• Is it dangerous to wean a baby on a plant-based diet?

  Not if the diet is well planned like the one Planter tailors specifically for your baby. Regardless of the texture of the food offered (see the relevant section for more details), make sure the meals provide lots of energy from carbohydrates and seasoning oils, vegetable proteins, unsaturated fats and, above all, iron. Remember that Planter provides you with detailed indications on how to adapt your whole family’s meal plan to meet the nutritional needs of your baby at this stage.Few readers

• How do I know when it’s the right time to start my baby on solids?

  Planter plans your baby’s diet from 6 months of age. Around this age, infants lose the extrusion reflex (i.e. the reflex to push food out of their mouths when it touches their lips or tongue), they learn to sit up and support their heads unaided and start to show an interest in food. Keep an eye out for these signs. Your baby will let you know when they’re ready to start on solids!Few readers

• Should I start with baby food or can I immediately give them our food, obviously adapted to the nutritional requirements of this age?

  There is no one answer to this question because every infant is different and matures at their own speed. Your task as a parent is to provide nutritionally balanced meals (such as the ones tailored by Planter) in a way that respects your baby’s preferences and motor skills, e.g. pureed food, grown-up food loaded on a spoon or that the infant can pick up on their own. If your baby likes the smooth texture of pureed food at first, then prepare it yourself with vegetable broth (150-250 ml), as muchFew readers

• Our family follows a plant-based diet. Can I replace breast or formula milk with the plant-based milk that we drink?

  No, you can’t! Despite being called ‘milk’, plant-based beverages are just drinks and they don’t have the same nutritional values as breast or formula milk. By all means, use them as an ingredient in your infant’s dishes (béchamel sauce, smoothie, pasta sauce, etc.) if included in the recipe, but don’t give them to your baby in a bottle as a substitute for breast or formula milk. Once your baby is one year old, they can be given plant-based milk to drink in a two-handled cup, but only to taste aFew readers

• My baby doesn’t finish their portion of food. What should I do?

  If this is a regular occurrence, try giving them less cereal or potato and vegetables while leaving the rest unchanged. It is the combination of these two food groups that makes them feel full. If it only happens now and then, there’s no need to worry. Infants’ appetites tend to change just like adults’!Few readers

• My baby finishes their portion of food and seems to want more. What should I do?

  If this is a regular occurrence, try slightly increasing the cereal or potato component while leaving the rest unchanged. It is the combination of these two food groups that makes them feel full.Few readers

• Do I need to give my baby any supplements when weaning them on a plant-based diet?

  All children under the age of one, regardless of their diet, should take a supplement of 400 IU of vitamin D from birth, and 100 mg of DHA from 6 months onwards. For infants weaned on a plant-based diet, add 5 mcg of vitamin B12 liquid drops from 6 months onwards. If the mother had a vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, the paediatrician will prescribe a slightly higher dosage of vitamin B12 for the baby to start with.Few readers

• Does my baby need to have blood tests to check if the weaning is going to plan?

  Absolutely not! Their paediatrician generally assesses your baby’s growth and development during all the regular check-ups before the age of 12 months. If your baby’s growth is normal, blood tests are not required (this is true for all children, regardless of their diet). If the mother was following a plant-based diet but didn’t take the correct vitamin B12 supplements during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or hasn’t taken any vitamin B12 recently, then she should have blood tests to check her levelFew readers

• Does solid food have to replace breastfeeding?

  Absolutely not! A better term to describe weaning is complementary feeding, which conveys the idea of ​​combining the two things. Remember, there is absolutely no rush to “replace” breast milk or formula milk. From the age of 6 to 12 months (and even afterwards!), breast milk or formula milk is still the main source of calories and nourishment. Solid food starts as a supplement to milk and gradually replaces it as your baby starts to eat more when their psychomotor skills improve (fine motor skiFew readers