Weaning

[Laurenxoxo]

I'm wanting to start weaning today, yes I am starting before 6 months as my girl is 100% ready for food! I'm not sure what to start with though? I know the jars you can buy in supermarkets (my first bolognese and things like that) say 4-6 months on them so could I start with that straight away around lunch time ? Or would it be better to do the baby porridge stuff first??

[DisgruntledPelican]

How old is your baby? The benefit of waiting until 6 months is that you can just give them normal food. It’s best to start with veg - mashed potato, soft steamed carrots etc.

[BertieBotts]

How old is she? I always start with actual solid food like steamed carrot or cut up cucumber. Chip shapes are easiest for them. If they can pick it up and get it to their mouth themselves then they are ready. If they can't yet do that, wait a couple of weeks and try them again.

They just tend to have little tastes at first, once they are properly mushing it with their gums and swallowing, then I add in purees and mashed foods. Just once a day to begin with.

[Twizbe]

If starting before 6 months you need to use a simple purée. Veg is best to start with.

That said, best advice I was given (we started our eldest before 6 months on medical advice) was to start with breakfast. Keep that a consistent meal and offer the same thing. Super useful when they become fussy toddlers. We did baby rice for eldest (allergy issues) and baby porridge for youngest.

Starting with breakfast is also good as you're always at home. When that is going well introduce tea as again you're often at home.

Leave lunch till last as that is the meal you're most likely to have out the house. Put off that little complication a bit

[NannyR]

If you are starting before 6 months I would stick to simple, one ingredient purees like carrot, apple or pear. There's nothing wrong with jars and pouches, but it's really easy and much cheaper to make your own and freeze it in ice cube portions, especially to start with when they only have a few teaspoons.

[BertieBotts]

I have started offering this at 17 weeks with my two. They were both about 20/21 weeks before they really got into it. DS1 was then happy with baby led weaning all the way whereas DS2 preferred to be spoon fed.

[Laurenxoxo]

@BertieBotts

I have started offering this at 17 weeks with my two. They were both about 20/21 weeks before they really got into it. DS1 was then happy with baby led weaning all the way whereas DS2 preferred to be spoon fed.

Yeah I will be offering at this time too! What did you start with?

[happylittlechick]

Unless medically advised 17weeks is very early to start weaning. The 6month guidance is there for a reason.

[Laurenxoxo]

Hmm okay. And what reason would that be ? As all the mums that I know have started before 6 months. Every baby is different... yes exactly 'guidance'... it's not something you have to follow, I know my baby and I know milk isn't enough enough for her and I don't have to explain myself to anyone. I know what the books say ' to start at 6 months' so I don't need other people to keep asking how old my baby is or to wait till six months. I was simply asking what is the best thing to start with when I'm starting earlier than 6 months so if you don't have the answer you don't have to comment. Thank you

[QforCucumber]

milk isn't enough enough for her

Milk is more filling and more calorific than any fruit or pureed meals. That's why people ask.

[Laurenxoxo]

Sorry if thats rude but I'm sick of people telling me stuff that I know, like I'm not stupid? I just want a simple answer to my question.

[Babs709]

Weaning before 6 months increases their chances of allergies. That’s not me saying you shouldn’t do it, that’s me giving you the info. I think based on that... the simpler the better. Food I mean. But as PP have said, I’d just start with one ingredient purées. They don’t eat that much in the beginning anyway. Carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, banana, apple. Steam (all but the banana) and blend.

[Lockdownseperation]

This is from a breast feeding website so if your are ff then it may not all apply but it’s a respected website which only uses peer reviewed research

kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/delay-solids/

[Greeneggsandquorn]

Weaning at 6 months is recommended as it reduces the risk of allergies, babies are more likely to have a good posture when sitting which reduces the risk of choking and as a whole their guts are more mature.
However if you choose to start before this try to use simple veg puree such as carrot, sweet potato or broccoli before moving onto fruit try not to start on full meals such as bolognese, if you want to give porridge use normal oats blended not baby porridge as it is absolutely packed with sugar. Offer when they are content and not too hungry or they will get frustrated. Ensure you use a high chair so they are sat upright no bouncer chairs, swing chairs are car seats as these lay them back to far and increase choking risk. X

[Persipan]

All the advice I've seen is that if you're weaning before 6 months, stick with smooth one-ingredient vegetable or fruit purees, at a time when baby has already had a milk feed so isn't hungry (and therefore can concentrate on the task in hand).

[Twizbe]

My son was started at 20 weeks. 17 weeks is the absolute earliest you can start.

We did it this early for medical reasons. I'll be totally honest with you, if you can wait, do as it's just another thing to fit into the day.

The dietician told us that a lot of babies go through a fussy phase at 4 months which can be confused for needing food.

Our son did need food at this age, like I said we were under medical supervision for early weaning.

The info on allergies has actually changed. Early introduction of allergens can reduce the likelihood of an allergy developing.

[Babs709]

The info on allergies has actually changed. Early introduction of allergens can reduce the likelihood of an allergy developing.
My understanding was that the information changed from “don’t give until a year” to “give from 6 months”? I’m sure the NHS still cites allergies as a reason not to wean before 6 months. But I could be wrong.

[bruffin]

EAT study

this covers allergy studies

class="underline">ComplementaryFeeding.pdf The European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition

[Babs709]

Ah thanks that’s really useful! I’m sure it was a HV that told me that, such conflicting information. Tbh I’d never researched it much, my son couldn’t even sit up much before 6 months so it wasn’t something I needed to look into.

[dementedpixie]

The EAT study was done on exclusively breastfed babies that were introduced to solids early. Advice never changed from 6 months after it was done as results haven't been replicated in babies that are fed on infant formula.

[BertieBotts]

Yes, sorry, I had to look up the children's ages so I accidentally left a large gap between both of my posts. You can just look for my post earlier in the thread to see what I started with.

I wouldn't start with purees at 17 weeks, they are very tiny and it's very easy to accidentally overload them because they have the reflex to swallow anything that is in their mouth.

Start with exploring and follow their lead.

[BertieBotts]

When you first start weaning the goal is not to get more calories into them. If you think they need more calories at this age then it's better to give more milk, either an extra feed or more in each bottle per feed.

Weaning starts with tastes and it's important you approach it in that way, otherwise you can easily get very stressed over how much they are taking, the goal is a very slow transition. You don't need them on three meals a day by Christmas.

[GunsAndShips]

As others have said, weaning isn't about hunger, it's about development. They won't take much at first and what they're doing is practising the skills to take on solids safely before they become the bulk of their calorie intake. If a healthy baby with no medical caveats is hungry at 17 weeks, milk is usually the solution. Overriding a tongue thrust reflex and filling a baby with puree provides them with more bulk but fewer calories and you do introduce risk depending on development eg if they're not sitting well, the risk of choking.

I know it's very exciting to move to the next stage but if you're not even sure if jarred bolognese is the best start for a 17 week old baby, I will very kindly suggest you are still researching.

6 months is a guideline and official advice encourages you to look at your baby. Are they sitting? Has the tongue thrust reflex gone? Can they pick up food and put it in their mouth? Can they chew and swallow? Your baby may well be ready before 6 months and there are clear signs of this.

What signs are you seeing?

I found a discussion and advice really helpful at this stage and I learned a lot. Please don't feel like you are being called stupid, you're not. People are offering help and support to wean your baby in their own best interests. On a screen it may read as very direct but there's a wealth of stellar advice on here. Don't reject it out of hand.

[bruffin]

guidence for hcps

[Ihaveoflate]

I was advised to wean early by the paediatrician for medical reasons as long as my baby was ready, e.g. able to bring food to her mouth, no tongue reflex. It's a faff so I wouldn't have bothered until later if there wasn't a reason.

I weaned at 5 months and started very slowly with tiny amounts of mashed root veg (one at a time to start with) and well cooked grab-able batons. I found Rana Conway's book Weaning Made Easy really helpful and accessable. It has stage by stage guides and covers baby led weaning as well.

[happylittlechick]

It is important to know how old because babies develop so fast at this age. The difference between 17weeks(around 4months) 21 weeks(around 5months) and 26 weeks (around 6months) is drastic. I would suggest at least waiting until 5months or speaking to your health visitor. And as for milk not being enough, weaning is not the answer. They will be taking so little at this age that they will get no calorific benefit. Food before one is just for fun.