Fairy Non Bio wants to hear your thoughts about feeding and weaning - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

As part of our new partnership with Fairy Non Bio, we’ve produced our first ever Mumsnet Babies Podcast. There are ten episodes in the series and so far we’ve released five. Episode one is about feeding and weaning, and you can listen to it here. Fairy Non Bio would like you to listen to the podcast whenever you can, and then discuss your experiences of weaning and feeding your child.

Feeding your child is one of the joys of parenthood but it can also be an uphill struggle. We imagine ourselves watching our little ones devouring something delicious and home-cooked, into which we’ve poured both love and superfoods - but the reality is usually rather different. Fairy Non Bio would love to hear your stories about feeding and weaning. When did you start weaning? What process did you use and what worked well for you and your child? Do mealtimes often become a battleground or are they mainly about having fun? Is your child a fussy eater? How do you deal with that - do you ignore it and let them eat nothing but yoghurt and toast if they want, or do you try to sneak veggies into their meals? Have you experienced interference from family members, friends etc who have different ideas about feeding children? Whatever your story, please share it with Fairy Non Bio by posting on the thread below.

Everyone who posts below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

If you want to rate the Mumsnet Babies Podcast, please go to the iTunes store and add a review!

Thank you and good luck!

MNHQ

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I weaned DD from 6 months. It was my favourite baby stage. I loosely followed Annabel Karmel's book, and used a baby food blender/cooker type gizmo. I was lucky that DD was a good eater, rarely refused food and quickly settled on a varied diet.
My freezer was always full of cubes of puréed food and I found it easy to develop onto coarser and Lumpier textures and then to soft 'adult' food.
I was also happy to use the odd jar/pouch when out and about for convenience.

I started weaning my two at 6 months. We did mainly finger foods, made loads of mess, no jars of baby food, just normal food. They loved it and it was stress free except for cleaning up the mess.I always offered a balanced healthy selection of food and they naturally chose plenty of fruit and veg. Done days they would eat loads of carbs, other days mainly veg - over a few days it all balanced out. Now they are 4 and 7 and eat very well. They do eat cakes and biscuits etc, but generally are happy to eat a varied and healthy diet so meal times are not a battle.

I started weaning at 5 and a half months - I got pressure from DM to do it much earlier (about 3 months) and I heard things like 'it'll help him sleep, he's a big boy, he needs more than just milk, you don't have to follow every rule the NHS set, your sister did it and her kids are fine etc, etc' every day for ages. I wore me down. I was excited about starting weaning but wanted to wait until 6 months. I gave in 2 weeks early because I thought she might stop going on about me sticking to guidelines too much, which has sort of worked.

I planned to do baby-led weaning but in the end it just didn't work out, we preferred the more traditional route, although he's still encouraged to explore his food on his own and now at 17 months feeds himself half the time. Sometimes he wants to, sometimes he can't be bothered, we stick with that to avoid battles over food. We don't want him to associate food with stress or conflict.

In general he has always been a great eater. He'll always try different things, most things he likes. Sometimes he's not interested in eating but usually if you give him his own spoon or encourage him to feed himself it helps. Failing that we put on Baby Jake and he'll eat while in trance-mode

My two got on with weaning fairly easily. We always had family sit-down-at-the-table meals, so when they were ready they just shouted at our food and helped themselves! We mainly baby led weaned, with mash and soups to complement. The hardest part, has been keeping them clean! I am fed up of orange stained white tops!

Mealtimes have become such a chore since having DS and weaning him. I constantly have to plan healthy nutritious meals, whereas sometimes I'd like to go back to pre DS where a bowl of cereal or slice of toast sufficed for dinner. So he has probably made me healthier (and put on weight). But it's always a challenge to come up with interesting healthy meals that he will eat.

We resisted weaning with DC2 til nearly six months as we had done the research and I had attended a conference where I hear Gill Rapley talk.

Having weaned DC1 on jars and purée I think the baby industry scare first time parents into believing they need their products.

Baby led weaning was so easy to do. She has a great appetite and tries everything.

I'm weaning my second who is just over six months. We did baby led weaning both times at around six months as I liked the idea of it and I don't get stressed about the mess or worry about how much they're taking in etc... so it worked for us.

DC2 has taken to food more quickly than DC1 and basically crams everything in there, getting grumpy if they're not given enough. I think it helps having an older sibling to watch. Both are (currently!) good eaters.

My Mil found BLW fascinating last time and loved to watch DC1 eating as it was so different to how she weaned her children.

I've had different experinces with all three of mine. DD1 was very easy, but was fed mainly from jars as we lived in a bedsit with a shared kitchen that was vile. She ate well and tried everything.

DS1 was born 15 years later and the advice for weaning had changed. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing and was more anxious about him choking on things (although this was probably because we had given up n having more children by this time and had a high risk pregnancy so I was more anxious with him in general) I fed him on homemade purees and lots of freshly prepared foods. He was a good eater until he was 2, then decided everything was yucky. He is now 8 and is a very fussy eater and I worry about the lack of variation and healthy foods in his diet.

DD2 came along 5 years later and things had changed again. This time BLW was more popular so we tried this. She seemed to grasp this well, but now she is 3 she listens to her brother (who is her favourite person ever!!) and has become just as fussy as he is. I worry about them both.

It's always hard knowing when to start because everyone and everything is giving you conflicting information

I would say that if it will upset you seeing the food, you are about to make, all over the floor then don't make it. If it is going to take all day and you manage to get 1 spoonful in and the rest all over the kitchen then it can be really disheartening. They don't get much nutritional value from one spoon anyway, so concentrate on cooking when they get more than a spoonful in

I weaned at 6 months for both my DD. Neither would eat any meat until about a year old or so. Nothing to do with my diet, they just wouldn't touch it. The mess of early purees and baby porridge. It's OK when you are at home, but out and about can be a nightmare!

Although my daughter is now 12, I still remember weaning her. I tried waiting until she was 6 months old as that was the advice I was initially given but started at 5 months as she was getting hungry. Baby rice was the first thing we tried but she screamed when we first gave her a spoonful. I think it was because she was unfamiliar with it. As soon as she realised it was food and that it satisfied her hunger she gobbled it down! She ate all sorts of puréed food. It was only when she got older she became fussier but she is OK now although there are still things she doesn't like e.g. mashed potato because of the texture (she likes other forms of potato) and baked beans (although she liked them until she was about 4). I have never really understood this!!

My two DSs have been quite different to wean. DS1 was tiny, took to feeding very well just shy of 6 months, started off with spoon feeding and rapidly progressed to lumpier textures and finger foods. He's quite fussy about what he eats now though (age 4) and has remained tiny! DS2 was much more of a chunk and was very reluctant to try solid foods for the first few weeks, he refused to be spoonfed but took very well to BLW once I gave up on the spoons! He is quite a glutton in comparison with DS1 (for now at any rate) and eats all sorts! He is very easy to take out to restaurants and seems to particularly like Nando's, which my older DS isn't keen on at all so that is an occasional treat for the little one when big brother is at school.

I BF my DS1 until he was just over 2 yo. I would definitely recommend considering doing this as I believe there are lots of benefits for doing this if you want to carry on BFing beyond the more typical 6 month mark. I'm aiming to carry on with DS2 until the same sort of age (he's currently 14 months old).

With my first I used purees, both bought one's and homemade. I waited til six months as he didn't seem to be in a rush. His favourite homemade ones were roast dinners all pureed up. He was slow to move onto more solid food and ate lots of Ellas Kitchens. My daughter was the opposite. I tried purees with her at six months but she refused them. I got very stressed that she would never eat and then one day she picked a piece of pasta from my plate and after that I just gave her solid food like cubes of cheese, pasta, potato and cucumber. Moving onto proper food was much easier and she never ate a jar of baby food...

When did you start weaning?
With both children I started to try weaning at 6 months but both were not ready and surprisingly my daughter who was much smaller than my son started weaning at 7 and half months and my son was 8 and a half months. They were both breastfed only until this point.

What process did you use and what worked well for you and your child?
The process I began was to give a little poridge for breakfast but only as much as they wanted and then introduce blended veg and fruit seperatly.

Do mealtimes often become a battleground or are they mainly about having fun?
We had a lot more fun when the children were first eating and I found I could get them to try much more. Now that they are older I am having the problem.

Is your child a fussy eater?
Yes but when they began weaning they were not.

How do you deal with that - do you ignore it and let them eat nothing but yoghurt and toast if they want, or do you try to sneak veggies into their meals?
With my daughter I can bribe her to eat stuff but with my toddler I have to hide Veg in mash. Both will eat almost all fruit but Veg is a bit of a struggle

Have you experienced interference from family members, friends etc who have different ideas about feeding children?
Family members think I should be more forceful but my son has Autism and does quite well really with what he eats its just the texture of meat he has a problem with.

I was really looking forward to weaning but when I started I realised that it was the end of something. Up to that point everything my baby was physically was due to my body. Weaning was the first stage of independence from me. My babies took happily to it, purees mainly. One baby would not tolerate a single lump for months.

I weaned both my children at 4 months and I really enjoyed it. I got Annabel Karmel's book and I cooked all from scratch using a wide variety of food. Now, age 12 and 7 they are very fussy. What one likes the other doesn't and I keep hearing a new excuse every dinner time. I wish they were as easy as when they were 4 months old.

I weaned DS (nearly 8) at almost 5 months as per the advice back then and before BLW was a thing. He loved food and would eat nearly everything. I did cook quite a bit and followed AK recipes religiously. After he turned 1 I had less time to cook, he would eat well at nursery but was picky at home. Now at nearly 8 he is 'always hungry' (for bananas, sweets and chocolate), but is still quite picky and can't eat big portions.

DD (14 months) was weaned at the 6 month mark- started with mashed up foods- carrot, sweet potato and softer finger foods like bread and bananas. I used AK much less this time and bought more pouches. I also did a cooking course which gave me more confidence to adapt our meals for her. Although a bit reluctant at the start she now loves food, all food- lasagne, scrambled egg, beans, stew, and would eat loads if I let her.

We weaned around 6 months and mostly pureed our own meals, but we also relied on some backup jars of foods... DD was not fussy at all...

I love baby led weaning! It just feels so natural, I monitor how much he is eating and encourage him to try different things. Plus the dogs love cleaning up the mess!

Both my dc did blw from 6 months and it was a really positive experience. Lots of friends had issues with textures etc so I know I was very lucky and they are quite adventurous eaters now.

Weaning was traumatic for me for many reasons. First its the stress of making sure you do healthy home cooked food. Then it's to worry about baby led or mash well and worry about turning them fussy. and finally with weaning came all the allergies which overwhelmed me

Do it when they are ready and always give them lots of encouragement

i feel as long as baby can keep its head up its absolutely fine to start weaning x

For DD1 I did purée from 5.5 months and she ended up only being willing to eat veg as soup for about 2 years so it was a big faff, however with dd2 & DS I did blw which was much easier however when weaning DS, I was visiting mil who kept insisting he was going to choke and it was very irritating. Some people need to just back off.

I started around six months with easy foods, it's hard and it takes patience but ultimately rewarding.