Here Come Big Poops: 5 Ways to Boost Nutrition and Tackle Allergies When Your Baby Starts Solids

If it’s time for your baby to start eating solids, here’s the good news: your baby might sleep more at night now! The bad news? Get ready for some BIG surprises in the next diaper. Not the good kind of surprises, either, like when your baby suddenly laughs hysterically for an hour at a random noise. We mean the kind of surprises that you can smell a mile away.

There’s a ton of information about what to feed your baby, but we want to cut through the noise and tip you off to five things that can make a huge difference in your baby’s nutritional health — and also help prepare you to introduce new and different foods into your baby’s diet. FARE, the Food Allergy Research and Education organization, estimates that six million children in the U.S. have food allergies so we know introducing new foods can be challenge for new moms and dads. Talk to your pediatrician about the right foods for your baby.

Related: Tree Nut Allergies In Children: Symptoms, Treatments & Everything Else A Mama Needs To Know

So let’s discuss. Ready?

Avocados

You probably already know that avocados are jammed packed with healthy fats and vitamins, but did you know they also are super high in fiber? One avocado has ten grams of fiber! We’re not suggesting you give your baby a whole avocado, of course. They’re high in fat so your baby will fill up fast on just a couple of bites, and you do NOT want to deal with the kind of stink-fest a whole avocado will produce.

Sweet Potatoes

This is a hardcore superfood for babies. Sweet potatoes are filled with Vitamin A and C, potassium, and plenty of phyto-nutrients as well. Best of all, they’re naturally sweet and once mashed are deliciously creamy. And of course there’s the fiber again, helping keep those poops filling up those diapers. The sweet potatoes we eat in the United States (often called yams) generally don’t cause food allergies, so this is a safe food for most babies.

SpoonfulOne Daily Food Mix-In

Never heard of it? That’s because it’s brand new. As we’ve mentioned, food allergies are on the rise and the latest research says the best way to combat them is by including potential allergens early and consistently in your baby’s diet (think peanuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy, wheat and even sesame and fish). SpoonfulOne is a daily supplement powder you stir into your baby’s favorite foods once your baby is eating some of the basic solids. It includes gentle portions of all the most common foods responsible for food allergies, so you can feel good that you’ve got it all covered. And since keeping a wide variety of foods in the diet consistently is so important, SpoonfulOne makes it easy to make these key foods staples in the diet without dominating the menu. This product is revolutionizing how we think about food allergies by addressing some of the challenges parents face before problems arise, but to be clear — SpoonfulOne is not for any baby, toddler, or child diagnosed with a food allergy.

Oatmeal

Yes, this is a common first food, but it’s still a good one to include. I actually mixed infant oatmeal with pumped breast milk (formula works great too) to boost the nutritional value even further. Oatmeal has fiber, but also vitamin E, zinc, iron, magnesium and selenium too.

Quinoa

Yep, everyone’s favorite hipster food is good for baby too. A great alternative to baby cereals that offers a complete protein, as well as nutrients such as manganese, magnesium, and has a high iron content too (great if your family are vegetarians).

There you have it—five ways to start your food journey with your baby — so bring on those big, solid food eatin’ poops. Good luck — and consider nose plugs!

SpoonfulOne™ Daily Food Mix-In is a dietary supplement designed to help a child’s body get to know and stay accustomed to the foods responsible for 90 percent of food allergies. A gentle, patented powder blend invented by a pediatrician, allergist and mother of five, SpoonfulOne includes peanut, milk, tree nuts, egg, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy and sesame seeds, along with 400 IU of vitamin D for immune balance. Available as a monthly subscription for consistency and convenience, SpoonfulOne is a practical way for busy parents to include common potential allergens as a part of their child’s diet, early and consistently, in line with the latest science. SpoonfulOne is not for children with a food allergy.