Weaning my 6 month old

[neuroticnewmum]

Help please !!

My ds turned 6 months just over a week ago and I've started to wean him on jars and purées as I'm too scared of BLW! But I really don't think he's a fan of solids at all, he just isn't eating the stuff and ends up playing with the spoon which quickly ends up on the floor.

I've tried different brands, temperatures and consistencies of porridge, I've added puréed fruits to it to add flavour but he just isn't having it. I'm really struggling with knowing what to give him for his breakfast mainly. I'm frightened by anything that isn't puréed as my partner works away a lot so most of his feeds I'm on my own with him and if I chanced some solid food and he choked, other than have a stroke I really don't know what I would do.

Starting to worry he isn't getting enough food or it's the begginings of a bad habit in terms of fussy eating or not eating at all!

He may not be ready just yet. He's not aware he was six months a week ago, he'll eat when he's ready. Six months is only a guideline

Give him a small portion each mealtime of something. Let him play with it. Make a fuss if he puts any in his mouth and just encourage him to try. Let it be relaxed and fun

Just stick to one or two types of food for now so he can get used to it. He'll eat when he's ready

And it may be worth looking to see if you can do a short course on baby first aid if it's really causing you anxiety-I mean it's helpful for everyone really. Or even look online for what to do if it does happen

Make the mealtimes fun, don't make them an issue for stress or force feeding. Let him lead you on what he wants to do

Agree with previous poster

We put SO much pressure on ourselves when we start weaning our babies but we really shouldn't. Milk is still their main source of nutrition until they're a year old. It's like a mine field but try to make sure

• baby isn't too tired
• he's not already full from the bottle before (we did about an hour after the bottle when we first started)

Typically a baby will only eat 2 maybe 3 spoons of solids to start with anyway

Have fun with it too, let them use their hands the spoon and explore. Also like pp said, start with basic flavours and textures (boiled carrots, sweet potato, broccoli) and then work from there.

Also learn the difference between gagging and choking as they're very different. A baby's gag reflex is much further forward than an adults and tends to be much further back by 9 months.

Hope this helps :)

Do one solids meal a day for a while and give as much milk as baby wants at other times. It takes the pressure off and allows you both to adjust. You'll know when the time's right to progress to 2 meals then 3. Soon you might feel better about giving finger food like banana or well cooked broccoli. Soft, melt-in-your-mouth type food is very low risk for choking and you'll both gain confidence gradually. It will be fine

Thank you everyone, I didn't get an email telling me that I had responses so I'm a bit late reading your advice.

He's now almost 8 months, it's still not fantastic but better than it was. I've got braver with BLW and he definitely eats more this way than with puréed jars so I'm sticking with it. Finding it a massive struggle to think of healthy meals every day that are safe for him but we're getting there.

I'm not putting so much pressure on myself and letting him go at his own pace. Thanks everyone !

My two loved chasing frozen peas around the highchair tray... By the time they caught them they've defrosted and it's really good for finger control. As a PP mentioned, at this age it's not yet providing the bulk of nutrition.