hi 1st time mum here,dd 4 months and feeling v over welmed about weaning

[robinredbreast]

i know i dont have to start feeding till dd is 6 months, dd is only 4 months at the moment she was ex bf till her 4 month jabs and is now bf with one bottle of formula at night.
i found/find the bf really quite hard work but im getting there now
went to boots today and had a look at the baby foods and felt totally overwelmed like i didnt know what to look at or what to think about buying,i actually felt a bit tearful
i just dont know where to start

[bluejelly]

Don't panic it really is not that hard. Just remember it's all about giving them the opportunity to enjoy new tastes. Milk is still their main food until they are at least a year.

And well done for getting this far with the bf!

[GColdtimer]

Every change seems like such a big deal and you worry about how you are going to cope. Don't worry you will. You have done brilliantly so far. And as bluejelly says, its not really about the food its about getting them used to new tastes.

We eased the weaning nightmare by switching to baby led weaning after a week or so which means just giving finger food at 6 months. So much less stressful imo. That way, you don't even have to look at those jars or think about pureeing or anything like that.

Anyway, didn't mean to overwhelm you further, just wanted to say there is another way but even if you don't go down this route, try not to worry and just take each day as it comes.

Look at Aitch's blog for more info and friendly faces www.babyledweaning.com

[Theclosetpagansbesom]

Was going to add the link below too. Fabulous site - well worth a visit.

[robinredbreast]

i dont know why i feel so stressed about the thought of it tbh

when i was in the early days of bf i used to think it wont be that long till dd can have som food,and now we are approching that time im worrying !!! what am i like !!

and im annoyd at myself for worrying!!

[fairyfay]

Annabel Karmel does some pretty good books and I'm sure there are others too, which can give you some pointers. If you don't want to buy any then I'm sure your local library will probably have a good range. You could also talk to your HV about it.

[robinredbreast]

yeah i got the annabel karmel book today, just gotta get some time to read it

[nimnom]

Annabel Karmel is great. I also used Lorraine Kelly's book which had some good charts on what and how much to give and when. Obviously every baby is different so you just use the charts as a guide. As it turned out both my ds's were complete gluttons and I had to ditch the charts fairly quickly but it's a good starting point.If it's any help, I'm the most disorganised person in the world and I still managed with the pureeing etc(I'd never heard of the baby led weaning thing)
the important thing is not to worry too much, as bluejelly said milk is still their main food.

[MrsBadger]

(oh and don't whatever you do feel you have to go to Boots and buy Special Baby Food - just go to Tesco and buy real human food - fruit, veg, porridge etc - that you'd fancy eating.)

[ConnorTraceptive]

Oh I felt exactly the same with ds it was pureeing madness!!! You just figure out one stage and then you've got to suss out another. Determined to make it easier on myself this time round.

The thing is it all starts quite slow really just introducing small amounts for taste really and not every meal time to start. I also used to get quite stressed about when you should start dropping milk feeds but found that ds led the way really. Let your baby guide you.

[ruddynorah]

you don't need to do anything special for feeding solids. no need to buy any fancy bowls, spoons, blenders, jars etc etc. do check out the babyledweaning stuff, it's been fab for loads of us, and it's an easy peasy next step from breastfeeding.

[robinredbreast]

thanks for all the replies, feeling slightly less stressed today.
when dd was born although i did find bf v difficult it seemed so natural and i didnt have to think about it iyswim and now i guess i feel like its quite a responasbilty to feed her well

maybe as ive only just started giving a bottle in the eve and no longer ex bf my hormones are changing?

to sum up baby led weaning is it you wait till they start trying to eat your foods and then let them eat finger food rather than puraes?
sorry to sound so simple but ive not heard of it before
thanks for the links

when do you guys think the best time to start is ?

[ruddynorah]

yes, it's that simple. around about 26 weeks your baby will strat to be able to self feed, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. so maybe at 4 months your baby will be able to hold the food and possibly put it in his mouth, but not go so far as to chew it and swallow it. his body won't let him do this, or not much anyway, because he doesn't need food, he needs milk. then, as he gets older he gets better at self feeding so he can manage to eat more...as his need for more food and less milk comes.

so around 26 weeks start giving him bits of food to play with. nothing high in salt, no honey, and no whole nuts. other than that, anything goes! (there is some stuff on blw.com about introducing food to an allergy prone baby.) most people tend to start with giving the baby bits of veg and fruit (as you would if doing puree) and dairy, then offer breads, pastas etc, then protein. however, some just go straight in with full on food...someone gave their baby spag bol straight away!! fab!

don't stress about amounts he eats, or mess (!), just be guided by him, keep up the milk, keep offering all different things..and away you go!

[ruddynorah]

should add, you don't have to go particulary slowly with introducing things, unless your family is allergy prone perhaps. dd had full christmas dinner at 7 months.

[Lulumama]

start sometime around 26 weeks

remember that milk is still the primary source of food and nutrition for the first year, so don;t worry about getting baby onto 3 meals a day too quickly

iron stores only start to deplete at 6 months, they don;t run out , so don;t be scared into starting baby onto solids earlier to rebuild iron levels.

don't put anything in the bottle to help them sleep through

try BLW if you are stressing, as it is , in my opinion , the far easier way to wean, as you are not having to cook and blend special food, you simply offer finger foods, or bits off your plate.. and don;t worry if baby does not eat lots, it is about exploring taste, texture and food itself

if you go the puree route, remember it is just tastes at first , not full meals, so don;t worry if baby eats a little

there is not a window of opportunity you can miss if you don;t wean at 4/5/or even 6 months.. some babies do better if they start later, don;t be surprised if your little one can go days without eating more than a bite or two at first

as long as having lots of milk, doing wees and poos, happy and alert, you are not going far wrong

and on the whole, solids won;t suddenly make your baby sleep through if they haven;t been doing so

[robinredbreast]

thank you so much for your replies im feeling so much calmer now thanyesterday

everyone around me is telling me i should be weaning her now, even the hv theres no problem with dd weight

hv said all babies should be weaning by 18-20 weeks
and a friend said today that if you wait till 6 months ill only have one month to get her on 3 meals a day

although i dont believe everyone that says wean her now, i dont know anyone at all in rl that has waitd till 6 months , guess thats partly why im finding it difficult

[llareggub]

Your HV and your friend are wrong. One month to get her on 3 meals a day? What a load of bollocks.

Relax, honestly, it will be fine. Good advice on here, particularly with regard to BLW.

[handlemecarefully]

Your hv is seriously out of date and rather crap. Please do not wean until 6 months

Glad you got some helpful advice on here and are less anxious about the process now

[Lulumama]

your HV is wrong and going against advice from WHO

i got to about 3 days short of 6 months with DD... there are loads of mumsnetters who have done so !