Introducing desserts & weaning

[CJ98]

My daughter is about to turn 7 months and we’ve been weaning her for a couple months, we’ve mainly been focusing on savoury items & meals. I was just wondering when can I add in desserts and sweet treats. Do I give her one after her evening meal ?
We normally give her a meal at around 5pm and that’s her main meal for the day.
We really struggle with getting a morning meal (as in breakfast) & so we are currently just sticking with a bottle for the moment.
over the last few weeks I’ve been giving her a meal around dinner time rather than a bottle which has been something like a pasta meal & if she shows signs of being hungry after that meal I’ll give her something like an Ella’s kitchen melty stick that she can snack on.
I was just wondering if I can give her a dessert after her main evening meal or am I best to leave it if she’s having a dinner meal and an evening meal. Or when did everyone introduce desserts ? How am I best to introduce these to her meals so that she’s experiencing sweet and savoury meals ?
when I say desserts im talking custards, rice puddings, baby fruit crumble etc…

@CJ98 Honestly, as long as you're changing the texture, you're fine!

Feel free to PM me, I'm always open to listening and sharing experiences :)

@NavigatingAdulthood and @CJ98 you two are obviously happy in your echo chamber and are choosing to ignore literally everyone else telling you this isn't healthy for your children. But one thing most worrying in your recent posts is that you both are incredibly naive to think that just because it's in a supermarket, it must be good for you. Things couldn't be further from the truth. But it's clear you are both wedded to serving your babies ultra processed food, despite all the evidence that it isn't good for us. But, don't let that inconvenient truth get in the way of all your "fun".

Really agree with this.

Every so often we do give her some “proper food” to try her with it but have found we are comfortable with using the pouches as she seems happy and enjoying them

"Proper food" in quote marks.

I cannot understand your resistance to cooking some food for your baby OP. It needn't be difficult, but you seem determined to stick with pouches, snack sticks and chocolate buttons. I can't understand that.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. My baby eats a range of different foods. Thank you for your concern. My baby is perfectly healthy and meeting all milestones required for his age. MumsNet is about providing advice but majority of people use it to indirectly slander others. I didn’t post this thread so don’t target me, thanks, as I don’t require any advice. I get plenty from my HV.

Yes, it’s in a supermarket. Yes, I am are aware it’s not the best thing available in comparison to freshly cooked meals but it is what works for us alongside introducing more fresh food. Every parent and child is different.

She doesn’t need dessert. DS thought a carrot and a tomato along with a piece of cheese was a treat and a dessert. He was very surprised when he went to other peoples’ houses and was offered biscuits!

We did dessert once a week from around this age. It was already our pattern, weekly roast dinner with a pudding afterwards. Depended on the time of year but something like rice pudding or a fruit crumble with custard. I tend to add some oats and ground almonds to the crumble mix too.

Otherwise we stuck to fruit and/or natural yogurt.

My DD1 didn't have a dessert until we were on holiday at Butlins when she was 2 and we got some desserts from the dining hall and she wanted some.

I get that's probably quite extreme but she was born during the end of Covid so people weren't going out so much, we don't really buy dessert and she also had a dairy allergy until she was 2 so these all factor in. It more than likely will be a different story when we start weaning DD2

Personally I wouldn't rush it, but also if you're eating it in front of her be prepared to share, you don't want her thinking it's forbidden

It's only ever on here that I see "food is fun before 1" parroted on here despite the fact it couldn't be further from the truth. Yes weaning is hard, but this phrase shouldn't be use to dismiss the fact babies actually need to eat healthy, nutritious food. Food is needed for nutrition, sensory and social development and so that they can learn to coordinate their bodies to learn to eat. Also iron stores begin to deplete after 6 months and their calorie needs are higher and its important they start to eat the right food to compensate for this.

Breast/formula milk doesn't contain enough nutrients to allow for the growth and brain development that happens in the first year and poor nutrition can hinder this development while good nutrition can support your babies development.

With all this said, I was a realistic parent. I wasn't the mum to be making my own bread, stock cubes and solely using organic fresh food. I used pouches and the ellas kitchen snacks too but the difference was I used these occasionally and they were certainly not an every day occurance. Even now my toddler will have the occasional ready meal and ready made fish fingers, chicken nuggets but the point is that by and large his diet is healthy and homemade. There's a large difference between using these foods occasionally and them being an every day thing or for every meal.

Weaning is a time to reasses the whole families diet rather than just using the blanket excuse of there being no time. I work full time as does my husband but as parents we realise that it's important our child eats well and with the family to promote good eating habits. We don't cook complicated meals. Cooking healthy food doesn't need to take hours on end and you're not cooking cordon bleu cuisine. Things like frozen veg, pre chopped veg and soup and stew packs can be a lifesaver and the backbone of many meals.

I can't understand the rationale of giving babies sweets and chocolate because they are "fun". Babies don't know food is fun, what they need is good healthy food. There's plenty time in the world for them to enjoy chocolate buttons and other processed food.

@Laoise542 I think many people misinterpret the "food before 1 is just for fun" because of the increase in baby-led weaning and social media growth around making meals for babies. I don't believe that many people interpret the statement as "they don't need food as they're having milk" and if they do, then yes you can correct them.

The statement is simply to alleviate any pressure on parents during what may already be a stressful time. Kudos to those parents who do spend time making and baking and prepping and freezing but unlike what is often posted, there is a continuous demographic of people who just don't conform to the new "baby-led weaning vs. Purée" party that has arrived over the last few years.

I view the statement quite literally, as in I can have "fun" with it and enjoy the new experiences and just introduce food at a pace that is comfortable for me and helps with my own MH. Many mums, albeit they never seem to comment on these threads, do experience anxiety around weaning and when I tell you that it keeps me up at night worrying about whether I'm doing things the right way or if something is missing - I'm being serious.

The OP has just asked a simple question about desserts and has shared her own experience about giving a cheeky chocolate button because if we're supposed to be teaching our children about food - we should also be encouraging them to understand food should never be forbidden and to help them establish a good connection with food and what makes them feel good in moderation. Most children, regardless of BLW or Purées all end up spending lunch money in corner shops on sweets and crisps and most of those habits are developed when children get freedom as they get older.

This isn't directed at you, but I shared my experience on this thread to ensure that the OP does not feel alone with her experience in a world where there is the constant fear of being "mum-shamed" - let alone anonymously on MN. Surely as long as her child is happy and healthy means she is doing well and in a world that is so cruel nowadays, we should just be offering advice and support.

Food and allergies can add a degree of complexity. My daughter has 20 foods allergies which for us has almost been a blessing as it means we have to cook everything fresh as it's almost impossible to find packets food that are safe.

As for them having the same food every day. For the last 6 months they have had milk for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks!

The freezer is your friend! Frozen peas, broad beans, spinach, peaches, mango and raspberries are a big part of our diets. Brilliant for weaning as you can vary portion sizes easily. Minced or chopped meat, onions (frozen chopped onions can be a time saver) with frozen spinach and peas. We use a bit of sweet potato to give it a sauce. Freeze in small portions at 7 months we used muffin tins and can be used with pasta, rice or potatoes. Quick cook pasta will cook in the time it takes for the sauce to defrost.

You can then vary the flavouring pork and mustard is a nice combination or you could add some Italian herbs, tinned tomatoes and garlic to be more like a spag bol. Cumin and tomatoes for a chilli vibe.

Tinned pulses are a quick source of protein we use so many tins of chicken peas and haricot beans, they can bulk out the above or substitute the meat.

Or weaning at 4-5 months….!

My first were around 7 months at Easter time so naturally I let them have some chocolate. They enjoyed it and it was cute. No regrets!
They eat a great diet at 5 years old, and their fave foods are chickpeas and mackerel pate, so I don't think it's ruined them for life by letting them have chocolate and cake now and then as babies. Go for it!

Every so often we do give her some “proper food” to try her with it but have found we are comfortable with using the pouches as she seems happy and enjoying them. Like you said the pouches, jars and snacks must be good as they are sold & I’ve seen so many people recommended them.

This is really sad to read. Your local NHS team will put on sessions about weaning and be able to offer advice. Look on the website too for leaflets etc.

Your child needs to eat so-called “proper food.” Not snacks. Not mass produced shite. It takes less than five minutes to make something nutritious and healthy.

You say you are anxious about doing the right thing. Look for proper advice. Under no circumstances should babies be eating sugar or salt. Stop with the chocolate and biscuits. They’re increasing the likelihood of her becoming obese in later life.

Your baby can’t advocate for herself and is trusting you to do the right thing for her.

Did you know that if you google ‘weaning’ and ‘dessert,’ the title of your thread is one of the first links to come up. That’s because there are almost no websites that contain those words together - as babies shouldn’t have dessert…

You and your partner will both have Tuesdays and Saturdays off when you go back to work from maternity leave next month. Use those days to batch cook and freeze small portions. While one of you holds the baby, the other can be cooking. Best of luck 😀

Oh - you say that you have every Tuesday child feee even now while your MIL does childcare and this gives you a break. That’s fantastic to have that support available - you can spend that time to do the batch cooking then! Honestly take some of the ideas from this thread - it’s so easy and tasty.

Weaning at 4-5 months is actually recommended, to reduce risk of allergies, especially if you already have allergies in the family.

We spoke to our health visitor who recommended us starting to wean our daughter earlier than the recommended 6 months.
Before we were weaning we were giving her bottles every three hours, she wasn’t sleeping, she wasn’t happy within herself (hence us going to the health visitor), they originally recommended the hungrier baby formula which was used & saw no difference to using the normal baby formula & they told us to start her early on weaning to see if it helped. Since then she’s sleeping all night, she’s going 4-5 hours between bottles (sometimes 6 hours) & she’s the happiest baby going.
Every health professional we’ve seen they have noticed how “above average” our daughter is but not only that they’ve mentioned how happy, healthy and content she is and since we weaned her from around 4 months nobody has had any concerns.

Above average? 🤨

It's fine if you decided to wean your baby at 4 months. It's not for me, but if you're happy to then that's your choice.

But if she's so ravenously hungry and keen on food, feed her better. You seem determined to carry on feeding her mainly pouches and processed crisps/sticks. It's quite simply not what is best for her, and surely you want what is best for her.

All it takes is for you to make more effort. I didn't eat well before I had my son. Work stress and busy lives meant poor eating habits at times. I sure as hell sorted that when he came along.

I can’t believe we still mum-shame in 2025. @CJ98 I’d speak with the HV if you want some genuine support or advice, otherwise you’ll end up feeling really shitty whilst reading through comments on here. My DS has just had a banana for “pudding” and it wasn’t a success but will try again tomorrow!

I absolutely agree food shouldn't be forbidden and I really can't be arsed with labels around weaning and the whole puree vs baby led. Like most people I know, I did a combination of both. I'm also not against pouches etc and used these on occasion.

However I still stand there's a difference between these used occasionally and them being the main component every day for a meal. I'm fairly relaxed with my toddlers diet but I cannot see a need for chocolate or sweet desserts for a 7 month.

I get anxiety around weaning but there should still be support for making an effort to ensure your baby eats healthy. I know people are more time poor now, but with planning and organising it doesn't take too long to cook or batch cook meals. You get packets of frozen pre-chopped veg. Things like diced chicken, some frozen mediterranean veg, chopped tomatoes and herbs literally takes minutes to dump in the slow cooker. Or mild curries made with veg, mild curry powder and coconut milk again put in the slow cooker.

There’s no mum-shaming on the thread that I can see; just a mum who’s posted for support because perhaps she doesn’t have access to that in real life. Plenty of posters have encouraged her to speak to her health visitor and to look on the NHS website where there is plenty of advice and support. The good news is that OP has the time, and now the information, needed to turn things around and ensure her DD gets a nutritionally healthy diet going forwards.

(ps there’s nothing wrong with banana! 👍🏽)

@NavigatingAdulthood pointing out that the OP isn't following scientifically supported nutrition advice isn't mum-shaming

Some areas don't have access to health visitors though. HVs were almost non-existent where we were - saw mine twice in the first six weeks then never again. There were no weighing clinics or development checks. I was able to do a starting solids course at the local children's centre which was really reassuring but all those centres have since closed.