Weaning my soon to be 6 month old

[abi9396]

My baby will be 6 months on Sunday and we’re starting to think about weaning.I’m just looking for some advice- the best foods to start with, how many times a day to feed when just starting off. Also heard many parents doing baby led weaning.

My best advice is don’t get fixated on one way of doing weaning. Whatever is easiest and suits your baby best, preferably with a variety of textures and tastes. Baby led weaning is a fashionable name for finger foods which have always been part of a baby’s weaning journey! A mix of puréed, mashed, and finger foods is ideal. You can mostly give baby whatever you are eating, there are a few exceptions.

Annabel Karmel does great weaning recipes, you can get a book or get them online.
Have fun! I loved weaning my 3 boys, and they all loved it too!

I prefer to start with breakfast because you’re always at home so it’s super easy. Bottle when they wake up then breakfast an hour so later, whenever you’re eating. The food is super low maintenance too- weetabix with milk, microwave porridge with a bit of fruit puree, natural yoghurt, toast cut into fingers, banana. You can do fancier things like eggs or homemade pancakes as/when you can be bothered. There’s no need to fixate on a particular method e.g. baby lead. Try some spoonfed soft stuff, try some finger foods and see what baby likes!

The main thing to be aware of is that you don’t want to make meals/eating a pressured or stressed environment.

Milk is their main source of nutrition until 1 and food isn’t to fill them up for the first few months. It’s about exploring taste, texture, learning how to take appropriate size bites, chew, swallow, use cutlery and drink from a cup.

It’s very normal and common for babies to play with food (that’s good for their development and should be allowed, along with getting really messy), throw food, ignore food. Even up to 1 year old.

Best way to do it is to give baby exactly what you’re having when you’re having it. Obviously cut appropriately following solid starts, and mind the salt/sugar content (plus no honey before 1).

If they eat some, great! If they throw it, play with it, ignore it, nevermind! It is not your job as a parent to get your child to eat, it is your job to offer and allow them to take the lead.

Purees and spoon feeding baby is pointless, because it doesn’t teach them anything. As I said, food isn’t to fill them up, and they aren’t learning anything about mealtimes and how to eat by this method.

Also, before 1, never drop milk in favour of food. Milk should be the priority.

My DS is 8 months in and we’ve done a mix of baby led and spoon fed. First foods were porridge, cooked broccoli florets, cooked carrots, natural yogurt. One introduced per day. He now has a mix of food he feeds himself, veg/fruit/toast/omelette, what we’re having, like macaroni cheese, or sometimes a pouch. He will eat most things, my first DS refused to let me feed him and so was more baby led.

I just wanted to repeat don't just follow one way of weaning and mix d aften works best and you can see which way suits your baby. I do object to the poster who said purees and spoonfeeding is pointless 😏people who say this have obviously never tried it, it does teach them a huge amount. All my kids where weaned with purees and finger foods and learnt as much from purees as the did with finger foods.

What did they learn?

They aren’t learning about how proper mealtimes work. They aren’t learning how to chew or take appropriate size bites.

If you’re spoon feeding it they’re not learning how to use cutlery or how to be able to tell when their body is full because the purée just keeps coming.

Purees and spoon feeding just fills them up and that is a) not the point of weaning and b) not necessary as milk is still their main source of nutrition.

Highly recommend book 'what mummy makes' by Rebecca wilson, simple to read and lots of good tips and have me confidence to try things - love her butter chicken. We did combo of puree and baby led weaning, normally a version of our tea, so she watched us eating at same time

Agreed. And it allowed my 3 to taste foods that might have been too tricky as a “finger food” . Also spoon fed can include baby feeding themselves, a lot of people who scorn it don’t understand that. My boys all love licking their little baby spoon and putting it in their mouths. It’s a forerunner to teaching them what cutlery is for and how to use it.

Wtf? With traditional weaning they babies close their mouth and/or turn their head when full. As they get older the purees get gradually lumpier until it’s just chopped up food. Finger foods are served alongside purees. All babies learn to chew unless there’s a medical condition and they learn to use cutlery too. You start giving them the spoon as they get older, maybe preloaded at first but then they do it all themselves.

Finger foods are great, my youngest mostly had them as he didn’t like being spoonfed and I loved that we could properly eat together. My eldest was the exact opposite and only wanted to be spoonfed. It’s all about what works best for your baby, your family and there’s no right or wrong method. Funnily enough by a year old both of mine used a spoon or baby fork competently enough and were able to feed themselves with no discernible difference whatsoever.

It’s also incorrect to say that you don’t drop milk in favour of food. You don’t initially but if formula feeding then you absolutely do drop feeds, especially between 10-12 months. By 1 their supposed to be off the bottles and infant formula completely and you don’t do it suddenly.

Main thing is don't stress it. Follow baby's lead. That might mean BLW, it might mean puree, it might mean a mix. What ever you do they all become toddlers who'll only eat beige food lol.

I'd also say start with breakfast as you're always at home. Weetabix with full fat cows milk is fine.

Then do tea as again you're at home. Leave lunch until last.

The only rules are no whole nuts (peanut butter is fine and a great early food) no blue cheese, no honey until 1, don't add salt to food (though 'salty food like ham, cheese, marmite are fine)

A yoghurt, cheese sandwich, milk on cereal count as a dairy portion when they start to drop milk feeds.

Usually as they eat more they have less milk and that's the point of weaning. Don't worry about dropping milk.

I've already said my kids did mixed feeding so part puree part finger foods. They are with us for every meal so yes they did learn how meals work. Purees do not full them up they stop when they have had enough in the same way they stop eating finger foods. They learned how to spoon feed themselves so actually learned not just using their own fingers. My kids are now adults and teenagers. They have always eaten a healthy diet and funnily enough know when to stop and how to use cutlery. Like I said the ones you think puree is wrong have never tried it.