Question
How do I handle my baby’s abnormal eating habits? My baby is now four months old, and their evening meal isn’t as good as before. There hasn’t been a significant weight change either. Is it possible that they are deficient in something? They are currently on breast milk and formula. I want to ask, can I start adding things like biscuits and eggs now?…
Answer
Generally speaking, babies should start being introduced to complementary foods by the time they are four months old. Along with the principle of “from single to diverse,” one should also pay attention to “from thin to thick, from less to more, from fine to coarse,” and introduce new foods after the baby gets accustomed to one. If there is nausea or vomiting, temporarily stop or increase the provision until they feel better, and then gradually resume in an orderly manner. Guidance: After four months, you can add rice porridge, thick porridge, vegetable puree, and fresh fruits to digest vitamins. By 5-6 months, all iron is gradually consumed, leading to physiological iron deficiency anemia. Therefore, you should add iron-rich foods like egg yolks, liver from pork, beef, lamb, chicken, and duck at four months. If you start adding egg yolks, initially add 1/4 of a cooked egg yolk. If there are no digestive discomforts, add another 1/4 after three days, and increase by 1/4 every three days until half a month has passed and the entire egg yolk can be consumed. After another half month, you can use whole eggs to make custard; start with very small amounts. When providing complementary foods, ensure emotional communication. If you force the child to eat, they will become very annoyed.