How to understand that the newborn is ready for weaning: the four signs
Introduction
How to understand that the newborn is ready for weaning ? Here is one of the classic million-dollar questions for new parents.
In this article, you will find the answer to this very important question.
To better understand the steps to take to start your baby's complementary feeding journey in a peaceful manner, you can discover the video course "Practical, easy and stress-free self-weaning", curated by Dr. Federica Dell'Oro, a nutrition biologist (you can find it at the end of the paragraph).
I have also added an index, so that if you are interested in a particular aspect of the topic, you can delve deeper into it by simply clicking on the title of the corresponding paragraph.
For more content dedicated to the well-being and development of your puppy, you can find me on Instagram on the profile @drsilva.com_official .
When to start baby-led weaning: the signs to watch out for
All new parents ask themselves questions about how to understand if their newborn is ready for weaning.
Answering scientifically is crucial because, as mentioned in this article , starting too early, for example at 5 months, involves several risks.
In the following lines, we will see one by one the signs to pay attention to and in front of which it is possible to say that yes, the puppy is ready to approach solid foods and foods other than breast milk or formula.
Spoiler: there are four of them and to start baby-led weaning they must all be present.
Loss of extrusion reflex
Signs that a newborn is ready for baby-led weaning include the loss of the extrusion reflex.
What is it? A temporary archaic reflex .
The extrusion reflex consists of an involuntary movement of the tongue aimed at promoting sucking and counteracting the entry of solid or semi-solid foods into the mouth.
It appears around the thirty-second week of pregnancy and begins to regress when the puppy is about 5 months old.
How to tell if he has lost it? A simple and useful trick involves bringing an empty coffee spoon close to the baby's mouth.
If the newborn sticks out his tongue, it means that the reflex still persists.
An example often cited when talking about a persistent extrusion reflex is that of 3-4 month old babies who push away with their tongue the spoonful of baby food that is offered to them ( this habit , unfortunately, was very widespread in past decades).