Infant Feeding - 6 - 9 months

Major weaning foods

SUMMARY

When the baby starts cutting his teeth, it is time to start changing him over to chopped and lumpy foods. Cooked cereals, pulses and vegetables can be given to the child.

Vegetables may be chopped into small pieces, and boiled. Cooked potato can be given. Leafy vegetables can be given well boiled and soft. A slice of raw carrot or fruit segments with all skin and seeds removed are also a good exercise for his gums. As the child grows, it is better to give fruit segments instead of juice. Fruit provides bulk in the diet and is good for bowel movement.

The aim is that child should get used to the food eaten by the family members. Mashed rice with dal, khichri or mashed vegetables normally cooked at home. Add a little oil. Green leafy vegetables can be given separately or added to dal and khichri, or stuffed in roti or Paratha.

Babies at this age should be fed 4 to 6 times a day as the stomach capacity is less and can take only little at a time.

• Cow’s milk( not as drinking milk but in products like cereals), curds
• Meat, chicken, fish (bone free), eggs, nuts (ground thoroughly), pulses.
• Breads, rice, wheat, potatoes.
• Fruit, unsweetened fruit juice, vegetable salads
• Finger foods at 7 months – toast fingers, vegetable sticks.
• From 6 months at least 1 food from each of 5 groups should be incorporated.
• Homemade foods are preferable as most dishes eaten by family can be used.

Sample feed: ¼ of a bowl of mashed dal, rice, chicken/mutton broth can be added to the rice, mashed fruits (½ a fruit)

By 9 months: ½ a bowl of the above foods (little sugar/ salt/ghee/oil)

• Keep breast feeding the child till 1 year of age at least, and even during illness.
• Drinks during weaning –boiled and cooled water according to thirst.
• During illness feed the child as normal, even if the child resists.
• During diarrhoea – give lot of fluids to the child, in fact replace each bout of stools with a glass (250 ml) of clean boiled water

Malting

To meet the increased demands of calorie and protein, well cooked mashed cereals mixed with milk and sugar can be given. Calorie dense cereals can be prepared by malting; also, sprouted pulses and beans can be used. Cereals like wheat, bajra, ragi, jowar, and pulses like moong (whole) can be malted.

• Soak overnight.
• Remove the water and tie in the moist cloth and keep in warm place (Sprouting).
• After 48 hours when sprouts come out dry in sun or roast it.
• Make into flour.

• During the process of malting, starch is converted to maltose due to increased production of enzyme amylase. Thus, this is also called Amylase Rich Food. Due to the conversion of starch into amylose, thinner gruels are made. With this either the infant can consume more gruel or more flour can be added to make thick gruel. This way calorie consumption can be increased.

• Also, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of malted cereal, added to porridge, khichri and other weaning foods, will reduce its viscosity and child will be able to eat a larger quantity of it. This is a very good way of increasing energy density of weaning foods.

• The malting process increases the riboflavin, niacin content. Sprouting various pulses and beans increase the content of vitamin B group and vitamin C.

• A major advantage of preparation of these energy dense foods is that they are pre-cooked. Thus, these cereals in powdered form can be stored in airtight bottles. They can be mixed with boiled water, cooked for a few minutes and fed to the baby.

However, these foods should not form the major feeds throughout the day, but given 1-2 times in the whole day. This is because the child should become familiar with various common foods and develop a taste for all foods and not reject them later.

As the shelf life is short, malting has to be done every three or four weeks.

Cereals like wheat, bajra, jowar, can be malted. Ragi malt is a common weaning food in the southern parts of India where ragi is commonly eaten.

Other cereals like rice, rice flakes, corn flakes, can also be roasted and powdered and given in the form of porridge.

Pulses like moong (whole) can be malted as it is easy to digest. Roasted and powdered moong dal can be used in porridge.

Nuts: Roasted and ground peanuts (1 tsp.)can be given to children at the age of 9 months.

Vegetables: boiled and mashed soft vegetables can be added to the porridges. For e.g. tomato, gourds, spinach and other green leafy vegetables.

Egg: Hard cooked egg yolk can be added to the various porridges.

• Milk powder (2 tbsp ) can be added to the porridge if it is going to be made in water.

• Little sugar and oil / butter (1tsp.) can be added to the porridge to increase the calorie content.

Add all ingredients and cook for a few minutes by adding water or milk to a semi solid / mashed consistency

1. Plain porridge

Bajra 2 tbsp.
Moong dal 2 tbsp.

2. Riceflakes porridge

Rice flakes 2 tbsp.
Peanuts 1 tsp (can be added at 9 months)

3. Fruit porridge

Rawa 2 tbsp.
Add a banana/fruit after boiling

4. Apple porridge

Rice 2 tbsp.
Apple boiled ½ no.

5. Veg porridge

Bajra 2 tbsp.
Peanuts 1tsp.
Masoor/tur 1 tbsp.
Carrot/Veg. 2 tbsp.

6. Tomato porridge

Bajra 2 tbsp.
Rice powder 2 tsp.
Peanuts 1 tsp.
Tur dal 1tbsp.
Tomato (boiled)1 tbsp.

7. Paratha
   Bajra 2 tbsp.
   Peanut 2tsp
   Masoor/Tur/Chana/moong 1 tbsp
   Potato (boiled) 2 tbsp
   Oil 1 tsp
   
   Mix all ingredients
   Make dough and roast as Paratha
   Substitute cereal with wheat, jowar, and ragi.
   Substitute potato with spinach, other vegetables.

1 teaspoon (1 tsp) : 5 grams or 5 ml
1 tablespoon (1 tbsp) : 15 grams or 15 ml.