Dear mother, around six moths of age you should introduce semisolids to your baby’s diet and why? Because till around six months of age mother’s milk meets all the nutritional needs of the baby but not beyond that. At this point addition of foods is essential to meet nutritional requirements and maintain growth and development of the baby. Hence at this stage, while breast feeding should be continued, supplementary home-made semi-solid foods should be introduced. Delay in introduction of additional foods in an exclusively breastfed infant results in malnutrition. Improper introduction of these foods is fraught with dangers of: (i) diarrhea due to infection from unhygienic preparation, and (ii) malnutrition related to inadequate calorie intake due to low frequency of feeding and low calorie density of the additional foods.

1. Breastfeeding Should Be Continued

Even after introduction of semi-solid foods breast milk continues to remain an important component of the infant's diet. Breastfeeding should continue for as long as possible and preferably up to two years of age.

2. Prepare Weaning Foods from the Usual Family Diet

The weaning (complementary) food should be cooked from the usual family foods in a mashed (softened) form and in a number of varieties. For example you can give separate dal, rice or a combination of dal rice or khichari. Family pot feeding i.e. giving usual family food in a mashed form, but without spices or condiments is best since it is economical, time saving and the infant gets used to family foods.