Started weaning - NO debate please

[tinkabells]

Hi,

Hollie has been on baby rice for over a week now for her lunch, she loves it, soon as she sees the spoon coming she opens wide for it, but what should i try next, should babyrice then be given at her dinner time, or shall i move to morning?

Also i give her the rice before her bottle, then she still has her full bottle after the rice, is this right, my HV just said do what i feel is comfortable with, she advised that i should start weaning now, as the hollie is on hungry milk anyway, and she is trying to grab out for my food, watches me eat and also moves her mouth as if she is practising to eat, so she is ready for it all, i would prefer to keep to babyrice at the mo, before moving on to other flavours and textures of food

Sorry think i rambled, so what other time should i now introduce the babyrice as well as her lunch time feed? and i am doing it right with giving her the food now and then her bottle?

Thanks xxx

 

[Marleysgirl]

The information I've read suggests the other way round - milk first, then food. That way they get all the milk they should have, and the food (at this stage) is a supplement. The majority of calories should still be coming from milk.

I started on baby rice for one meal, and now give a puree/rice mix, still just one meal. I think after a couple of weeks, you can move onto two meals.

And the other thing I've read (I scour the library for books!) is that it's personal preference as to which meal you give - breakfast, lunch or tea. Not that any of our milk feeds coincide with a standard mealtime! I give the food after his 3/4pm milk, that way he has time to be sick (if need be!) before he has his evening milk and then goes to bed. The next meal I'll introduce will be after his 11am/12 feed. So I guess at the moment he's having "tea", and then I'll introduce "lunch".

 

[Lisa1302]

arrhh well the old milk before food thing - you have to just play to ear as far as I believe!

The idea being that a baby starting out weaning will eat food better if they aren't starving, so if they are screaming for something it is often thought better to settle them with a small bit of milk then offer food..therefore avoiding the situation where the abby is too frantic to really want to eat food at a decent pace!!!

I havent had to do this with Izzy very often, as I tend to know when she will be hungry now - but when she was smaller I got it wrong sometimes and she was too hungry to eat food - but would take a bottle.

I didn't stay on the rice for long as its simply doesn't taste of anything and is just gloop - the idea of weaning being to get them used to flavours and textures - therefore rice is pretty useless at that.
Hope that makes sense?!

ETA: I think people sometimes forget that when a baby is being weaned early the food/rice that is being given is (should be!) over and above the milk its been taking, certainly in Izzys case, she would take all the milk she could plus what I gave her in between milk....so those who say that milk should be first need to realise that the baby probably had a full portion of milk quite recently anyway, as they tend to be taking so much hence need to wean, and the rice is to get them used to food.
I'm waffling I know, but the idea is to introduce the food when they aren't starving hungry for milk - so that they can gradually build the amount they eat up...initially the food will not nutritionally replace the milk.

 

[Pyrrhic]

They are getting more nutrients from formula milk than baby rice, so you need to feed milk then rice not the other way around. Baby rice is to compliment feeding, not substitute it.

 

[tinkabells]

Ok thanks, well hollie is still having her full bottle after her rice, but will try the bottle then the rice and see how that goes, yeah i know about the textures, just wanted to see how she went with the rice for a few weeks, she's been on it for 2 weeks now with her lunch, i got some porridge as well, so might try her with that from next week as well xxx

 

[Lisa1302]

Ok thanks, well hollie is still having her full bottle after her rice, but will try the bottle then the rice and see how that goes, yeah i know about the textures, just wanted to see how she went with the rice for a few weeks, she's been on it for 2 weeks now with her lunch, i got some porridge as well, so might try her with that from next week as well xxx

I think the porridges are great!! well Izzy does..she is mad for it!
they have loads of nutrients in - and the flavoured ones seem to taste pretty good!

 

[tinkabells]

Yeah i got the cow and gate fruity porrigde, i'll try that on her from tuesday, as we have swimming on monday and i have to get her up early on a monday and she doesnt like being woken up!!!
But will def start on new flavours, but am i the only one who quite likes the taste of babyrice lol xxx

 

[Lisa1302]

Yeah i got the cow and gate fruity porrigde, i'll try that on her from tuesday, as we have swimming on monday and i have to get her up early on a monday and she doesnt like being woken up!!!
But will def start on new flavours, but am i the only one who quite likes the taste of babyrice lol xxx

hehe maybe!! I'm not even sure I would want to eat a bowl of baby porridge - but it cant be that bad if Izzy gobbles it!

 

[Blah11]

I agree, milk then food. When you first start weaning its more about LO getting used to textures and new tastes than actual nourishment. When I introduced a 2nd meal I did breakfast of baby rice/porrige and in early evening (bout 5pm) we did a veg puree.

 

[tinkabells]

Oh cool, thanks ladies, its nearly her lunch time, so will give bottle then rice!!!xxx

 

[Annaspanna]

Heya hun, how are you?
What I do with Lyla is milk at 7.30am, then banana porridge 8-8.30am with a bit of water to drink if she wants. Then she has tea time aswell milk about 4pm then I give her rice/puree mix at 5.30pm again offering some water too, that see's her through til her last bottle before bed at 8pm. This way she always has her milk then some solids about an hour afterwards xx

 

[tinkabells]

Hey Anna, hows you, awww Layla is a cutie!!!
Well i tried the bottle and then her rice, but she scoffed the whole loe, so i dont think it matters with her which way we have it, cos she has the whole lot anyway.

But think i will try her on different flavours, i bought some of the cow & gate tubs, all i've bought is all cow & gate, as thats the milk she's on, so didnt wanna try other brands as yet for her?! does that make a difference? xxx

 

[Annaspanna]

Don't think it makes a difference tbh, I use cow and gate rice and porridge but have used other brand puree's a couple times when I haven't made my own. The Ella's kitchen stage 1 puree's are good, my LO seems to like them.

Glad she's taking it either way, she obviously loves it!xxx

 

[tinkabells]

Yeah she does, she's a little piggy bless her, i think she is ready for more food, cos when im eating she still copies me

Awww glad layla is enjoying it, you make your own, what things do you make, i've bought loads of tt pts and things so i can freeze things, but dunno what to make etc? xxx

 

[becstar]

I've been making purees for La - there are lots of recipes here: https://www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes

I've made apple puree and pear purree just by chopping up the fruit and slowly cooking in a pan with a little water until they're tender, then liquidising with a little milk or water.

I've also made parsnip, sweet potato, buttternut squash, carrot purees etc by cutting them small and microwaving them with water in a covered bowl until tender and liquidising again. They say not to liquidise potato as it can got nasty and pasty so push it through a sieve instead.

Ilana started on rice just after 4 months and is now enjoying more flavours etc and is on 2, going up to 3 meals a day. Milk is her main source of nutrition like yours, so we tend to give her the breast/milk first, then some food. Good luck!

 

[tinkabells]

Oh brilliant, i've booked marked it, i went and bought loads of pots for storage and to be frozen, and i bought the thing that makes it all pureed, lol cant for the life of me remember what its called xxx

 

[Annaspanna]

Yeah I got the annabel karmel book hun,it's really good! I recommend. Lyla has had apples, carrots, parsnip, sweet potato so far, I usually pu a bit of puree with a bit of rice at the mo so she gets used to it xx

 

[becstar]

A mouli? I need to get one, have been pushing bloody sweet potato through a sieve and it is not fun! They sell them fairly cheaply here: https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KITCHEN-CRAF...vr_id=&cguid=dbb785ab1250a0aad0b42624ff52d949