The Weaning Thread

Roesy · 18-06-2015 10:14am

+1 to dori's recommendation about the baby lead weaning Ireland Facebook page. It can be a mine of information. Just adding though, baby doesn't have to be sitting up completely unaided. They just have to be able to sit up on your lap or in a highchair with minimal support i.e not slumping.

tinkerbell · 18-06-2015 12:08pm

Buy the cookbook Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley - it's a great information source.

Wait until your baby can sit well in a highchair before you start, and wait til at least 26 weeks (even wait another few weeks if you feel best). And don't stress when baby just plays with food and flings it all on the floor. That will happen for a good while, then they'll start chewing on stuff and spitting out.

Just be careful with the allergen foods, eg strawberries, eggs, nuts, etc.

Actually speaking of allergies - when and how did you all start with nut butters? I haven't introduced those yet. No nut allergies in our families so hopefully it won't be an issue.

lazygal · 18-06-2015 12:37pm

Nut butters were an early food, spread on toast or rice cakes. No allergies, so just made sure they were given when the doctor's office was open.

tinkerbell · 18-06-2015 9:05pm

Oh thanks! How did you give rice cakes by the way? Cut them up or whole? I've never actually eaten a rice cake myself - what else do you put on them?

lazygal · 18-06-2015 9:09pm

I broke the large ones in two. Smaller ones I got in Aldi in the baby aisle I gave singly. They just suck on them so they'll break up even if you give a whole one. I'd spread avocado, cream cheese or banana on them. Or even plain to keep them occupied!

contrary_mary · 04-07-2015 10:39am

My little boy is 13 months now - obviously I've avoided any salt all along but he's at a stage now that when we're out he wants to taste what we're having. Last week I gave him a taste (literally a spoon) of my dish in a Japanese restaurant which would have had a fair amount of salt in it. Likewise for things like mashed potatoes that you get out that are already seasoned. Is this okay at this stage? It would be really handy to give him some of our dinners when out but I'm nervous about gravies and sauces that might have too much salt - but would it be okay occasionally?

lazygal · 04-07-2015 1:25pm

I never worried too much about salt. We stopped using it in cooking once ours started solids but I used regular stock cubes and when eating out I didn't analyse it too much. Once the rest of the diet is as low as possible in salt you're fine.

tinkerbell · 04-07-2015 2:54pm

I still have to try the nut butters :eek: No history of allergies in the family so hopefully it'll be ok. I'll do what you suggested though lazygal and try them when the doctor's office is open.

madeinamerica · 13-07-2015 8:28pm

Can you tell me what kind of meal/snack pattern are you doing for your baby? I've a 10 month old and we are currently feeding him 3 meals a day with milk feeds but no snacks. Should we be giving him snacks too? What snacks do you give? Thanks!

How Strange · 14-07-2015 7:31am

I don't believe in snacks as such and I don't give them routinely every day. If it's going to be a long time between meals I'd give a cracker, rice cake, berries, chopped fruit or a banana. I'd always carry crackers and a banana if we're out and about just in case we got delayed etc.

spottybananas · 26-08-2015 8:17pm

Been reading back a few pages here, our son is just about 20 weeks old. I had no intention of starting foods until 26 weeks or close enough, but then I read that 26 weeks is the latest it should be started, then I read they need to be doing most of this list of things and he's doing all of them! Sits up really well, can bring hands to his mouth, chews things, and watches us eat.

Should we wait until 26 weeks? He's a big kid, exclusively breastfed, over 7.5kg and in 6-9 clothes, in case any if that affects it. Thanks in advance.

dori_dormer · 26-08-2015 8:34pm

20 weeks is still very young. 26 weeks is the guideline. Is there any reason you think he may need solids so much earlier? They say to start the solids at 26 weeks dud to iron intake but some babies aren't ready til later. If you can wait I'd wait

spottybananas · 26-08-2015 8:49pm

dori_dormer wrote: »

20 weeks is still very young. 26 weeks is the guideline. Is there any reason you think he may need solids so much earlier? They say to start the solids at 26 weeks dud to iron intake but some babies aren't ready til later. If you can wait I'd wait

As I said, I was planning to wait until 26 weeks but have been told and have read that they are ready when they do these certain things particularly showing interest in what you eat, and the article that said 26 weeks is the latest it should be done. I don't think he needs solids this young at all, that's not what I said. I'm planning ahead (for 6 weeks time) but am seeing info that suggest some babies start earlier.

I've brushed off people asking were we starting it at 4 months as madness but I'm just wondering why some people start it early and why others don't.

dori_dormer · 26-08-2015 9:14pm

I've never heard that 26 weeks is the latest to start before. The latest who guidelines say that's when to start.

I started 2 weeks early as my boy was ravenous, he was drinking 6 8oz bottles a day, and the doc said we couldn't give him anymore.

My sister just started there at 18 weeks with her boy because she was sick of making up bottles all the time.

I'd say do what you feel is right for you and your baby. We also did baby led weaning which is not recommended to start til 26 weeks due to choking possibility if they don't have all the skills you mentioned. I know people who did this weaning method and who's kids didn't start really consuming anything for a number of weeks.

Just go with your gut and what you feel is right for you and your baby.

tinkerbell · 26-08-2015 11:31pm

Don't start early. Wait until at least 6 months. The article that you read sounds full of bad advice tbh. The whole 6 months is the latest is wrong.

Start at 6 months with finger food if your baby has the signs of being ready, ie can sit well in a highchair etc. Buy the Baby led weaning book by Gill Rapley. If you need to wait a few weeks before you feel baby is ready then that's fine too, there's no rush. If doing BLW, do not drop milk feeds - it can take a few months before they actually really start eating a good bit.

Dori - your sister started at 18 weeks? That is just terrible

With all the new research out there about how babies guts aren't able to tolerate anything other than milk for the first 6 months, it is inexcusable to start babies on solids at 18 weeks. That is just appalling. And all because she was sick of making up bottles? Bloody hell :mad:

Marz66 · 27-08-2015 12:45am

The guideline is in and around 26 weeks.

So not 20 weeks but could be 24 weeks if he shows the signs - sitting up straight etc

dori_dormer · 27-08-2015 8:14am

I know tinker bell, I told her all the research. She said he was starving, and didn't want to be making up more bottles! And she said her phn told her it was fine from 17 weeks, and sure she'd waited til 18! Plus her sister in law with a baby only 4 weeks older had started at 17 weeks.

All this after Id chatted to them about blw only a few weeks before and they thought it was great

moving_home · 27-08-2015 9:34am

I started around 23 weeks because I couldn't handle the not sleeping anymore and she was showing signs of being ready. The 4 month sleep regression had been going on for 2 months and it was killing me. Started with purees first for a couple of weeks. No baby rice or milupa. I make all her food from scratch.
Sleep improved by the second day. I couldn't believe it as I honestly thought that was a myth. Now a couple of months in we spoonfeed porridge for breakfast, lunch is finger food type meal and evening is dinner and natural yoghurt with some finger food while we eat. I have the Annabel Karmel book and the Baby Led weaning book and use them both a lot. I'm trying to make 1 or 2 dinners a week for us from the BLW book so she can have some too. I find she gets frustrated with finger food only though as she can't get enough. I keep hearing the phrase 'food before 1 is just for fun' being bandied about by BLW advocates. My daughter gets all her nutrients from formula but she wants to eat.

kandr10 · 27-08-2015 11:32am

I'd have to agree with you moving home when it comes to the combining blw and spoon feeding. I wasn't desperate to get nutrients into my girl but I wanted her to be satisfied and the milk alone wasn't doing it (hence how we knew when to start her on solids.) I think you have to suss out your own baby really. Some kids refuse the spoon, others refuse the finger foods

kandr10 · 27-08-2015 11:35am

On the subject of when to start babies, I'd wait until milk no longer seems to satisfy the baby. If they hit 6 month mark and still don't seem 'hungry' for it as such, you could try some finger foods / a spoon and see how they go. Great that baby is ready for it though as regards holding head up, interested in food etc.

moving_home · 27-08-2015 12:54pm

I really wanted to wait until after 26 weeks but she wasn't satisfied with milk alone so I just went with it. I do think we will move to more BLW meals over the next few months as she loves feeding herself. I couldn't be bothered making porridge into those porridge fingers just not to use a spoon. Most people in know in 'real life' do a combination of both but when I look online I see alot more people doing only BLW.

dori_dormer · 27-08-2015 1:19pm

Yeah when I looked into blw, it's supposed to be easier on everyone! No cooking separate meals, or batch freezing stuff. Puréeing was a pain in the face. I moved to blw fairly quickly as my boy had loads of teeth and good control, but I wasn't bothered giving myself extra work and making porridge fingers and ice yogurt lollies etc. so I spooned them. Less mess! There's the idea of preloaded spoons that's acepted in blw too.

spottybananas · 27-08-2015 7:48pm

How do you know baby isn't satisfied with just milk?

I don't want to get my hopes up that it'll help him sleep when we do start, he wakes every two hours since day 1

kandr10 · 27-08-2015 7:59pm

My little one wasn't sleeping through but had dropped a few night feeds and then the 2 weeks before we started solids she started waking more at night. At the same time she also looked to feed every 2 hours or so during the day and more often the next week. Now I was breastfeeding so maybe with bottles you wouldn't notice as much. You'll know yourself when you see it. If nothing changes in feeds or sleeps then just wait til 6 months and try some starter foods and see how he reacts. He'll let you know if he wants it!

dori_dormer · 27-08-2015 8:18pm

My fella would cry when his bottle was finished, and keep sucking for more even empty.
He also woke at least 4 times a night until he was 16 mths. Then he suddenly started sleeping through.

Giving solids changed nothing for us lol! If anything it made him gassier and he'd more cramps during the change and he woke more frequently

moving_home · 27-08-2015 8:58pm

kandr10 wrote: »

My little one wasn't sleeping through but had dropped a few night feeds and then the 2 weeks before we started solids she started waking more at night. At the same time she also looked to feed every 2 hours or so during the day and more often the next week.

Bottle feeding and more or less same thing. She had dropped night feed for months. Was up at night screaming so I started feeding at night again. Also she was hungry more often during the day and very cranky.

I really don't agree with stuffing babies to get them to sleep through and I honestly didn't think it would make a difference to the nights (bar getting rid of the night feed). However the night feed stopped and her sleep was more content. She's still not an amazing sleeper mind but much improved.

Ms2011 · 29-08-2015 10:04pm

Isn't sleeping through the night developmental rather than based on the amount of food a baby consumes throughout the day??

moving_home · 29-08-2015 10:41pm

Ms2011 wrote: »

Isn't sleeping through the night developmental rather than based on the amount of food a baby consumes throughout the day??

Who knows. Anyway she didn't start sleeping through. Just slept better. More content and less waking.

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 31-08-2015 10:02am

Hi everyone I could do with some advice on breakfast ideas for my little girl. She is 7 months and we started blw at 6 months. She has been doing well with fruit and veg and also loves gnawing on chicken drumsticks

All along, she has just had bits and pieces at mealtimes but now I think it's time we start giving her full meals.

Problem is, she has a suspected cows milk allergy (we're waiting on specialist referral for allergy testing). She can't tolerate any milk at all. She had been tolerating little bits of butter on toast but last week, that started disagreeing with her too. I would love to try her with cheese or yoghurt but don't have the guts to do it in case she reacts.

What I'm really stuck for is breakfast and lunch ideas. Dinner isn't really an issue because I've been on a dairy free diet all along while breastfeeding but the stuff I eat myself for brekkie and lunch wouldn't really be suitable for a baby. This morning she had a baby rice cake and half a plum (she managed to eat half of this and tge other half went on the floor

) but I'm worried that she's not getting enough.

dori_dormer · 31-08-2015 10:29am

Porridge made with water? Eggy bread? Toast with jam and no butter?

The Weaning Thread

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