. This helps to avoid constipation and colic. Cooking your own food or buying ready-made food in jars is your choice. Always try what you are going to give the baby, check the expiration date of the puree. Then the baby will be full and happy.

Scheduled

Try to feed your baby strictly on time. This will be better for his body, and mom will be able to plan her day without a hitch. Make and write down the menu of a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby for a week. Stick this piece of paper where you can see it so you don't get confused about what to cook and when. Breakfast crumbs will be standard - a mixture, as well as which will take place immediately before bedtime.

• Monday: 10:00 - 150 g of oatmeal, pear puree. For lunch, offer your baby soup with chicken broth, 30 g of minced meat, applesauce. Snack - cottage cheese, millet porridge, broccoli puree.
• On Tuesday for second breakfast, serve rice porridge, some vegetables. At 14:00 lunch, consisting of cream soup, cottage cheese and an apple. An afternoon snack can be varied with children's cookies, milk porridge.
• Wednesday can start with corn porridge, pumpkin puree. For lunch, offer the baby meat soup, pea mousse, some cottage cheese. A hearty dinner of mashed meat and fruit will come in handy.
• Thursday: for breakfast, continue to accustom to porridge, dairy-free buckwheat and mashed carrots and beets. A hearty lunch, consisting of vegetable soup, a tongue crushed in a blender and cookies, will please the baby. For an afternoon snack, offer fruit puree with cottage cheese.
• Friday: buckwheat porridge, Lunch of meatballs and potatoes. Puree from any fruit, a little meat stewed with zucchini. For an afternoon snack, cottage cheese and egg yolk.
• Saturday: the weekend menu may consist of the child's favorite dishes. Give him a real holiday.
• Sunday: for the second breakfast - porridge, fruits and cookies. Lunch of meat soup, vegetables and a quarter of an egg. For an afternoon snack, the same cottage cheese with fruit.

This is a sample menu for a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby. You can vary the dishes as you wish. But remember, nutrition should be balanced. Teach your baby to eat right from the cradle. Then his body will work without failures.

Porridge is our strength

For proper development and balance in nutrition, the baby must definitely eat cereals. In order for the child to wean faster from the bottle, do not be lazy and feed him from a spoon. Inviting the baby to try a new cereal, start with one teaspoon. During the day, observe the reaction of the body. If everything proceeds as usual, increase the dose to three spoons the next day. And so gradually add until you reach one hundred and fifty grams. Add more fruits to the formula-fed baby's menu. Vitamins are simply necessary for the body at this age.

Diversity

Oatmeal is very healthy and nutritious, and it is easy to cook it. Carefully sort out the cereal, pour it into boiling water and cook for forty minutes over low heat. You can add some vegetables and start feeding.

Millet porridge is endowed with all the necessary trace elements. Be sure to let your child taste this delicious treat. Boil it for a long time, about fifty minutes, and season with olive oil before feeding.

Add buckwheat to your diet. If the child is not too well-fed, you can sometimes pamper him with semolina porridge with berries or jam. Compose the diet of a 7-month-old formula-fed baby correctly. Every day feed him meat, cottage cheese. The bones and teeth of the baby will quickly get stronger, digestion will be normal.

smart doctor

Dr. Komarovsky is known to every mother in our country. This smartest man knows the answers to all questions related to children. He pays special attention to the menu of a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby. In his opinion, there is no need to hurry with the introduction of new products. From six months, he recommends diversifying the diet with fermented milk products, cottage cheese. But the seventh month of a baby's life is ideal for introducing cereals. The main useful properties are buckwheat, rice, corn grits. He advises to refuse semolina, as it contains a huge content of gluten, which can cause allergies.

The menu of a 7-month-old bottle-fed baby according to Komarovsky looks like this:

1. 06:00 - milk formula.
2. 10:00 - 150 ml of kefir, 40 g of cottage cheese.
3. 14:00 - adapted mix.
4. 18:00 - mix.
5. 22:00 - 200 ml of porridge.

Komarovsky is of the opinion that there is no need to rush to introduce vegetables, fruits, meat. The baby's body is not intended for experiments. Therefore, the older he is, the stronger his immunity, vegetables appear on the crumbs menu only at eight months.

Allergic

Children under the age of three often have an allergic reaction to food. Mom should keep a diary of observations and write down in it everything that the baby uses. Then it will be possible to easily calculate the allergen. The main rule is not to introduce two new foods into the diet on the same day.

The menu of a 7-month-old formula-fed baby with allergies is rather meager:

• dairy-free cereals, mainly rice and corn;
• pumpkin, potatoes, zucchini, cabbage;
• turkey, nutria, rabbit, veal;
• apple, banana.

Some children tolerate buckwheat porridge well, the diet is selected individually. In many cases, allergies in young children arise from the consumption of dairy products, eggs, berries, sweets, gluten. If you notice rashes, peeling on the body of the crumbs, it is better to immediately consult a pediatrician. He will examine the little patient and give recommendations.

Increased activity

Seven months is a funny age. The baby is trying to crawl, get up, holding on to a support. With every minute he grows stronger and becomes more curious. If until now the child has not lived according to the regime, be sure to start observing it. It will be difficult to rebuild, but it is necessary for the proper development of the baby. He should sleep at least twice a day for two hours. Children of this age are supposed to have a long night's sleep, about eleven hours. 7-month-old baby by the clock is also very important. His menu has already changed dramatically - two formula feedings have been replaced with vegetables, fruits, cereals. Now you need to try to eat at the same time.

By the hour

Organizing proper nutrition for a baby is not an easy task. You can only use ready-made mashed potatoes and cereals from the store. Then there will be no problems. Opening the lid and putting the baby in the feeding chair is as easy as shelling pears. But if mom cooks on her own, you need to calculate the time. An early breakfast is served at six in the morning. By 10:00 you can serve lunch according to the schedule at 14:00. It can be soup with meat, vegetables, cookies. The next feeding, which will replace the mixture, is at 18:00. It is better if it is cottage cheese, fruit. But before going to bed, give your child a bottle of formula.

Feeding a baby is a very important step in life. Do not rush to let him try everything, he will still have time to do it. Start with healthy, fresh foods. Always listen to see if there was cotton when opening a jar of baby food. Choose domestic vegetables and fruits, even if they are not perfectly beautiful, but do not contain harmful substances. Teach your baby from the very first spoons to healthy and wholesome food!

The child is 7 months old. He successfully passed the age barrier of six months: he is no longer a baby, he is a little man who smiles at his acquaintances, knows his name, skillfully wields his hands, already knows how or is actively learning to sit. Most babies of this age are familiar with the basic foods of the first complementary foods.

Exactly a month ago, his new stage of development began, associated with accustoming him to new food, and parents immediately have a question: what should be the child's nutrition?

Feeding mode

In the seventh month of life, the menu of a breastfed baby is not much different from the menu of an artificial. The diet of a child at the age of 7 months includes 5 meals during the day; the very first morning and the latest evening - breast milk or adapted infant formula.

During the day, a seven-month-old baby can still receive mother's milk, but at the same time, parents should try to form three pronounced meals (breakfast-lunch-dinner) with appropriate pauses between them.

An example of such a regimen can be considered a scheme: 7.00 - first breakfast (formula or mother's milk), 9.30 - second breakfast, 13.30-14.00 - lunch, 17.30-18.00 - dinner, 21.30-22.00 - late dinner (mixture or mother's milk).

Balanced Diet

If you figured out the regimen, then the next main task is to choose the right diet for a child of 7 months.

At this age, the baby is actively growing, almost all systems of his body are evolving. Formula or breast milk cannot fully satisfy all the needs of a developing organism. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly plan the menu so that the baby receives all the macro- and micronutrients he needs.

What should be given to a child in the seventh month of life?

There are not many main dishes here. As before, you need to try to introduce new products carefully, as carefully as possible. If something doesn't work the first time, take a break for a few days and try again.

Porridge

During this period, the first dairy-free cereals have already been successfully introduced into the child's diet: buckwheat, rice. Over time, the menu is enriched with cereals in milk or infant formula: corn, millet, rice, etc.

They start with liquid porridges, gradually moving to thicker ones in consistency. As soon as the baby has learned to eat single-component cereals, you can move on to multi-porridges: multi-component cereals from different types of kup with the addition of vegetable or fruit puree - this stimulates the taste perception of the child.

vegetable puree

Required menu item. As it is right, by the seventh month, most babies are already happy to eat vegetable puree from zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower.

At 7 months, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, and legumes can be added to these purees. If the baby tolerates monopure well, you can make it multi-component by adding olive or other vegetable oil to it.

Meat

Meat puree is a completely new and very necessary product in the diet of a seven-month-old baby. Meat - an unsurpassed source of animal protein and B vitamins - is introduced into the menu as carefully and gradually as possible.

They usually start with a diet of turkey and rabbit, gradually adding veal and chicken to the diet. Keeping in mind that meat is a "heavy" product, you should introduce it into the afternoon / lunchtime meal and not rush, start with half a teaspoon, and carefully monitor the tolerance of this product to the baby.

Fruit

If last month the diet of the crumbs was enriched with banana and apple puree, now it is time to try peach, pear, apricot, cherry, prunes.

Fruit purees are rich in vitamins and fiber, which is so necessary for the normal functioning of the intestines. If the baby tolerates regional fruit puree well, you can take a chance and let him try the exotic: kiwi or mango.

Dairy products

Cottage cheese, yogurt, kefir contain milk protein and calcium, which are required for the development of the bones and teeth of the child. The introduction of sour milk begins with a teaspoon of kefir, gradually increasing the dose to 100 grams; then they try cottage cheese, usually children like it - and the introduction of this type of complementary foods passes without any problems.

Based on these basic products necessary for a 7-month-old baby, you can easily compose a diet and coordinate it with the baby’s daily routine so that he always has enough nutrients necessary for growth and harmonious development.

There is a child on artificial or breastfeeding, the task of an adult during this period is to gradually accustom the baby to new food, which will become the main diet for many, many years.

Photo of baby nutrition at 7 months

Every day, growing babies become more active and expend more energy, which must be replenished with additional nutrients. Therefore, gradually “adult” products should be introduced into the child’s diet, since the usual diet is no longer enough for the child’s body. Seven-month-old fidgets by this age sit and crawl, and some even try to stand on their feet and take their first steps. Of course, formula (or breast milk) is still the main food, but the constant activity of the baby requires a more complete diet. What can a seven-month-old toddler eat and drink? Let's consider this question in detail.

Child nutrition - what new foods should be introduced into the diet

1. Kashi. This dish must be present on the menu of a seven-month-old baby, but cereals must be chosen without gluten (buckwheat, rice and corn). In addition, these cereals have significant benefits. Buckwheat is rich in iron and is perfectly absorbed by the body. Rice groats are nutritious and useful for loose stools. Corn grits stabilizes the work of the intestines and is indispensable for toddlers prone to allergic reactions. You can also give your kids oatmeal.
2. Meat. At the age of seven months, you need to start introducing meat into the baby's diet, which is rich in protein, vitamin B, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. This product is especially useful for children with anemia and for those who are not gaining weight well. But for starters, it is recommended to give only dietary meats: turkey, chicken and rabbit meat. It is best to cook these dishes in the form of mashed potatoes or soufflés, diluted with breast (not cow!) Milk or water. It is undesirable to add broth after cooking meat.
   
3. Yolk. Due to the fact that egg yolk can cause an allergic reaction, it should be introduced into the baby's diet very carefully, starting with a small piece. You need to dilute this product with breast milk or a mixture, gradually bringing its amount to half the yolk. It contains a lot of fats, vitamins, iron and phosphorus necessary for the body. It is not necessary to give the child boiled yolk in its pure form, it can be added to meat and vegetable purees, but not every day, but two or three times a week.
4. Vegetables. Mashed vegetables are an indispensable dish for children of the age of seven months. It is good for the stomach and intestines, as it is rich in fiber and minerals. You should start with zucchini and cabbage (any), and then gradually introduce pumpkin, carrots and potatoes into the diet of crumbs. You can also enrich vegetable puree with beans or green peas. But just add a little, it’s too early to give these products to a seven-month-old peanut as an independent dish.
5. Fruit. Absolutely all children love fruit puree, especially if it is bananas and apples. Also, many kids love pear and apricot puree. Such a dish as complementary foods must be present, because there are a lot of vitamins in fruits. Moreover, you only need to mash the banana with a fork, and rub the apple on a grater - and a delicious delicacy is ready.
   
6. Beverages. In addition to boiled water, which the child must be given every day, you can also cook compote and make freshly squeezed juice. First from apples, and later add pears, plums, apricots. In winter, dried fruits can replace fresh fruits. It is better not to add sugar, if only very little, when the compote really needs to be sweetened. You can also make drinks from some vegetables, for example, from carrots. It turns out very tasty and healthy juice, which children drink with pleasure.
7. Kefir, cottage cheese. For good nutrition, pediatricians recommend adding fermented milk products (cottage cheese and kefir) to the diet of seven-month-old children, without which it is already undesirable to do. They contain proteins, phosphorus, potassium and calcium, in addition, they are useful for digestion. It is better to give cottage cheese homemade - his children eat more willingly. Kefir "for adults" should be left for yourself, and children should be offered a special children's one. Moreover, the first portion should not exceed twenty grams, otherwise a load on the stomach will be created. The amount of cottage cheese and kefir should be increased gradually.

How much complementary food should a child eat - complementary foods table

The main food of an infant at this age is still milk (maternal or adapted formula). But even with full breastfeeding, the baby must eat additional foods so that his body receives the necessary and important vitamins and minerals for health. Specialists in the field of pediatrics have developed a complementary feeding table, which describes in detail how to feed a child at this age.

Name of products and dishes	Daily rate	Important Rules
Kashi (oatmeal, corn, buckwheat, barley, rice)	150 g	Do not dilute with cow's milk.
Vegetable puree (pumpkin, cabbage, carrots, zucchini)	170 g	You can add green peas.
Fruit puree (banana, apple, pear, plum)	70 g	No citrus fruits!
Meat puree (chicken, turkey, rabbit)	30 g	Do not give meat broth.
Dairy products (cottage cheese, kefir)	50-150 g	Kefir should be childish.
Chicken boiled yolk	0.25 g	Only the yolk, no protein!
Juices and compotes (carrot, apple, apricot, peach)	70 ml	Dilute half with water.
Cookies, crackers, crackers	3 pcs	Soak in water or milk.

Are there differences in the nutrition of infants and artificial babies?

Most mothers believe that if their babies eat a lot of breast milk by the age of seven months, then they do not need additional food, so they are in no hurry to introduce complementary foods. However, many experts are of the opinion that even if the child continues to eat breast milk with pleasure, his body is already beginning to feel the need for vitamins and minerals that can be obtained from healthy foods. Therefore, the baby needs to introduce complementary foods, but the portions should be very small, literally half a dessert spoon, because this is new food for the baby.

If the child is bottle-fed, then one adapted mixture becomes insufficient for him by four to five months. And by the age of seven months, a portion of "artificial" should not only be slightly different from the diet of children who feed on mother's milk, but also be larger in grams. Here it is better to focus on the feeding table and calculate the amount of food in relation to the weight of the baby. This is necessary so that the volume of each serving does not exceed the indicators indicated in the table - it will be much easier for mothers with it.

Daily diet for breastfeeding and artificial feeding

The menu of a 7-month-old breastfed baby is slightly different from the menu of a baby fed with an adapted formula. The products are given almost the same, the difference is only in the dosage. A baby who has already switched completely to an adapted formula needs a little more food than a breastfed baby.

Feeding time	Breastfeeding	On artificial feeding
6.00-7.00	mother's milk.	Milk mixture.
10.00-11.00	Porridge (150 gr.), Fruit puree (50 gr.).	Porridge (180 gr.), Fruit puree (80 gr.).
14.00-15.00	Vegetable puree (150 gr.), Meat puree (150 gr.), juice or compote (50 ml).	Vegetable puree (180 gr.), Meat puree (180 gr.), juice or compote (80 ml).
18.00-19.00	Cottage cheese (40 gr.), kefir (100 ml), cookies.	Cottage cheese (50 gr.), kefir (150 ml), half of the yolk.
22.00-23.00	mother's milk.	Milk mixture.

As can be seen from the table, the diet in infants does not depend on the type of feeding and includes five meals a day with an interval of no more than 4 hours.

Sample menu for an infant at 7 months for each day of the week

The diet of the little ones should be varied and age appropriate. We offer to help mothers an approximate daily menu, in which the first breakfast and the last feeding must necessarily include breast milk or milk formula. What the child can eat and drink at other meals is suggested in the table.

Day of the week	meal	What can be offered to the baby
Monday	Breakfast number 2	Semolina porridge with dried fruits (150 g), cottage cheese with peach pulp (50 g), pear puree (50 g).
	Dinner	Cabbage-pumpkin puree (180 g), turkey meat mousse (70 g), 1/2 yolk, compote (150 ml), bread.
	afternoon tea	Homemade yogurt (100 g), buckwheat porridge (50 g), green apple puree (50 g), baby biscuits (5 g).
Tuesday	Breakfast number 2	Buckwheat porridge with pumpkin (100 g), plum puree (50 g), children's cottage cheese (50 g).
	Dinner	Potato soup with meatballs with onions, cabbage, carrots, herbs (200 g), pear and peach puree (50 g), bread.
	afternoon tea	Baby kefir (100 ml), oatmeal (100 g), green apple baked in the oven.
Wednesday	Breakfast number 2	Rice pudding (100 g), jelly (50 g), curd soufflé (50 g).
	Dinner	Pumpkin soup (200 g), fish cakes (50 g), fruit juice (50 g), bread (5 g).
	afternoon tea	Homemade yogurt (100 ml), corn porridge with pear and apple (100 g) cracker.
Thursday	Breakfast number 2	Oatmeal with berries (100 g), children's cottage cheese (50 g), chopped prunes.
	Dinner	Vegetable puree from broccoli and rabbit meat (200 g), peach puree (50 g), fruit juice (80 g), bread (5 g).
	afternoon tea	Kefir for children, rice porridge (100 g), children's cookies (5 g).
Friday	Breakfast number 2	Corn porridge with pear (100 g), children's cottage cheese (50 g), pear puree (50 g).
	Dinner	Chicken soup (200 g), pear puree (50 g), berry juice (70 g), bread (5 g).
	afternoon tea	Homemade yogurt (150 g), baby biscuits (5 g), barley porridge (100 g).
Saturday	Breakfast number 2	Buckwheat porridge with peach (100 g), cottage cheese for children (50 g), fruit juice.
	Dinner	Puree from zucchini, carrots, turkey meat (200 g), baked apple with berries, bread (5 g).
	afternoon tea	Kefir (150 ml), cracker, oatmeal porridge (100 g), applesauce (50 g).
Sunday	Breakfast number 2	Barley porridge with pumpkin (100 g), cottage cheese with plums (50 g), fruit jelly.
	Dinner	Vegetable soup with beets (180 g), fish puree (50 g), peach and pear fruit puree (50 g), compote (100 g).
	afternoon tea	Yogurt with pear puree (150 g), baby cookies, buckwheat porridge (100 g).

Video about the baby's menu at 7 months

How to feed your baby new foods and dishes

Every mother wants her baby to accept new foods well and eat with appetite. However, this can be achieved only if simple rules are observed, otherwise the child may refuse unfamiliar food. Most children accept new foods well, but it happens that for unknown reasons they do not want to eat cereals and mashed potatoes. The reasons may be different, so it is recommended to follow the following rules.

• Do not force-feed the child if he refuses to eat - do not force him to swallow "at least a spoonful." Try later - perhaps you have not cooled the dish enough and it is hot for the baby, or he is just not hungry yet.
• The new dish should contain only one product unfamiliar to the little one. It is necessary to introduce the child to complementary foods gradually, and each new ingredient should be introduced little by little and in small doses.
• It is undesirable to give the baby to drink water during feeding - only between them. This applies to boiled water, not juices and compotes (they should be offered to the crumbs after each meal). Liquid is best given in a non-spill bottle.
• All dishes must be of a uniform consistency, without pieces and lumps. To do this, it is not enough just to knead the products with a fork, it is better to chop in a blender. Or grate, then rub through a sieve.
• It is very important how and what your fidget eats. He should eat only while sitting (for example, on a special highchair), but in no case lying down. It is recommended to use a plastic spoon as a cutlery.
• The first acquaintance with a new dish is best done in the afternoon during lunch, by this time the baby’s body is already ready to accept unfamiliar food, and the mother will have the opportunity to observe how the body has absorbed the new product until the evening.

The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky

Many mothers listen to Dr. Komarovsky, a specialist in the field of pediatrics, they trust his opinion. What does he think about complementary foods at seven months of age? On this score, Evgeny Olegovich is categorical: it is necessary to introduce crumbs of porridge into the diet, especially buckwheat and rice. And it is better to give them during dinner, before going to bed. But with semolina, you should wait, her turn will come later. And if meat and vegetables can be introduced into the baby's menu even in the eighth month, then cereals will certainly be in the seventh - at this age they are very important for the child's body, says Dr. Komarovsky.