i need weaning help ASAP

[Rsmama]

I have a 6 month old DD who is formula fed. I’m not sure exactly how much she weighs now but she’s petite. She has 6oz bottles. She can’t sit up by herself but she can roll around, nearly crawl, and can hold her head up.

We started “weaning” her at just over 4 months, MIL gave her rusks, she had porridge and the odd baby jar here and there but she didn’t seem ready so I’ve stopped until now.

My plan was to this week give her breakfast each morning then next week breakfast and lunch and the week after all 3 meals. This morning she had baby porridge with a Mamia fruit pouch mixed in. I don’t want to use pouches and jars all the time so I’m going to blend some of our meals and offer her finger foods. I have a few questions though so I’m hoping someone on here can help me

Is it possible I could under/over feed her?
Do I start offering her water? And if so when?
Can she eat meat? My HV said spaghetti Bolognese with the pasta cut up small is good finger food
Should I move up to the next stage milk?
Also, I’m scared of her choking so is it safe to give finger foods/more solid foods if baby can’t sit up themselves yet? She can for a few seconds but not long

TIA

Hello

Do some research about baby led weaning. I say that because it sounds like the route you want to go down.

Generally before baby led weaning starts your baby should be able to sit independently and put their hand to their mouth (like with a spoon). The general advice is to give foods the size and thickness of your finger. Also wait for them to take the spoon. Generally it is thought a baby wont over eat as they will stop when they are full. Also at 6mo food is about exploring tastes and textures so dont be surprised if your baby doesnt actually eat much.

You can start with softer foods and work your way up to tougher foods like meat. First time round I gave breakfast for a month. Then lunch and breakfast for a month then introduced tea.

Pick a time of day when your baby is settled and happy. But I would say maybe speak to your health visitor as it doesnt sound like your baby is quite ready. Your baby will 'gag' spit food out as they learn to swallow. Generally they go red and work it out themselves which is why you shouldn't leave them there is a good video explaining the difference between this and choking. I also read a baby led book which also had recepie ideas in... it helped with the practicalities of it.

Hope this helps give you some pointers

I would just BLW. Don't worry about under or overfeeding! She will go at her own pace. Just put down some food on her tray and let her dig in and she will eat until she is satisfied :) expect a lot of mess though lol!

Yes offer her water every meal time. I would put it in a sippy cup for her so she can start learning to use one! At this stage she will start dropping her formula so don't worry if she doesn't drink as much as she used to - it's because it is being replaced with food and water which prevents constipation.

Yes meat is fine as long as it is soft and cut up into small pieces. My son really enjoyed chicken when he was weaned. He absolutely loved chicken curry and chapati bread sliced into soldiers.

I just made it with mild curry powder, some chopped tomatoes and a bit of natural yogurt once it is cooked (cut up the chicken into small pieces before frying them off) and add it into the sauce. That's also very soft and full of protein.

Whatever you eat - she can eat the same, as long as there are no allergies! The only thing she shouldn't have is honey until 1 years old.

HTH.

Oh and there's no need to replace her formula with toddler milk! That exists for marketing purposes as it is illegal to advertise first infant formula.

Keep her on stage 1 milk until she is 1 - then she can move onto whole milk.

I just read that she cannot sit up by herself.

Until she is able to fully sit up for long periods of time, I would not attempt BLW just yet for safety reasons!

DTs were prem and couldn't sit when we started weaning. BLW is bad and dangerous advice advice.

You can blend your own food and feed her that, minus salt, we fed dts propped as upright as possible in their bouncy chairs.

This is our second baby who is seven months now..first could sit up by himself at six months. Second not so well, he was a bit unsteady..but would still put him in a high chair, I would just hold him.

You should give her water in a sippy cup as soon as you start weaning.
She won't eat too little or too much, at this stage it doesn't matter how much she eats, as she is still getting all her nutrition from her milk.

I moved up to stage two formula at six months, I don't know why people wouldn't? The vitamins, minerals etc differ the older they get. So I would change to stage 2.

I never gave either raw finger foods like carrots..I would just steam them so they are soft and put them in front of the baby..to pick up and nibble if he wanted to!
Choking petrified me aswell!!

Start off with blended veg, fruit..things like that at first..mushed banana..babies love!! And it's easy for you to do!

You will get ripped on here for saying rusks! But I give them to mine (reduced sugar ones) they love them!
I had them when I was a baby, and not a crazy sugar addict now 😂