Have no idea what I'm doing with weaning...

[emetophobe12]

So DS is 6 months
Started tasters of things around a month ago. Usually give him something mid morning before his second milk feed.
The last few days I've started giving him more amounts mid morning since he was still wanting more after finishing what I had offered him.
Am I even doing it right? Is it too early? Going too slow? I'm not even sure when I should be offering like a full meal or when to start offering a second meal
Also when and how do they start dropping milk feeds? Since I increased his amounts he's taking less milk during his second feed of the day (usually 7oz but taking 3-4oz). I know it's probably too early to be dropping a feed.
I suppose just want reassurance that we're doing ok as we've never done this before and just seems quite overwhelming with all the questions I have

At 6 months it's absolutely fine to offer him food once a day and let him eat until he tells you he's had enough. I'd aim for a second meal around 7 months and I'd also offer the good after the bottle at this stage, just so that he doesn't drop his milk feeds too quickly.

This guide has some great suggestions on first foods from about page 13 and even gives advice on portion sizes

@PanicBuyingSprouts thank you so much! I'll have a good read of that document. M
I did try giving him food an hour-ish after his bottle but he just wasn't interested and was cranky because he usually naps then. So his routine goes something like this

Wake up 8am
7oz milk
Play time
10am nap for 30-45 mins
10.30/10.45 food
11/11.30 milk (anything from 3-6oz)
Play
12.30/1 nap
2pm milk
Play
4.30 nap
5pm milk
Play
8-9pm down for the night

I recommend solid starts website and Instagram for weaning help.

Another recommendation for Solid Starts. They have an excellent free database of foods with detailed instructions on how to serve food in an age appropriate way.

When DS was 6 months we were on a schedule which looked something like this

6am - milk
7.30am - breakfast
10am - milk
11.30am - lunch
12pm milk
2pm - milk
5pm - milk
7pm - milk
10.30pm - milk

At 6.5 months we dropped the 10.30pm feed and increased the volume of his before bed feed

At 7 months we dropped the 5pm feed by bringing forward the 2pm feed to 3pm and he started having a dinner at 5.30pm.

At 8 months we moved lunch to 12pm and the lunch bottle to 1pm as he transitioned to two naps a day

At 9 months we replaced the mid afternoon milk with a snack

At 11 months we replaced the mid morning milk with a snack. This is where we are now and his schedule looks like

6am - milk
7.30am - breakfast
10am - snack
12pm - lunch
1pm - milk
3.30pm - snack
5.30pm - dinner
7pm - milk

@Sairafina thank you so much. This is so helpful!
I'll just add that he does have milk between 8-9 before bed too. Missed that one on my previous post.
I'll continue to do his lunch and probably introduce breakfast next week or maybe this week depending on how he gets on. He's doing well with his lunches though so far. He LOVES food 😂

How are you getting on with introducing the allergens? Have you tried any yet?

It's so great to see them enjoying their food. I made a chicken liver pate for DS last week which is his new favourite thing!

@Sairafina I haven't introduced any yet. Going to try some scrambled eggs this week and then maybe peanut butter at the weekend. He's had a drop of cows milk in his weetabix
Ooh sounds lovely. I made spag bol and blended it up and he absolutely loved that and is his favourite so far. Also loves carrots and peas (blended)

I'm not sure if I'm holding back a little bit with weaning. In terms of how I'm offering it.
I'm part of a baby centre group who's babies are all born in the same as my son and there's a few mums on there posting what they're giving their baby. So one was giving something like
Omelette with cheese and mushrooms and strawberries for breakfast
Pancake with broccoli and raspberries for lunch
Chicken breast with green beans and bread sticks for dinner

I can't imagine giving my son these things right now. Am I holding back too much? I'm scared that he would choke on all of them!

@emetophobe12

I'm not sure if I'm holding back a little bit with weaning. In terms of how I'm offering it. I'm part of a baby centre group who's babies are all born in the same as my son and there's a few mums on there posting what they're giving their baby. So one was giving something like Omelette with cheese and mushrooms and strawberries for breakfast Pancake with broccoli and raspberries for lunch Chicken breast with green beans and bread sticks for dinner

I can't imagine giving my son these things right now. Am I holding back too much? I'm scared that he would choke on all of them!

Wow! That menu seems very involved for a 6 month old. I'm just doing mostly purées or porridge, baby rice, yogurt, or cottage cheese! Also scared of choking, so we are going slowly. My plan is to gradually introduce more textured foods as she gets used to it

I really recommend looking at the solid starts website which has a few informative videos on gagging/choking. The body is designed with so many mechanisms to prevent choking. For example, a baby's gag reflex is really far forward so it is more likely they would gag on a piece of food and spit it out. They also explain how to serve foods to minimise choking risks - bigger is safer.

DS was having chicken drumsticks at 6 months, he looked like a mini desperate Dan 😅