We talk about weaning when you start introducing other foods in your baby's diet in addition to milk (whether it's mother's milk or formula).
It is an important and delicate moment in your child's physiological growth which also affects the emotional and psychological areas (of the child himself and of his parents, aslearn more about weaning well).
From a physiological point of view:
- the child must get used to the salty or more varied taste of food, compared to your milk or formula, which are sweet and fluid (therefore very drinkable);
- the child must adapt his mouth, stomach and intestines to introduce foods that have a different consistency from milk and which could initially create trapped wind or constipation;
- the movement of swallowing is different from that of breastfeeding, so the child will have to understand how to receive food and eat it but also manage the possible frustration of this new condition;
- the child must be able to support his body and head for a sufficient amount of time to eat.
From an emotional and psychological point of view, however, weaning involves:
- the loss or reduction of your milk, which represents his "known world", could be a little bit scary and on top of that he won’t have your embrace while eating, which is reassuring (in fact now he will have to sit on a chair, less welcoming and warm than your body);
- at least at the beginning, it is no longer the child who decides the rhythm to introduce the food (as it happened with the milk) and therefore he must understand the timing, how to position himself and his mouth and tongue and manage the possible frustration related to this new way of eating.
However, this step is necessary at the same time! Your baby is growing up and becoming more and more independent, eating more and more alone and accepting "grown-up foods".
We like to point out that the transition from exclusive breastfeeding to weaning is gradual and modulated according to each child's responses.
There are some "signs" that indicate that the child is ready for weaning and to understand them [learn more about weaning].
As far as the type of food to be introduced and the relative timing is concerned, we invite you to read the dedicated article [learn more about which food to introduce].