Question
Experts, please advise: Can a 3-4 month-old baby be fed calcium powder mixed with orange juice, tomato juice, vegetable soup, or formula milk?
Answer
The correct way to introduce complementary foods should start in the morning, with the doctor recommending that even if the baby has an adaptation issue, they should see a doctor in the afternoon. Babies under 6 months old only need an additional meal of complementary food daily. After 6 months, an additional meal of rice porridge or congee can be introduced around 6 pm (usually dinner time), followed by a large bottle of milk at 10 pm, allowing the baby to eat sufficiently and sleep well at night. Rice porridge can be considered as the main course, and after feeding the evening rice porridge, milk should be given 3-4 hours later. For the initial feeding, it can be thinned out and placed in a bottle for the baby to suck on, gradually increasing the thickness. After two weeks, it is necessary to transition to feeding with a spoon instead of using a bottle. As the baby’s gastrointestinal function improves, while introducing rice porridge, one can also add animal blood such as chicken, duck, and pork, as well as minced lean meat, fish puree, pork liver puree, and chicken liver puree, which are rich in iron and easy to absorb. These can be directly added to the rice porridge. It is important to note that babies under 1 year old should not have any additives introduced into their diet.