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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

Going on holiday and weaning...HELP!

14 replies

themaleworrier · 05/05/2011 12:51

DS is 20 weeks and has been expressed breast milk bottle feeding topped-up with formula. We (am writing this with DW) have decided to start to weaning him following Gina Ford and he is loving having food. Two weeks in we will be going on holiday and need to use jars as we won't be able to transport home purees etc easily when we are out and about (for two weeks). Have heard Ella's are the best but they all seem to be a mix of lots of things and Gina's plan is all about doing one flavour at a time... What should we do? Does it matter to suddenly introduce a number of flavours at a time? Thanks!

OP posts:

MooM00 · 05/05/2011 14:09

IMHO the book you have referred to is a little out of date. Also try googling the author and mumsnet .The current nhs guidelines are to wean at 6m and then just give all types of food, ie fingerfoods and purees. I'm sure it will be fine for your lo to have lots of different tastes.

Original poster

themaleworrier · 05/05/2011 15:13

Thanks MooM00 but IMHO you don't know what you're talking about. We weren't asking an opinion on weaning, we were just hoping that someone might be able to offer some helpful advice on the practicalities of weaning and going on holiday. As responsible parents we are quite well aware of the NHS guidelines on weaning, and it is extremely offensive to imply that we don't, and we have started with our Doctors approval. We didn't just decide to do it willy-nilly. As my parents used to say: if you don't have anything useful to say then don't.

OP posts:

TittyBojangles · 05/05/2011 15:18

A little defensive there? I think MooMOO was only trying to help- there are plenty of people who aren't aware of the current guidelines, and the advice to give lots of different types of food/finger food etc was useful. No need to be so snappy!

Original poster

themaleworrier · 05/05/2011 18:28

TittyBojangles - no, not defensive, just cross because I knew as soon as we wrote the dreaded words "Gina" and "Ford" I knew someone would get the wrong end of the wrong stick. There is also quite a lot of discussion around that this advice to wait until six months before weaning is responsible for the huge increase in allergies over the last few years. MooM00's reply was just unhelpful and not at all what we were asking for.

OP posts:

Sirzy · 05/05/2011 18:32

I went away with Ds last year when he was 6 months old and took Ella pouches and the cow and gate fruit pots with us and had no problems with them.

I gave him the occasional one for a couple of weeks before we went so he was used to the taste.

LuckyWeKeptTheCot · 05/05/2011 18:35

Don't know about Gina's approach but we were weaning DD (at 5 months) when we went on holiday and we took lots of jars and then gave her mushed up stuff we were eating. She liked one flavour at a time - but also some only when mixed - for eg liked mashed banana only if smushed with avocado. She has no allergies and tries absolutely everything - now 7 and a pleasure to eat with - doesn't like everything but has very wide ranging tastes and adventurous. Just my experience. I think going on holiday and giving her stuff I wouldn't have thought of at home made me much more relaxed about the whole thing.

alarkaspree · 05/05/2011 18:46

I think it's fairly unusual to find jars of food that are just one flavour, I think they're pretty much all mixtures. So you will have to compromise a little on Gina's plan but it will be fine. Whatever you believe about the right age to wean, solid food isn't an important source of nutrition for babies of your ds's age, so if he turns out not to like something and has some extra milk instead some days, no harm done.

LuckyWeKeptTheCot · 05/05/2011 18:58

Some jars are just two things mixed. Where are you going? Can you just have jars for the journey and prepare single purees when you get there? Or buy squishy bananas, smushed up cheese etc? IF you like the food pureed you can take one of these:www.gro-store.co.uk/feeding/weaning/oxo-tot-baby-food-ricer-green.html

or something similar.

If your boy is enjoying food maybe trust him to tuck into a good old mix, after all, babies used to have whatever their parents had, just mashed up.

posset · 06/05/2011 10:38

The jars are just fine, choose the ones appropriate to his age.
If you have decided to follow an approach to weaning that backs not mixing tastes, then why ask people to tell you that it's ok to do so and then get all uppity if anyone suggests that the method of weaning may not be the best way.

Original poster

themaleworrier · 06/05/2011 11:04

posset - I wasn't getting all "uppity". We didn't ask people to tell us if it is ok to start weaning when we are or agree with the method. All we were doing is asking for advice on the best way of doing it. I also don't believe that I would have received the same response from MooM00 if we hadn't mentioned Gina Ford, who seems to the Anti-Christ as far as most of mumsnetters are concerned. The irony is that both of us don't agree with a lot of what GF advocates and we are using a combination of her advice and Annabel Karmels recipes. As far as whether we are right to start weaning early, only time will tell........

OP posts:

ruddynorah · 06/05/2011 11:14

If you're that set on such a rigid weaning method then I would just stop for 2wks and start again when you get home. It all sounds like a huge faff.

Or, you could just buy fruit and veg when you're away and mush it up? Suppose that depends on where you're going and what facilities you'll have.

As much as it irritates you, if you hang on a bit your baby cam just eat normal food, bread, cheese, pasta, whatever without the need for all this faff of one taste purees.

pinkyp · 07/05/2011 09:45

if you tend to eat out alot perhaps ask for a extra portion of what ever veg your eating..broccolli/carrot/etc for you to mash with a fork and give??

I dont know anything about gina ford but if you are just introducing one food at a time perhaps you could buy a bunch of bananas and introduce that flavour whilst ur on holiday...easy to store and take out with u and just take a fork for mashing.

greeneone12 · 07/05/2011 10:41

I have been following Gina Ford and liked it as it is so simple...I went away similar to you two weeks in and did use the more simple Ella's Kitchen and Plum pouches. Yesterday we were out and she had 'apple, parsnip and carrot'!

I think Gina introduces them slowly to ensure that their are no reactions to certain foods but if there isn't a history of allergies in the family then I think using those pouches will be fine.

In was so keen to stick to the plan that I carted cubes of frozen puree in a cool back up to Cornwall from London!! I am a bit more relaxed about it now!

Hope that helps.

greeneone12 · 07/05/2011 10:42

back = pack - sorry no sleep!

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