How do I wean a 6 month old?

[ButtonMoon]

DS is 24 weeks now and I am planning on weaning over the next 2weeks or so. Not sure how to start really. DD was weaned at 15 weeks and I just did the whole puree thing and on finger foods from 6-7m. Not sure that I would like to just give him a chunk of carrot to gnaw at...what happens if he chokes on it? Any advice please? he has no teeth yet. Have made a few purees of pear, carrot, sweet pot and I have bought baby rice.

I started at 24wks with purees and a bit of baby rice, all of which were received with a distinct lack of enthusiasm! I offered sticks of banana, which she enjoyed more, so at 26wks I offered harder finger foods like rice cake and steamed carrot sticks and she started chewing a week later, so I just kept on with the finger foods and some spoon feeding and never looked back as she moved on to bigger and bigger pieces of food and never pureed again (though I do use pots of pureed fruit). It is amazing what they can do without teeth (9.5m without any and eating big chunks of anything and everything).
I would try offering your pureed food but move on to finger foods as quickly as possible around 6m. There may be lots of gagging but as long as he isn't distressed by it, and you stay calm, it will be fine and it will become less frequent. If he really chokes, rather than gagging/coughing it back up, then you should be in a position to know how to dislodge the food, so it would be worth looking it up somewhere like \link{http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/first_aid_action/hs_child/hs_choke.shtml\this}

Sorry it's long , hope it helps a bit.

um, this is a \link{http://www.ou.edu/oupd/choke.htm\much better site}

Try well cooked broccoli and sweet potato. They are soft enough to cough up easily, and slip down nicely! I found carrot too hard to start with - it needed boiling forever in comparison to other veg. Grated apples and pears work too. It gets them used to texture without the threat of choking. Couscous was a good one too (made him cough a bit - but got him used to texture).

My DS refused most things (purees etc) until I offered him finger foods. It took several days of putting foods in front of him for him to try them. Rice cakes (baby apple ones) were one of the first things he ate. I then tried various cooked veggies. If they were too soft, he would gum off huge chunks and gag (and I would panic a little!) and if they were too hard he wouldn't get anywhere. But we persevered and got used to the gagging at new foods. He's just 8 months now and is a dreadful eater... BUT, he can gum many foods to a pulp and swallow them without any gagging and with much enthusiasm.

As long as you keep him milk intake as it is, you can take your time to let him come to eating solids in his own time IYSWIM. Pop some rice cakes, cooked veggies and toast in front of him and see what happens

Oh, and when he is spoon fed, the food is never really smooth. I purposely add Kallo puffed rice to things to make them lumpy!