The Weaning Thread

How Strange

I subscribe to the theory that food is fun until 1 and milk is the main source of nutrition. So I'd follow your baby's lead and leave the solids for a week or two. Then try introducing little things at a time just for exploration like a piece of pear, a steamed carrot stick, a piece of toast. Let him play with it and figure out what it tastes and feels like.

Both of mine had no interest in solids until 7 months and it made no difference to their eating habits or appetites in the long run.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Just wondering at what age did ye stop using the high chair? My little fella is 9 months and doesn't mind going into his (and will sometimes even have a power nap in it after a big feed ) but recently he has gotten stronger and he will grab the tray and try to pull himself forward against the straps. A few times, he has pulled so hard that the straps have marked his neck He also thrashes around when he wants to get out. I'm not sure how much longer he can go in it? We have no proper dining table so it'll be an awful loss, it's so handy that he can sit in it and take the food off the tray himself etc.

stick girl

contrary_mary wrote: »

My 6 month old is refusing to eat solids. We're in our third week - the first week went great - he was willingly eating the ice-cube sized portions of purree I had made for him - opening his mouth for the spoon etc. Last week he regressed and it became more of a struggle. This week he is refusing altogether. I'm at a loss as to why this is happening when he started so well, it's so frustrating and mealtime is becoming a battle. Any ideas? I'm quite worried about it.

I had a similar problem. My little one was flying with the purees, but then she wouldn't eat anything. One day I was so frustrated I just thought what the hell, and made her something spicy and it was a hit. Just flavors that is, no chilies. I made a stew with lamb cut up small plus any other veg I could find in fridge and tomatoes. garlic onion cumin etc...over couscous. even had it for my lunch. I think that they just get tired of bland food.

contrary_mary

stick girl wrote: »

I had a similar problem. My little one was flying with the purees, but then she wouldn't eat anything. One day I was so frustrated I just thought what the hell, and made her something spicy and it was a hit. Just flavors that is, no chilies. I made a stew with lamb cut up small plus any other veg I could find in fridge and tomatoes. garlic onion cumin etc...over couscous. even had it for my lunch. I think that they just get tired of bland food.

It was just a phase. He's back eating again and flying it except he is resistant to lumpier textures, but we'll persevere. Mind you if it's a bowl of lumpy banana he'll eat no bother - not so much if it's veggies! He's a while off eating stew/couscous. I made him a dahl with a little bit of ground coriander in it and pulsed it in the blender and he still spit it back at me so he doesn't seem into the spices just yet!

tinkerbell

I think I'm gonna give BLW a go. I've a bit of time yet so I'm reading the Gill Rapley book to learn in advance. My question is though what's the deal with gluten and the introduce between 6 and 7 months rule? How do I do it? Heeeeeeelp! Weaning makes me nervous. I'm just used to my boobs providing all the nutritional goodness right now, I don't even need to think about it, just offer the boob and job done!

I need to read this thread from page 1 also. Any tips in general on BLW? From the sounds of it it fits in well with the whole breastfeeding thing so I figured it's the natural next step? Any other books to read?

Edit: oh and I apologise in advance for the million questions I'll probably have!

RentDayBlues

tinkerbell, I've done blw with both of mine and I can't praise it enough. For me it seemed the easier option over all that puréeing and I was also breastfeeding so I was already used to letting baby regulate their own intake so it seemed like a logical step.

You need to be fully comfident in it, the gagging initially is very hard to watch! On my first I also spoon fed, especially with messier foods but with the second we didn't or rather weren't allowed!

I started with dinner, strips of cooked veg and plain chicken, just let them taste, for the first few weeks/months that's all they will do. Go with the mantra, food is fun until your one! For the gagging, I used 2 rules: if they are making noise it's ok they're clearing it themselves and wait, don't jump in. I would recommend a course in baby first aid if you are nervous with the choking element, it will give you more confidence.

As to your gluten question, it's simple, any food containing gluten should be offered from the start: bread, porridge, pasta

For general tips:
I started with simple foods and the only ones I never gave before 1 were whole nuts and honey.

Never put your finger on baby's mouth

I tried some of those recipes and while a good starting point I found just altering our normal meals just easier.

I found that older family members were very worried about choking and this aspect of weaning so be prepared for lots of opinions and concerns 😄

I now have 2 babies who will eat anything, with the exception of the toddler who is going through a phase of messing! We went on holidays when my first was 10 months and the only thing we brought in terms of food were boobs, it really is that handy

Good luck with it if you decide to try it, it's so worth it once they get the hang of it, nothing like seeing your 10 month old wolfing down sushi to make you smile!

LegacyUser

My son is 5 months. Started giving him baby rice at 4 months. But I really don't have a clue about weaning.
He wakes at 6am, give him an 8oz bottle which he usually drinks. He is back asleep at half 7 till 10am. Again gets another 8oz bottle. Have tried giving him creamy porridge before his 10am bottle but if I do that he won't drink it. So I give him the porridge at half 11. He gets another 8oz bottle at 3 then puréed carrot at half 4. If I give him the puréed carrot or porridge to close to his bottle he vomits big time.
I have no one to ask am I even doing it vaguely right. Then only person I know breastfeed exclusively so was not happy when started weaning at 4 months.
Can anyone point me in the right direction. I'll give you my wee lads routine:
6am - wakes, gets 8oz bottle, goes back asleep around half 7
10am - wakes, gets 8oz bottle
11:30 - creamy porridge with some apple mixed in
3pm - wakes from nap, get 8oz bottle
4:30 - puréed carrot/sweet potato
7pm - 8oz bottle
7:30/8pm - bed

contrary_mary

My 7 month old is getting on pretty okay with the weaning now (we have good days and bad days) - I've introduced more texture and soft lumps and he can manage them fine (though some days he just doesn't bother!). He's also loving the finger food. He has no teeth yet but can break off lumps with his gums and spends ages working it in his mouth but eventually just spits it out as he can't break it up (unless it's something that breaks up due to the moisture).

For this reason I'm nervous about giving him chopped up meat and I've still been pureeing this and mixing it through lumpier veg/rice/pasta. I'm not sure how to move forward with this. I know it will be a long time before he has a efficient set of teeth for chewing, so do they just get better at breaking the food up over time? Sorry it's such a stupid question!

How Strange

contrary_mary wrote: »

He's also loving the finger food. He has no teeth yet but can break off lumps with his gums and spends ages working it in his mouth but eventually just spits it out as he can't break it up (unless it's something that breaks up due to the moisture).

I know it will be a long time before he has a efficient set of teeth for chewing, so do they just get better at breaking the food up over time? Sorry it's such a stupid question!

He sounds like a pretty clever little fella. Babies chew with their gums and it's normal that they chew and suck the meat and spit it out when they're finished with it. Eventually he'll get used to it and learn how to break the meat down until he can swallow it all. Even without swallowing he is getting all the nutrients and leaving the pulp.

I'd suggest giving fairly big chunks of meat as there's less risk of choking than with smaller chunks. I think he's shown you already that he knows what to do and is very comfortable with it.

contrary_mary

How Strange wrote: »

He sounds like a pretty clever little fella. Babies chew with their gums and it's normal that they chew and suck the meat and spit it out when they're finished with it. Eventually he'll get used to it and learn how to break the meat down until he can swallow it all. Even without swallowing he is getting all the nutrients and leaving the pulp.

I'd suggest giving fairly big chunks of meat as there's less risk of choking than with smaller chunks. I think he's shown you already that he knows what to do and is very comfortable with it.

Thanks a million. It's scary but i will take your advice on board! I might offer him some chicken pieces as finger food first and see what he thinks of it! He's gas - he kept a bit of pear in his mouth for ages today and eventually spit it out around 5 mins later!

Ocean Blue

What's the story with giving babs water? I'm only starting weaning in the next few days and baby currently only gets milk, no water. Tried it twice in the early weeks when pooing was irregular but she hated it and was windy afterwards. She never needed it afterwards so didn't bother trying again. But I assume once she's on solids she needs extra fluids?

Obviously, it needs to be cooled boiled water. But how to manage it? Does the same rule apply as to milk........Once a drink is started it must be disposed of after 2 hours? Or can she have a little beaker on the go all day??

I'm thinking of making a bottle of maybe 6oz each evening when I'm making bottles. Then just decant into her beaker as required. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what worked well for them?

Thanks!

pwurple

What age is the baby? I started weaning at 6 months and gave the sippy cup about a month later with cold tap water. Never boiled it at that stage as she had been licking the floor and absolutely everything she touched for a while then.

I give her the cup with meals and throw away the water afterwards as soon as we are away from the table. I think walking/crawling about with a cup might knock out their teeth if they fall... And I want them to have good table manners, so we only eat or drink at the table.

Ocean Blue

pwurple wrote: »

What age is the baby? I started weaning at 6 months and gave the sippy cup about a month later with cold tap water. Never boiled it at that stage as she had been licking the floor and absolutely everything she touched for a while then.

I give her the cup with meals and throw away the water afterwards as soon as we are away from the table. I think walking/crawling about with a cup might knock out their teeth if they fall... And I want them to have good table manners, so we only eat or drink at the table.

She is over 5 months. Actually since I posted a weaning book I found suggested 6 months to be appropriate. Like you I would mainly intend giving water after meals to aid digestion. When I mentioned a cup for the day, I just meant in terms of whether I need fresh sterilised water for each meal. I'm not keen on seeing kids trailing around all day with sippy cups dangling from their hand.

Very interesting about the tap water, that makes sense. Plus so easy!

seventeen sheep

We use bottled water mostly, as I don't like the tap water where we live myself, so we always have bottled water in the house. However he's in creche five out of seven days, so they give him cooled boiled water there. I wouldn't have a problem with giving him water straight from the cold tap, though. With the bottled water, you just have to watch out for the sodium, as I think some brands can be quite high in sodium.

I don't drink tea or coffee so would rarely use the kettle during the day when I'm at home - but, if you do, then the handiest thing would probably just be to stick some extra water in then. If you wanted to use the cooled boiled water to start with.

You could try giving it in a bottle rather than a beaker at first, to get her used to the taste of it, before introducing the beaker. Also some babies are really fussy about which beakers they use, so don't go stocking up on any one brand!

I wouldn't be inclined to reuse the same water later in the day. Chances are, if you're offering it with a meal, the baby will get food all over the beaker, and some will probably end up backwashed into the water (I'd imagine.) It just seems a bit unhygienic to me. Maybe have a jug in the fridge, and only pour in a couple of ounces at a time if you don't want to end up wasting lots of water? (Having said that, it can be easier for them starting off to drink from a full beaker, even if they don't actually manage to get through much of it!)

tinkerbell

More questions! Not 6 months yet here but I was reading the NHS guidelines and they say to wait til baby is 6 months, can sit unassisted, co-ordinate hands, eyes and mouth, swallow but that all babies won't do this exactly at 6 months.

What if your baby won't sit unassisted at 6 months? I'd imagine that's the most important one for safety purposes. Is it ok to just wait? What if they aren't sitting unsupported til 7 months? And what's the rush with gluten between 6-7 months? There have been further studies which say there's no need to urgently introduce it. I'm so confused.

kandr10

tinkerbell wrote: »

More questions! Not 6 months yet here but I was reading the NHS guidelines and they say to wait til baby is 6 months, can sit unassisted, co-ordinate hands, eyes and mouth, swallow but that all babies won't do this exactly at 6 months.

What if your baby won't sit unassisted at 6 months? I'd imagine that's the most important one for safety purposes. Is it ok to just wait? What if they aren't sitting unsupported til 7 months? And what's the rush with gluten between 6-7 months? There have been further studies which say there's no need to urgently introduce it. I'm so confused.

Hi I can only answer from my limited experience. I started weaning my daughter at just 6 months as she was showing signs of being hungrier than could be satisfied with milk alone. She could sit unaided but wasn't exactly stable. On the floor for example she still toppled over easily. The highchair we used was from ikea and we used their inflatable insert to give a bit more support. She had some hand eye co ordination but wasn't able to pick food up and put it into her mouth until about 7 months. Now I couldn't have waited that long to wean because she was clearly ready otherwise so I started on purées. I'd say just look at your baby. When you try solids at first, see how they react. Are they able to swallow some or after a week of trying do they spit everything out. As regards gluten, I have to say I wasn't even aware of any specific advice on introducing it. I don't have any allergies in the family though - maybe if you do you need to be more careful? I followed a lot of advice from Annabel Karmels weaning book with the recipes. That might be worth picking up as it gives a good indication on what to feed when. Generally though, I was utterly confused about the whole thing until it started and then little by little things just fell into place. Good luck with it!

tinkerbell

Thanks kandr10! I am just so confused. I will be waiting anyway til the 6 months but it's just so confusing then with the conflicting advice! Some say" Wait til 6 months but no later than 6 months" - I mean that doesn't even make sense! That's basically saying you need to introduce on the day they turn 6 months which is against what the NHS says (as they say wait til baby shows readiness).

The gluten thing was told to me by PHN at the 3 month check "make sure to introduce your baby to gluten before 7 months".

Tbh I'd rather just wait and see how baby is and go with that rather than a rush at 6 months. I breastfeed on demand so want to continue going with my baby's lead.

God this weaning business is so complicated! Breastfeeding is so simple in comparison! LOL

kandr10

tinkerbell wrote: »

Thanks kandr10! I am just so confused. I will be waiting anyway til the 6 months but it's just so confusing then with the conflicting advice! Some say" Wait til 6 months but no later than 6 months" - I mean that doesn't even make sense! That's basically saying you need to introduce on the day they turn 6 months which is against what the NHS says (as they say wait til baby shows readiness).

The gluten thing was told to me by PHN at the 3 month check "make sure to introduce your baby to gluten before 7 months".

Tbh I'd rather just wait and see how baby is and go with that rather than a rush at 6 months. I breastfeed on demand so want to continue going with my baby's lead.

God this weaning business is so complicated! Breastfeeding is so simple in comparison! LOL

You're do right though - take the baby's lead. You'll know when he/she is ready.
It's really not as complicated as it seems. Once you get started you'll be grand. Try a book with meal planners etc be it the baby led or anabel Karmel. It'll clear it up in your mind. I cook daily for myself but just found it easier to follow a meal plan for a week or so to get it straight in my head. Then I introduced things as we were eating them and integrated the baby's eating with our own gradually. I found the meal planners handy for introducing the second and third meals too to see the guideline quantities of food. Also good for ideas for new dishes.

I wasn't too caught up on introducing gluten (or any food type really) - it just happens naturally as a progression of weaning generally. I just tried to keep a variety going generally. The only thing I made sure to follow was avoiding the foods that are unsuitable for the various age groups.

Ocean Blue

Weetabix vs. Wheat Bisks (Aldi)

Opinions on salt level? One gives salt level, the other salt and sodium. Yet the figures are almost identical though described differently. Confusing!

Roesy

I vaguely remember there being a formula for working out sodium to salt. I think you multiply the amount x 2.5. That'll give you the salt level in mg then divide by 1000 for g. I'm sure if you google it you can double check I'm remembering this properly. The brain is a bit foggy this morning.

emer_b

My baby is just gone 5months and is exclusively breastfed. She's a really happy, content, thriving little girl and she's really keen to try food! I'm the past few days I've let her suck on a slice of pear and take a tiny taste off a spoon and she's crazy about it.
I know all the advice says to wait until 6 months but what's the real downside of waiting another 3 weeks?
I know there's no panic to get started but would I be doing her any harm by giving her a few spoons when we're all sitting down to dinner? (I think it's partly due to having a toddler that has eaten really poorly since day one that I'm keen to get a good start this time!)

CarpeDiem85

I started weaning my little girl when she was just under 5 and a half months at the advice of my PHN, whose advice I regarded highly. My baby was waking up earlier from hunger and once I weaned her, she was a lot more content. I'd just stick to light puree if you start now.

emer_b

Thanks carpediem, I suppose a little part of me is hoping that she would sleep longer at night once she starts solids. She's still waking every 3 to 4hrs every night. I think it's more from habit than from actual hunger though.

CarpeDiem85

My baby went through a huge growth spurt when I started weaning her. I think she just needed the extra nutrition. Hopefully with a fuller belly, your baby will sleep better.

sulli

Not too sure if this is the correct place but here goes. Lil fella is year yesterday...have him on cow and gate follow on milk 2! We want to move him to cows/whole milk...but wanted to know whats the best way to go about it if anyone has any suggestions?!

dori_dormer

My boy is 1 tomorrow and I was going to ask the same thing!

I'm sick of making up bottles every night!

RentDayBlues

I've only ever moved from breast to cows milk so not sure if it's relevant but I went straight to cows milk for one feed, no issues, but they had been having cows milk since 6 months in breakfast

I know some people do a mix of formula and milk, gradually reducing formula until it's just cows milk

sulli

this might be a stupid question...so if you are doing half and half with formula and milk...lets say a full bottle of formula has 5 scoops and 150 mls...do you half that to 2.5 scoops and 75mls and the other 75mls with milk?

dori_dormer

I would think so! Make up smaller amount of formula and top up with milk?

My boy was one on tues, saw phn yesterday. She told me I had to get rid of all his bottles and switch to cows milk asap!

When did you all ditch the bottles?

Also how many bottles is your baby still on? M fella still drinks about 25oz a day and has 3 proper meals and snacks. He's always starving! He's 12 kilos but not very chubby


Thanks!

Roesy

dori_dormer wrote: »

I would think so! Make up smaller amount of formula and top up with milk?

My boy was one on tues, saw phn yesterday. She told me I had to get rid of all his bottles and switch to cows milk asap!

When did you all ditch the bottles?

Also how many bottles is your baby still on? M fella still drinks about 25oz a day and has 3 proper meals and snacks. He's always starving! He's 12 kilos but not very chubby


Thanks!

My little girl is 15 months. She still gets a morning and nighttime bottle, between those and a cup of milk during the day she probably drinks 20oz of milk a day. She eats like a horse too. Three meals and snacks plus water with food. I'll replace the morning bottle with a cup of milk soon but I'm in no hurry to replace her last thing at night one yet.