Worried about weaning - am I doing it right?

[newmum234]

So my DS (6 months) started weaning about a week ago. So far he’s tried a variety of foods - sweet potato, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, banana, watermelon, strawberries, scrambled eggs (made with eggs and whole milk) and toast fingers. Some of this has been served as purée and other bits as finger food. He currently has one meal a day at lunchtime.

Is this okay as an introduction to weaning? I thought food before one is just for fun so was feeling quite chilled about it all, but on another thread posters have informed me this is not in fact the case. Now I’m really worried that I haven’t given DS the best start with food - and am wondering where to go from here.

What do you think?

[TRus]

In hindsight, I would say develop an arsenal of quick tasty and healthy dishes you can cook daily that whole family could enjoy. They try as they go alone and work out what they prefer. Then you can base your daily menu around their needs more if necessary.
Likelihood is you will be doing it for next four to five years as they grow to be toddlers and then preschoolers ...and time will be less not more.
Batch cooking just adds hassle and I hate refrigerating cooked food.

[TiptopJ]

The best advice advice I can give anyone about weaning is keep it fun and dont worry about it at all becuase one day they will turn into a toddler and food that they have loved eating for the past 18 months suddenly gets refused because you put it on the wrong plate! I've know babies who ate everything offered turn into the fussiest 2 year olds and fussy babies turn into toddlers who eat anything. I genuinely think there's no skill to weaning its pot luck when it comes to children. Just have fun and enjoy this stage with them.

[Rubyroost]

@newmum234 you'd be surprised at what they can chew', my little boy isnt a great eater, but he manages, carrot, sweet corn, whole fusilli and seeded granary toast. He doesn't put it in his mouth so I end up popping it in and he sucks it up. We have been on 3 meals a day since 7 months. He's also b fed.
He has some pouches, but we are reducing these now as he is starting to eat more of my food. He's had two pouches in 7 days. He's 8 months now. Babease pouches are really good as they have savoury ingredients rather than sweet, also have a good percentage of protein and not full of water like Ella's. My little one likes them even a really bitter one we had. I'm sat thinking why is he rejecting my lovely food but eating a green lentil curry based pouch. 🤷🏼‍♀️ We have a few things he will definitely eat, I need to try him with other stuff but I hate it when I batch cook something for it all to be rejected!
BTW you can't mix with blw, if you combine finger food and purees it is traditional weaning. Blw is baby feeding themselves entirely without much parental intervention at all.

[UnbeatenMum]

I think I aimed for 3 meals a day by 9 months with milk in between and then three meals and two snacks by 12 months with milk morning and evening. You can start to introduce meat or fish and just keep doing what you're doing with the fruit and vegetables. The main thing is to avoid salt and sugar. A mixture of spoon feeding and self feeding is absolutely fine. When he's a bit older you can give him a spoon too. My 15mo can kind of feed himself with a spoon but too much food gets lost so we both have a spoon and I do some feeding and he does some too.

[TRus]

I am not arguing. I pointed out that other countries do things differently and sometimes it's worth taking that on board.
I personally hate sugar with vengeance, mainly because of what it does to teeth and cost of dentistry, best they do not get used to having it or develop preference for all things sweet.

[whoareyouIwonder]

@TRus

I give up with you. You can't argue with stupid

[SqidgeBum]

With regards to messiness, I found once she mastered a spoon it was much better (around 1 year for us. We did a mix of BLW and spoonfeeding).

With swallowing, your baby is only 6 months. They dont need to swallow anything. Weaning isnt really about eating food at 6 months as odd as that sounds. Its about realising food has texture and learning what to do with it. The swallowing will eventually come. You dont see a 1 or 2 year old who hasn't figured out how to swallow. Baby should be having normal milk feeds so their nutrition will be coming from milk still. Food at 6 months is just a learning thing rather than a source of nutrition.

With the whole 'how do they eat without teeth' I thought the same. Then I realised by 7/8 months my DD could chew with no teeth. My mom works in a care home and said 'you would be amazed what people can eat with no teeth'. They just figure it out. I was amazed. Just try to keep relaxed with the whole process. It doesnt need to be done a certain way. Its pretty flexible. It always finds its way through. But remember, you dont need to be 'feeding' a baby food at 6 months. They just need to learn what food is, which takes a bit of time.

[SpacePug]

My DS age 2 still makes a mess, usually on purpose 😩.
Your DC is only 6 months, keep trying new things as you are doing :) could always offer a little of what your having if he seems interested in feeding himself, eg mash potato, Bolognese, Shepard's pie, grated cheese, he'd probably love. Mine used his hands when he was that age , again he sometimes still does now too 🤷‍♀️

[Letsallscreamatthesistene]

I didnt get on with BLW either. I do a mixture of the two and I find it works very well.

[TRus]

@newmum234

Also does anyone know when weaning starts to get less messy?

When they learn to clean up after themselves

[TRus]

One of the friends mums mentioned with her second child - nothing wrong with combining approaches, i.e. Annabel Carmel like approach and BLW.
To me it was probably the most hated part of parenting experience ( food from six months to approximately eighteen months) as there isn't clear cut advice that suits all and with breast fed babies and toddlers you don't actually see how much they are consuming.

One day I will try and estimate how much money was thrown away on baby food and various types of follow up milk that ended up binned, until I finally gave up.

[newmum234]

Also does anyone know when weaning starts to get less messy?

[newmum234]

We’re still trying different fruits and veg - DS is clearly enjoying it and having fun but still doesn’t seem to be swallowing much. I wanted to stick to totally fresh food, but perhaps I should try him on pouches as at least he’ll be more likely to swallow them?

I’m really losing confidence in baby led weaning - I just don’t get how they’re meant to swallow chunks of food when they’ve got no teeth

I might try some pasta today but again am worried about it getting stuck in his throat.

[TRus]

[quote ariettesmall]@TRus

What goes into pouches then, pretend food?!

Once again, your linking a child having some pouches to a child refusing lunch at school.

How you're making that link is beyond me, but it's very amusing. [/quote]
I don't need to make this link, it has been made by research done in a country where eating well is part of education and social norm.
What goes in a tin of baked beans or custard and why not start them on that?

[whoareyouIwonder]

@TRus

What goes into pouches then, pretend food?!

Once again, your linking a child having some pouches to a child refusing lunch at school.

How you're making that link is beyond me, but it's very amusing.

[TRus]

[quote Rubyroost]**@Trus* @ultragrandbleu* not backed by research. Pouchws are not the ultra proceswed food that you refer to. The pair of you are spouting nonsense and not helpful for mums who choose to use pouches often for a small amount of time until baby gets used to other foods.[/quote]
Well such mums should consider themselves lucky, as in our case ninety percent of pouches and bought manufactured baby food would end up binned. With the exception of fruit puree like apple or prunes.
The message is clear give them real food.
What I also discovered is the taste matters as well (funnily enough one might say). If you happen to buy different varieties like Eastern European manufactured baby foods, give them a try. Some of the Polish stuff I was buying locally proved to be hugely successful. I.e. eaten and not binned

[TRus]

[quote ariettesmall]@TRus

But it is rubbish. And it can quite easily put new mothers at risk of worrying unnecessarily when they're already under enough pressure.

Deciding to start spouting that essentially feeding a child pouched food will lead to them being fussy eaters, rejecting school lunches and causing multiple meals to be made is utter garbage.

And implying that I lack knowledge? Those 11 years of medical training I have must be pointless. [/quote]
"Essentially" is a narcissistic ruse in this instance, therefore I will ignore comment.

I half expect you to say you are a born and bred Frenchwoman in the next post.
Just in case you are not, the French "educate the palate", i.e. they try to develop a liking for various tastes, not just sweetness. I don't know how their tummies cope with various vegetables they get, but this is something for French pediatricians to address.
So please do not shoot the messenger.
Ps Anyone can look up and compare statistics on obesity in France and English speaking countries. Or compare school lunch menus. I was gobsmacked when a headteacher commented specifically on a four year old clearing his plate at lunchtime during first day at school as apparently half of the children refuse to eat what appears normal tasty food. They even have a "try a school dinner" days that is when lunches are free for all infant school age children.

[hughthehedgehog]

Sounds like your doing great OP- that's a really good variety for 6months and I only was giving one meal a day at that stage too.

I found the Annabelle Karmel book really useful for giving an idea of how and when to move though different stages of the kind of weaning style your describing (which is what I did too). Also lots of nice recipe ideas. Gave me confidence I was doing the right thing at the right time. But basically chill you're doing great!
And whilst I agree it's obviously best if you can give homemade rather than processed food - motherhood is bloody hard and we don't all always have time to spend hours prepping, purée-ing freezing defrosting pods of fruit and vegetables and parents shouldn't feel guilted into not using pouches to help out! Variety of tastes and textures generally I think is overall more important at this stage anyway.

[whoareyouIwonder]

@TRus

But it is rubbish. And it can quite easily put new mothers at risk of worrying unnecessarily when they're already under enough pressure.

Deciding to start spouting that essentially feeding a child pouched food will lead to them being fussy eaters, rejecting school lunches and causing multiple meals to be made is utter garbage.

And implying that I lack knowledge? Those 11 years of medical training I have must be pointless.

[TRus]

[quote ariettesmall]@TRus

You're making very weird causations

And lots of incorrect judgements.

But carry on looking now and viewing negatively things that actually, have no impact.

Bizarre way of thinking. [/quote]
Impact or no impact can vary depending on desired outcome.
Sometimes it's best to keep an open mind and admit for a second that others actually might be more knowledgeable than yourself. Rather than rudely dismiss somebody's (quite well meaning) input as utter rubbish.
And please see difference between a judgement and an observation.

[newmum234]

@BakedBeeeen thank you, that’s helpful.

DS seems to enjoy grabbing finger food or using the spoon himself, although 95% of his food at seems to end up on the floor. I’m hoping that’ll start decreasing soon as he gets more interested in swallowing?

[whoareyouIwonder]

[quote Rubyroost]**@Trus* @ultragrandbleu* not backed by research. Pouchws are not the ultra proceswed food that you refer to. The pair of you are spouting nonsense and not helpful for mums who choose to use pouches often for a small amount of time until baby gets used to other foods.[/quote]
Thank you

[Rubyroost]

@Trus @ultragrandbleu not backed by research. Pouchws are not the ultra proceswed food that you refer to. The pair of you are spouting nonsense and not helpful for mums who choose to use pouches often for a small amount of time until baby gets used to other foods.

[BakedBeeeen]

You sound like you are doing really well OP. I would start gradually combining flavours etc and increasing his tastes and adding more protein. Eg a few different kinds of veg with grated cheese mixed in. Or yogurt with fruit purée. Then you can progress to a bit of meat / either purée with veg/tomato or cut into pieces Eg. Chicken to feed himself. Then you can progress to simple meals ie shepherds pie perhaps, or pasta with cheese and tomato, or fish pie.(Batch cooking can be easier for this) You already said he had had toast and egg which is great. I would also start to add breakfast and then tea, starting with v small amounts. I found weaning stressful because I wanted someone to tell me what to do, but if your baby is happy with how things are going, just go with it! And also as a PP has said, don’t worry if they don’t eat much/ any.

[ShinyGreenElephant]

After the first couple of weeks I just started giving my DDs whatever the rest of us were having, served in an appropriate way (in terms of cutting, salt content etc). DD1 is and always has been an amazing eater, DD2 has started being fussy the last month or so which were hoping is a phase. I wasn't fanatical about baby led weaning - I occasionally spoon feed even now for convenience (the nearly 2yo not the 11yo!) but I did find it sooooo much less of a faff letting her eat what were eating rather than pureeing or spending a fortune on pouches