Your baby has given you enough clues that he is ready to include solids in his diet along with your breast milk. You are also ready to start him on purees, mashed fruits, and vegetables. While all this can lead to a lot of excitement in your life, it is also very important for you to know the foods that shouldn’t introduce to your baby while weaning.
Some foods are too strong for your baby’s mild digestive system. Therefore, you should wait until your baby grows much older before you can introduce these foods. What are the foods that you should stay away from while weaning? Keep reading to know more about this:
1. Honey
You should never introduce honey to your baby who is less than 1 year old. This may lead to an ailment known as infant botulism, which is quite serious. Please don’t use honey for sweetening the baby food more than necessary. Babies should be introduced to as many diverse flavours as possible so they don’t become fussy eaters.
2. Eggs that aren’t cooked well
When your baby is beyond 8 or 9 months, he can chew well. At this stage, you can introduce eggs, only if they are cooked well. If the yolk is in a runny texture, it may cause serious illness in babies.
3. Salt
It is very common for you to add a little bit of salt in your baby’s food when you taste it after preparing it. This should be avoided because foods that may taste bland to you are perfectly-flavoured for your baby’s taste buds. Introduction of too much salt during weaning may impact your baby’s kidney and blood pressure levels.
4. Cow’s milk
Cow’s milk contains a lot of casein protein and it is a very rich source of vitamins and minerals. This makes it very strong for the baby’s digestive system and kidneys to handle. You should not introduce cow’s milk to your baby until he turns one.
5. Teas & Coffee
Please don’t include tea and coffee in the weaning diet of your baby. These beverages don’t allow your baby’s body to absorb the nutrients well from his foods. They also impact your baby’s sleeping schedules.
6. Foods rich in fat and sugar
Though they may seem to very tasty, high-fat and high-sugar foods shouldn’t be given to your baby while weaning. These foods make your baby prone to obesity and dental issues.
7. Nuts
Nuts may be a rich source of many nutrients; however, you should not give it to kids less than 5 years old, as it can cause serious ailments such as choking in them. This applies to whole and chopped nuts.
8. Certain fishes
Though fishes can form part of your baby’s weaning diet, you should be careful not to give him aggressive & carnivorous fishes shark, swordfish, shellfish, ray, fresh tuna, and marlin. They have a very high mercury content, which is toxic for your baby,
9. Liver
While minced meat can be introduced to kids during the second stage of weaning, you should avoid feeding him liver at least until he is one year old. Liver contains too much of Vitamin A for your baby’s system to handle.
10. Processed foods
Processed cheese, processed meat and other such refined foods contain a lot of preservatives and salt content that aren’t good for your baby.
