Are Ella’s pouches okay to use?

[cornflowersandpoppies]

I mean obviously no babies will be harmed from using them but I am feeling bad about it. I had envisioned organic veg and lovingly prepared meals but it isn’t happening …

They’re fine occasionally but honestly just give him some of what your having. Even if he just plays with it, he’s learning about textures and
Getting used to food. Under 1 food is just for fun - check out wean in 15 on Instagram (joe wicks account)

I’ve bought wean in fifteen but it just isn’t working

Don't worry about it. We used a mixture of pouches, jars, homemade food, which meant she was exposed to a much wider range of flavours than she would have been otherwise eg there was no way I'd cook a meat curry as it isn't something we'd eat at home but she had various pouch ones!

I think they are fine occasionally, my 9 year old still takes the babies occasionally as they are like smoothies.
But they are an expensive way to feed a baby and normal food without salt is fine. Why isn't it working? Babies don't just start eating straight away. One of mine was over 1 before she'd eat a meal. As long as they are playing with bits, tasting things, they'll eat in the end. Most nutrition should still come from milk.

He does actually eat them, is the thing! Not a lot and not all of them. Whereas my lovely food is ignored

6 months is very early in the journey. Are you making your food the same sort of consistency as the pouches? Have you tried broccoli? I just bought a frozen bag of broccoli and gave baby little bits to hold to start with. And natural yoghurt from a spoon went down well.

6 months is still really little to expect them to actually eat much! At this stage they’re still just tasting, exploring and throwing most of it on the floor (I hate the weaning stage!). Ella’s pouches are fine though as everyone said, mix it up with food you cook as well. Their portions should be the size of their palm so still very small once they do actually start eating it.

As long as baby is getting their usual milk food before one is just for fun :)

I feel your pain! Creating tiny portions of food to be rejected feels absolutely thankless.

I’d expect a child weaned on these pouches to have an incredibly sweet tooth though which may mean a much more painful battle down the line when they’re older.

They are all really quite sweet, not just due to the fruit content but also sweet-tasting veg feature heavily too. They’re quite far away from the current recommendation to start babies off on non-sweet single veg.

I did use pouches/jars for convenience when we were out and about but otherwise didn’t use them as I am trying to avoid DD growing up with my terrible sweet tooth!

Oh and mushed up corgettes

I too lovingly puréed and prepared a variety of organic vegetables and foods which DD liked some days and hated others…I never particularly liked jars but there were a few different brands of pouches that DD really liked and are ideal for being out and about.
We’d generally do porridge with some sort of fruit for breakfast, toast to gum on, pouches for lunch/out and about times and whatever was on our plate for dinner when possible.

I've just remembered something else we used to do with them- you can use the savoury pouches as a sauce for pasta etc so if what you're coking is the same carb but the sauce bit isn't suitable for whatever reason (maybe too spicy for example) they get the carb to eat 'properly' but the pouch adds to it. Although often it's easier to adapt what you're doing and everybody have it but there were times when doing it like this worked for us.

As others have said, take the pressure off a bit- 6 months is right at the beginning of the solid food journey and it takes time. As long as you're making sure the vitamins and minerals are kept up either through formula or through supplements you will be doing fine. DD used to get all sorts plopped into her tray, she didn't eat a lot of it but it was easy to give her a taster of something I was having without having to worry that it was her only source of nutrition, at that stage.

My 4yr old still loves a fruit pouch 😂

She was mainly fed on pouches and jars of food. She just wouldn't eat mine, they obvs weren't as expertly mixed and smooth etc. I spent a fortune on them though so if baby will take your food it is much better.

I bought baby blender second time around and she refused purée food 🙈 so we had to blw.

I highly recommend the Solid Starts account on Instagram. The founder has three kids, her eldest was spoon fed pureed food until past his first birthday and basically refused all food at one point. They have a whole team of experts who basically guide you on how to do BLW properly, without pouches etc - and most importantly, educate on WHY.

I found it an extremely useful weaning resource as a first time mum (mine is 9 months old) - and although I had bought the Wean in 15 book before discovering Solid Starts, I have come to the conclusion that Joe Wicks has absolutely no idea what he's going on about, none of his recipes in the book take 15 mins (and I'm a proficient cook), and barring two or three recipes, they're not suitable for weaning age babies!

Oh and to add she's a great eater now and eats lots of fruit and veg.

One of mine was almost fully weaned on them. We were travelling and had no access to a kitchen and couldn’t use the tap water. We did have fresh fruit and bread etc but there were a hell of a lot of Ella’s in between. I went cold turkey when we got home and my then almost one year old switched over to home cooked foods without issue. I felt guilty at the time but I since did BLW with my youngest and they are a million times fussier - the Ella weaned toddler eats, or at least tries, pretty anything in comparison!

He's only six months try not to worry too much. At that age I tried my DS on the baby food jars. He had a mixture of what I made and the jars and he preferred the jars until he got the hang of eating properly.

He's a really good eater now (23 months) and eats most things put in front of him. I sometimes give him a little dish meal if I'm short on time.

There's no need to do purees yourself or to buy them as they can eat normal food from 6 months. I've weaned one on purees and one BLW and the BLW one was just so much easier. Purees were a nightmare, such a faff and always seemed a bit revolting to puree a main course. They often seemed to come out grey! I think there might be a BLW board on here. As pp said, they're really experimenting with food at this age anyway so whatever you choose their main calories, nutrition etc. will come from milk. Good luck!

My 9 year old DS still has the occasional fruit pouch from ellas kitchen. Has done since 6 months. They're fine!

Ah he's only tiny. Mine wouldn't eat anything when we first started weaning. I eventually gave him a couple of pouches and he got the idea of food/swallowing/yummy tastes and over the next few weeks he started eating more and more home cooked stuff. He now just has the odd pouch as they are handy to have in the cupboard. Try not to worry too much.

@cornflowersandpoppies

He does actually eat them, is the thing! Not a lot and not all of them. Whereas my lovely food is ignored

This is SO relatable to me. My 16 month old almost always rejected my homemade too. We started at 6 months and he was rather a slow bloomer at eating things. He still is.

I found a hood way to get past it to use the pouch but make it into fuller meal. Like cook tiny pasta, tiny veggies and mix it together. It means the pouch stretches further. I always have some pouches in the cupboard for when he has refused a bunch of things and i just NEED him to eat!

You have probably heard this but babies often copy you if you eat next to them at meal times. I do find this tough myself but it does encourage him. Try feeding him with your cutlery off your own plate. Sometimes this helps!

Just to say don't worry too much that he's not eating loads - he's only 6 months! My nearly 9 month old has only just started actually swallowing food! And yes, I know the rage when my organic, homemade whatever gets chucked over the side of the high chair... 😆

We pretty much do BLW but not religiously, I just find it easier to give my daughter whatever we're having. So if we're having tacos, she gets a big chunk of chicken (seasoned but no salt), some mashed up pinto beans, a big strip of lettuce, some guacamole and maybe a strip of tortilla. It's great for introducing textures even if most of it ends up on the floor. But also, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using pouches/pre-made food, I personally wouldn't like to use them all the time but you don't need to feel guilty about it 🙂

Whilst I did give DS Ella's, I much preferred other brands. I tried everything I gave DS and if it was bland, I didn't buy it again. I generally went For Aisha and Piccolo as they were delicious and distinctly flavoured. I also bought many of the Sainsbury's own pouches for the same reason.
A good thing to do is check the ingredients as a lot are very samey, even between the cheapest & premium brands.x

Salmon is a bit ambitious with 6 months. Just start with fruit and veg before adding fish and meat.

Oh yes, For Aisha are the only tray meals that DD deeemed edible 😂 they actually taste of what they're meant to. The Piccolo were a close second and then some of the Babease were ok but they didn't look at all appealing to me. A For Aisha tray with a pitta bread to dip and a bit of salad stuff on the side was a great emergency dinner!