Weaning: how to tell when the baby is ready.

How to tell if the baby is ready for weaning? The signs that tell us that we can offer the first solid foods.

How to tell if your baby is ready for weaning

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for the first six months of life. But many, already around the fourth month, start the first stages of weaning by inserting fruit as a snack. It must be said that not all babies are ready to be weaned at the same time: some seem to be curious and willing to try new things first while others approach weaning in a less enterprising way.

How to start weaning

Some advice to approach the introduction of solid foods in a calm and joyful way:

· First of all, timing is everything: choose a moment when your child seems to be calm, not tired and not even capricious, not too hungry and not in a hurry;

Start with the most digestible fruit, pear or apple, in baby food. Fruit is a snack and does not replace milk or feedings. You can choose to give it to him whenever you like, mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Just let it taste and you don't have to force your child to eat it all;

· After one month from the introduction of the fruit snack you can propose the first baby food, prepared with vegetable broth, a flour and a little white meat homogenized;

The following month you can also replace the second feed with a baby food, in this way the baby will drink milk (mother's milk or formula) in the morning, two meals at lunch and dinner and another feed, often in the evening.

And again, don't forget to:

Use a soft-tipped plastic spoon to avoid damaging the gums.

Put a small amount of food on the tip of the spoon and offer it to him;

If the baby doesn't seem very interested, let him just smell the food and try again.

Signs that the baby is ready for weaning

How can we know that the baby is ready to be introduced to solid foods? Here are some typical signs:

It is at least four months old: it is essential not to anticipate weaning before the fourth month (even better than the fifth) because the enzymes necessary to digest solid foods are not yet produced

No longer has the reflex of pushing the spoon out of the mouth with the tongue (extrusion reflex). However, it is important not to force it because this instinctive reflex serves to avoid suffocating

He is interested in what you are eating: he makes sounds of curiosity as he watches you eat or tries to grab a fork or slice of bread

He can sit with good head control in the high chair: maybe if he is little he will need help to be supported in a more sitting position, but he must certainly have control of his head and must keep it straight in a stable and vertical position

He can use his lower lip to take food from a spoon

The baby has doubled his birth weight: in general, when babies have doubled their birth weight and have reached at least 13 pounds, they may be ready to try to eat solids

· He opens his mouth wide when he sees a spoon approaching: this is also a clear sign that he is ready for weaning and is curious about new foods and flavors. It will also try to grab the fork or spoon.

What foods to start with

As we said, most babies can start with fruit, pureed or preferably organic, without adding sugar.

The following month we move on to the first meal which must be prepared with:

1. vegetable broth, prepared with water, a carrot, a potato and a courgette;

2.flours (corn and tapioca, cereals, rice);

3.Half jar of white meat homogenized such as rabbit or chicken,

4. a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

This porridge should be served for lunch or dinner, depending on the needs of the family, while the other 3 main meals are based on milk.

Do not be in a hurry to propose new foods: every now and then change the ingredients to accustom the child to different flavors and if it seems that he does not like something, do not force it and propose it again after a few days.

After a month you can also introduce the second porridge, which is prepared like the first but changing the ingredients (flour or proteins) and perhaps adding a teaspoon of pureed vegetables cooked in the broth.

How to know if the child is full?

Appetite varies from meal to meal and is influenced by several factors. The child is full and should not be forced if:

Collapses on the chair

Turn your head

· Start playing with the spoon

Refuse to open his mouth for the next bite, remember that sometimes the baby keeps his mouth closed because he has not finished with the first bite yet, so you have to give him time to swallow.