The introduction of solid foods is one of many exciting milestones in your baby's development. Every day, your baby takes another tiny step. Your baby's very first meals were pure vegetable purée and/or cereal purée, or baby porridge.

With the afternoon meal, you can replace another breastfeeding session or baby bottle with a meal of purée. But this does not mean, of course, that you have to stop breastfeeding altogether now. Only you and your baby can decide when it is time to stop breastfeeding completely.

A baby cereal is a grain and fruit porridge. If you are not using instant cereal, boil water specifically prepared for babies and then add the puréed fruit of your choice. Optionally, once the porridge has cooled, you can also add breast milk or formula.

Depending on the season and your baby's age, you can feed them apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, strawberries, raspberries, and so on. When introducing new foods, it is important to do so gradually to see if your baby tolerates them well. And it is best to choose organic fruit for your baby to avoid pesticide residues on the skin. 

One more tip: Pears, plums, and cooked apples tend to soften the stool, while bananas and raw apples tend to have a constipating effect on your baby's stool.

The afternoon porridge or cereal-fruit porridge is suitable for babies from 7 months onwards. Many parents choose a time between 3 and 5 p.m., depending entirely on the routine you both have and when your baby is hungry.

At the beginning, your baby may have only eaten an amount of baby food about the size of an ice cube. By now, it has probably increased, because as your baby’s body grows, so does their appetite. Watch your baby’s reaction, because they will let you know when they are full.

For an afternoon meal for your baby, you will need the following: 

• 120 g fruit purée 
• 100 ml water 
• 1 tsp rapeseed oil (important for vitamin absorption)
• 1 serving of baby cereal

We have even more baby food recipes for you. 

• An afternoon snack is a cereal and fruit porridge
• Your baby should be at least 7 months old
• Fruit purée is best because unprocessed fruit can be swallowed, among other things
• The afternoon snack is a snack between lunch and dinner

And here you will find an overview of a baby's meal plan for their entire first year of life.

https://www.ble-medienservice.de/1357/ernaehrung-von-saeuglingen-empfehlungen-fuer-das-erste-lebensjahr