Starting at 6 months ... silly question....

[jaabaar]

Hi,

My DD is six months next week and I am preparing for weaning.

Now, a very silly question.....

Do I need to start with foods for 4 month olds or do I go straight to foods suitable for 6 months?

Thanks and sorry for silly question...

Also does anyone know if Quinoa flakes are ok to add to baby food?

Start with basic bland food. Single veg puree like carrot, sweet potato, normal potato, squash etc with some of her normal milk and then start to mix 2x veg or more together. Same with fruits. Never used jars except for emergencies so if that's the route you're going I can't comment on the difference.

Hope that helps a little.

I'd start very simply - fruit and veg as notasausage suggests. However you can progress much quicker onto the gluten and dairy products you might want to avoid before 6 months.

If you are talking more texture, my 2 started at about 7 months (premature so I held off a little longer) and were on mashed rather than really runny puree almost immediately.

Disagree with notasausage about starting on bland food. My DD had garlicy spaghetti bolognese on day 2 of weaning and she loved it. There is absolutely no reason to ignore flavours.

Admittedly we're doing 'BLW' rather than pureeing everything (I simply cannot be arsed) but I don't see why that would make a difference.

No reason to avoid flavour, but you might want to introduce potential allergens one at a time. Wheat, tomatoes and cheese are all possible problems (well I think everything has a potential to be an allergen, these are more common).

Personally I think I offered a bit too much sweet to begin with rather than interesting savoury flavours - garlic, chilli, curry flavours went down very well when I was brave enough to try them.

If you start at six months there isn't much you need to avoid - just whole nuts and honey.

It's sensible to avoid things which might be choking hazards (peas/raisins etc) until your child has developed a 'pincer grip' (ie can pick up small things between the finger & thumb). If you're doing purees they would be fine that way, though.

You don't need to start with fruit & veg, although many people do. Unless you have allergies in your family you don't really need to be too cautious with potentially allergenic foods, although you could introduce them one at a time, which is what I did. Possible allergenic foods are wheat, egg, dairy, strawberries, kiwis, tomatoes & peppers.

We're doing BLW, though, so DS had toast by day 2 and spicy sweet potato falafels within the first week.

Thank you very much for all your advise!! I definately am more clear now.

What about quantities. Today DD had first time baby porridge (6 months today). I was reading that two spoons should be fed. However she loved it so much she had 8 spoons. I just gave as much as she wanted. On top she had her usual bottle. Is that ok? or too much? Should i do wiht food the same as I did with milk and let her decide?

thanks again...

Go with your instincts, if she's happy to eat 8 spoons let her have it!! My baby makes a horrific mess at meal time & I'm not entirely sure how much actually gets in so I let him go for as long as he likes. Advice seems to suggest keeping up with the usual bottles until feeding is properly established. I'd just be guided by your DD - if she wants it let her have the bottle until she's clearly eating enough solids.

We are doing baby led weaning and started at 6 months, only thing we avoided was honey and nuts and grapes. She loved stronger flavoured food, which suprised me. Bland food was ignored in favour of the stronger flavours. Give as much as they will eat, I have heard that babies only take in what they need and can self regulate at this age.