Weaning Books/Resources

[MeadowHay]

Hello, my baby is nearly 4 months old and we won't be starting to wean until she hits 6 months as per NHS advice, but I really have no clue about the weaning process at all, so was hoping someone could recommend some books or online resources? We are intending to do a mixture of BLW and old-fashioned foods like baby rice and pre-made jars of baby food for convenience, probably. We are vegetarians and baby will be brought up as one too. Neither of us have any food allergies so hopefully baby won't either although I know that is not a given. At the moment she is on Cow & Gate First Infant Formula which she will probably just stick with even after the 6 months. I just don't know where to start at all with weaning...how much food do you first give? Do you offer milk then solids or the other way around? Should they be having other drinks like water etc too or not? Literally clueless .

have a look here link

I did baby led weaning so not sure if the advice varies with traditional weaning, but the advice was to give a milk feed 30-60 minutes before food so that they're not hungry and frustrated. You're not expecting them to actually eat anything in the first couple of months, it's just about exploring. If you're interested in BLW then the Gill Rapley book is good.

No idea about traditional weaning sorry but I'm sure someone else will be able to advise.

Whatever method you choose I wouldn't use baby rice. It doesn't really have any nutritional value.

Health visitors do a sort of weaning workshop in some areas - it might be worth asking if its on offer where you live.
At the very start of weaning I would continue with all the normal milk feeds and pop them in a high chair at the table when you are eating your meals and offer them something like a piece of well cooked carrot or broccoli (or something else baby friendly from your plate). The first couple of weeks they just taste and play, but pretty soon they become very efficient at eating and as they eat more they naturally drop the quantity and frequency of their milk feeds.