Nutrition

From the age of four months, you can introduce new foods to your baby.

These new flavours and textures plunge your loved ones into the world of new flavour sensations. This can prove quite challenging for many parents and should be done in a delicate and gradual manner. It´s not easy, but with patience and love, you´ll get through it!

This new introductory phase can last up to a year. It is a crucial time for the physical and intellectual development of any child. Remember that it is in the first year of life that children grow and develop, and a deficient diet can cause problems in their subsequent development, adolescence and later into adulthood.

From MY MENU, we will try to answer any doubts you may have about each stage of development, We guide you in the creation of a balanced diet and how to take better care of your baby, because they are your new life! The first step begins at 4 months. This is a moment of change in textures, flavors and the passage from liquids to blended foods.

Parents embark on it with great excitement and also the fear of baby’s resistance to this change. That said, normally this process runs quite smoothly. However, some babies take longer than other in acceptance. Our advice is; don´t give up! Let us explain some tricks of the trade when managing this transition process.

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding up till 6 months of age, something many mother would do naturally. However, you can start integrating baby foods little by little and, of course, following your Pediatrician’s recommendations. On that note, something important to note: Do NOT introduce baby foods before the fourth month, as doing so may alter the child’s development. Our products should NEVER be considered a substitute for breast milk, about 500ml daily should still be given. Baby food should be considered purely complementary.

When this stage begins, you can start to incorporate mineral water in small quantities. In reality, the adaptation process could start with any food (fruit, vegetables, cereals, meat, fish etc.) However, we should always follow a diet that aids the baby’s development. It is very important to observe any problem that may occur, due to food allergies or intolerances. The diet should be:

GLUTEN-FREE CEREALS

Firstly introduce GLUTEN-FREE cereal purée, these are rice and maize, (to avoid protein allergies). Watch your babies reaction and slowly introduce other foods one at a time; A specialist can inform you as to the amount time necessary to go from one food to another. Cereals provide energy through slow absorbing sugars and will aid development and growth.

Cereal purée should be given once a day, either for breakfast or as a snack (some parents have even noticed that night-time feeding can help babies to sleep better) but they can be used at any time but always accompanied by breast or powdered milk formula. You can start trying to serve it in a dish with a more or less thick consistency, depending on the advice of your doctor and your baby´s taste, take note of your baby’s habits and put them into practice.

It's spoon time!, used an anatomical correct spoon and be patient because your baby is accustomed to suction which is a natural process. The spoon is something new and
it means more work, so, do not despair if, at first, baby rejects it, shuts his mouth or eats little. It is a process that can take days. Yet there are babies for whom eating with a spoon is a very complicated and difficult process. Cereals can be introduced in their bottle, mixing the milk with the cereal.

FRUIT

From 4 to 6 months of age, you may begin to introduce fruit into your baby’s diet, depending on the rate that you think suitable. Of course, if you have already started with your cereal diet, leave a few days break before starting with fruit. Fruits, like all food, should be first introduced one by one and then, according to your observations, you can mix them.

Fruits provide sugars, vitamins and fibre that help to avoid constipation. At this stage, children can become constipated as a result of dietary change and fruit usually helps to prevent this. Start with popular sweet, peeled, low allergenic fruits, such as banana, apple, pear and orange.

Grapes and plums are highly recommended, if baby is suffering from constipation. Forest fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries should be avoided at least until one year of age, due to their high risk of an allergic reaction. After a couple of days, if your baby has adjusted without complications to your new diet, then you should start to mix both fruit and cereals or gluten-free biscuits. However, avoid mixing them with honey, sugar or condensed milk.

VEGETABLES

The majority of parents think that baby food is a mixture of vegetables, meat and fish. For this reason they incorporate it in later stages of development. You can do so but wait until your baby is 6 months old or try vegetable baby food with rice or potatoes.

This food group includes (leek, carrot, zucchini, onion...) tubers (potato, sweet potatoes) and pulses (beans, green beans and peas). Just like fruit, vegetables also provide water, vitamins, minerals and fibre.

At this stage, up to 6 months, there are certain vegetables that, due to taste and texture, are better than others. Such as: potato or sweet potato, zucchini, leek, celery, squash, peas, green beans, carrot.

From 6 months onwards start incorporating more vegetables into the diet. Try to avoid spinach and chard until one year of age due to their nitrate concentration. If you do decide to use spinach, use only small proportions. Take note of how certain vegetables affect your baby, such as onion, cabbage, cauliflower, as, in some babies, these can cause discomfort and flatulence. You must start with a purée of one or two vegetables (e.g. potatoes and Zucchini, pumpkin and leek, peas and carrot...) and gradually add more variety to the mix. These baby foods can be accompanied by rice or corn (in the form of semolina).