6 Months old baby feeding schedule and tips

For all the things your hands have held the best so far is your baby.

Celebrating your baby's six months old birthday? It is also the time for necessary transformations as the infants start to have solid food by this time. Taking it as a good news you can finally add variety to your baby’s food.

A baby needs to be fed every 2-3 hours, which is near about 5 to 6 times in a day.

Since the baby is in his/her growing stage it is usual for them to eat different amounts of meals every day.

Moms anyway follow the signs of the baby, no matter what schedule you follow strictly. Though, a mother’s conscious will anyway not allow to say no for food to their baby but still both parents should not deny food to their baby, no matter if he already ate according to his schedule.

Say Hi to Solids!

Like previously written,The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also says that moms only breastfeed infants for about 6 months if possible. As soon as they celebrate their half birthdays, they have to have solids.

A baby may only intake solids at 6 months if:

• They have good head control
• They can hold their head up for extended periods
• They can sit up with no or very little assistance
• They no longer have the tongue thrust reflect to push food out of the mouth with the tongue
• They show interest at mealtime and lean toward food if a caregiver offers it

Do not forget, that even at this age, breast milk or formula is still a baby’s most important form of nutrition, solids are just an addition.

It is not necessary that all 6-month-olds are ready for solids. If a baby shows no interest, the caregiver can try again after weeks.

Giving a baby 1–2 tablespoons of iron fortified cereal or fruit or vegetable purees each time when they eat, can be a good place to start.

Step by step, increasing this as the baby’s interest and appetite increase can be followed.

To ensure that the baby’s tummy is full, the adult can breastfeed or give a bottle before offering solids.

Caregivers can give solid food as a supplement each time they nurse the baby or give a bottle. Or, they can include the baby in family meals by giving solids at mealtime.

At 6 months of age, when an infant may begin to want solids, a caregiver can offer these just once per day.

Choosing a time of day when the caregiver is relaxed and not pressed for time, and the baby is not overly hungry, fussy, or tired often works best.

Once a baby is enjoying their once-a-day solids, the frequency can increase to two and then three times a day.

There is no “right” schedule, but caregivers should plan to increase the number of solids babies get gradually.

At 6 months, the goal is not to introduce new foods and eating habits. Similarly, there is no need to force a baby to eat solids or restrict new food if a baby indicates they want more.

Regardless of their size and eating habits, babies need access to an expanding variety of solid foods.

Most babies will need to try new foods several times before they feel comfortable eating them. It is fine to let a child eat at their own pace, in the way that feels right to them.

It is acceptable at this age for a baby to play with their food since this is a way of exploring new things.

Some solid food to feed the babies

When you first start introducing solid food into your child's diet, you'll want to start with a single food -- such as bananas, apples, grain cereal, etc. -- at each meal. Only introducing one food at a time will allow you to watch for reactions to each food. If you start giving the child mix ingredients, you will never know which food your child is interested in and which food to eliminate from the diet. Once you know that your child tolerates a food well, you can create food combinations to fit his or her tastes.

Food at this stage should also be a very thin texture so that your child is able to swallow it without gagging or choking because any texture will be new and foreign to your child.

Feeding Tips

• Like us Babies are hungrier after waking up from a long nap. This can be a good time to try solids after offering formula or breast milk to ease their initial hunger.
• There is no evidence that adding cereal to a bottle helps babies sleep longer. Doing so can increase their risk of choking.
• Babies must never have food without close supervision. nor have solids, even very thin purees, in bed.
• Congratulations for being a parent of 6 months old. Have fun on a rollercoaster ride named parenting.