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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

Chocolate as a first food

49 replies

CorrieDale · 20/12/2005 21:24

No, this is not a joke thread!

We're going to start DS on solids on Friday, when he'll be 26 weeks. My mum has already recommended chocolate mousse as a first food and today, my sister was talking happily about chocolate pudding as a follow-up to DS's carrots.

I really do not want DS to encounter chocolate at the tender age of 6 months, mostly because I suspect that once he's tried it, he'll find it difficult to summon up much enthusiasm for carrot sticks! And I'm sure it isn't recommended until 1 year. There are going to be family battles about this (which I am obviously going to win but I would like as much ammo as possible) and I wondered if anybody knew the official line on chocolate for babies - or even of any research that will back me up!

OP posts:

tuppenceworth · 20/12/2005 23:58

There's a big difference between giving a weaning baby chocolate pudding or chocolate buttons or even a bit of chocolate when you're eating it and weaning a baby on chocolate fondue, which is what CorrieDale's family seem to be implying she does with her ds!

bobbybobbobbingalong · 21/12/2005 00:09

Homemade chocolate mousse and chocolate pudding both contain milk and the mousse probably contains raw egg - not a good idea.

Say you are introducing ingredients one at a time, so it will be some time before you get to chocolate.

I gave my extremely allergic ds dark chocolate at 10 months. No milk, no colours. Lots of calories which as a skinny wee allergic thing was a good idea.

Some chocolate dairy food in NZ has less sugar than yoghurts and no preservatives.

JendleWendleBells · 21/12/2005 00:22

Leg pulling methinks! Are you a chocophile? Was there some very amusing chocolate mousse incident in your childhood? Baby rice is the universally recommended first weaning food b/c basically no one is allergic to rice. And even though your DS will only be taking tiny amounts at first, rice does contain protein, carbs and vitamins. Well done for waiting till 6 months and letting your DS's intestines and kidneys mature to the right point for solids. Make sure to have a camera at the ready for Friday!

Chandra · 21/12/2005 00:48

Chocolate and grandmas... bad combination. I explained thoroughly to my mum that DS is, between other things, allergic to peanuts and milk, and what does she do? takes a milk chocolate with peanut butter filling and gives it to DS when I was not looking! Didn't have to think much before finding out what happened, DS went all puffy eyed and was covered in a rash in less than a minute. And... she stills believes it's no big deal

tuppenceworth · 21/12/2005 00:53

Why not go the whole hog and let him play marbles on the M1? Or juggle flaming batons?

I'd be furious if anyone did that to my ds!

spacedonkey · 21/12/2005 00:57

Lard is a good first food, I have found

fruitful · 21/12/2005 09:55

My MIL has the complete opposite view of chocolate (food of the devil, not to be given to children until they are 18).

DS is getting choc buttons in his christmas stocking (he is 10 months). I am mostly doing this to enjoy the look on his Grandma's face, and I expect I'll eat most of them myself... Hmm, maybe I should give him Belgian chocolates instead.

dingdongmeggymooonhigh · 21/12/2005 09:59

I didn't give ds any chocolate until he was about 15 months I just didn't think to and as a young baby he couldn't have and dairy anyway.

He has recently had the G&B milk chocolate which he loves but would choose an orange or some strawberries over choccie any day (not like his mummy at all)

I think starting it off as a first food and giving it regularly is not something I would encourage.

wewishyouamerryKITTYmas · 21/12/2005 10:01

My mother thought I was depriving DD by not giving her chocolate until she was a year and would exclaim to anyone who would listen "she's not allowed chocolate" now she has chocolate buttons etc anything we are eating but my Mum still insists on bringing her a packet of choccie buttons grabbing DD sitting her on her knee and practically force feeding her them, DD usually goes mad as she hates to be fed, if we give her buttons she gets 6 in a bowl to feed herself after dinner.

Families and chocolate - a hard issue.

fisiltoe · 21/12/2005 10:03

ds2 has been on solids for over 3 months and now eats virtually what we do. But he has still not tasted chocolate. Reason? When ds2 was born we had a line "babies don't eat chocolate". This was to head off any jealousy of the seemingly easy life the baby had, having everything done for him. Ds2 is just starting to crawl, which means he is going over to his brother's jigsaws/board games and destroying them. So ds1's life is not easy right now. So we are still sticking to our original line about chocolate - it helps ds1 to understand that while ds2 is getting bigger, he is still essentially a baby, and that big boys have other pleasures than destruction. Doesn't quite make sense when written down - but it does in reality!

Enideepmidwinter · 21/12/2005 10:06

dh fed dd2 a spoonful of chocolate and apple crumble at 10 weeks

she looked as though she had arrived in heaven

OComeOliveFaithfOil · 21/12/2005 10:08

Dd1 didn't have choc or biscuits until she was a year old (that I know of, MIL may beg to differ...).

dd2 is always having bits shoved in that I am eating.

Everything in moderation I would say, certainly not a weaning food as they may get a sweet tooth and turn their nose up at savoury offerings.

springerspaniel · 21/12/2005 14:42

I know it sounds nuts but you are not alone. My LO is 5 1/2 months and my gran asked if she could buy him sweets for Christmas. My mother said 'poor thing, I bet he won't be allowed any ice cream.' How stupid - me, my mother and my gran are serial comfort eating yo-yo dieters - we bounce back and forth to weight watchers. Why would they want to associate love with chocolate at such an early age. I am going to try and keep my own chocolate addiction at bay for as long as possible! I remember when I was little, they thought my GP aunt was odd for not letting her kids have refined sugar until they were old enough to buy it from the shop themselves.

NewBethlehemGirlwithsparkles · 21/12/2005 14:48

I set out from day one that my dd wouldn't have chocolate until she had her first birthday.

Thats exactly what happened too.

merrymarchhare · 21/12/2005 14:53

OK granted, not straight away, but I would say waiting ubtil they are 12/18 months + is a tad OTT IMO.

Its chocolate FGS, not arsnic.

Moderation, moderation, moderation.

merrymarchhare · 21/12/2005 14:54

Sorry NBG, X posts, not aimed directly at you .

tiktok · 21/12/2005 14:55

When my eldest was just three months, her grandparents bought her a massive chocolate easter egg. It was totally alien to them that we wouldn't give her any of it.

Such a shame.

I was forced to eat it

fuzzywuzzy · 21/12/2005 15:17

When my youngest sister (now 21) was little the Heinz baby jar's had a chocolate pudding version, I remember we use to eat it instead of giving it to baby sister....

springerspaniel · 21/12/2005 15:26

Oh god I remember that Heinz chocolate pudding from when my brothers were little - it was gorgeous. Mmmmmmm. Good point about having to eat your LOs chocolate instead of them - maybe I should have said yes to my Gran.

Original poster

CorrieDale · 21/12/2005 17:05

Thank you all! I would just like to say though that my family are not winding me up about the pudding/mousse! They genuinely seem to think that it is a child's right to eat chocolate and the sooner the better! Mad, I know. One problem is that sis's DS refused for about 18 months to eat anything other than chocolate pudding and yogurt (hmmm - wonder why???), but now he'll eat a much more varied diet (though still quite a picky eater) so any hint that chocolate is not a great food for a baby brings out "it was good enough for my son and he's just fine now".

So thank you for the ammo - very useful! Christmas Day is going to be a ball!

OP posts:

BluStocking · 21/12/2005 17:16

Big difference between a proper babyfood chocolate pudding, and a chocolate mousse from the chiller cabinet (which surely shouldn't be given as a weaning food, full of chemicals and e numbers?).

Personally, I held off the puddings in jars, but they should have reduced sugar, and be 'pure' - so I expect that is a matter of personal choice.

baby rice and purreed fruit would be better, wouldn't it?

springerspaniel · 21/12/2005 17:35

Blustocking - I agree. I tried my LO on veg first to avoid inherriting my dreadful sweet tooth. Tasted his sweet potato and baby rice today and it just tastes like rice pudding. Think he would explode in a sugar high if I gave him the real thing! LOL

Kelly1978 · 21/12/2005 17:40

I wouldn't offer chocolate as a first food, as it isn'tvery nutritional, but it doesn't always work to wean on savoury and then introduce sweet tastes later. Like soemone said, breastmilk is very sweet, adn my dts completely refused to touch savoury for a good three months of weaning. They were weaned onto pure fruit and rice purees. Eventually they began to accept some savoury with fruit tastes in it, and now at 9 months they gobble everything.

rockinrobinkie · 21/12/2005 18:20

Entirely aside from the chocolate issue, mousse/pudding isn't a good idea as an early weaning food as it will usually have egg products in it - my SIL got a huge fright with her ds with one (and he was much older than 26 weeks - more like 8 months) when he showed a violent egg allergy.

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