Baby is already 5 months old. You are seeing his progress every day and for some children, this month will be marked by a major milestone: the beginning of food diversification! Little by little your little one discovers new flavours and new colours: the beginning of a great and beautiful adventure that you will enjoy together.
Meals for the 5-month-old baby
At five months, a real rhythm is set in: whether he is bottle-fed or breastfed, a baby has taken his bearings and is demanding his meals at regular times. He gradually increases to four meals a day and drinks an average of 180 to 210 ml of milk per meal (180 ml of water + 6 parts milk or 210 ml water + 7 parts milk).
If you have already started to diversify your diet, you will be able to increase the quantities of vegetables and fruit very gradually, introduce new ones but always with the same approach: one food at a time and one new one every three days in order to put your finger on the origin of a possible food allergy more easily.
If you have not yet started introducing new foods, other than milk, and your baby shows interest when he sees you eating, you can start diversifying your diet. Unless you prefer to wait until next month so that your baby is 6 months old.
In any case, your child is evolving at a great pace: a breakfast followed by lunch, snack and dinner - with the possible introduction of vegetables at lunch and fruit at snack time if diversification has begun. However, milk remains its main food source for a long time to come.
Milk always comes first
Your baby is still exclusively breastfed or bottle-fed
If you are breastfeeding your child, and it is convenient for both of you, don't hesitate to continue because beyond the mother-child bond that you consolidate over the months, breastfeeding makes it possible to satisfy all your baby's nutritional needs but also to prevent many infections and diseases by giving him the benefit of your antibodies. If breastfeeding is exclusive, you can continue it until your child is 6 months old.
If your child is bottle-fed, continue to choose early childhood milk, also known as "infant formula". It is suitable until your child is 6 months old, or until a few weeks after the beginning of his or her food diversification, when the quantities of milk have decreased significantly with the consumption of vegetables and fruit. 1st age milks are made from cow's milk processed to come as close as possible to the composition of breast milk with a rigorous dosage of proteins.
As a reminder, it is formally not recommended to give cow's milk to your child before the age of one year, and even better, before the age of three years. Vegetable drinks (soya, almonds, oats, spelt, chestnut rice, etc.) sold in supermarkets in the organic section are also formally discouraged because their nutritional intake is far too far from the baby's needs.
Your baby discovers new flavours
Whether you have started to diversify your diet or you want to start, meals must remain a real moment of pleasure and sharing between you and your child. There is no question of rushing the child in his learning and discovering new flavours. It is a question of proposing, without imposing, new tastes, new colours and new textures. If your child objects to a meal, do not insist on a more or less permanent systematic refusal during the next meal. Remember that there is no hurry for 6 months: the idea is to (continue to) take small steps to broaden the range of flavours your baby knows. At five months if you have started or are starting to diversify your diet, a major innovation will be the introduction of vegetables for lunch and a little fruit for snacks.
At five months, however, milk must remain your child's main food to meet his or her nutritional needs, and until food diversification is complete - that is, until your child has a perfectly varied and balanced diet. However, when the quantities of vegetables and fruit increase significantly, you may consider switching from 1st to 2nd age milk, a milk that is a little more concentrated and more concentrated in terms of protein, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids.