First time weaning & confused!

[gardenpixie32]

Hi,

I really hope someone can shed some light on how I should go about starting to wean my twins. They are 22 weeks and I would like to start weaning them in a months time. They were 6 weeks premature so not very good at sitting up or holding their heads up for long periods of time. They have just started putting things into their mouths but it is hit and miss at the moment.

I wanted to do BLW with them but I don't think their motor skills will be up to scratch for this really. So, I think starting them on purees with finger foods always on offer and then moving to BLW when they are more able physically. They have never been big milk drinkers, they drink about 35-30oz per day.

My questions are...
Initially, how much should I offer them to eat?
How many meals per day (I was thinking one to start with???) and when should I increase this to two or three meals plus snacks?
How much should I reduce their milk by, if any?

Hoping someone can help :)

Sorry, that should be 25-30oz per day.

Start with offering a little bit of something when they are not tired or hungry - so maybe an hour after their first morning bottle. You could spoon a bit of porridge/mashed banana and give them some toast to munch. I would avoid doing purees if you are starting around 6 months, just roughly mash with a fork - that way they should get used to chewing rather than just slurping/drinking food.

I wouldn't purposely reduce their milk - offer food an hour after milk, bear in mind milk should still be their main source of nutrition til a year and they still need a minimum of 17oz-20oz til 12 months.

As for when to increase the number of meals - play it by ear. You'll know when to add snacks as they will have mid-morning or mid-afternoon milk and then grumble for more til you give them a rice cake!

First up don't reduce the milk. The food is just a taster at this point. Start with something like mashed potato, low allergen just a couple of tea spoon fulls to start. Give half the milk feed first do that they aren't starving and upset at the change. Pick a time of day when they aren't tired and therefore in responsive but its bit so late that if on the off chance they didn't agree with the food that it won't keep them up all night. I used to do mine at the 11:00 feed. Where dd1 had already had a morning nap and was bright and alert and happy. How much they do or don't eat at this age doesn't matter asking as they are still drinking plenty of their milk they may well just play with it and that's fine. If they not interested stop and try again in a week :)

Hi Garden
My twins are 15 mo now. They weren't premature but DTD was very small and a slow developer so I decided to do traditional rather than BLW too (she's more than caught up now though!) and started at 6 mo.

I started by offering some breakfast. I tried porridge mixed with EBM, puréed fruits (apples, pears, mango) and puréed vegetables like sweet potato, butternut squash (obviously not all at the same meal!). I used ice cube trays to freeze the purées in and would give one or two ice cubes at first.
I then just kind of worked my way through types of vegetables and fruits for a couple of weeks. I think I started with fish and chicken at about 7 months, then beef and eggs later. The first finger foods I offered were bits of pear, florets of broccoli, rice cakes and then toast and I did this from the start.

I think I moved to two meals within about two weeks and then three meals by the end of the month.

I made loads of purées for the freezer and also froze things like cheese sauce, tomato sauce, cooked pasta etc and then could defrost a few things and mix them together hey presto macaroni cheese and spinach! After they were about 8/9 months I just started mashing food and they just eat the same as us (although the next day as we eat after they have gone to bed). Now I usually cook enough for 4 adults, me DH, 1 between them for the next day and 1 to go in freezer.

DTS loved it from day 1. However, DTD didn't eat any food other than yoghurt until she was about 8 months old. Then she just went straight to proper meals. She absolutely loves her food now so don't be disheartened if they are slow to start!

.

Oh and re milk - I just offered food 1 hr after milk. I didn't cut out any feeds until they were both on three good meals a day by which stage they were about 10 months when I dropped the mid afternoon feed. Then at around 12 months we dropped the mid morning feed, replacing with a snack. So by then they were just having milk on waking and at bedtime, still the same now although I know I am supposed to stop the bottles

Thanks very much for the replies.

maja thanks for the tip, I wont start with smooth purees but will mash with a fork instead. Will definitely play it by ear and see how they go.

wheresmy 11am or 3pm would be a good time for us, thanks for your reply.

ceeveebee Thanks for your reply. It is helpful to know that your DTD took some time to enjoy eating, I will keep that in mind. You have given me a lot of ideas, starting with breakfast is something I didn't consider but I will definitely give it a try.

I have read up about it and have ideas in my head but there is so much conflicting advice online that I wasn't sure where to start! I feel quite nervous about it but I am sure it will be fine once they get going!

Thanks again for the replies :)