To feel overwhelmed with weaning?

[Mississippilessly]

DS is 6 months. I've just started weaning him. We give him 2 meals a day, one BLW and one mashed.

I'm so stressed by it. He is teething and doesn't like being put down. I dont feel I have the time to prepare food for him and clean up. Often he manages a few nins in his high chair then cries and ive gone to loads of effort.
I'm stressed about his iron levels. We think he might have a gluten or egg intolerance. I've found a gluten and egg free bread which he has enjoyed but I've just seen it's got honey in it. I've got the Annabel Karmel book in front of me and it says he should be on 3 meals a day - the planner includes has several components to each meal. How can I possibly prepare all of that?
He doesn't sleep well at night so I'm getting very little sleep.
I'm tired and teary and exhausted.
Please help.

My kids have both been excellent eaters. Like went from below 50th to 99th percentile once they started on solids type of eaters! We did both purées/mashed food and finger foods.

Neither of them were on 3 meals a day at 6 months!! We probably didn’t get to 3 meals a day until 8 or 9 months. And a “meal” for a baby can be anything really. I mostly went with trying to give a balance of fat, protein, carbs etc, but that might be some mashed avocado, a few bits of chicken or ham or cheese and a piece of toast for a meal. It doesn’t have to be difficult things that require cooking. Scrambled eggs always went down well. And fruit. A pouch is perfectly acceptable too.

With DS he mostly ate solids at lunch time as that’s when I was home with him. With DD we did dinner time as toddler DS was always eating then too so that worked better for me. After a month or so we introduced breakfast. That’s usually porridge, weetabix or toast. They still eat the same breakfast now (age 18m and nearly 4) so don’t worry about that being the same every day. After another month or so we introduced the third meal, and then gradually dropped the milk feeds so that by 12m they were fairly solidly on 3 meals and 2 snacks a day.

All kids get there in their own time. It can be as stressful as you want it to be, sounds like after just 3 weeks your baby eats loads of different food and is doing great!

I often worry about feeding my slightly older baby and also feel I have no time to constantly cook, especially when it often goes to waste! I try cereal in the morning (Weetabix as others full of sugar) For lunch, often toast with various toppings or a little crumpet (I hold these as my baby usually tries the cram too much in mouth if holding herself and I also worry about choking) with fruit or a yogurt or a little piece of cheese. Then at dinner, easy things like boiled egg in a cup or a bit of a EK pouch, often with mashed veg on side. Bags of frozen cauliflower/broccoli/ carrot/ sweet potato etc mean you can quickly serve up a healthy meal with no prep. If worried about iron, give a pouch with red meat, e.g. beef casserole. As your baby gets into more texture, an easy dish is avocado, tuna and yogurt. Just mash some together and you have a nice, healthy, no cook meal!

Erm based on your last post you are doing amazingly! Step away from the books and follow your instincts.

Btw the same thing for every meal is FINE. Both my kids 7 and 2 have the same breakfast- cereal, toast and some variety of fruit and DS1 has yoghurt also.
For main meals I always offered something as finger food for the first course. So maybe even French toast cut up, cucumber, tomato. Then second course was always mashed or purées and yoghurt for dessert (just plain Greek from a tub) with puréed fruit added if I could be bothered.

I also never offered milk before a meal as some suggest because that seemed bonkers to me. I would offer solids, let them eat what they want and then follow that up, top that up with milk.

Are you not eating?

I gave my daughter pretty much whatever I was eating but made it more BLW friendly if it wasn't already.

She ate 3 meals like I ate 3 meals. Breakfast lunch and dinner

Just read your last post.

Ditch the book and relax! You're doing so well. If it's hard to prepare just for baby bits of what you're having. Plus some extra veg and then some fruit.

Don't over think it

You are not failing!

Relax. Iron levels do not suddenly drop off after 6 months.

I did BLW with my twins because I really couldn't be arsed with faffing about with mush.

We just gave them some of whatever we were having, minus the salt. Put an old shower curtain under the highchair, you can wipe it and sling it in the washing machine.

A couple of favourites in the early days were steak strips, they sucked on them.
Spaghetti, they thought fling that around was hilarious.
Apple wedges, fried n butter with a little cinnamon.
Oat fingers. Oats, add in whatever you want, fruit, raisins, grated courgette/carrot. Banana to bind. Mix with some milk and bake in a low tray. When cool, cut into fingers. Mine still love these for day out snacks at 8 years old.

Ans please throw that book away!

Hope you are having a better day today.

First off - return the book to the library, honestly. A six month old who is EBF does not need 3 meals a day. It’s great you are doing so much and he is trying so much - excellent, go you. Keep it up... but go easy on yourself, get some pouches - at some point you will get to the stage where baby has the same as you or nursery provides a lot of meals so it will get easier!

Also try not to pin all your sleep hopes on food - it didn’t really work with my non sleeper but with age and nailing walking it got a lot better so things in the sleep department will change (I know I wouldn’t have believed it, if I’d been told that in the thick of it). Don’t be too disheartened if it isn’t directly linked to food (though fingers crossed it does help)...

Thank you.
I dont expect it to cure sleep because I know how calorie dense milk is so I didnt think it would be a cure.
Really tough day today. DS has a cold, he was up every hour in the night, he wont be put down at all.

This is tough.

I’m currently weaning satan’s son. Doesn’t sleep, doesn’t really go for good, is an all round pain in the bum. I try make life easy by using a mix of ready prepared food and one made. I try and do a big batch for the freezer and then mix with pouches and jars. I also have baby cereal which is instant for the mornings and natural yogurt mixed with fruit purée. He doesn’t eat much of any pieces of food. It’s as stressful as you make it but it will pass.

Hi Hun, it's a struggle isn't it. BUT it will get better. My HV gave me a very useful schedule - it was bottle/food/bottle/food/bottle/food then if needed bottle at bedtime (she was approaching 12 months then).

I learned the hard way not to stress about the eating, or lack of it. I did start though mixing baby rice with some solids and gradually got rid of the baby rice. I used to steam a load of veg, mash it, and freeze it in ice cube trays, then once frozen transferred to freezer bags. in the morning I would take out what I needed and stuck it in the fridge.

I eventually too gave up the books, the pressure was too much for me to handle. Try boiling some apples add some cinnamon and mash - you can pretty much mix it with anything.

If it's a mess, stick him in Bumbo seat, with a plastic sheet underneath, or when it gets warmer....on the grass in the garden (if you have one).

OP when you're doing finger food, try to get some snaps of baby mouthing on a broccoli floret or raw carrot or houmous & wholemeal pitta or something.
You can then save these for later to smugpost on social media and make yourself feel better ;-)
In other words, it's easy to get lost in the moment and feel like a failure, when all you have to do is keep offering food for the next year or so. They all end up eating chicken nuggets and pizza when they're 7 anyway. Don't let this bit stress you out!

Remember it’s ok to have “nothing” days with a little one. You don’t have to be constantly doing stuff or achieving things. Vegging out in front of the TV with child on boob is definitely allowed!!

They get there in their own time, DC one ate like a total champ from the off. DC 2 (18 months old now) frankly didn't give a shit about food and only liked junk stuff but it's like someone flicked a switch about a month ago, so now when I call "dinner time" she races her big brother to the table. To put it into perspective she is a whole YEAR older than your DC and has only just got motivated to eat three times a day.

Just some thoughts from above:

You don't HAVE to offer solids all the time this young: You said your DC is coldy - it's fine to sack off solids altogether for a few days, that baby is going to want milk and comfort. In fact, with my second DC who is 18 months, I still skip meals if she's too tired or whatever, she gets to graze at other times

Batch cook veg etc: I usually steam / boil enough pasta / carrots / broccoli/ cauliflower whatever to feed the DC for 2-3 days so always have stuff on standby for the hectic days when cooking is hard to fit in.

Limit your range: it's OK not to try loads of stuff at once, you'll find it hard to maintain, as someone already said, they can eat the same few meals over and over.

Take shortcuts: it's OK to use jars and pouches and a personal favourite of mine is frozen mash and frozen baked potatoes (frozen veg in general).

Oh yes, and don't believe what other people you know claim about how much their kids put away, for various reasons, not everyone is being entirely truthful, so take a hefty pinch of salt (see also sleep....)

PS. You're being hard on yourself, you're not failing. It's just bloody hard being a parent to a small baby. And just when you think you've cracked something the little blighters change the game.

Your baby is 6 months, relax. Forgot tbe puree is not BTW brigade for starters, forget weaning labels. My kids had both mush and finger foods, there was zero confusion from them. By 1 how you initially weaned is insignificant. Do what works for your baby.

How are you doing today? Hope you are feeling less frazzled

Please don't stress OP! At this age food is just sensory play. So they can experience different textures and mulch is up with their hands and throw it at the cat... but it's nothing to do with nutrition at all, not for months and months yet.

Thanks everyone, I'm feeling much better (about the weaning at least). I've saved a bit from our last few meals and they are in the freezer in tiny Tupperware boxes I found on Amazon - probably 2 portions for him at the moment in each box so I reckon I've got 15 portions of food (lets hope he takes to fish pie and chicken and rice!) Definitely going to carry on mixing and matching with finger food and mush. He wolfed down (adult) porridge and banana this morning. Trying to keep his iron levels ok so he's got spinach and sweet potato this evening because we are having that anyway and I'll do a bit of broccoli so he can hold something. I've also got some overall style bibs which is saving the washing a bit.

So cross that I let a book get me down so much. It's really quite straightforward!

The poor cat was so excited to find food being dropped. The look of disgust when she found it was vegetables was quite amusing.

I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if this has been said but I found in the early days, I just offered my baby food whenever I was eating. I then found I didn't have to think about it too much in terms of timing (I did BLW and just put things on his high chair tray to try). It is hard coming up with ideas though!

It's so overwhelming to start with and it sounds like you're doing really well, just keep offering food when you can (in between milk feeds) and your baby will let you know when they've had enough; and later, when they're ready to drop milk.

Some books are really helpful but others can make you feel very pressured so just do what's right for you 😊

OP, just to say that I absolutely fucking hated every minute of the early stages of weaning. But it genuinely is way easier than making up bottles. DD is now 13 months and I can always get her something to eat wherever we are, and getting her stuff has become second nature. Mostly she has our dinner from the night before reheated! You'll get there, I promise.

'I'm reading everything you are saying whilst rocking a crying baby back to sleep (another failure). '

Stop giving yourself a hard time! There's nothing wrong with rocking your baby, or letting them sleep on you. If you have a baby that likes company to sleep co sleeping is the easiest way to get a decent nights kip. You won't spoil your child for life by cuddling to sleep now. But giving them the love and comfort they need will have a positive impact on them and set them up for life. Just keep doing what you're doing. You're doing great.

I hated weaning until someone told me that food is fun until they’re one. Offer what yourhaving and relax

Bugger Annabel. Sounds like you're doing excellently.

Non-sleepers are so tough. It's not something you're doing wrong, though. Some babies are just velcro babies and that's how they are. People who post smugly about how marvelous their babies are at sleeping, or who write smug books about happy sleepers, they can bog right off.

Why do you think he has intolerances?

His nappies were green and slimy til I gave up gluten and egg. Within 24 hrs they were yellow, thick and seedy.