Where can I get a thorough weaning chart from? I'm feeling quite amateur about this

[SpeccieSeccie]

We've started ds with BLW and I can proudly say that he seems to have taken to it. (He's not eaten that much but he seems to be enjoying it.)

However, I'm a bit clueless as to what I can give him and when. I thought that eggs were a complete no-no 'til after a year then someone says they've had real success with quiche, ditto cows milk but then I read that cheese is an excellent BLW food. When could I include soft fruit or tomatoes? If I've put wine in a gravy the night before can I cook veg in it for the baby?! But what if the gravy contains flour? Shouldn't wheat be off the menu? Also, I've no idea at all about iron levels and when/how to include meat or even what kind of quantities I should be expecting ds to take at certain stages.

There aren't any allergies on either side of the family but I've taken it really carefully and have so far offered only foods that I've heard other mother's talk about pureeing i.e carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato and banana. I'd like to branch out but I'm not feeling that confident - anyone know where I can get this info comprehensively? (Ideally in chart form not long weaning book )

All help and suggestions gratefully received.

Is there a family history of allergies? I gave mnost things after 6 months, but if you're worried you can hold off on wheat/eggs etc. The only thing you should avoid is honey (until a year) and added sugar/salt.

If you're worried, try a littel of new new food and see if there is any reaction

Nope, no allergies so I'm not really scared - I just don't want to overload ds's system if it isn't ready for things. The problem is all the charts seem very boring with no mention of even mild spices like, say, cardamom pods or things like worcestershire sauce which may have salt in but when added to my bolognese probably won't be a problem.

(I s'pose I'm trying to find out how to tally what me and dh eat with what ds can eat so I can cook just one meal. Lazy mummy. )

It's really not that complicated - that's sort of the point of doing blw (though am no expert).
As I understood it, after 6 months wheat is fine. I had been told no eggs till 9 months or strawberries till after a year, and honey, as Effie says. Cooked/fermented milk is fine - it's more digestible than milk in its natural form.
I wouldn't worry about the wine, specially if it's just a dash and will have cooked out anyway!

Spices are fine - see what your DS likes. He'll spit out anything that's too spicy . And cumin is supposed to help them sleep...

Also, the great thing about the theory of BLW is that he will refuse any foods that his body is not ready for yet. I offered my 8.5 month ds strawberries and raspberries last week as that was what we were having, he didn't want them, but give him apple or plum and he is very happy.
I don't tend to put salt in to my cooking so if a small amount happens to be in something I am using then I don't worry - it's not like we eat processed food with added salt!
If your ds is over 6 months then pretty much anything goes, my dietician advised me to get baby vitamin drops as I am still bf'ing but I haven't yet. I did wait until 7.5 months before giving meat but that was more as I didn't want him throwing decent hunks of organic meat onto the floor when I wanted it! (We don't eat that much meat so it is a treat).
HTH!

That's good to hear. I'll chill out a bit and get experimenting. I think my nerves were brought on by the excess of information available. How the hell do those baby experts pad out 'no egg'n'wheat until 6 months and no honey, milk and strawberries for a year, and stay away from salt and sugar' for A WHOLE BOOK?!

Effie, will definitely be trying the cumin! Ta.

strawberries are fine before 1 year if you have no history of allergy - my ds likes them but it took him several attempts before he would accept them. I just kept offering him every so often (whenever dd had them) and he eventually ate them - now he loves them. Full fat cows milk is ok with cereal,in foods, in cooking, etc as long as the main drink remains breast/formula till 1 year - it doesnt need cooking and can be used cold from the fridge if need be (e.g. in cereal). Dairy products (cheese, yoghurt, etc) are also ok from 6 months. Bread/toast are good finger foods and ds was having sandwiches by 9 months. He also likes beans on toast.

This link sets out when it is safe to introduce certain foods: When is it safe to feed my baby.....?

Seona, that's exactly what I was looking for, thanks. Pretty much all the info needed in one web page. So, the question still remains: what on earth is in those baby food books that pads them out to 150 pages...?!

And, Sacha, I can totally understand the reservations about organic meat - my ds must be consuming, ooh, maybe 5% of what's put in front of him. But the dog is loving it.

in the US we are told that yolks are fine, egg whites are highly allergenic and to be given after 12 months. It's different in the UK but i thought it might at least be interesting to know.

a chart?
oh fgs

If giving strawberrys as someone suggested, just be sure to strain out the seeds through a fine mesh sieve.

just give em some food
its not that g hard

love you cod!

just what I was thinking

it's only a theory about them rejecting foods they're allergic to, though. i have a friend whose baby chowed down on egg and then had a massive reaction, so it's not black and white.
there are some links to Really Cautious charts on here but tbh as long as they can pick it up and it's not got loads of salt, you can pretty much give everythign a try. apart from peanuts.

I second cod!
If you feel the need to have charts etc then you're not ready for BLW -the idea is that baby picks up and eats stuff when they are ready and if they like it, it goes down, if not it gets spit out -beautifully simple!
just keep off the eggs, strawberries and things that make tiny crumbs lol!
example DS2 - first food, mushy peas nicked off me at a motorbike show aged 9 months
DD - first food a handful of carrots nicked off my sunday dinner aged 8.5 months
As you can see - perching them on your knee while you eat and pretending not to see them sneaking bits off your plate works ok!
Lisa X

well, yes, but some people want to be more cautious about allergies, even if they aren't from allergic families. each to their own, i say.