Guide to Serving Fruit for 6 Months Babies

In early life, babies only get nutrition from breast milk (ASI) or formula milk. However, at the age of 6 months, babies begin to need complementary foods (MPASI) to meet their nutritional intake. Apart from vegetables, fruit can also be a nutrient-rich choice for a 6-month-old baby.

At the age of six months, babies begin to be able to support their own head, regulate the movement of their tongue, and begin to be interested in food. These signs usually indicate that the baby is ready to receive food other than breast milk. When choosing fruit as a complementary food, to serve it so that it is suitable for a 6 month baby.

Choosing the Right Fruit as a Complementary Food for Breastfeeding

As the digestive tract develops, babies aged 6-8 months can generally be given soft-textured foods, such as baby filter porridge. You can make your own baby porridge or use packaged baby porridge sold in supermarkets. If you choose to make your own solid food, you can grind the fruit into baby porridge to meet your little one's nutritional needs.

Besides being rich in nutrients, fruits have a smaller risk of triggering allergies in babies. You can give some of the following fruit choices to your 6 month baby:

  • Banana

    Bananas have various important nutrients that babies need during their growth period, such as folate, fiber, vitamins A, B6, B12, and potassium. Not only that, bananas also have a soft and smooth texture, so babies have no trouble digesting them.

  • Avocado

    Avocados are a good source of unsaturated fats to support baby's growth. Besides having a delicious taste, avocado is also soft so it is very suitable to be used as a complementary food for breast milk.

  • Apple

    Apples have a variety of nutrients that babies need, such as vitamins C, K, fiber, potassium, and various other minerals. You can process apples by mixing with other ingredients to increase your little one's appetite.

In addition to some of the fruits above, you can also use watermelon, papaya, tomatoes, and pineapple as complementary foods. However, give these two types of fruit after your little one is 7-8 months old, because these fruits are more acidic and it is feared that they can interfere with the baby's developing digestive system.

Guide Processing Fruit for 6 Months Baby

To introduce fruit as complementary foods and increase your little one's appetite, here's one easy way to do it:

Apple porridge and pir

Material:

1 apple and 1 ripe pear.

Processing way:

  1. Peel the skin of apples and pears until they are completely clean.
  2. Cut apples and pears into cubes.
  3. Heat water in a pan steamer until it boils, then put the apple pieces into the pot steamer and steam for 2 minutes. After that, add the pear pieces.
  4. Steam for 10 minutes, using medium heat.
  5. Remove the pieces of fruit and cool, then puree with a blender or food processor.
  6. Add breast milk or formula to baby fruit pulp according to taste.

When giving solid food, don't force your little one to eat in large portions, because babies aged 6 months who have just been introduced to solid food usually only need 1-2 tablespoons of solid food.

You can try several types of fruit described above as complementary foods for 6 month babies. If you are in doubt whether your little one is ready to eat, or if you want to know what complementary foods should be given according to your child's age, don't hesitate to consult a doctor.