Weaning - where to start?

[seasunshine22]

First baby is about to turn 6 months so we are obviously beginning to think about weaning but where do we start? What do I need? And tips or advice will be most welcome! TIA

BLW all the way! My baby is 9m now and I'm so pleased I did it this way- I can actually eat a meal myself with him rather than spoon feeding. He's now pretty much eating what we eat as long as the food is a little soft and moist (so no salads/hard veg etc). It does depend on childcare/timing though- it's messy and quite longwinded too! Also, you don't have to worry about 'how much' the baby is eating. You provide the food, they decide how much and whether to eat it!

Check out the 'solid start' website (for food-specific advice and a recipe for each!), Gill Rapely's book on BLW (for a general overview), and Katie Feraro's podcast/website/insta (for practical tips). I wouldn't have been able to do it without Katie's resources, she does free beginner workshops too, if you're interested!

Hope that helps! Enjoy!

You need:

• Patience. So, so much patience.
• if you don't have a hard floor, then something under the high chair you can clean easily, maybe a cheap/old shower curtain
• your phone to hand. Nothing cuter than a video of a baby trying to feed itself or trying something sour for the first time
• couple of plastic spoons and forks (don't put them in the dishwasher, they tend to taint easily)
• if you have a plastic high chair, a couple of bowls that sucker to the high chair (I found they don't stick well to my wooden one)
• a hard plastic bib with a lip to catch dropped food, seems gross but they like to scoop up the bits they dropped and smush them back into their mouths
• for later, a long sleeved plastic bib when they get better at feeding themselves

I could never quite get the hang of blw, but I always moved my mealtimes to eat with the baby, and your baby will like to share what is on your plate. So you have to cook low salt, healthy, unprocessed stuff.

Don't let the snobs tell you pre-prepared baby food is not okay. It is especially useful when you are out and about, as it isn't always convenient to have a baby covered in bits of steamed broccoli and home made quiche.

My last tip is, babies vary wildly. My eldest dd hated all fruit except pear and banana for the first year, but instantly loved Brussels sprouts and broccoli and would beg for extra spinach. My youngest DS didnt like green veg, but loved the spicy flavours of curries and mild chilli. So just go with the flow. Food is just for fun for now

Weaning is the best stage and my absolute favourite:) it’s so much fun for mum and baby! I’d never started with BLW it’s very dangerous as the baby never had any food before.
Always start with runny things like: baby porridge, veg and fruit pouches - always spoon feed for the first maybe 2 or 3 weeks.
Once baby knows what eating is you can introduce BLW - but use combo of both.
BLW is mostly playing with food and you need baby to actually eat some too. So: offer some purées first so the baby gets nutricients and then offer some BLW bits if you like. Good luck!
For BLW some lovely ideas: French toast fingers, grated cheese, sweet potatoes boiled and cut into fingers, boiled broccoli, homemade pancakes cut into long fingers etc

If you want to go straight to finger foods you'll be best waiting longer, purees and fine cereals are great from now.
Our baby is 6mth. We started out with a bit of baby rice and her usual formula once a day for about a week not long before she turned 6mth. Now been having foods for a few weeks, she has 5 bottles a day and purees twice a day (late morning & tea time).
I blend up veggies and freeze, fruit I have just bought some pouches (bit limited on freezer space). Got boxes of baby rice/porridge that are add formula, many are just add water. I have used some jars from hipp organic which she enjoyed. I tried some more textured cereal mix and she kept gipping so clearly not ready for that yet, will try again in a couple of weeks.

My least favourite time... we started with baby porridge and mashed banana then blended home cooked foods like cauliflower and broccoli cheese made from scratch, chicken dinner blended etc. Then around 8 or 9 months started to introduce solids... hated every minute of it. My LO would gag constantly and I would be feared to death. Hes now almost 2 and eats very well. Do whats right for you op. Try not to panic if baby gags, remain calm and pat their back etc

Also yes to there are plenty of good jarred foods available if preferred. I just chose to homecook as I home cooked for me and dh anyway

Use Ella’s kitchen pouches at the beginning. They are fabulous and so handy. I didn’t “cook” anything for my baby till he was 8-9 months becouse why would you? At the beginning they eat so little it’s not worth cooking - so use the pouches they are great