15 week old. Weaning tips!

[MommyBird]

My DD2 is 15 weeks, she is showing a few signs but i dont feel she is 100% ready as shes so young.

But! I would like to be prepared. My DD1 was weaned at 4/5ish months and tbh, i cant really remember how i started! I know she hated baby rice.

Can i start with veg? Or is it best to stay plain?
I want to try with homemade food. Even though my DD1 didnt eat my homecooked food till she was 8 months. i'm a good cook, honestly!

best homemade purees to start with?

if you wait til 6m it's tons easier as they can have everything except honey and choking hazards like whole grapes or nuts. plus you can do finger foods as well or instead of purees.
carrot, pear, stewed apple, butternut squash all good for starters

NHS guidance is 17 weeks at the very minimum. The longer you wait, the easier it will be, and at 6 months they can have pretty much everything (bar honey and whole nuts). Before 6 months you should stick to fruit and veg only. (I'd avoid grim baby rice altogether!)

If you want to do purées, Annabel Karmel's baby and toddler meal planner is good. It's also got good baby-friendly recipes for when they start eating proper food

Im wanting to wait till about 6 months :)
i know it might sound awful, but i'd really like to get the stress of Christmas out of the way first. She is very happy on her milk right now so i'm not going to rush Her.

I had PND with my first, i was completley unsure of everything and lacked so much confidence when it came to weaning!

So its ok to bypass the rice? thank god!

NHS advice says to wait till around 6 months, and never before 17 weeks as others have said.

Have a look here to check that your DD is showing signs of weaning - often some normal development is mistaken for "needing" solid food. The NHS campaign is called "no rush to mush" which is an apt name - I can't see that there's any hurry to start weaning early. It could be less than ideal health wise, and is harder to do. If you wait till around 6 months it is much more straightforward, again as others have already said.

I would also agree with avoiding baby rice. If you do start earlier than recommended then just stick to fruit/veg until 6 months.

You can bypass purées altogether if you wait till 6 months, it's called Baby Led Weaning, there's a useful book by Gill Rapley if you're interested, and a load of websites.

Or you can do a bit of both. The Annabel Karmel book I mentioned is really useful if you want to do purées first and you're a bit unsure of yourself as it sets it all out for you with recipes and menus.

You've got plenty of time, so you could do a bit of reading beforehand and then decide what you want to do. The library can probably get the books in for you. :)

My DH bought me the Annabel Karmel book off Amazon last week so i will have a nose at that when it comes :)

I want to prepare myself and do asmuch research as i can. I will try the BLW and the puree i think. Might make it a little bit more exciting for her.

My DD1 had alot of sweet tatties, shes almost 4 now and still loves them so im hoping her sister will follow her love of veg.