Tell Organix your weaning stories and you could win a £200 John Lewis voucher! NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

We've been asked by baby and toddler food brand Organix to find out about Mumsnetters' experiences with weaning.

So, when did you start weaning? How did you feel about it? What were your questions and how did you get the answers? Was there anything in particular which surprised you about weaning? Which foods did your little one love during weaning, do they still love the same tastes now?

Share your thoughts on this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 John Lewis voucher.

Please note your tips and comments may be used, along with your MN nickname in an email MN will send out. They may well also be used elsewhere by Organix.

Thanks,
MNHQ

I had dd before I'd heard of baby led weaning. Her first finger food was a chip she grabbed off my plate at the pub. Chips turn out to be perfect finger food

We started weaning around 5.5 months as DS had reflux and we were told weaning would help it. He ate really well, we both really enjoyed experimenting, he had sweet potato, avocado, parsnips, puréed peas, butternut squash, mashed potato, beetroot, banana, peach. Some of these I hadn't eaten myself since I was a kid so I started eating better too. We were signed up with Emma's diary so I recieved organix vouchers for some of their rice cakes and helpful tips on weaning which were great. He loved the rice cakes and carrot sticks and at 18 months still loves them!

Amelia wasn't a particularly hungry baby so I waited until she was 6 months old and started with BLW. I found this quite hard to watch as to begin with they really don't eat much but mostly focus on exploring. This was when I decided I would introduce some purées. I used lots of different recipes and all were homemade. I used to have a cooking night once a week to get it all done. For me I much preferred using homemade rather than store bought. Amelia began having some kind of purée or lumpier vegetable mix and then some fruit or something to pick up and use as a finger food. For us a bit of both BLW and purées. As she got older lunchtime became the finger foods and she would have versions of what we were having for dinner. I would freeze up portions of things she liked as some meals weren't suitable for A. Now she is 15 months and eats exactly the same meals as me. This for me is perfect I cook for us both. I do still freeze up the odd portion for emergencies. And she is now starting to use the spoon and feed herself. I think with weaning you have to go with what's best for you and your baby whether that be at 4 months with purées or just baby led. It can be tough but works out in your favour if you persevere with different foods to help your baby not be so fussy!!!

Weaning was a nightmare with my son. He loved eating everything we ate when it was pureed but as soon as we introduced lumps he ate nothing. Spitting it out was the norm and we really dispaired. Even buscuits would be chewed and then spat out without swallowing. Slowly, slowly I managed to introduce lumps. For months all he would eat was baked beans but eventually he would eat one extra thing.

It was around the 6 month mark with mine. My friends had told me about baby-led weaning and I'd never even heard of it before, so I did a bit of research and thought I'd give it a go. Highly recommended.

It was from about 6 months we started with baby food and it was a nightmare. She kept throwing it up or tipping it over herself. It took about 3 weeks before it started going well.

Both my children were so different, both were breastfed and my daughter started weaning just before six months and was really happy with the baby led weaning. My son needed proper food but 4 and a half months and they both had mashed banana, weetabix, pureed apple, pear, etc. For both of the I used a baby walker and it was a great help. We used to lay different foods out on the tray and wait for the mess to happen.

All of my four children were weaned before the recommended time although I did discuss this with their health visitor first. They were all breast fed and were feeding continuously. They all took to baby rice really well and then we moved on to homemade vegetable purees.

I always started on baby rice and porrige then moed gradually onto soft homemade foods or jars...then onto lumpier and eventually more finger foods. My first son was ready to be weaned when he was four months, my second son at 6 months and my two girls at 6 months - I just followed my instincts. I used a mixture of homemade foods and jars.

I started all my children on our food at 6 months or before , I found they were more happier & content. What ever we had for dinner they would have the same but mashed, always went well.

I ended up tandem nursing my daughter and thought we would have a natural and gentle child-led weaning but as it turns out I ended up stopping the weaning due to her biting rather forcefully at the end of each session. It was so sad. I really hoped she would continue on and stop the biting so we could keep on nursing.

i weaned by baby quite late at seven months, and breastfed until then, and she was really chubby and healthy

My my DC it started at 6 months and it was quite an easy transition really. She has always been enthusiastic about food, as long as I don't give her mash which she hates!

So, when did you start weaning? How did you feel about it? What were your questions and how did you get the answers? Was there anything in particular which surprised you about weaning? Which foods did your little one love during weaning, do they still love the same tastes now?

Started weaning both my children at 6 months, it was exciting to begin with and a little scary the first time as I was doing baby led weaning. They both took to it really well but my first child took to it the best, he would eat anything and be happy as larry sitting in his highchair (or anywhere) as long as he had food. My daughter took a little longer to get the hang of it as she was a bit of a milk fiend.

They're both great eaters still and will mostly eat anything, although my 3 year old boy is getting slightly fussier with things he doesn't know. He used to absolutely love tomatoes and would eat so many at a time and I still catch him nabbing them off the side.

The surprising thing about weaning was the mess! Oh, the mess and it doesn't get much better for a while.

I found out most of my information on weaning from Mumsnet which was really helpful.

Again like others it was around six months, no problems at all, we pureed everything and she loved it, no problems whatsoever apart from anthing containing peas! Aparantly I was the same as a baby and I must have passed it onto her ;0) and we both do not like them to this day....

I started weaning my son at just over 6 months starting with baby rice . Then stared adding solids all mashed very well . I was lucky my son took to it very well

I started weaning at about five months. We started on purées and with me spoonfeeding him. By the time he was six months I had introduced a variety of different foods and then I started giving him finger foods. He would eat anything until he got to 14 months old now he just wants to eat cheese sandwiches! I am just about to wean my second child.

I started weaning DD1 around 24 weeks and started with pureed fruit and mashed banana, and mini toast squares. I found Annabel Karmel recipes and pretty much stuck to those. DD1's favourites were chicken & rice, and Lentil with sweet potato. I found packets of baby/toddler rice cake snacks and finger biscuits were very handy when out and about, along with a banana and a pot of yoghurt. It worked so well I did more or less the same for DD2 as I felt much more confident about the whole process.

Have a great pic of my little one trying his first spoonful of baby rice.. he looks VERY unsure! Fortunately, this didn't last long & he embraced solid food with gusto! I was never much of a cook (although imagined I would be!) & relied on jars as I found this much less stressful. He is a happy, healthy little boy so it doesn't seem to have put him at a disadvantage in any way.
He was a good eater & still is, although not a fan of sandwiches.. prefers to pick the filling out & leave the bread! He LOVES baked beans & can smell them a mile off :) Now he is at nursery, he eats his evening meal there & has his milk when he comes home - we eat dinner while he has his milk & he will come up to us & say 'little bit' & have a munch of whatever we are having :)
Weaning seems a long time ago now..

We gave DD pretty much everything we ate (blended to start) from a few months. She was eating stilton at 2 and hot curry by 3.

Started both my daughters just after 5 months, both loved their home cooked Annabel karmel home cooked purees! Bit wary of baby led weaning but did introduce finger foods around 6 months with no problems! Really enjoyed weaning, they love their food having been through fussy phases but intoduci them to new tastes early on sets them up for a healthy life so its worth the effort!

I started weaning my daughter when she was six months old and we started her on baby rice, which she absolutely loved!

DS's weaning was around the 6 month mark, I started by mixing up baby cereals and giving him blended fruit/veg or jars of similar stuff, he was fine with that, when he went onto more solid foods he had a terrible habit of reaching or choking, used to frighten the life out of me. He is still a nightmare with food, he hates anything solid in his food such as lumps, like onions, mushrooms and so on.

We started just before 6 months, and I started him on baby rice and then baby yogurts. Then for a while we just used baby jars as they were easy and inexpensive, and he loved them. I didn't dare give him solids until he went to nursery and they did that for me at 9 months. He's over 2 now and has the best appetite ever, he never stops!

My son had multiple allergies which caused him to be sick at different foods which made weaning worrying. He turned out to be seriously allergic to milk, eggs and later on found out he was allergic to nuts.