Ask the expert: Weaning your baby - £100 voucher to be won

[LibbyMumsnet]

Weaning can be an exciting milestone, but it can also bring lots of questions - from when to start, what foods to offer first, and how to manage worries around allergies, gagging or fussy eating.

We’ve invited Paediatric Dietitian Lucy Upton to answer your questions on all things weaning and early feeding. Lucy will be posting answers throughout February.

Share your question by 2nd March for your chance to win a £100 VEX voucher (T&Cs apply).

About Lucy:
Lucy is a qualified Paediatric Dietitian and Feeding Therapist with over 15 years’ experience supporting children’s nutrition from birth through adolescence. She has worked across both the NHS and private practice, is author to 'The Ultimate Guide to Children's Nutrition - How to nurture healthy happy eaters in the first 5 years', and is a Media Dietitian. Lucy specialises in early years nutrition, weaning, food allergies, fussy eating, feeding difficulties, gut health and children’s growth, and is passionate about providing clear, practical and evidence-based advice to parents. She’s also mum to three-year-old Aurelia.

Alongside Lucy’s answers, you may also find the Best Start in Life weaning hub helpful for clear, NHS-approved guidance at each stage of weaning.

Not all babies cope as well as others. My first wasn't great with textures. I learned not to make such a big deal about making lots of baby-friendly foods. What you are having is fine, and just use less salt/spices. Getting them used to a variety of flavours will win in the longer term.

Not weaning related but hopefully you can still help. I have a fussy 3 year old who doesn’t eat dinner. She just doesn’t seem hungry (though would of course eat a cake or some fruit if offered!). Is this normal? She eats breakfast and lunch but it’s just dinner she doesn’t seem to want.

My 1 year old still gags a lot especially eating toast/bagels for example. Any advice on how to manage this as it does still make me very nervous and I have a fear of choking.

My 2 year old really does not like a spoon, (or any cutlery) we've tried most things, he will eat off pitta bread with food on top, or with his hands - I've decided to try not to make a fuss over it, and the tolerance of cutlery will come - any tips ?

What foods would be best - I am thinking puree's at first and building up textures which need some chewing - vegetables and quorn bites - and will go with how well the child does - but how long would you expect this stage to take - and fingers for how long ?

is baby led weaning still the recommended way?

Do you have a recommended order of what food to offer when? I've heard a fair bit of talk around prioritizing veg over fruit so they don't get used to the sugar etc. but I don't know if that's grounded in any research?

Can you confirm that baby rice has about as much nutritional content as wallpaper paste and should be avoided due to arsenic content?

Would be great if there was more information available on weaning babies with allergies.

DS was diagnosed before we started solids, so we had to test every new food separately for 3 days and keep a diary. It meant the weaning stage was really long and time-consuming, recording moods, skin, nappies, etc. It was quite intense and lonely!

My question, is when weaning - what should you look for in their poo, to know you are giving them a good balanced diet, and there are no intolerances, and is this a good indicator that babies weaning that the body is tolerating new foodstuffs well ?

I’m worried about my baby getting enough iron, as she’s fussy. Should I be?

How would you cook sweet potato and carrot, can I begin to add herbs for extra taste sensations - gradually, I'd love to try corriander and mint to meals (11 mo)

baby is 8 months old and not interested in food :( we tried pureed and blw and she will only eat banana and yoghurt. I keep offering but she would not even open her mouth. What should I do?

Some allergies are obvious as the reaction is obvious. Are there any signs that are not as obvious that one should watch out for when food is introduced?

Although around 6 months is given as the start time, how early can one start to wean as not all babies are the same? And again, how late can one start to wean?

How do you know when a baby is ready to wean? Is it just a case of just starting it at the recommended 6 months?

How to manage constipation that started with weaning?

Is there anything to buy for babies ro help alivate instant symptoms of an allergic reaction?

Hi everyone, really looking forward to answering your questions over the coming weeks. I know weaning can be a time of excitement and uncertainty, so this is a space to ask questions and feel supported

Hi @sharond101 - Thank you so much for your comment. I would agree and reassure parents that much like other developmental skills, learning to eat is something that babies progress with at different rates. I agree that adapting family meals is a fantastic way to build familiarity with family food, and reduce the burden of food preparation, whilst offering the natural variety family meals provide!

Thanks so much for your question @Twinkletots1. The evening meal can often be the most challenging for many young children - tiredness, combined with the fact that they may well have already taken on a good amount of energy across their meals (and snacks), means that many parents notice appetite dips in young children in the evening. I would encourage you to be responsive to your child's cues, and if you've offered a balanced meal, inclusive of at least one food item you know she'd normally eat, then trust her appetite (which may well be lowest in the evening)

Thanks so much for your questions, @girlmumofthree, and nerves around choking, especially in the face of ongoing episodes of gagging, are understandably a worry. Toast, and especially bagels can be quite sticky and chewy, which means they can be harder to manage and chew (especially as your baby's chewing skills are still developing), so can be more likely to trigger gagging Adjusting the texture (for example, offering lightly toasted wholemeal bread with spread both sides that soften it, or serving bagels very thinly sliced or in bitesized pieces, with plenty of topping) may help reduce this risk while still supporting skill development

Hi @Britanniahouse, thanks so much for this question. It is not uncommon for young children and toddlers to prefer eating with their hands, and this can actually be a very supportive way to learn and become familiar with foods. You can support ongoing learning of cutlery skills with plenty of modelling yourself (young children often love to copy/mirror adults or peers), consider cutlery options that may be easier to hold, e.g. shorter, wider or ergonomic handles that fit small hands, and of course repeated opportunities, without pressure.

Hi @Dizzywizz, thanks so much for your question. So, there isn't one single recommended way, but baby-led weaning is an approach adopted by many parents. This is essentially where family foods and meals are adapted to appropriate finger foods, and the baby takes the lead on exploring and feeding themselves. Offering foods via a spoon-led or 'traditional' approach is also appropriate, or some parents choose to do a mix of both, e.g. offering a puree/mash and appropriately prepared finger food. Regardless of approach, following babies' hunger and fullness cues, letting them get messy and explore, and offering plenty of variety are encouraged.

Hello @ByNavyBear, this is a great question, thank you. There are no strict, set-in-stone rules around first foods for babies, other than avoiding choking risks and certain higher-risk foods, which are outlined here: https://www.nhs.uk/baby/weaning-and-feeding/foods-to-avoid-giving-babies-and-young-children/
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Many parents and professionals now prefer to introduce vegetables first, particularly more bitter flavours, e.g. broccoli, courgettes, spinach, as early exposure to these flavours and foods has been shown in research to support ongoing acceptance of these foods over time. However, this is a preference rather than a requirement, and there is flexibility in how families choose to approach weaning; many choose a combination of vegetables, fruit and grains initially.