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…

it is indirectly shaming? I imagine you would feel differently if the roles were reversed.

I unfortunately am allergic to bananas so can’t even prepare them for my daughter 🤦🏼‍♀️😂

I'm a bit confused. You said in a previous post, she wasn't sleeping at night, had you up all night and you didn't have energy to make her breakfast and now you're saying she does sleep all night. Which is it?

I don't see any mum shaming on this thread. Plenty of posters including myself have said they've used pouches etc on occasion but that there's a difference between these being used all the time and occasionally.

I'm fairly relaxed now with my toddlers diet however the OP is speaking about giving a 7 month a diet full of processed food, sweet treats and desserts. I can't see any justification or reasoning about how this is in the best interests of such a small baby. Plenty of advice has been given on easy, healthy meals that can be made. The OP asked for advice and I don't see how this is mum shaming.

I wouldn’t say I’ve been mum shamed but I have to admit this thread has just made me feel like an even more terrible parent over the last few days. As a young first time mum I didn’t think that I would feel so bad about reading advice I do think sometimes people judge too quickly and although people don’t know my full story and to be honest it isn’t anyone’s business but the fact people have seen I’ve just been giving my daughter pouches or jars and instantly thought I was lazy or a terrible mum for not cooking her nutritional food is honestly shocking. I am trying by best and I thought I was doing a good job until I posted this thread and now I just regret everything I’ve ever done.

Just an update for you all, I have been given my daughter porridge every morning for the last week and every morning she’s thrown it back up which has made me feel like an even worse parent. I would have gone for a jar or pouch of breakfast porridge or breakfast yoghurt either by Heinz or Ella’s kitchen and instead just gave her a bottle because I felt even worse giving her a pouch or jar.

Sorry to hear that OP. It might be that porridge just doesn’t agree with her - could you maybe try her with Greek yoghurt? A bit of a compromise as it will still be convenient for you but wouldn’t be filled with all the unnecessary ingredients that these processed brands would have x

Thats what I thought I’m going to try her with some weetabix next week and see if it’s just the fact she doesn’t like porridge.
As a family we don’t eat greek yoghurt so I’m trying to find things we as a family eat so that I’m not going out and wasting food if she doesn’t like it or ir doesn’t agree with her. I know it’s all about trying her with foods but like porridge if she doesn’t eat the Greek yoghurt I’m then sat with Greek yoghurt that nobody in the family eats…
im just taking it one day at a time and I know eventually I will find something that she will like for breakfast

@CJ98 We put a little bit of fruit in our Weetabix! Just some mashed blueberries or raspberries but I have been putting the apple purée in over the last couple of days and my DS quite likes it! Last night I made “egg cups” which my DS took a liking too. Just have fun with it, I’m starting to enjoy thinking about little things I can make in advance that I would feel comfortable giving :)

I was using the puréed fruit pouches to add some flavour to her porridge on a morning so I might just try her with some weetabix on there own and then to add flavour use fruit.

There's a lot of muddled posts on this thread. She sleeps well but she doesn't sleep and you're so exhausted that you can't possibly make her any food that isn't a pouch or jar? She threw up porridge for a week straight?

It's all a bit dramatic and bizarre. The "young first time mum" schtick is a bit much. You're 26 and a grown adult, not a vulnerable 16 year old who doesn't know her arse from her elbow. I'm sure you can understand the need to feed your daughter better and make an effort to do so.

Just feed your daughter real whole foods for goodness sake. Don't feed her banana or porridge if it's such an issue 🤷🏻‍♀️ feed her literally anything else that isn't processed rubbish.

Or call it "mum shaming" and carry on with the pouches.

Honestly, what a falderal about nothing.

That’s literally what I’ve tried for the last week by giving my daughter porridge to try and give her a better diet and yet here you are saying that I’m being dramatic because she’s been sick after eating porridge. I didn’t know she wasn’t going to like porridge and I’ve always been told if your baby doesn’t like it one day you try again the day after which is exactly what I was doing and after a week I’ve come to realise she simply doesn’t like porridge as she isn’t keeping it down. I’m not sure how I’m being dramatic when I was just asking for a bit of advice.

And just to clarify not that I should…
My daughter was up every 2-3 hours before I started with weaning her, lately she’s up all night due to teething as she’s a baby that hasn’t enjoyed her teeth coming through. Not once did I say she was keeping me awake due to lack of food.

The thing about weaning is some foods work and some do not. You just leave them for now and reintroduce them again in a month or so. I honestly think you need to move away from the pouches but perhaps try it in stages. So try 3 days a week with home cooked and see how you go. As your dc is so used to pouches it may take time for them to get used to different foods and textures but you have to keep trying and reintroduce texture and flavours even if they do not work first time. I froze so much at that age in ice cube trays so give that a go.

I’ve been trying to do a meal at a time. So currently I’m on with breakfast and seeing if I can get a meal (instead of a pouch or jar) in her that way, hence me starting with porridge. I know breakfast can be the hardest one to start with but I think if I get that out of the way I’ll then be able to move onto lunch and evening meal. I’m going to try her with weetabix and then if that sticks I can then give her weetabix on a morning for breakfast and I know she’ll atleast have had a decent breakfast.

You can't sit and post contradictory posts such as she's sleeping well at night, and then having you up all night with no explanation and then get arsey when people don't understand.

No one I can see has said you're a bad mum but you've posted on a public forun wanting advice on weaning and been honest about the fact your daughter mainly eats processed food and snacks. People have quite rightly explained that this isn't healthy for your daughter. This isn't a judgement, it's a fact that any decent health professional would tell you. You can choose to do what you want with the information and advice.

Many foods make a baby sick when they start eating but common sense should surely prevail that you wouldn't then keep trying it day after day. There's a difference between refusing something and being sick and if it's making her sick then you leave it and come back to it at a later date.

I'm not sure what your age has to do with anything. You're 26 not 16 as been pointed out. I get weaning is hard and harder if you have anxiety, I had this myself. Many people also work full time but it depends what your priorities are. Instead of the excuses and feeling sorry for yourself, maybe actually take some of the good advice on here about quick meals and preparation and actually prepare your child healthy nutritious meals, with the odd pouch and snack for convenience. Or just continue to feed them processed food for each meal. The choice is yours.

Well done for trying with the porridge, as I said on an earlier post my baby is a similar age, and I just started one meal a day, then once we got that sorted upped it to two and then three, rather than trying to do everything all at once. I know you said about Greek yoghurt but it’s really important to try her on things you don’t eat too. Theres some fruit I hate but my LO has really enjoyed for example. You can buy small pots or even big pots for less than £1. Which is about the cost (or cheaper?) than Ella’s kitchen pouches. If she doesn’t like it try it again another 2/3 times (unless it’s an allergy obviously) and that way less has gone to waste and you’ve not lost any money because she doesn’t actually need to eat the meal since she’s getting her milk still anyway and you’d have spent in a pouch either way. It’s a great one for breakfast but also for adding to other food like plain rice to make it scoopable or to things like curry sauces (even a pouched curry) to make it easier to eat or taste a little different. Weetabix is great too, and you can try toast as well. Another thing I add to LOs breakfast is a sprinkle of chia seeds. Or even just make chia pudding (you just soak the seeds in milk or water for 15mins). you could add in a dash of vanilla extract or a fruit pouch or something if you wanted. Again it’s about £1 for a bag and they last ages, baby won’t really notice them probably but it’s a different texture to try and it adds some fiber and omega 3 to their diet. It’s a really easy no effort win.

eggs or avocado on toast or alone, and home made pancakes at the weekend are good too for breakfast

Breakfast is the one meal that my 12 month old is, and always has been, completely hit or miss with. I normally give her porridge flavoured with mashed fruit and coconut yoghurt, which she likes enough to eat a bit of. I'll also give her a bit of toast and some fruit so she can just eat what she fancies. If I'm not doing porridge, I give her the coconut yoghurt and fruit. She does like it but I think she just doesn't have much of an appetite in the mornings. Your DD might be the same, but I've learned not to stress about breakfast. She eats what she eats.

I went through a bit of a pouch phase a few months ago. It was easy, the portion sizes are comparable and I always gave her some extra veg on the side or maybe added some extra cooked chicken. The long and short of it is, that just isn't cutting it for her anymore. She isn't interested in pouches, she wants food that she can eat herself, and having had a bit of a word with myself, I'm happier that she's eating (mostly!) fresh food. She almost exclusively eats what we're eating now and I don't need to mash it for her anymore.

It honestly doesn't have to be complicated. Lunch is often brought to the high chair as and when the different bits are ready - today's was already cooked chicken and pasta mixed with coconut yoghurt and a pinch of curry powder, with a wee handful of blueberries. Took 2 minutes. I made a big batch of pasta sauce full of veg months ago that still gets wheeled out when I'm at a loss. Add a bit of curry powder or peanut butter or whatever, or just use it to coat chicken.

Now is the time to expose them to a variety of textures and flavours ... that's the fun in food before 1. Everything is an adventure to them and they really don't need or benefit from desserts.

This is the advice I got at the children's centre:

www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/7-to-9-months/

www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/recipes-and-meal-ideas/

Breakfast I used to do things like yogurt, fruit, toast fingers with peanut butter, boiled egg and toast, porridge, porridge fingers (slightly more solid porridge they can pick up themselves), Weetabix, Ready Brek. That varied it a bit and some of those are quicker to make than others. Mostly based on what I was having for breakfast too.

These are really quick and easy.

www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/recipes-and-meal-ideas/peachy-cereal/

www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/recipes-and-meal-ideas/blueberry-porridge/

www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/recipes-and-meal-ideas/breakfast-eggs-and-tomato/

DT’s were weaned on jars and pouches - hated the idea of baby led weaning. They have grown up liking all foods and are healthy with no issues (now in their mid 20’s). The jars and pouches were ideal for two busy working parents (and I did not want to give up my weekends to batch cooking - family time was too precious). I love that there is a huge range of tastes and flavours were are age appropriate- when you look at the ingredients they are good stuff to be eating.

We didn't do food appropriate with meals i.e. breakfast foods at breakfast time until she was established on 2-3 meals a day. At the start when we were just trying to expose her to as many different foods flavours and textures we gave her all varieties of foods at all times of day. She was slow to wean and it was unpredictable if she would eat anything at all in a day or a few mouthfuls of breakfast/lunch/dinner. She has a lot of allergies so it was important to get other allergens in her diet quickly and try to identify safe foods.

She was ok with porridge and Weetabix etc once we started on proper breakfast but only as long as it was plain. If I added any fruits she refused it.

In Sainsbury's you can get small tubs of greek yoghurt for 70p they are about the size of single adult yoghurt. You can also freeze it.

I don’t understand how I can go from being in the wrong for giving my daughter pouches and jars to then being in the wrong for giving my daughter porridge and her being sick. Everyone who’s told me to try her with something have told me to try her with it for a few days & then move onto something else which is exactly what I’ve done. Yes she’s been sick with it but maybe that’s because I’ve been mixing it with fruit puree. I have just been out and bought her some alternative things to try her with which others have recommended on this thread. Im literally taking the advice on board of people on here by trying her with different things. She’s literally been having one or two pouches a day and over the last week I have reduced it down to the one with trying her with an actual meal for breakfast using what I have in.

It wasn't wrong to try porridge a few more times, just may have stressed you out more. I would try it again but not yet, in a few weeks, and maybe it try it plain, or with a little cinnamon rather than mixing it with fruit puree as that might work better.

One good use for pouches/jars would be for introducing her to the foods that you're allergic to, as that way you aren't preparing them yourself so lessens the risk to you. I don't know what kind of baby foods they have in the UK but I assume they must have some fish based ones, perhaps buy those next time for her to try. Bound to have ones with banana in too.

Yeah it’s one of the ways I’ve been introducing foods that I’m allergic to so that way she’s still trying them. She had a breakfast yoghurt that was banana the other day which she loved which is one of the reasons why I tried adding banana puree into her porridge but im going to try her with weetabix this following week and then in a few weeks time try porridge again but try it plain.

I thought you were so allergic to banana you couldn't prepare it?

The breakfast yoghurt wasn’t given by myself it was one that I sent with my MIL who fed her whilst she was away from me so I didn’t react too it.
The banana puree I’ve been using for her porridge has been a mixed fruit one so it doesn’t affect me I don’t smell, touch or taste the banana.