Weaning or Splitting

Weaning the baby

The term weaning (or weaning) indicates the gradual and progressive transition to the experience of taking solid and liquid foods in a manner different from sucking at the breast.

This need is linked to the progressive increase in the energy needs of the young organism, which also change in qualitative terms. The beginning of weaning is normally placed around the fifth month of life; the World Health Organization in fact advises against taking this path before the fourth month (the digestive system is not yet ready to accept foods other than mother's milk), but not to wait beyond the sixth (in order not to run into nutritional deficiencies).

The transition from an "exclusively milky diet to weaning is now facilitated by the presence of numerous and specific products, suitably designed to ensure the baby a" correct and balanced diet.

Guidelines for proper weaning

Pediatricians recommend always introducing one food at a time into the baby's diet and then waiting at least three or four days before introducing a new one. In this way, all those foods to which the baby is sensitized can be easily identified. or allergies.

Cereals represent the first category of food to be used during weaning; gluten-free ones are used first (corn and above all rice) and only later, from 10-12 months onwards, also cereals with gluten. From the earliest days, carbohydrate and energy needs can also be met by other starchy foods, such as potato starch and tapioca (now increasingly present in products for children).

Also with regard to fruit and vegetables there are some foods to be preferred at an early age and others that can be consumed only after time (strawberries and tomatoes, for example, because they favor the production of histamine, but also beets and spinach, as rich in nitrates). Apple, pear and then banana, are typical and irreplaceable ingredients of the first baby food, as they are easy to prepare and important for their vitamin and mineral contribution.

Guidelines for proper weaning are also given for meat. For example, we recommend starting with lighter meats, such as rabbit, turkey and lamb, and then moving on to less digestible cuts (pork, chicken, beef and veal).

In the same way, the leanest fish (trout, plaice, hake) will be initially chosen, while the fattest ones (eel and salmon) can only be taken late (similarly for crustaceans which, as they are potentially allergenic, should be introduced only afterwards. three years of age).

During weaning, cow's milk should be introduced with caution and in any case after the tenth-twelfth month, partly because of the high protein intake and partly because of its low iron content. Special milks, defined as growth milks, are therefore preferred. , with a nutritional composition more suited to the needs of the child. Alternatively or in association with them, the cheeses are important to ensure an adequate supply of calcium to the growing organism. This bone-friendly mineral is also present in yogurt, a valuable food for its positive effects on gastrointestinal balance.

The following are the optimal times for the introduction of the various foods during the weaning period; however, these are guidelines, which must always be adapted to the advice of the pediatrician and to the degree of acceptance of the child towards the different foods. "beginning of weaning it is necessary to proceed with a certain gradualness, to give him time to discover new flavors and get used to chewing.

Indicative scheme on the introduction of various foods in the child's diet

Beginning of weaning = 4-6 months (recommended introduction time):

4-5 months

Breast milk or follow-on milk, Rice flour, corn or tapioca, Freeze-dried lamb, rabbit, turkey, Potatoes, carrots, courgettes, celery, Pear, apple, Parmesan or parmesan, Gluten-free soluble biscuits, Extra virgin olive oil for dressing

5-6 months

Mother's milk or follow-on milk, Rice semolina, wheat semolina
Freeze-dried chicken, veal, beef, trout, pumpkin, fennel, lettuce, pineapple, plums,
Low-fat cheeses

6-8 months

Pastina 00, baby food of all kinds, Crescenza, robiola, cow's milk ricotta, trout, sole, cod, green beans, peas

9-10 months

Fresh meat: chicken, turkey, veal, beef, tomato cooked in vegetable broth,
Spinach, chard, well cooked egg yolk, cooked ham
Fresh fish, salmon, citrus fruits, lentils in vegetable broth

11-12 months

Pasta also with egg, rice, raw ham, apricot, peach, grapes
Beans and chickpeas in vegetable broth, dry biscuits

After 1 year

Cow's milk, egg white, salt and sugar
However, use salt and sugar sparingly so as not to negatively affect the baby's dietary habits at the end of weaning.

Any changes may be necessary, for example, in the case of a family predisposition to certain food allergies.

«Energy needs of the child