Question
What should be the total daily intake for a 5-month-old newborn?
Answer
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer! 1) Allow the baby to gradually adapt. Initially, you can introduce the baby to flavors like soup and juice to stimulate their appetite. You can dilute adult soup 2-3 times and adjust the temperature to body heat, offering it before breastfeeding. Juice can be given directly or mixed with formula for consumption. 2) Gradually increase the quantity and variety of complementary foods. Introduce a new type of complementary food gradually, starting with a small amount and gradually increasing. Rushing may lead to failure. At around 4 months old, you can start adding egg yolks, beginning with 1/4 and increasing to 1/2 if the appetite and digestion are normal after a week. Continue to gradually increase to the entire egg yolk. By 6 months, the baby can eat whole eggs. Avoid introducing two or more new foods at the same time. Always introduce a new complementary food that the baby has never had before, and wait until they adapt before introducing another new food. 3) From thin to thick, soft before hard. From 1 to 3 months, infants can drink rice porridge, vegetable soup, and juice, and as they grow older, gradually introduce thinner porridge, soft noodles, and biscuits. If the baby doesn’t eat well during the first feeding of a new complementary food, it may lead to a dislike for it in the future. Therefore, the first new complementary food should be made sufficiently fine and tasty to make it easy for the baby to accept, avoiding hard food that could cause vomiting. 4) From fine to…