The food introduction phase is very important for the baby to develop taste and have the first contact with more diverse foods, being a time when eating habits other than breast milk are inserted into the child’s routine.
Introducing food to your child can wrongfully bring about the possibility of developing allergies or intolerances, so if you are paying attention to your little one’s growth, check out our special content on different feeding stages.
The beginning of the introduction of food
The thing is, most parents tend to ask what the baby requires and when solid foods need to be started. As such, let me ensure you know that it will not be until the child is six months old for you to begin introducing such foods into your baby. It is highly recommended, however, to breast-feed your baby exclusively at that age, for it’s at that stage that such milk will help meet your baby’s all needs. Before such age, again, the child’s swallow reflex has not fully matured and he or she might choke upon swallowing something.
The digestive system of a child has not developed up to breaking down food in order, so when one introduces the baby to such phases, one should initiate giving it more nutritious easily digestible foods such as fruits and vegetables and other soft boiled legumes but nothing about salting or putting sugar to prepare them for food.
Why start the introduction after 6 months?
It is recommended to start introducing solid foods at 6 months because, from this stage onwards, breast milk no longer provides all the necessary nutrients. Therefore, starting with products of natural origin is essential to complement your little one’s nutrition and daily hydration.
Furthermore, before this age, the baby ‘s body is not yet prepared to receive other foods, due to the formation of the immune system. Thus, the baby becomes capable of fighting possible infections or allergies when solid foods are introduced.
How to include in your routine
Including new foods in your routine needs to be done through the presence of varied and natural foods, since this is a phase in which your baby is discovering textures and flavors. Therefore, find out below which types of foods and fruits are ideal for introducing food :
- fruits: watermelon, mango, orange, papaya, apple and banana;
- vegetables: cabbage, spinach, kale, green beans and broccoli;
- vegetables: pumpkin, carrot, zucchini, okra and chayote;
- tubers: cassava, taro, yam, potato, sweet potato or baroa potato.
A good suggestion is to make purees with different fruits or vegetables so that the child can get used to them over the first week. As time goes by, you can add or remove foods from the menu and see which items adapt best to them.
Tips to make this introduction smoother
Knowing how to start introducing solid foods can be quite stressful for you and your baby, so it is recommended that the meal be eaten in a calm environment without distractions. Certain precautions can make this moment more appropriate, such as:
- look directly into the child’s eyes and talk to him/her while feeding;
- do not leave it unattended during the meal;
- offer food calmly and patiently;
- do not force her to eat if she does not want to finish the dish;
- pay attention to hunger and satiety signals.
Remember that introducing solid foods to babies should be considered a new habit in the child’s life. Therefore, this activity may cause crying and refusal for a few days, but this will soon pass and the little one will get used to the new thing.
Order by age
From a certain age onwards, a child’s body needs more and different nutrients to develop. Here is a short list of recommended foods that are important to eat:
- 0 to 6 months: breast milk or bottle;
- from 6 months: vegetables and tubers in pureed form, various mashed fruits, natural juices, sugar-free jellies or jams;
- 6 to 7 months: natural unsweetened yogurt, grated cheese, plain biscuits, porridge with rice, corn and oats;
- 7 to 8 months: introduction of boneless chicken meat;
- 9 to 12 months: fish and a whole egg, plus rice and beans and red meat in small pieces, without bones.