Weaning virgin: really dumb questions re where to start with purees.......

[HarryB]

Hi. I intend to start weaning my DS soon and would be grateful for a bit of advice please so I can prepare in my mind . Firstly, I intend to start with pureed carrot as baby rice just looks gross, so first question is: how runny should the puree be? Should I literally steam the carrots then blend, or do I need to add water or formula to make it runnier?

Also, should I start with carrot and continue with that until he is enjoying - or not - or do a couple of days carrot, then perhaps butternut squash and so on? Lastly, can I introduce fruit at anytime or master the veg first?

Thank you ever so

HarryB - one option would be to check out the options for baby led weaning and you won't have to worry about purees and their textures are all

I struggled with the right texture at first. the stage 1 jars are the texture and consistency of custard and yoghurt. i never really managed it with anything other than potato and avocado. I know its possible but i struggled and & ds had a lot of jars in the 1st few weeks.

As far as when to introduce things goes. i'm not really sure although the books say to introduce things slowly.

steam or boil until soft and mash with a fork until smooth. you can add a bit of the water you cooked it in to make it runnier if needed and baby rice cna thicken if too runny.

if he is 6 months you can give bread and other wheat/gluten foods

agree looking at www.babyledweaning.com could be worthwile. can take a lot of teh stress out of teh weaning process as baby eats what you eat

The guidance I've read says that first purees should be the consistency of double cream or a thick soup, but after the first few trys of baby rice I've gone much thicker, using the steaming water to get to the right consistency. I find that it's easier to get it to stay in the mouth if it is a bit thicker. This is what I did for DD and am now doing for DS and with both it worked fine. I also think that you can move onto lumpier stuff much quicker than many books etc say, as I think the sooner they get lumps the less likely they are to reject them IYSWIM. But this is just what has worked for me. I can see the theory behind BLW but am too much of a clean freak to even consider it!

I would just experiment and see how you go, I always did my purees slightly thicker rather than too runny. Baby rice is very useful for mixing with stuff and thickning things up. For example my DS didnt really like apple as I think it was too tart but he would eat it if it was mixed with rice.

Thanks all.

For those that mentioned BLW - I have considered it but am beyond paranoid about choking. I'm even going on an emergency life support course in a couple of weeks so I am ready for when he starts the lumpier foods. I kid you not

DS seems to have taken to the carrot quite well after 4 days of it. I am trying parsnip tomorrow, and from saturday (that will be a week), I am going to try some porridge with pureed apple after breakfast feed, and butternut squash for lunch. I then hope to expand a bit and mix things up. It's very much trial and error at the moment.