Weaning help! 6 month doesn’t get it

[KinderEggg]

Hi. My 6 month started weaning a week ago but doesn’t seem to know what to do. She just stares at her plate.
Even if I put abit in her mouth, she kind of just spits it out. If I put it in her hand, she just lets go. She doesn’t know how to work the straw cup either.

she literally puts everything else in her mouth!
Is this normal and what do I do?

Normal!
my second child didn’t really swallow until 8 months.
it was a surprise after my first got it at 6 months

That could be until as late as 9 months?

You could start with the allergens before proper weaning just with tiny amounts - like dipping a finger in a bit of yoghurt or peanut butter and seeing if they will lick it off. They don't need a huge amount of the food to get exposed to the allergen.

My daughter is quite small and whilst she could sit the seat was quite bit big for her and if she leaned back she'd start to slump a little. We had a large muslin we folded up and we used to make the seat fit her and stay sat upright without propping her up.

I still do it their baby chairs for the purées until they can really sit comfortably. I also taped a book to the foot ledge so her feet would reach something when she was little.

And if it’s helpful - I went to a private paediatrician as my son had a milk intolerance and he encouraged weaning early (from 4-5 months even though clearly they wouldn’t be able to sit up) and then allergens included from about 6 months. I think the sitting up think is only for baby led weaning a never had issues with choking and I was using a baby seat.

You really need to step away from tiktok and do some real reading on education backed weaning. She could quite literally choke and die if she is not capable of sitting independently to eat. There is a reason the guidance is around 6 months AND when they show signs of being ready.

She is not ready!

No I get what you saying. I think you are misunderstanding though, she can sit up aided but gets bored easily so starts leaning forward, that is when we stop. We only doing purées (yes I know, they can still choke).

Many children were weaned from 4 months decades ago and some countries still do and I doubt most babies are able to sit unaided at 4 months.

Speak to the GP, for advice, but if she's not able to sit unaided there is a choking risk.

This is from the NHS, note it says 'from around 6 months' (not at 6 months):

Signs your baby is ready for solid foods
There are 3 clear signs which, when they appear together from around 6 months of age, show your baby is ready for their first solid foods alongside breast milk or first infant formula.

They'll be able to:

stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth by themselves
swallow food (rather than spit it back out)

She’s literally showing you that she is not ready in every possible way, I don’t understand why you’re still trying to push it? It’s not “must be done at 6 months”, it is “from around 6 months AND when baby is ready”.

Decades ago people also used to drink and smoke while pregnant and put their newborn babies in their cribs with fluffy blankets and teddy bears- thankfully time & knowledge has come a long way in the last few decades so we now have the info to ensure we are keeping our babies safe. Follow it.

Okay I’ll stop, I understand what you are saying, my husband has a nut allergy and my brother has an egg allergy so I really wanted to expose her as soon as possible.

So she needs to be able to sit completely unaided?

Is she shoeing signs of readiness?
Can she sit up independent a d hold her head steady? Does she have good hand-eye coordination, and show an interest in solid foods by reaching for food or opening their mouth when offered?

Honestly, your baby doesn't sound ready to me. If I was you I'd work on building her core muscles by doing regular tummy time and taking her swimming for now. I'd check her readiness again in a month.

When you do start weaning remember...... food before one is just for fun! Its all about exploring, feeling, touching, tasting. She'll get more on the floor, her hair, all over you, than in her mouth. It's all part of the process.

I wouldn’t stress over it, my DS wasn’t interested in food at all at 6 months. I don’t think he properly ‘got it’ until 9 months. Now he’s 1 and eats most things.

She can hold her head steady, she can roll, she can army crawl but just can’t sit unaided. She has good hand to eye coordination as if I give her something, she aims straight for her mouth but she puts everything in her mouth that she picks up - just not food.

She stares at us eating and if she’s sat on our laps, will just stare at us putting food in our mouth. She has tried to reach out occasionally.

No you don’t have to start her at 6 months if she isn’t ready. You could give her a couple of tastes of allergies if you’re worried, but she should be sitting up very soon and you can try weaning properly then.

I'd talk to the HV about the food allergies and see what the suggest. I started my DD with a smear of smooth peanut butter behind the ear everyday for a week before I let her ingest it.

Get someone you know to actually look at her sitting. I don’t think how you’re describing it is the way some posters are understanding it.
It does take forever, though. It’s months and months before they reliably sit and eat a meal.

Skin contact with an allergen before eating it increases the risk for allergies though, so probably get advice on this

SHe's not ready. Under one it's just for fun.

Please don't set your expectations from social media. Your child is an individual who will do things in her own time. Celebrate and support this.

Really, I was advised to do this to see it there was redness, irritation or contact dermatitis before eating it.

Please find SR_Nutrition on Instagram she’s the absolute best at weaning advice

I think a chat with the GP would be good, about the allergies and whether to wait longer for weaning.

Feel free to google it, but that’s the current advice

Don’t worry, mine was really not that interested till around 8-9 months. He was also small and existed quite happily on bm.

My DS also started army crawling at 6 months, before he could sit. I think the crawling helped strengthen him. He was sitting well a few weeks after he started the crawling.