aibu... to ask for advice on weaning.

[bananaqueen]

I have posted in other topics but not much luck with replies.
I don't have any female relatives alive, and my MIL frowns at my choice to purée my own food for my 6 month old, as in her words ... the stuff in jars is actually for babies
anyway basically I'm just after some advice on what you fed/feed you 6/7/8 month olds. My boy has taken well to the simple fruit/veg purees but I'm so confused as to what the next step is and what sort of foods I can introduce. He also hasn't had any finger foods yet, and we only started with the purees 3 weeks ago.
Sorry for the long post but I'm a nervous first time Mum with not much of a support network.

If he's fine with purées, then just make them a bit lumpier (use a fork to mash them. Gradually make lumpier.

He can have finger foods now. Try a rice cake or a bit of toast. Or a slice of pear or a thin stick of cooked carrot.

At 6 months he can have most things e.g. Meat, pasta, toast, veg, cheese, fruits, rice, yoghurt, etc. Just avoid whole nuts (nut butters are ok), honey, highly salted foods, etc

Toast fingers, bits of banana, well cooked bit of veg are good finger foods

I would try giving some little finger foods to play with. Bread sticks, cucumber, cooked carrot for example. I did a mix of puree and finger foods to start with. But really at 6m you can just give a bit of what you are eating. So a bit of ham and bread and butter. Or chicken and veg dinner for example.

I was completely bamboozled by weaning. It does get easier!!

It's fine to puree what you're having, just keep an eye on salt levels. Babies up to a year can have up to 1g of salt a day. (If your item only shows sodium content, multiply by 2.5). That often means don't add salt to what you're cooking, be careful with stock and with processed sauces. If you want to add sauces or salt it might be worth removing your baby's portion first.

At six months you could start with some finger foods too. Good things to try are sticks of vegetable, e.g. carrots, brocolli "trees" etc. Steamed or boiled so they are soft and cooled, cut into chip-sized pieces so easy for him to hold. You can actually give him most things you eat. Just be careful of anything which can break off in big chunks, like apple - that can be dangerous - and make sure he is sitting upright when he is eating. Claggy foods like bread which expand or become sticky when wet can be a problem too, but get easier, and always cut round foods, like grapes or tomatoes, in half/quarters so he can't swallow them whole and choke. Lastly don't be tempted to help him by holding food to his mouth. If he can't yet pick it up and get it to his mouth himself he's not ready to eat it yet.

Have fun!

If it helps Cow & Gate do a free weaning book if you go on their website. It's purees that you make rather than having to buy their stuff and it will talk you through the different stages and what to make e.g stage 1 smooth purees, stage 2 lumpier purees.

Ella's little book of first foods is also good if you want to buy from Amazon

For breakfast we did baby porridge but gradually added and mixed in some baby muesli as they got older. It's amazing what wee gums can knash through!

My little man loved pear and butternut squash pureed together, I've never given him a ready made baby food, I always make my own though it is a struggle to think of things!

We started giving DS finger food when he was six months old. Now, six weeks later he's eating everything he can get his hands on. Pics of his usual dinners attached. He goes in with both hands, makes a dreadful mess and thoroughly enjoys it. He sucks and chews the flesh and discards skins / rinds.

They can eat whatever you are eating. They have an amazing gag reflex which is scary but very effective!
Every few days just introduce something new - the more they'll eat what you're eating easier it is.
Spaghetti and noodles are great fun!

Thank you so much, I was just worried the poor boy would live on carrot purees until he was 16! Lol
I don't tend to add salt to any of our food, but never knew that about the sodium thanks Bertie.

Our hv also said he'd stop eating when he was full... but today at lunch he ate 4 ice cubes worth of food and wolfed it down, Which by the 'guidelines' is too much.
Thank you for all your replies it's been a massive help

In terms of quantity, the whole ice cube portion thing never held true for my boys. DS1 scoffed ridiculous portions as a baby and he's always been slight (he's 4yrs now). DS2 (6 months) looks to be going the same way. I think they share my metabolism. We're going to be financially screwed when they're teenagers.
Babies let you know when they've had enough; they faff around with it, use it as hair gel, throw it on the floor, or scrutinise it thoroughly as though it's the strangest curio they've encountered.

I found the Annabelle karmel baby cookbook amazing, every chapter is for a different age group and it gives you great ideas, and most are freezable so you can batch cook, my twins have loved most of things I've made them from that book.

I also found the Annabelle Karmel cookbook good. If you don't want to buy it your local library might have it. The one near me has quite a few different ones in which are great to get some ideas from.

Thank you! Salix the portion thing just doesn't come close to what our boy is eating, he doesn't seem to stop when's he's full, but he doesn't cry/whinge for more when it's gone, I feel I can't feed him any more than we do. Maybe I could start topping up with finger food. And stare at him panicking the whole time.

Thank you everyone we're actually off to the library today for a baby group so will check out Annabel karmel

My 7 month old has completely rejected every puree I've given him so we just wet straight in with whatever we eat. He smashes most of it up and throws it on the floor but he does seem to enjoy most things.
He absolutely loves toast. However we've discovered that wholemeal is.mich better than white because wholemeal breaks up when he sucks it whereas white just goes gummy. We just have to make sure he has some citrus or prunes after it because the fibre can make them constipated.

I always took the view that if I wouldn't eat it I'm not feeding it to DS. He was weaned on finger foods, no purees and no jars. I obviously adjusted some stuff to make it more baby friendly (no added salt etc). He basically just had what we had most of the time, I didn't see it as his main source of nutrition, that is what his milk was for it was about taste, texture and discovering different foods. It is very messy though.