Weaning advice please

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My DS is 24 weeks old so very close to being able to start trying food. The NHS recommends 26 weeks but he has very good hand to mouth coordination and for the past couple of weeks has started reaching out for what we are eating! My DH bought some Ella's kitchen puréed pouches, would I be ok to try him with these now or should I wait for a couple of weeks?

Also, what bits do I need to buy? I know that sounds silly but there seems to be so much I need to buy for the next stage! I've bought 8 small pots for food, 6 spoons and a sippy cup. Does this seem enough? It just seems very overwhelming

Hello,

Couple of comments:

Yes, the Ella's pouches are fine - make sure you start with the 4 months plus ones. These are the smoothest.

If you plan to make some of your own food you'll need some combination of a blender, masher, food processor. I recommend the Annabel Karmel weaning books - good advice and lots of recipes.

Ice cube trays are good for freezing batch made food (or Ella's pouch leftovers).

Oh and don't forget bibs! Big bibs!

Good luck!

PS sorry I can't really comment on timings - our DS was premature and we were advised to wean him early

No need to buy pouches or mash anything. Read up on baby led weaning.

Sounds plenty! Do you have somewhere for him to sit nice and upright? And bibs! Lots of bibs!

I would consider trying him on homemade stuff first, just because the bought stuff is very bland, if they get used to that the real stuff can be a shock iyswim? Plus so expensive! I'm just starting weaning too, ds went crazy for pear the other day - I think because it's so sweet?

I've decided I want to do a combination of purées and baby led. I have read up on this.
Big Bibs! I didn't think of that! Haha I'll pick some of those up!

pootles yes I have a high chair in order, just waiting for it for be delivered. Did you purée the pear for your DS or just give him a Chunk? If purée, how did you do it? I don't own a steamer so is it ok to boil?

Sorry for all the questions

The NHS advice is that weaning can start around 6 months, so I'd say you're ok to start.

Steaming I think preserves more nutrients than boiling, but you don't need a fancy separate steamer. Just buy a simple one that sits on top of your pans.

For traditional weaning you can give finger foods as soon as you like. The best shape for babies to grab are batons that are a bit longer than their hands. I would avoid very hard things like raw carrot and raw apple to begin with. A soft ripe pear would be fine to give as it is, don't boil or steam it!

I wouldn't bother buying pouches or jars of baby food, they all tend to contain cheap filler ingredients and so are quite bland and samey.

The bought stuff isn't all bland, the Ella's Kitchen pouches are v tasty. I like the white one and the purple one but DS has rejected the latter twice for some reason, even though it's the best one! Rusks are also delish - DS rarely gets any because I eat them all with my tea (though I have learned that they have low resilience for dunking )

Baby rice is absolutely ming dinging though.

So far DS has only eaten pouches, jars, Weetabix and Ready Brek. I don't have time for making my own purees when there are perfectly good ones available to buy. Sometimes I mash banana and avocado for him. I'm sure I'll mash more stuff as we go along.

Rusks, ready break and baby rice have pretty much zero nutritional value, and pouches lack vitamins and minerals. Might as well feed them sawdust

PS sorry I can't really comment on timings - our DS was premature and we were advised to wean him early

Genuine question if he was premature, why would they advise to wean early?? I'd have thought premature babies be weaned later??

TittyGolightly Sawdust, eh? That's tomorrow's lunch sorted! You're a nice person, I like you.

To clarify, a) I don't feed him baby rice, b) pouches of pure fruit purée have as many vitamins as any other fruit mush, unless Ella's Kitchen have invented some kind of vitamin extraction process, and c) exactly what the fuck is wrong with giving him half a Weetabix with some fruit purée mixed through?

Someone call social services and ask for the Ready Brek Department

You've listed nothing with any protein there. It's all junk carbs. Bravo.

www.nhs.uk/news/2013/09September/Pages/baby-weaning-solid-foods-less-nutrititious-than-home-cooked-baby-food.aspx

We do a combination of finger foods and purees. The only equipment I have used so far is a stick blender and a crinkle cutter (a couple of quid on Amazon) I use a metal sieve on top of a pan as a steamer. I think you have more than enough bowls etc
Roasting is also good. I tend to do this while the oven is already on in the evening for our meal.

A washable shower curtain is great to use for the floor for finger foods etc. Big bibs with sleeves are essential for us!

Pear I usually peel and core then wrap in foil and roast for 5/10 mins to soften slightly.

Just don't be too disappointed if it doesn't go as quickly as you expect, I found it disheartening at first but we're getting there

Meh, I reckon in the beginning it's not so much about nutritional content as getting them used to having solid food in their mouths. Nowt wrong with sawdust if it'll get them to try things!

I did a mixture of gloop and finger foods OP. I did purée the first meal or two but then got lazy and just mashed things up really well. So mashed sweet potato with some milk mixed in to loosen it, mashed pear, banana etc. Also weetabix, bit of baby porridge, the odd jar because they're so handy.

Raspberries are a brilliant finger food because they turn to absolute mush once they get them in their mouths so v low risk of choking.

We're on to bits of chicken, cheese, pasta, bread, various veg and fruit now at 8 mo and she'll eat pretty much anything we eat. The earliest weeks are the most faffy but I found a fork or potato masher, a normal ramekin dish, a teaspoon, and a tiny espresso cup (fancy eh?!) did the job just as well as any of that specific baby cutlery/weaning bowls stuff.

I started around a similar time - baby led initially - we do use pouches though as they are an easy way to get some fruit into her.
The first few months she didn't eat much - put it to her mouth but was just experiencing really.
Recommend pasta shapes that are easy to hold, sweet potato/carrot chips went down well, slippy fruit worked better on a fork, banana pancakes are fab, big bibs are amazing! Don't recommend baby porridge- yucky stuff!

You'll be fine introducing fruit and veg now. Best to start with fruit/veg but if you want to introduce protein then fish is quite gentle on the stomach, hold off on any dairy for a couple of weeks.
Best thing I can suggest is let your little one decide what textures they like and do introduce veg as well as fruit. One of mine didn't eat anything lumpy for a while - the other was happy to gnaw on anything! Try overcooked broccoli as they can sort of suck/gum the end of that and it just disintegrates. Dont be scared of giving them what you're having to try a tiny bit of as long as it's not too salty.

TittyGoLightly Other people are also feeding their babies Weetabix and pouches! The horror!

RedLemonade That's the stage we're at - he's really just trying things out. He's still on about the same amount of milk as normal (which I think contains protein...? I'll ask TittyGolightly, she'll know I'm sure). I've bought a bunch of things for him to try this week - cigarette butts, razor blades, that kind of thing.

Baby pouches are usually heated as part of the conservation process. Home-made purees can be made from fresh fruit, gently steamed. Definitelly big nutritional value difference.

Highly processed cereals, again, zero nutritional value as the grain is highly processed, the more processed grain the worse. If I am not mistaken some such as weetabix contain flavour enhancers such as glutamate. Again if you make grain-based food at home you can control the ingedients and you can prepare/cook the grains the way they will be much more benefitial for young child, but that is further debate about antinutrients and enzymes in grains.

Go for it- and enjoy! You're just exploring tastes to start with. Do what you feel is right - too many strong opinions on what you should and shouldn't feed your baby.

I don't know why I read weaning/food threads on here. I was delighted when mine started to like weetabix because it was healthy and easy- the perfect combination.

It seems me and my happy, healthy weight/rarely ill children are off to nutrition prison after all.

If I am not mistaken some such as weetabix contain flavour enhancers such as glutamate.
Weetabix does not contain glutamate. It does contain a little salt and sugar, but very low amounts (Salt content is usually lower than supermarket own brand equivalent product)

Oh and OP once you get going with the fruit/veg and want to introduce protein then red lentils are great as they boil down to mush.

Zahrah5 There's glutamate in breast milk and pretty much everything else (tomatoes, chicken, mushrooms, peas...). 'Zero nutritional value' is a meaningless statement.

Weetabix is whole grain with lots of iron. You can easily mix it with fruit and yoghurt. It's a great, healthy, cheap, convenient weaning food.

LottieDoubtie I'll see you in weaning prison I think I might get capital punishment as DS is formula fed too

A phrase I've heard paediatricians use is "Food before 1 is just for fun".

In other words, getting them used to a range of tastes and textures bit by bit as they are ready for them, but not panicking over the whole nutritional balance and total intake as milk is still the mainstay of the diet. That can take the pressure off sometimes - though of course you don't want them getting used to things that will suck them (and you) down an unhealthy food route as they get older.

Forgot to mention, the best weaning tip my mother gave me was to try plaice. You can cut a fillet into several smaller pieces, and steam it on a plate over a little water in a frypan in just a couple of minutes from the freezer. Gives them good protein that is an easy texture with anything else they are having - but the quick and easy to prepare is the big thing!