When can I begin giving bananas to my baby?
Banana puree is very useful for babies, as it contains a lot of potassium, vitamins, and fiber. Today, we often think of bananas as of the first complementary food for infants. They are cheap, we can buy them anytime and anywhere and, which is most important, they do not cause allergies.
Feeding a baby banana: when to start?
Bananas have a nice smooth texture for babies to mash between the gums, that’s why bananas are a good first fruit for your baby. You can start feeding your baby banana at 5 — 6 months. Many mothers do it even earlier — at 4 months. You can begin at 4 months only if your baby has frequent stools. If there is constipation — there is no need to aggravate the situation! If your doctor prescribes a different time, it is better to follow his advice.
However, do not forget that the very first product after the mother’s milk for infants should be vegetable puree. Give your baby bananas after vegetable puree, otherwise, your baby will get accustomed to the sweet banana taste and won’t eat vegetables. Learn more about solid food introduction.
Don’t be surprised if you notice a change in the baby stool after giving bananas. It can be denser and with brownish stripes. Also, do not forget to give your baby some water between feedings after the introduction of complementary solid foods.
Begin with half-teaspoon of banana. Bananas do not cause allergies, but they may be difficult to digest. You can either give your baby ready-made banana puree or do mashed bananas yourself. If you give ready-made banana pure, make sure it is fresh and the cover is not damaged.
How to make bananas for a baby?
Go to the store and choose ripe bananas with yellow peel without spots. If bananas are slightly greenish, let them ripe at home for 2−3 days. Bananas for complementary feeding must be soft and without brown spots.
Wash and peel one banana. Also, peel those long white strips under the banana skin. For the first time, you can make your baby «squeezed» banana. To do this, take a piece of clean, ironed cheesecloth. Wrap a piece of banana in this fabric and begin to twist, squeezing it through the holes of the fabric. This method is nice because you can quickly get a small amount of freshly made banana puree.
Such a delicious banana puree made at home, you can also mix with your milk or formula. Later, you can also mix the banana puree with vegetables or cereal. Usually, babies enjoy eating bananas.
At 6 months, you can stop giving your baby «squeezed» bananas and make mashed bananas with a fork.
