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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

Moving on from two tspns of baby rice a day

23 replies

Holymoly321 · 05/03/2006 07:58

DS has been having around 1-2 teaspoons of baby rice a day at lunchtimes. What's the next step? I've got some carrot purees in the freezer ready to go. Do I try him on those instead or first get him to have more baby rice at lunch - say three teaspoons or try him on babyrice again for say, breakfast or dinner before trying him on the carrot? Anyone got a rough guide on how to move forward from here? Many thanks

OP posts:

Original poster

Holymoly321 · 05/03/2006 14:31

bump

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chocohead · 06/03/2006 08:18

You could mix some fruit/veg puree with the baby rice. I would try this at lunchtime and gradually increase the amount of puree.

How long has you LO been having babyrice ? if it has been a few weeks i would try another mealtime as well and keep introducing different flavours/textures

Original poster

Holymoly321 · 06/03/2006 10:20

Hi CH - I've been giving him the baby rice once a day for just over a week. Yesterday we gave him some pureed carrot mixed in with the rice - heavy on the rice! So should I just increase the puree first with this one meal a day before introducing a second meal? Also, how long should I wait before introducing a different veg puree or fruit puree? Do I need to continue giving one type for a few days before trying a different one? Thanks

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Original poster

Holymoly321 · 06/03/2006 10:21

DS is 24 weeks by the way!

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WigWamBam · 06/03/2006 10:22

I have to say that I didn't use baby rice at all - dd went straight onto pureed veg and fruit as baby rice is revolting stuff. I preferred to give her real food that tasted of real food, rather than giving her gloop that tasted of wallpaper paste.

WigWamBam · 06/03/2006 10:23

And at 24 weeks he's definitely ready for real food rather than glorified wallpaper paste!

chocohead · 06/03/2006 11:04

I would introduce new tastes every few days. You could also try just mashing foods to get lo used to a bit of a lumpier consistancy, save you having to puree everything aswell!!

I started weaning 10 days ago and At the moment i am giving porridge for breakfast (which DD loves - she is 27 weeks) tried apple quite a few times but doesn't seem to keen yet, she likes banana . After 7 days started to give her finger foods for lunch, she had steamed carrot sticks yesterday and they seemed to go down well (apart from all the orange bits in her nappy this morning!!!) the joys of weaning!

Original poster

Holymoly321 · 06/03/2006 11:40

Wow - so by day 11 your lo was having solids for breakfast and also finger foods for lunch? That sounds great! A friend told me today that she was still only giving one meal a day (baby rice only) for the first four weeks! That seems like an awfully long time to me! I've just given him baby rice and carrot puree for and he took a lot more than yesterday (I think!). I'm cooking a sweet potato as I type and will try that tomorrow. Will prob do the potato for a few days then may try giving breakfast (should this be baby rice again or veg puree?) then finger foods for lunch - does this sound about right?

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Original poster

Holymoly321 · 06/03/2006 12:43

Or should the breakfast be a cereal? And if so what kind? Thanks!

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Original poster

Holymoly321 · 06/03/2006 18:38

bumpity bump

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chocohead · 06/03/2006 19:19

Hi smiling, sorry took so long kept typing a reply then getting distracted by a certain little someone

At 6 months they can have ready brek,weetabix and porridge ( sure there are prob some more) You can get porridge from health food shops may save you a bit of money.

I think you have to be guided by your LO, The next meal you introduce i would say has to be at his more relaxed time and obviously whats best for you.

If you wanted to introduce finger foods you could try before or after his lunch maybe a cucumber/apple stick.

Hope this helps

Original poster

Holymoly321 · 07/03/2006 08:03

Hi CH - no worries - I know exactly what it's like! When you say weetabix etc, do I just use his formula milk to make it up? Also, re the cucumber/apple stick etc, should I give that in addition to his puree at lunch or instead of? And with apple sticks, do I need to have one of those mesh type pouches to put it in first to prevent him biting off big chunks and choking on them? SOrry for all the questions!

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chocohead · 07/03/2006 16:25

You could give him it in addition, he probably won't really eat that much of it to start with anyway.

They can have cows milk mixed with their food from 6mnth so you can use this with weetabix etc..think you can use formula if you prefer.

Maybe you could try something softer for his first finger food such as carrot stick, just steam/boil it 4 a bit. I have given my DD apple and she has been ok but you have to watch her like a hawk.

Just try what you are happy and comfortable with. so much to think about isn't there?

Original poster

Holymoly321 · 07/03/2006 19:49

Thanks CH - yep, there certainly is so much to think about! One minute I decide I'm going to remain totally calm about everything because whatever I give him (within reason!) won't kill him! And then the next I'm being a stress head! The HV today said that in the next six weeks DS should aim to be on 3 meals a day, so I guess that's what I'll aim for. Thanks again for all your help! I gave him some sweet potato puree for lunch today - not very smooth - and he seemed to have a lot of it - more than yesterday. He was then sick this afternoon, but I'm not sure if that was the sweet potato itself or the fact he ate so much of it so may try it again tomorrow. Anyway - gotta go now as Chelsea are on!

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Smellen · 07/03/2006 20:22

WWB
Just a question for future reference (have a while to wait yet) - you said you went straight on to proper food rather than babyrice. What is the thinking behind babyrice then? Is it purely to let the baby experiment with the different muscles used for swallowing rather than suckling? Is it for its nutritional value? Be interested to hear your thoughts.

WigWamBam · 07/03/2006 23:00

I'm no expert but I understand that it was originally intended as a low-fibre cereal to be mixed with fruit purees as a way to add bulk to the fruit without adding more fibre. I can also remember my mother telling me that when I was little its main purpose was to add to bottles of formula milk to bulk them out before a baby was given solid foods - that was in the dim and distant past (I'm knocking on a bit!) when babies were weaned at something like three months.

To me, if a baby is ready to start eating food then they are ready to start exploring tastes and textures, and baby rice doesn't have either. Even babies appreciate something that tastes good. And with weaning at 6 months, when most babies can go straight on to lumps and finger foods, I can't see much point in faffing about with bland, tasteless baby rice when they could be eating something that actually tastes good and encourages them to enjoy eating.

colditz · 07/03/2006 23:05

I wish people would stop saying baby rice is nast, it isn't at all!

What you do is, you add boiling cow's milk and a teaspoon of strawberry jam, then you eat it for your supper. Don't give it to the baby, make the baby have carrot.

Smellen · 08/03/2006 10:01

DS is 15 weeks on Friday, and is BF (although have introduced a 4pm 5oz bottle of formula this week in addition to 6 boob feeds per 24 hours). He is about 15 and a half pounds. I am not intending on weaning him before at least 17 weeks, and would ideally like to hold out a little longer...

However, he is waking earlier, slavering at me when I eat breakfast, is able to sit up in his chair, and beamed at me when I gave him a weaning spoon to hold - shoving it in his gob, licking it etc.

If I do decide to introduce some solids after 17 weeks, should I stick to this babyrice stuff, or would puréed veg be OK? Or should I give him extra milk and tough it out for another few weeks?

I've read all the NCT stuff on the desirability of exclusively BF-ing to 6 months (on other MN threads) and am aware that introducing solids at 4 months is acceptable but not ideal, but would like to hear what you think, especially if you think that babyrice is akin to wall-paper paste.

WigWamBam · 08/03/2006 10:57

lol colditz ... although you might just as well put a bit of strawberry jam into wallpaper paste

WigWamBam · 08/03/2006 11:01

Smellen - beaming at a weaning spoon doesn't really mean your ds is ready to wean. He would probably have beamed at anything you'd given him. Readiness for weaning is about the baby's gut, not how well they can sit up or whether they're interested in weaning spoons. If you can hold out for a bit longer with extra milk then it would be better for your baby.

That said, my dd was weaned at 16 weeks because that was the HV's advice, and I didn't know then what I know now. As I said earlier, she went straight onto real food - pureed carrot, pear, that kind of thing. It's OK to give real food rather than baby rice ... but then again, if you really want to give baby rice then do!

Smellen · 08/03/2006 19:50

WWB - re "beaming at a weaning spoon doesn't really mean your ds is ready to wean. He would probably have beamed at anything you'd given him."

The chopsticks had him foxed. He said: "What the hell?!?" :)

No, seriously, the reaction when I gave him a spoon was very different from that when he is given a toy to hold. And very funny. However, of course I am not going to roll out the steaks because he thinks he's ready.

My point was that you said you'd gone straight into the wonderful world of purées at six months - do you think this would be OK if you were weaning slightly earlier? Apart from being used to bulk out feeds, what does babyrice do?

WigWamBam · 08/03/2006 20:04

No, I said I went into the wonderful world of purees at 16 weeks - I wouldn't do it now because I've discovered MN and I know better now, but as I said, it was what the HVs advised at the time so it was what I went with.

peaches27 · 09/03/2006 22:56

Follow your instincts, Smellen, do what you think is right.

When I read bits of conflicting baby rearing advice, I think to what folk did before the baby expert books. I reckon if your baby looks interested in your food smellen, let him just have a little taste of rice or puree. The first two or three times he will only probably have one little bit on the end of a spoon to get him used to it. So go for it!

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