Weaning of the newborn: at how many months, with which foods and how to start weaning babies
Weaning your baby is that key time when your baby starts eating foods other than breast milk. After the first months of life, babies need "adequate complementary nutrition to complement" breastfeeding. Find out with us when and how to start weaning your baby, with the most suitable foods month by month. Meanwhile, here is a useful video for you if your baby has sleep problems:
What is weaning the baby and what does the World Health Organization recommend?
The weaning of the newborn, also defined as "initiation of" complementary feeding "consists in the transition for children from a" feeding based only on breastfeeding to a "feeding first with semi-solid foods and then with solid foods that are called proper" complementary foods "(foods other than breast milk).
When "is the newborn ready for his first meal? Weaning in the newborn, according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, must take place when feeding with breast milk (or artificial milk) is no longer enough for the nutritional needs of your child, who needs an increasing amount of proteins, vitamins and minerals.
There is no precise month in which weaning must begin, also because the month can vary from newborn to newborn according to its specific needs and development. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a baby's life. The weaning of the newborn, therefore, should only take place after the sixth month. Exclusive breastfeeding until the sixth month would have enormous benefits for both the baby and the mother.
If your baby, however, does not seem to grow adequately with breast milk alone, complementary feeding and therefore weaning could be brought forward to the fourth or fifth month, but always subject to evaluation by the pediatrician and after excluding other problems.
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From how many months is it recommended to start weaning the newborn?
As we have seen, the World Health Organization recommends not starting the weaning of the newborn before the sixth month of life. From six months onwards it is possible to combine the mother's milk with the baby's first meal.
However, since the timing of the sixth month is not mandatory and is not always good for all children, before starting the weaning of the newborn it is good to consider three important elements that allow us to understand if the newborn is actually ready for his first meal. . First, your baby must already be able to sit up on his own. He must then show an interest in foods other than breast milk or formula. Finally, the weight of the newborn must be at least twice that of birth.
If the baby has reached these small growth milestones, it means that he is ready for weaning. He must therefore show that he is the first to wish it, as well as having control of the trunk and chewing ability. The mother must pay particular attention to the infant's expressions of interest in solid foods.
How to start weaning the newborn?
The weaning of the newborn, according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, does not have to follow a predefined modality and menu, but there are different dietary models that can be suitable for children from six months of age onwards.
Your baby's first meal may be based on different foods, however try to introduce solid foods in ascending order of their possible degree of allergenicity. How to start weaning in practice? Using a teaspoon, but without forcibly feeding the baby. If he wishes, allow him to touch the food on the plate and eat the food with his hands. Do not insist if you do not like some food and try to alternate them based on the different flavors, colors and textures.
If your baby does not like a particular food, try to offer it again after some time in another way. Make sure that he is sitting very straight on the high chair to avoid the risk of suffocation and possibly allow him to touch the complementary foods, participating in the meal in an active way.
During the weaning of the newborn, it is important that - in addition to the mother's milk - the baby also drinks water. Within 9-12 months he should have been able to enjoy a wide variety of foods and flavors, gradually getting used to having lunch, dinner and two snacks, as well as breast milk.
Which foods should you start weaning your baby with? Recommended foods at 4 and 5 months
The first baby food during weaning is usually fruit, followed by the classic vegetable broth and the first creams (such as cream of rice or cream of corn or tapioca). Only later do we move on to pureed meat or fish and other solid foods. There is no pre-established menu, the important thing is that the introduction of complementary nutrition is gradual.
In the fourth month - if the pediatrician has allowed or indicated the early weaning of the baby - it is possible to start introducing fruit, starting with the most digestible one. The best fruit to start with is pear, but apple, banana and plum are fine too.
At five months it will be possible to introduce new solid foods such as some types of vegetables (potato, carrot, courgette and pumpkin); cream of rice or cream of corn and tapioca; freeze-dried turkey, chicken, veal and beef (for the homogenized one it is better to wait until the sixth month); parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil and vegetable broth.
Complementary feeding for the weaning of the newborn from 6 months to one year of life
Weaning at the sixth month allows the introduction of fruit with different consistencies, such as apricots and peaches. Among the vegetables can be introduced celery, leek, onion, salad, fennel, cauliflower and spinach. Your baby's food can now include semolina or multigrain cream, as well as low-fat cheese.
In the seventh month you can start to vary the ingredients a little by adding the micro pasta to the baby's meals, seasoned with a little tomato sauce, or with a puree of legumes such as lentils, beans or peas. Green light also to the vegetable soup with the addition of broccoli, green beans and cabbage, fresh ricotta and whole yogurt.
At eight months of age, your baby can also drink a good citrus juice (oranges and mandarins), eat cooked ham without polyphosphates and cheeses such as sweet fontina, fresh goat cheese and crescenza. Yes also to fish: cod, trout, sole, plaice, hake and dogfish. Fish such as swordfish and salmon should not be eaten before nine months.
From ten months onwards, the baby can also consume tomatoes without peel, medium-sized pasta, egg yolk dissolved in the baby food. The whole egg can be consumed only after one year of life, together with fruit more difficult to digest (such as kiwi, strawberry, grapes, persimmons, figs, watermelon, melon, chestnuts), aubergines and artichokes, cereals such as barley and spelled, pork and honey.
