Weaning tips

[KimchiLaLa]

I want to start weaning my baby when she is 6 months (currently 4.5) and realised I'm not sure where to start - despite being given 3 copies of Annabel Karmel books!

It's not so much the foods to offer her, it's the process.

Do I start with offering her some purée then a bottle? Or bottle at usual times then some purée. One of my friend's babies has been weaned but now doesn't want any milk apart from at night so I want to avoid that.

She usually takes 23 ounces in a day across 3/4 bottles and is on formula.

This is all assuming she gets her appetite back, as after her 16 week jabs she has been eating less!

You can do baby led weaning or purée and finger foods.

Look up the difference between choking and gagging and how to deal with choking.

Look at the NHS guidelines but basically low salt, no added sugar and no honey.

Ask your HV if she or the nursery does a session or talk about it.

At the start offer food half an hour after milk.

We didn't use a book or a single method but just went with a mixture! First exposure was baby rice mixed with milk at about 5 months out of a bottle, gradually getting thicker. Then we introduced fine purées and cereals off a spoon. At 6 months we started to mix this with finger foods so throwing a bit of baby led in there, and then course purées at 7 months. Now at 8 months he has 2 purée meals a day plus nibbles of whatever we are having if appropriate and snacks, still 2-3 bottles a day and breastfed at night. Agree with PP that when you start do it after a bottle :)

I’ve done a mixture of purée and Baby led with my DS. At first I started with things like porridge and single flavours. I then offered things like broccoli and soft boiled carrot batons. All the veg I gave him was boiled to the point of falling apart. He still does a combination now he is 10 months but he’s starting to prefer feeding himself and has moved on to things like veg fritters, toast, and pasta. He still loves broccoli, I think because it’s easy to eat and he still has no teeth.
I’d start with a simple single flavour purée and follow it up with something to hold and munch, like a stick of mango or a boiled carrot. That way they aren’t getting frustrated with hunger. I also used to give DS his milk before any solids although now he has it afterwards. I’ve found with weaning everything naturally shifts and before you notice it they are suddenly eating by themselves and you can’t remember how it happened. It’s messy tho. I recommend a plastic sheet under the high chair...! Have fun.

I would offer milk as usual when she's hungry just like you always have. Then you can start off offering a meal a day (lunch is usually easiest if you aren't back to work) around the time you'd sit down to eat your own lunch and just see how she does. We did baby led weaning, so I offered mine variations on what I was eating (toast, cucumber or pepper sticks, fruit of various kinds, pasta, omelette, etc.). Ideally offer milk first (at the usual times) and then food 1-2 hours later so she's still filling up on milk and isn't starving when you offer food. You can add in more meals when you feel ready. We didn't offer 3 meals a day until about 7.5-8 months.

Thanks so much all! This is really helpful