Question about starting solids

[Threetrees745]

My little girl will be 6 months old at the beginning of October so we are naturally thinking about starting solids. It's my first baby so I wanted my husband to be home when she tried food for the first time mainly so he can be part of the experience and also because I'm a bit nervous about choking. However my husband works away from home and he won't be back until near the end of October when she is closer to 7 months.
Would this be too late to start? Will she be missing out on vital nutrients that she needs at 6 months?

We've also been advised by the health visitor to make sure she can sit up unaided before we start but she's definitely nowhere near that yet. She can only sit up with support and just flops forward so I'm not sure if it would even be safe for her to sit in the high chair right now.

Should we wait or should I just bite the bullet when I'm on my own with her?

Any advice or experience would be appreciated. My mum and my mother in law both weaned from 12 weeks as per the guidance back then so they are also not sure and my health visitor isn't the most approachable lady.

Yes, the later she starts food the more likely she is have allergies, her iron stores will be low so she needs food (not so bad if ff) and she needs to eat to develop the muscles she needs for speach.

Tbh that's a silly reason to delay starting solids. You could do purées only at first if you're worried about choking and you can take videos for your husband.

Your HV has given you wrong advice or you've misunderstood it. They should be able to sit supported before starting solids-- not unaided.

Starting solids late increases allergy risk and there are many scientists now suggesting we should actually start earlier than six months so I really wouldn't wait till seven.

To give another analogy, if she's about to learn to walk next time your DH is away, are you going to make her stop?

If he works away he will miss things, that's part of the deal.

You get inserts to help with support in a high chair. I wouldn't delay too much. Can you not give smooth food to start with to minimise choking?

She definitely said unaided. This is why I've been a bit unsure about everything.

Also I know it sounds silly but my husband has an older child so he has been through the weaning journey before so I felt more reassured if he was going to be there.

I've spoken to my husband and he is going to to build the highchair tomorrow before he leaves and we can see if she will sit ok in it?

Any recommendations on first foods. Our health visitor also told us not to use ready made jars or purees like Ella's kitchen etc due to the preservatives. My mum thought this advice was insane as I was raised on jars of heinz back in 1990 and had no issues.

Sitting with minimal or no assistance is one of the most important readiness signs for feeding solids. I don't know why others are saying different, there is lots of guidance out there that clearly states this. For those saying leaving it later increases risk of allergies, we are probably talking a matter of weeks. Wait OP and listen to advice from your HV. Research this advice, you'll see it's correct!

I also recommend downloading the Starting Solids app. Really useful in helping you understand how to prepare food for what ages to minimise risk of choking, especially if you want to do baby led weaning

She's not even 6 months old yet, talk about scaremongering!

Starting solids is brilliant for help. We just gave DS what we we had but chopped it via the suggestions on the app. She does need to be sitting well but they develop this very quickly at this age.

Second the Solid Starts app it’s great as shows you pictures of how to prepare each food at different ages. It’s great for baby led weaning.

I wouldn’t delay solids for that reason. You could always video her first solid and send him a video…Try sitting her in the high chair. We needed an insert (Ikea one) as she was petite but just make sure she isn’t slumped when sitting in the high chair. Also, babies are just as likely to choke on purees as they are solids… try no to let it put you off. Look up the difference between gagging and choking. Gagging is fairly common, choking isn’t. I wouldn’t use jars or pouches a lot.

start now.
evidence seems to suggest that you should feed 'normal' foods, including common allergens (for example egg, nuts), from the beginning unless there is a family history of severe food allergies.

and those jars/pouches are fine to give occasionally. but we just gave dc what we had. mashed with a fork at first.

My DD could not sit up til 7 and a half months unaided, it would have been unfair to wait till then to start solids. She was desperate to start eating food at six months. NHS guidance is sitting supported, a highchair with straps will support a child who's not quite sitting.

Regarding purées if you want to go this way (I prefer BLW but I know you're nervous) it's super easy to make and blend a purée. Just boil up some veg in a pan with a bit of water,
Then blend. I found it easiest with a stick blender. Loads of easy recipes online.

Also if you're out and about the jars are fine but you don't want it to be their everyday meal. Every now and then won't hurt. They don't have preservatives, they are heat treated. Check the ingredients. Heat treating can affect nutrients hence it not being the best for every day.

Re: sitting this is what Gill Rapley says

What matters for safe eating, and for BLW, is that your baby can support her head and trunk
in an upright position for long enough to explore some food – and to eat it, if she’s ready. If
she needs a bit of support around her hips to do this, that’s fine. There’s no need to wait until
she can stay upright with no support at all, or until she can get herself into a sitting position –
and there’s no ‘60-second rule’, as some believe. It’s the position and balance above her pelvis
that she needs to be able to maintain. A normally developing baby will be able to sit upright
well enough to allow her to handle food and eat safely by six months or soon after.

So sitting supported in a high chair is fine and to be expected. The important thing is they aren't reclining or slumped over.

www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/Sitting_upright.pdf

I delayed 1 month because of a holiday so she was 7 months. Glad I did because she had a severe reaction to egg and we needed an ambulance glad to be in the uk

I would start when she's 6 months, don't delay just because DH is away. She will start off with a tiny bit of purée anyway and will likely only eat a couple of spoonfuls.

Best to start off with home made purées made with veg and fruit, or mashed banana or avocado. I would really recommend a mini blender so you can quickly blend stuff for her. Freeze purées in small portions too, so useful.
When she is a little older you can just blend a bit of what you're having as long as you don't add salt.
The pouches are fine for occasional use like when you're out and about. But they're not great for using all the time.

My DH also works away and I have a 1 year old so I know how stressful it can be on your own with a baby. I to was anxious about starting weaning but started at the recommend 6 months. Just with some baby porridge and purées. I worked my way up from purées to lumpy textures then some finger foods but that took a good few months. Honestly you don’t need to go straight into BLW if you don’t want to, I certainly didn’t and have had no issues with her eating, eats completely normally now, all different tastes and textures.
I also used jars, pouches and home made purées and see absolutely no harm in that. At 14 months she still loves a fruit pouch as a snack.
All the best x

Definitely don’t delay for that reason: it’s so important to introduce allergens as early as possible (peanut, dairy), it has a proven link to reducing likelihood of food allergies. We gave allergens from about 5 months. Definitely avoid anything pre prepared, it’s all ultra processed and so overpriced. Just give bits of whatever you’re eating-you don’t need to make special food.

Sitting upright with a bit of support is fine. Iron stores start to run low from 6 months and it's good to start to try foods as early exposure to foods helps prevent allergies. I would start giving her tastes of food when your husband is away when she turns six months. Waiting a week sound reasonable but a whole month not so much. We did BLW so hardly any was actually eaten at first, just licked, biten and spit out or just thrown on the floor but it got them tasting things and into a routine of meals.

I wouldn’t delay starting.

By unaided, they mean safely in the highchair. She may need a cushion to help support her a bit and she’ll prop herself up on the tray. She just can’t be reclining in a bouncer, which is how they used to feed babies when they started at 3 months.

There are babies at 8 months who can't sit unaided. If the baby can sit in high chair with a cushion to help them stay upright that's not the same as propping up a 4 month old whose head is flopping around like a dead fish.

OP's baby will be ready to start solid food at 6 months. Do you have to start bang on the day she turns 6 months? Obviously not. Will she be eating 3 meals a day from day one? Obviously not.

But I wouldn't leave it until 7 months just because your husband isn't home. Let her explore purees for the first month if you're really worried, but to be honest it's better to get over that worry otherwise you'll be in a panic all the time. Look through the solid starts app to keep you right on how to serve food to minimise choking risks.

Both of mine had some carrot and broccoli as first foods. Not pureed or mashed, just cooked a bit longer than I would do for myself and they picked some up to explore it and squished a tiny bit in. Fish is good too and easy to just boil up to make it soft enough to eat but still solid enough they can grip some.

Charlotte Stirling Reeds book how to wean your baby is good if you are looking for some guidance on how to start. She recommends veges, both puréed and as finger food and also introducing the allergens early. I would start at 6 months but don’t worry too much if not much food gets eaten. One ‘meal’ a day us enough for the first month or two.