My Baby Loves Prunes

Ingesting prunes has loads of benefits for your baby. It improves your baby’s vision, boosts hair health, and relieves constipation. If your baby loves prunes, you can include it in your little one’s diet to help prevent iron deficiencies and foster bone and muscle health. Prunes are also a good source of vitamins.

How to Give Prunes to Your Baby 

As with all other fruits, it’s best to give your child whole prunes instead of processed ones that may have added preservatives. If your baby loves prunes, you can help the little one enjoy the fruit better by adding it to your baby’s breakfast cereals. If your little one is not yet eating cereals, you may try mixing it up with baby porridge.

Canned puree sometimes contains much sugar and salt, which is terrible for your baby. When making homemade puree for your baby, soak the prunes in warm water or steam them until they are tender. Puree the fruit along with the water used for soaking.  You can use the puree as a natural sweetener in your little one’s foods. Your baby can also enjoy prunes in the form of delicious juice.

At What Age Should Your Baby Be Introduced to Prunes

Babies may start ingesting prunes anytime between 4-6 months. However, the recommended age to introduce solids to babies is six months. You may seek expert advice if you need to start your baby on prunes earlier. Even so, your little one is likely to develop digestive problems and has difficulty sleeping at night if introduced to solids earlier than four months. 

Starting your baby on prune puree is ideal if your little one cannot chew yet. Gradually you can move to mashed prunes. You can give bits of the whole prune to your baby at about eight months to chew on.

Can Your Baby Eat Prunes Every Day?

If you are introducing solids to your little one, you may give about two spoonfuls of pureed prune every day. This will help soften your baby’s stool as your little one gets accustomed to solids. Should your baby get constipated, you may give one ounce of prune juice mixed with one ounce of water for one or two days.

As your baby grows older, you may start giving one prune a day. If your little one shows no allergic reactions, you may gradually increase the intake. Prune contains some iron, which is required in your baby’s daily diet.

A Baby Who Loves Prunes Is a Healthy Baby

A healthy baby will play more and sleep more, which in turn gives you peace of mind. Including prunes in your baby’s diet increases water intake and keeps your baby hydrated. Prunes also contain carbohydrates that give your little one the energy required to play.

Constipation in babies can be devastating. A baby who loves prunes benefits from the fruit’s dietary fiber and will experience healthy bowel movements.

Whole prunes provide your little one with a good source of vitamins K, which promotes your baby’s bone health. This vitamin is also responsible for producing the proteins required for blood clotting that aid in wound healing. 

When to Worry About a Baby Who Loves Prunes

Though consuming prunes promotes your baby’s health in many ways, you need to ensure that your baby doesn’t overeat this fruit. Prunes effectively relieve constipation, but when consumed in excess, it may cause your baby to experience gastrointestinal distress. This is because prune contains sorbitol and dietary fiber that can affect bowel movement.

If your baby’s appetite for normal feeding reduces after eating prunes, you may have to discontinue or limit the intake. Your nutritionist can help in determining how much prune your baby needs to take per serving.

Even though prunes don’t present a high allergy threat, they contain small amounts of histamine. If your baby shows symptoms like abdominal pain, itchy rashes, or shortness of breath, you need to seek expert help immediately.

Conclusion

The good news about prunes is that this super fruit can be found all around the year. You can give prunes to your baby anytime, whether semi-dried in packets or canned as syrup. 

Babies who love prunes are likely to experience high energy levels and have a healthy and regular bowel pattern. However, your little one should not consume too many prunes because it may cause gastrointestinal distress.