Baby food 4 months: what changes in baby food at 4 months with the start of food diversification

Baby is already 4 months old, and your pediatrician has told you that it is possible to begin food diversification. On average, this is gradually being put in place between 4 and 6 months. This also means switching to a second stage milk if you are not breastfeeding, finding the right position to feed your baby… Big changes in your child’s daily life!

The visit to the pediatrician just before the baby is 4 months old is one of the most important appointments of the baby’s first year for his diet. This is when you will have the green light from your pediatrician to start food diversification.

On average, the food diversification can be started between 4 and 6 months. ” Even if we know, as parents, what is good for our baby, it is absolutely necessary to have the Go of our pediatrician to start the diversification. insists Céline de Sousa, chef and culinary consultant, specializing in infant nutrition.

At 4 months, your child cannot yet eat full meals, so food diversification starts with a few spoonfuls. You can start with vegetables, a few fruits or powdered cereals, all being well cooked, well mixed, well seeded and peeled for fruit and vegetable pieces.

” The texture of food, fruits, vegetables, mixed cereals, must be extra-smooth, it must really get closer to the texture of the bottle “, adds Céline de Sousa. For cooking, the chef advises favoring steam cooking, without adding fat and spices, so that baby can discover the natural taste of the fruit or vegetable.

Marjorie Crémadès is a dietitian and member of the Repop network (Network for the management and prevention of pediatric obesity). She explains that if food diversification is authorized from 4 months by your pediatrician, it is interesting to take advantage of a ” tolerance window » between 4 and 5 months : “ We note that we can reduce the risk of allergies and intolerance by having a maximum of foods taste – in very small quantities – to babies between 4 and 5 months. But it is necessary to dose well and follow the advice of his or her pediatrician: the baby’s digestive system is not yet mature and not all are ready at the same time. In addition, too early food diversification is not beneficial for baby and increases the risk of obesity in adulthood “.

We cannot really talk about a meal for a child of 4 to 6 months who is starting food diversification. A 4-month-old baby does not consume only small spoonfuls, such as 2 tablespoons of vegetables, 70 g of vegetable or fruit puree, or 1/2 jar of 130 g of vegetable or fruit compote in a bottle for example.

Milk – maternal or infant – therefore remains the first source of its food and should not be reduced even if you are just starting to diversify. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding of children up to 6 months. But if you cannot or do not want to breastfeed, or if you are in mixed breastfeeding and you feed your child with an infant formula, you can switch to a 2nd stage milk.

Despite the introduction of new foods in your child’s diet, do not reduce his usual consumption of bottles or feedings. Diversification is an opportunity to bring it new flavors, but his needs for nutrients, vitamins, proteins or essential fatty acids are always met by his consumption of milk.

On average, at 4 months, babies need 4 bottles of 180 ml per day, i.e. between 700 and 800 ml of milk per day.

If you are not breastfeeding your child, it is possible to switch from infant formula to a 2nd age infant milk, always choosing an infant formula that meets the needs of the infant and the strict regulations of the European Union. Milks of plant or animal origin for adults do not cover baby’s needs, and if your infant suffers from an allergy or intolerance, certified infant formula based on soy or rice proteins can replace more traditional infant milks.

To start your child’s food diversification, it is better to choose lower fiber vegetables or fruits and which mix well, so as not to interfere with his still immature digestive system. “ Avocado is often among the first foods to be included “, notes Marjorie Crémadès. ” Depending on the time of year when you start food diversification, you can enjoy seasonal fruits or vegetables: mix a very ripe peach in summer or rather a pear in autumn “, adds Céline de Sousa.

• red beet
• broccoli
• the carrot
• celeriac
• the cucumber
• squash
• the courgette
• watercress
• fennel
• the green bean
• parsnip
• the leek
• the pepper
• Potato
• pumpkin
• the pumpkin
• the tomato
• Jerusalem artichoke

• apricot
• the banana
• Chestnut
• Quince
• lychee
• The mandarin
• Blackberry
• Blueberry
• the nectarine
• the Peach
• the pear
• Apple
• the plum
• the grape

All of these foods should be perfectly washed, peeled, deseeded, pitted, and mixed until you get a very smooth texture, similar to that of a bottle. You can also introduce a little bit of infant cereals or well-blended rice cakes. You can also offer baby low-mineralized water between meals.

On average, baby needs at 4 monthsof 4 meals a day ! If you have started food diversification and want to add a little mixed vegetables, fruits or cereals to your bottle, but you are short of time, you can turn to the small pots sold in the trade.