I am a week into weaning - he doesnt seem that interested! advice please!!

[ohnelly]

Hi I have just started weaning DS who was 6 months old last week & he doesnt really seem that interested to be honest. Decided to do a mixture of spoon feeding & BLW. Just a few questions please:-

1. How many times a day should I try? at moment doing twice. Mid-morning & Tea-time with bottles inbetween/afterwards

2. When is best time to try? Have been trying to give him something about half an hour before he is due a bottle, so hopefully he will be hungry but not frantic for a bottle. Sometimes he is not bothered, doesnt seem that hungry.

3. How long should I stick with one food before I try another? Started with baby rice for few days & have now tried baby cereal with fruit, rusk in milk, pureed carrot & apple.

When i put him in his chair or bumbo he looks around everywhere apart from at me and will eat some if I put it in his mouth but I dont want to put it in if he doesnt want it! I have given him finger foods of rusk, baby biscotti and banana. He tried the first two when I put it in his hand but was not interesed in the banana at all - it is difficult to hold though! Am I expecting too much too soon? advice please!! thanks

All I would say is weaning is a process and that it doesn't happen over night. Try a few different foods, textures, amount and different times and you'll find what suits you.

I tried loads of finger foods with DS (7 months) and the only one that is working well at the moment is the organix rice cakes. He doesn't choke if he bites off too much and he can hold them easily to put them to his mouth.

Good luck!!!

I agree with Tigresswoods, if you've only been going for a week then definitely no need to start worrying about quantities yet.

Also remember that babies don't associate solid food with hunger to start off with... all they know is that milk satisfies hunger. They also don't know that they're "supposed" to eat things, they just start off by investigating food the way they investigate everything, but putting it in their mouths, and then one day a little bit will slip down their throat by accident, and gradually gradually they will start eating on purpose and realising that it fills them up.

Re your questions, I would say that mainly do whatever suits you and your baby so you can both be relaxed at meal times. And re bananas, my LO prefers it if I mash it onto the high chair tray with a fork so she can stuff great handfuls of it into her mouth as she also finds chunks of it too slippery to get hold of.

Have fun!!

Annabel Karmel has a wicked recipe for bananas called "Going Bananas" you just melt a little butter in a pan, add some chopped banana and some cinnamon and OJ and mix it. Babies thing it is delicious!

I am totally not an expert but with DD I started BLW ever so casually - just started giving her bits of what i was having. Once she started taking a proper interest, I started doing it 'properly' which happened to be when she was 6mo. But every baby is different. If I was in your shoes I might continue but just try once a day otherwise I think I'd find it hard work prepping food for 3 meals if he wasn't interested.

Have you read the Gill Rapley BLW book? It is well worth a read and one thing she recommends is never to give them food when they're hungry.

The BLW catchphrase is 'Just for fun until they're one' - your DS will be getting enough nutrition from milk so no need at all to worry.

Hi thanks for replies, I will have a look for the Gill Rapley book, and the banana recipie sounds good too! glad im going roughly along the right lines