Weaning: here’s how it’s done

Remove the habit of the breast or teat. This means, literally, weaning. But the most recent and correct wording is “complementary feeding”. Let’s see it in detail.

This is the transition from a diet based exclusively on milk to a diet with solid foods. And it represents a delicate phase of development. Here are all the useful tips.

It must be started between the fourth and sixth month of life, since after the sixth month breast milk is no longer sufficient to cover all needs and must therefore be “complemented”. And it must end around the year, with the exception of some foods that must be postponed at least to the second year of life.

It is not always easy, indeed. It is a difficult period for the little one because it is full of many changes. First of all, he must get used to different tastes, passing from the sweet taste of milk to the tastier taste of gruel.

Secondly, the consistency of the food changes, which from liquid becomes first semi-solid and then more and more full-bodied. So the small child must first learn to swallow, then gradually grows also to chew.

A third aspect, finally, is represented by the spoon, an object perceived as less pleasant than the breast or bottle. Instead, we must try to make it an important achievement.

When to start

First of all, elasticity: the beginning of weaning does not have a precise deadline, because it must take into account different aspects related to the individual. In any case, it should never happen before four months of life, because the digestive system of the little ones is not able to accept and digest foods other than milk.

Moreover, in the first months of life the infant’s immune system is not yet able to distinguish potential aggressors, such as viruses and bacteria, from useful substances: an untimely and too early introduction of solid foods would therefore lead to a greater allergic risk.

It is good to discuss with the pediatrician the most suitable time to start weaning, in relation to the growth of each child and his predisposition to try new experiences.

It is also important when you decide to let him taste the first meal: it is not advisable, for example, to switch to the spoon in conjunction with vaccinations, a state of malaise, moments of change such as, for example, a move or departure for holidays.

But also you should avoid the presence of distraction or disturbance factors (for example radio or television on, telephone, return home of family members).

The new always calmly

New foods should be introduced very gradually, following the calendar suggested by the pediatrician, generally leaving an interval of 3-4 days between one food and another.

• The first meal of the day, that is breakfast, remains milk-based: if the mother is still breastfeeding the baby, milk can continue to be offered at the request of the baby during the day.
• The first meal is usually inserted at noon, as a second meal after morning feeding. Subsequently, usually starting from the second month of weaning or in any case once the first gruel has been well accepted by the baby, a second gruel can be introduced.
• Between one meal and another you can insert, as a snack, the first samples of fruit and, from the seventh month, yogurt.

Some practical advice

If the baby does not consume all the gruel, it is good not to insist. Children regulate themselves and have a sense of automatic satiety: as soon as the stomach is full, the stimulus of appetite and the desire to eat ceases.

We must not be discouraged by the first reaction of refusal towards a new food or towards a gruel that until then had been appreciated. Calmly try to propose them another day.

To be avoided are stratagems, such as simulating the flight of an airplane with the spoon or making it play so that it eats more willingly: it would risk turning the moment of feeding into a game, in the absence of which the child could then refuse to eat.

Even more wrong is to try to take the little “treasonous”, that is, when his mouth is open, there is a risk of turning the gruel into a daily struggle.

The establishment of rituals instead helps the child to understand when it is time for feeding.

Finally, it is not recommended to add salt to the baby food at least until the 12th month: it should not be forgotten that the taste, as well as the nutritional needs of the small child, are not those of the adult.