Introducing solid foods into a baby's diet is an important and emotional moment for any parent. However, the question "where do we start with introducing solids?" remains a common one. Dr. Ioana Stavrositu, a specialist in endocrinology and nutrition expert, offered some essential advice on making this transition as smooth and beneficial as possible for little ones during a segment on Părinți Prezenți.
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"There's no ideal food to start with!" Dr. Stavrositu said on Părinți Prezenți, a program by ParintisiPitici.ro. "I advise the parents I work with, and mothers in my practice, to first consider their family's routine and what they eat most frequently."
Therefore, it's important to choose healthy foods that are commonly eaten within the family and can be shared joyfully during meals.
"Of course, we're not talking about french fries here! We're thinking about nutritious foods that we would enjoy eating together with our child at mealtime."
She also emphasized considering the season and the region you're in, as it might be easier to start with sweet potatoes or pumpkin in winter rather than in the middle of summer when they're less available.
"We also consider the main allergens, leaving space between them, so that if there's any delayed allergic reaction, we can identify it.
But where do we start? Ultimately, there's no one specific thing we must begin with. We could just as well start with zucchini, sweet potatoes, avocado, carrots, or even fruits.
Indeed, there's generally a preference for sweet tastes, as breast milk or formula milk is sweet and children often prefer sweet flavors. However, if, for example, the first food offered is banana, it doesn't mean the child won't eat anything else", Dr. Ioana Stavrositu explained.
"We puree them or offer them in pieces!" replies Dr. Ioana Stavrositu. "I tell mothers that I'm not afraid of children, I'm so scared of mothers. If the mother isn't ready to offer pieces, most likely neither will the child be.
If the baby has a simple gag, the mother quickly reacts, scares him, jumps up with him, and there's a whole scare that doesn't help at all. Then, if he sticks out his tongue a little or coughs, the mother will run upstairs with me, call for help, and five neighbors will come.
So, we start with puree or we start with pieces or we start mixed, because we can offer them at the same time within the limits and tolerance of the mother. However, WHO recommends that by the age of 8 months at the latest, we start offering pieces. This is because, over time, babies become quite reluctant to try new things", the doctor further explained.
The transition from puree to solid pieces can bring challenges and fears for parents.
"For those who are fed, for example, puree is also due to the parents' or family's desire not to get dirty. If they are used to not touching anything because they'll get dirty and should keep their hands up, at some point you can't tell them 'Put your hand, Mom'. 'Well, I don't want to anymore, it doesn't seem right.' So, what we've transmitted as a message starts to become contradictory somehow.
So, around the age of 8 months, it would be good to start introducing solid pieces, to the extent that we are comfortable with them.
Then, which food should we offer as a solid piece first? Let's see what we're most afraid of. Like, okay, if we're afraid of a piece of meat, chicken drumstick, let's say, we're afraid to give it to the child, but maybe we're not afraid of banana, let's offer a little piece of banana.
So, things progress at a pace that can be handled by each child and mother individually", Dr. Ioana Stavrositu added.
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