Hints and tips for weaning (merged)

alwaysskint96

My eldest was thew most awkward to feed-- started her at 4 months with all the purees etc

2nd time around DD ate no solids and was just breastfed until 7.5 months, thats when she started walking- and developed an appetite for food- doidnt do the purees and just mashed up whatever we were eating

With my youngest he just started helping himself to bits of our food at 6.5 monnts - he is now 3 and eats everything- except milk

mazmack

I think they ARE very similar, and that they will just eat what they feel like, I find if my DD eats a big lunch she is not keen on solids for dinner, but when I look back over the whole day she has eaten a fair amount. She is very sure when she has had enough too, so I think I am just going to trust her!

I also find giving her things she can eat herself REALLY helps..she had some toast and banana for breakfast yesterday and it really sparked up her appetite (gets very messy though!)

I also find I am feeling low at the moment, maybe its a 7 month slump..and probably this stressful weaning business is not helping..almost considering going to the doctor about it

lollyred1

hi everyone my little boy is now 5 months and showing signs he is needing more food so planning on weaning him within the next week any tips advse etc would be great as im a clueless first timer:o . Thank you

Becles

I've just started weaning my daughter!

This week she'll be having her usual milk feeds, but after one daytime bottle she's having a few spoonfuls of baby rice and fruit puree mixed together. Teatime works best for us, as she has a deep sleep between 2-5pm ish, and wakes up hungry! Offer most of the milk first, then try the food. He'll make a mess pushing the food round his mouth and back out, so have plenty of bibs and wipes handy!

Next week I'll try and breakfast and a tea time meal, gradually increasing the amount she eats.

A week or so after that, I'll increase her to three meals a day, again gradually increasing the quantities.

Once she gets to about 7 months, I'll start introducing more lumpy foods, then finger foods from about 9 months.

If you are making your own food, have a look at the size of jars in the supermarket to give you an idea of portion size. Try and give a variety of tastes so he gets used to eating lots of different flavours (will grow up less picky!). Sometimes you need to try foods a few times too. He might hate banana today, but try it again in a few days and he might love it!

Make sure he still gets enough milk. His iron stores will start to run out from 6 months so it's important he gets plenty iron in his diet. Also watch the labels on baby food. He shouldn't be having gluten, dairy or well cooked eggs until he's 6 months old to prevent allergies. Check the labels on bought foods as many cereals say "from 4 months" but they have gluten in.

Try giving water or very weak juice inbetween meals, to get baby used to drinking other things too. From about 9 months, you can give water/juice with a meal if you wish.

Most importantly, make sure weaning is baby led. Only feed when he's happy to take it, and stop when he shows signs he's had enough such as turning his head away from the spoon.

Good luck!

mykidsmum_2

my advice? put old clothes on and put plenty of paper down heehee.
as the above poster said, let baby lead you, to start literally offer a teeny bit of rice and don't cut down on his milk. My youngest DD started waking alot in the night around 5 months and so I started giving her a little rice for 'tea' (although at nearly three she is now nocturnal!).
Also don't waste your money on jars, I used to steam an assorment of veggies and pop into ice trays and freeze, you only need a couple at a time and as he gets a little older you can mix and match. Dont try to attempt to many different flavours in one go, one at a time (sweet potato was a real hit!) although for the time being stick with baby rice (also great as glue that stuff!)
I have a recipe for baby gravy and baby white sauce, I'll dig them out and post those for you when i can.
hope that helps and good luck!

mykidsmum_2

oh one more thing!, dont panic if things don't go to plan all the time and don't make eating solids into a chore for you or baby, relax and have fun!. Even at 5 months, ankle biters can pick up on mums stress and as they get older and more aware, before you know it you have a picky eater, a stressed mummy and lots of tears!

lollyred1

Thank you for your replys, i am quite nervous about it all really we had just established routine and he was sleeping from 6-6 but now hes waking at 9 and 3 and then 6. There is so much info didnt know where to start, last time he was weighed he had also dropped down a centile which the health visitor made me panic over:mad:

bestpud

I agree the best tip of all is to be relaxed about it and don't worry if it doesn't go like clockwork.

Mine all started on a couple of spoonfuls of baby rice made with their usual milk. They just play with it at first - rolling it around their tongue and spitting in my experience!

As Becles said, start with a feed where you aren't rushed and have no distractions. I've tended to do the midday one first with mine but it's a case of finding what's best within your routine.

I used ice cube trays too as they are just the right size to start out and save faffing every meal time (saves money too!) You literally only need one or two cubes worth to start out - it's more to do with introducing tastes at the start, I think.

My HV said it is perfectly acceptable to wean from milk to three meals a day, supplemented with milk, in two weeks! I thought this was a bit too quick though and mine took about a month.

Annabel Karmel books are good for recipes and advice - don't get too hung up on following the plans to the letter though. She gives a lot of nutritional advice too and tips for getting little ones to try different foods (different ways of presenting them etc).

Hth and good luck

Bestpud

Edited to add - at 5 mths old I imagine he's dropped a centile because his height has gone up but he has been moving about a bit more and his weight gain has thus slowed a bit. He's just finding his ideal spot on the chart imo.

Janepig

I started weaning DD after she'd had her third jab and when I went to give her some Calpol she nearly took my arm off she went for the spoon with such gusto!!! I started with some baby rice at lunchtime then once she'd got the hang of that after a day or two then I pureed veg and mixed them with the rice. Single veges at first, then we moved on to two veg mixed. I left off the fruit for a little while just so that they got used to savoury before sweet, although I don't think you have to do that, it was just the way I wanted to do it.

Jxx

mykidsmum_2

forgot to add, your going to get some really interesting nappies in the weeks to come after adding more variety, some of my DD's were spectacular!