Complementary feeding according to Komarovsky

One significant developmental milestone for a child is complementary feeding. When and how to introduce solid foods to their baby’s diet is a common question among parents. Many families adhere to the well-known pediatrician Dr. Komarovsky’s popular complementary feeding regimen.

Komarovsky suggests introducing complementary foods to babies gradually and thoughtfully, taking into account their individual needs and readiness. His approach centers on starting the baby off with basic, natural foods while making sure the infant gets the nutrients it needs from formula or breast milk.

This post will discuss Dr. Komarovsky’s suggestions for implementing supplemental feeding, including which foods are ideal to start with and how to avoid common blunders. During this exciting time in their child’s life, parents can make well-informed decisions with the aid of this comprehensive guide.

Age Recommended Foods
6 months Vegetable puree (zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower), fruit puree
7 months Porridge (rice, buckwheat), continue vegetable and fruit purees
8 months Meat puree (chicken, turkey), mashed potatoes
9 months Dairy products (kefir, cottage cheese), egg yolk
10-12 months Gradual introduction of fish, finely chopped fruits, and vegetables

As a baby’s digestive system is ready, around six months, complementary feeding should be introduced gradually and thoughtfully, advises Dr. Komarovsky. He stresses the value of letting kids start with simple foods like cereal or veggies and not putting undue pressure on them to eat. The idea is to continue nursing or formula feeding while gradually introducing new flavors and textures. It is important for parents to exercise patience, pay attention to their infant’s needs, and ensure that mealtimes are enjoyable and free from force feeding or stress.

Differences between complementary feeding and supplementary feeding

Although these two words are similar, they have different meanings, which could lead to confusion. Supplementary feeding refers to the feeding of an infant who does not receive enough breast milk and is given formula, animal milk, or donor woman’s milk. In this instance, the child is being fed in a mixed manner. Complementary foods are items that are given to a baby during the first year of life in addition to formula or breast milk. Their purpose is to acclimate the infant to adult nutrition.

Early complementary feeding – benefit or harm?

Friends, family, and even medical professionals advise newlywed parents to begin complementary feedings far earlier than what is advised by contemporary medicine. The more years that pass, the more frequently recommendations to feed the baby juice, yolk, puree, and other foods will be heard.

It is important for modern parents to realize that the early adoption of complementary foods in the past was primarily brought about by the low breastfeeding rate and subpar breast milk substitutes.

Babies were typically given boiled, diluted cow’s milk. Such food destroyed the vitamins, leaving the baby devoid of many beneficial nutrients. Furthermore, recommendations were made to start giving juices, yolk pieces, and vegetable puree in the first month of life in order to combat hypovitaminosis, delays in weight gain and development, anemia, and other issues. Remember that selling purees, cereals, juices, and other baby food items is a pretty serious business. As a result, manufacturers profit most when product packaging indicates that the product can be used for three or four months.

These days, complementary foods are not necessary for babies under six months old if the nursing mother consumes a varied and balanced diet, or if the infant is given a formula that has been specially formulated to replace breast milk. If the infant is smaller, it makes more sense for the parents to focus on improving the mother’s diet or purchasing a premium formula rather than introducing complementary foods.

Although many parents can see the harm, there is really no benefit to starting the baby on anything other than milk or formula earlier. These are gastrointestinal issues and allergic reactions first and foremost. As such, parents should carefully and thoroughly consider when their child should begin to feed.

Rules for introduction

  • Any new food product should be introduced into the baby"s diet very carefully and gradually. Start with one sip and one spoon, then feed with the usual food (breast milk or formula). After assessing the reaction – stool, sleep, skin condition, behavior – the dose can be increased.
  • If something alarmed you, you should wait with the product.
  • In the case when painful symptoms appeared, new products should not be introduced until they disappear.
  • You cannot give a baby a new product during illness, as well as in the period before vaccination (3 days) and after it (within 3 days).
  • If the baby refuses a product, do not insist.

Which product to start complementary feeding with?

Nutritionists and pediatricians disagree greatly about which group of products should be introduced into a baby’s diet first. Proponents of fermented milk feeding argue that babies react poorly to abrupt changes in nutrition and that fermented milk products differ from milk much less than vegetables. Supporters of introducing vegetable puree first assert that they are rich in vitamin and mineral salts.

Komarovsky"s complementary feeding strategy

The introduction of complementary foods occurs during both formula and breastfeeding. A well-known pediatrician provides a useful method for introducing new foods to a baby’s diet that, to the greatest extent possible, minimizes the child’s body’s unfavorable reactions to them:

  • If the child is not yet five months old, he does not need any complementary foods. You should take care of the mother"s high-quality nutrition, and if there is not enough milk in the mother"s breast, then provide the baby with a good adapted formula.
  • At five months, complementary feeding begins for babies who are not gaining weight well, as well as with low hemoglobin. If the baby is healthy and developing, then we postpone the start of complementary feeding for 6 months. Also, a little later, it is worth starting to feed children who have had cases of food allergies or used special mixtures.
  • You can start with such a fermented milk product as kefir. The most optimal product will be one intended for baby food. We will introduce it during the second feeding, which occurs between 9 and 11 am. This product will not only be absorbed better than other complementary foods, but will also give the baby"s body useful lactic acid bacteria.
  • For the first time, three to four teaspoons of kefir are enough. After it, the child should be given mother"s breast or a bottle with formula. Observing the baby until the end of the day, we will immediately notice whether it is possible to increase the dose. After making sure that everything is normal, the amount of kefir is doubled the next day. It turns out that on the first day the baby will receive from 15 to 20 ml of kefir, on the second day from 30 to 40 ml, on the next day from 60 to 80 ml, and on the fourth day a full portion from 120 to 160 ml. In the event that on any day with the baby something has changed and the mother suspects this kefir of this, we pause. The dosage of the product is not increased, and sometimes we even reduce.
  • From the fourth or fifth day of feeding kefir, you can add cottage cheese to it. It can be a purchased product, and made independently. For the first day, one spoon is enough, on the second day give two spoons. So gradually increase the amount to 30-40 g for a child 6-8 months. Both kefir and its combination with cottage cheese can be sweetened with sugar. It all depends on the taste of the original product and the desire of the baby is a product without sugar.
  • Within a week, one feeding will turn out to be replaced by a mixture of kefir (on average 150 ml) and cottage cheese (30-40 g) completely. In all other feedings, the baby will still receive mother"s milk or a milk mixture. This mode support for another 3-4 weeks, after which we proceed to replace another feeding.
  • The next feeding, in which we will introduce complementary foods, is best to choose the last one (feeding before bedtime). We will introduce porridge, preferably buckwheat, rice or oatmeal. The porridge can be either cooked by the mother herself from flour, or bought in the store. We cook the porridge in milk (regular cow"s milk), although the best choice would be formulas for babies over six months. Since semolina porridge is a source of gliadin protein and can cause intestinal diseases if it is intolerant, it is recommended to introduce it into the child"s diet after eight months.
  • By 8 months, the child will have completely replaced two feedings. He gets kefir and cottage cheese in one feeding, porridge in the other, and a few more times formula or milk from the mother"s breast. We need to find out if the baby has at least one tooth. If there is a tooth, we will introduce vegetables. For trial feedings with vegetables, we prepare a decoction for the baby. Grind the carrots, potatoes, cabbage and onions, pour boiling water (about 100 g of water will be needed by 50 grams of vegetables), cover with a lid and cook until the vegetables are completely thorough. After straining the broth, boil it again and pour it into a bottle. On the first day, give the child 30 to 50 g of this broth, on the second day – twice as much.
  • If the baby reacts well to vegetables, start giving soup or puree, also constantly increasing the dosage until one feeding is replaced. For puree, stew different vegetables in boiling water, then rub, add a little salt and hot milk (25 ml is enough for 100 g of vegetables), then beat them and bring to a boil again. Add 3 g of vegetable oil to the finished puree.
  • After two to three weeks of feeding vegetables, try introducing meat. Instead of water, add meat broth (preferably chicken) to the vegetables, then add meat to the soup or puree, which will be in a mashed state. After a few days, you can add 1/5 of a hard-boiled chicken egg yolk to the same soup or puree.
  • We also begin to introduce fruits after the appearance of the first tooth. If there are no teeth yet, give babies juices. They are used as a supplement to formula or breastfeeding and are not intended to replace feeding. For older children, you can add fruits to porridge, give them fruit puree, and suck on large pieces.
  • By 9 months, complementary feeding will already replace 3 feedings. In one of them, the baby gets porridge, which can be very different. In another feeding, the child is given soups or vegetable dishes with the addition of any lean meat, as well as yolk and vegetable oil. After feeding, the child gets juice. Another feeding is kefir with cottage cheese, to which you can already add baby cookies. At this time, the child can be offered a piece of bread, and from the age of 10 months, use fish broth instead of meat to prepare soup.

According to Komarovsky, complementary feeding provides a flexible and stress-free method of introducing solid foods to your infant. His approach emphasizes waiting until your baby is ready and exhibits obvious signs of hunger, which helps to ease the transition for the child and the parents.

Without overwhelming their child, parents can encourage them to try new tastes and textures by starting with simple foods and progressively increasing the variety. Additionally, Komarovsky advises parents to trust their baby’s natural instincts and refrain from pressuring or hurrying the feeding process.

All things considered, this strategy keeps everyone happy and at ease during mealtimes and helps lay the groundwork for healthy eating habits.

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Olga Sokolova

Experienced pediatrician and consultant on children's health. Interested in modern approaches to strengthening the immune system, proper nutrition and child care. I write to make life easier for moms and dads by giving proven medical advice.

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