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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

Starting weaning, are jars really that bad? Advice please

32 replies

sparkleandsunshine · 22/05/2017 09:43

Ok so my girl is only now 4 months, and I'm going to wait a little bit longer, but I've been given lots of jars of organic baby food for free (mostly Hipp) and a few Heinz. I've also been given some Aptamil (her milk brand) porridge and baby rice.

But then I'm getting loads of people saying to me "you shouldn't give baby any jars or premade stuff, they should only get homemade food because jars have no goodness in them"

Am I wrong in thinking this can't be true? I mean, surely these companies have to go through testing and they have to have some nutritional value to be allowed to sell them?

I've also had people gasp when I said in a few months I can't wait to let her try a rusk!

But then I spoke to my health visitor and she said to start DD on bland food like baby rice and porridge. Then a friend of mine was told to start on veggies, and do one veggie a week.
I'm seriously confused. I'm not wanting my DD to live on jars, I thought we would do the rice and porridge for a few weeks then move onto homemade purees and just use up the jars when we are out for long periods at a time. I couldn't afford the jars all the time anyway. But now I'm wondering if I should never have accepted the jars if they're that bad.
Advice please x

OP posts:
ICJump · 22/05/2017 09:45

They aren't dreadful. But they very sweet and pretty processed. But that being said they can be handy while you are out. As long as it isn't the majority of your baby's diet they are fine.

Justmadeperfectflapjacks · 22/05/2017 09:47

Try a jar.

Then get out the blender!!
Bananas were always my dc first food!! Easy to put one on your baby bag for lunch away from home!!
Veggies, porridge, fruit, depends if you want to go down the baby led weaning or not (I didn't, blended /mashed +spoon!)
Ask your hv about a weaning course!!

NoCapes · 22/05/2017 09:49

Why are you starting on baby rice (ie glue) then moving onto homemade purées? Why wouldn't you just do homemade purées from the start?

TheLegendOfBeans · 22/05/2017 09:52

Hold on until six months and then try some bland stuff in jars. Sure we puréed some squash and broccoli and stuff but quite quickly went o to Ella's pouches and some jars.

It is a universal truth that pureeing your own veg for baby is always the "better" option as homemade stuff won't have any preservatives etc in it but who has time to do that each and every meal? Weaning is hard, don't make it harder if you have an "out".

But wait until baby is 6 months x

NoCapes · 22/05/2017 09:53

Beans you don't do it each and every meal, you freeze in portions and take stuff out to defrost each morning, it's really not a big hassle

user1491572121 · 22/05/2017 09:55

You'll get told they're fine by a lot of people but they're processed at the end of the day...and I never advocate that for anyone.

It's easy to mash up a pear, ...or an apple. Just stew it first. Then freeze in trays. Mashed potatoes...sweet potatoes...they're easy to manage.

MyWhatICallNameChange · 22/05/2017 10:00

Baby rice is the most foul thing on earth (well, apart from marmite!) I wouldn't bother with it at all. None of mine ever had risks either, aren't they really sugary?

Apart from that I don't see anything wrong with having jars every so often. I fed mine mainly home made stuff but they still had jars if we were having something unsuitable (because I never batch cooked especially for them, they ate what we ate at the same time as us - dinners, that is.) or if I was going out and didn't have anything in/couldn't be arsed to make something.

I kind of did mixed BLW and some purees. I'd wait till 6 months too, it is so so so much easier! (My first two were weaned when it was still recommended at 4 months)

FatOldBag · 22/05/2017 10:02

They're fine. For some people only breast milk will do, only hand pureed organic food, only brand name clothes or whatever would be good enough. But for most normal people just feed them, clothe them and love them, they'll be fine.

TheLegendOfBeans · 22/05/2017 10:03

Capes maybe for some but not all.

Finding the time to do a big batch of purses that your baby will mythically gobble up isn't easy - it can be done but reading the OP maybe she should use the jars until she gets in the swing of things re pureeing stuff en masse?

Just feel that there's a bit of judgeyness directed at parents who wean baby from jars.

It's not like she's raising the baby on a diet of Frazzles and Irn Bru.

FellOutOfBed2wice · 22/05/2017 10:06

Just do BLW. It's easier and no need for a load of purée or Ella's kitchen stuff. Just start them off on soft stuff.

NoCapes · 22/05/2017 10:07

Well in struggling to see how boiling and blending a bit of veg is difficult but ok, let's say for whatever reason someone finds it really tricky - take a banana and mash with a fork, take a bit of your own dinner and mash it with a fork, or just give the baby a bit of toast or whatever to chomp on
It's still not difficult enough to warrant a 'I can't do it I'll just buy jars'
You're going to have to feed your child real food at some point, whether they're 6 years or 6 months what's the difference?

villainousbroodmare · 22/05/2017 10:09

You'll probably find it easy, cheap and not much hassle to simply mash a fruit or vegetable. Use up the jars for emergencies or travelling, as you say. I don't think they are rubbish, and I did buy some with DS1, but I won't again.

SandysMam · 22/05/2017 10:12

I used loads of pouches and jars with my first as felt nervous of making my own. I spent a fortune however so this time will definitely be mashing a carrot!!
Couldn't agree more with Fat feed, clothe and love them, take the pressure off and enjoy.

mermaidsandunicorns · 22/05/2017 10:12

I don't think they're that bad. My 2 both had them if I was exhausted in a rush. When people say they're processed I think this is old school baby food. A lot aren't too bad and use organic meat and veg and are preserved just using the vacuum sealing.

Lules · 22/05/2017 10:14

I used pouches alongside finger foods and bits of our food like everyone else I know. It's fine.

ILookedintheWater · 22/05/2017 10:18

Jars are fine.
The ages on them give you an idea of how smooth the puree is, but the ingredients are all listed.
It's up to you whether you go for something like the HiPP organic ones or the more generic ones, but the food standards for baby foods in the UK are very high and the jars/pouches especially are very good quality.

Some people find it just as simple to batch cook purees and freeze them, and this is much cheaper than jars, obviously, but don't be blackmailed into doing more work than you have to: if jars are a simpler option for you then go for it.

CowParsleyNettle · 22/05/2017 10:18

DS lived on Ella's Kitchen, he is now 2.5 and loves his fruit and veg and eats a wide range of normal food (basically what we eat), I found the Heinz and Hipp jars to taste pretty rank so we literally just did EK fruit and veg Ones before moving onto 'real' food.

BusterGonad · 22/05/2017 10:28

I started my son on things like mashed banana, soggy wheetabix, baby rice, mash pots and carrots, fromage frais, tbh I didn't have the money for jars and thought they were kind of rubbish especially when doing your own mashed and puréed veg is so cheap, easy and nutritious.

BusterGonad · 22/05/2017 10:32

I tell a lie, I did use the occasional jar alongside my own stuff, they are handy when you are out and about.

HerculesParrot · 22/05/2017 12:02

They're fine. Not great, but fine. Certainly not poison. I wouldn't chuck them if I'd been given them! Just use them alongside finger foods, home-mashed stuff. They'll be handy for out and about, or days when you drop the ball and don't have anything else to hand.

If you're getting panicky just have a good look at the ingredients. Ditch anything you don't like the sound of. But they're fine.

Original poster
sparkleandsunshine · 22/05/2017 14:05

NoCapes I was going to start on baby rice and then move onto my purees because that's what my HV told me to do. She said it's fine to start from 17 weeks but only use very bland stuff- she then said "I would just give baby rice"

I was thinking once she got to 6 months I want it to become a mix of spoon fed and baby led, so would start to give her soft steamed veg to try then too. The HV was the one who said "have you thought about weaning" and I said "I thought you had to wait until 6 months" and she told me that some babies are ready earlier and I can try stuff from 17 weeks.

I want to say that I am very happy to mash fruit and veg and purée stuff and make my own, I was just given about 30 jars and was going to use them up every now and then but had had a few people seem quite disgusted by that so wanted some advice.

Thanks everyone with the "feed them, love them, clothe them" and everyone that has given advice, I feel bit more chilled now!

I might wait a bit longer anyway, but I will use up the jars when it's convenient. And just make my own bits and bobs the rest of the time 👍🏼

MyWhatICallNameChange I love marmite! 😂

OP posts:
HerculesParrot · 24/05/2017 13:48

Have a look at the NHS advice on weaning. Rather different message to your health visitor! I think the emphasis on waiting till 6 months is the most up-to-date advice - although there seems to be a lot of HVs who haven't got that message!

If your baby takes to weaning like mine (best summarised as: "what do you want me to do with this weird stuff?") they'll only ingest the merest fraction of the jars and you'll be glad you didn't slave over the blender for it all to end up smeared across the high chair tray. Grin

NotAgain1980 · 12/06/2017 11:39

Jars and pouches are ok when desperate but have never really used them regularly as they do taste pretty yucky. Friend of mine found these on Ocado last week and says they they taste like she made it herself in a blender. Might be worth a try if you are worried about jars

www.ocado.com/webshop/getSearchProducts.do?clearTabs=yes&isFreshSearch=true&chosenSuggestionPosition=&entry=my+first+savse

Changedjustforthisonly · 12/06/2017 11:47

Can I ask if there's a particular medical reason why you are starting to wean so early? Medical advice is to wait until around 6 months (at which point they'll usually be able sit up well, have lost their tongue thrust, and their digestive systems will be more mature). Also waiting until 6 months means that if you want to you can avoid the puree stage altogether.
So much easier to give them a bit of what you're having than faffing around with steaming and blending or the cost of pre-made jars/pouches.
I did purees with my son from 6 months and it was such a faff though being my first child I did have lots of time to spend with Annabel Karmel's cook book and batch freeze stuff.
with my daughter, her first meal with some salmon and sticks of broccoli, then homemade spaghetti & meatballs - was a bit messy but brilliant that we were all eating the same thing straight away and she is by far and away less fussier now than my son was at 2.5.