The Weaning Advice & Information Thread

[Kina]

Sounds more like teething to me?



I personally always go with 6-months, because leaving it will never hurt a baby. But of course it's a Mothers decision at the end of the day.

Just to clarify something really quickly, I just don't believe if a baby is showing these signs it's a time to whip and the purees and baby rice ultra quickly because the baby 'needs' solids. I think if they've passed the around the 4-months mark then you could start contemplating it, if they can sit up, no tongue-reflex and are chewing. But you can wait. Some people say a baby knows when it's physically ready, and these signs are showing that, if it picks up the food and eats it.... I just think Mothers rush into it too quickly because they feel as if they have to, and I just want to urge Mothers to take their time.... Your child isn't going to be nutritionally lacking in anyway. The gut develops between 4-6 months... babies are all different so it can be at the bottom or at the lower end of the scale. Plus so many Mothers assume growth spurts to be a sign, but these can last up to a week..... And also find that some just want to give them solids so they can start sleeping through the night? Which I find shocking.... I just don't like giving people the green light straight away....


Does anyone on here do babyled-weaning? I think this is a much more easier and less stressful approach....

I like your advice, it's good to hear some balance on the weaning debate. I lost my energy to discuss/debate it a while ago

I did BLW with DD. Like Beanie I felt under pressure to try her with purees at 20 weeks, but I felt very uncomfortable with my decision and stopped. Then we went down the BLW route and never looked back With DS I planned to do the same and was gutted when I felt I had no choice but to try him with solids at 16 weeks (which he refused). He was extremely unsettled, feeding every 1-2 hours, puking up and so demanding I didn't know what else to try. Apart from a couple of occasions when he ate something he refused solids until he was around 24 weeks (iirc). It was always a battle with him and still is, he's so much fussier than DD ever was and will refuse a lot of foods and doesn't have the capabilities to feed himself like she did. It still upsets me that I tried him so early and I would never ever condone it, but I was going through a tough time with PND and just reached a real low.

 

[Wobbles]

Is the Gina Ford one regimented?

I love all the Annabel Karmel books that we've got. Never used the meal planner but for the recipes

Is this book babyled weaning then? Is there more than one.

I certainly have to do my research before I make a decision.

- Each Mum and baby is different I guess many of us still in training Should not stop expressing your opinions Kina more of what worked for you it could help people! What people get uncomfy with is left feeling wrong & shot down (not that I'm saying you have at all).

 

[Kina]

Wobbles - AK isn't BLW. It's acutually more for people going down the puree route but there are some really good recipes in there. Some are a bit poncy but there are some good ideas for if you're stuck and some that will do the whole family. We have a curry night once a week based on a recipe from one of her books, and Matt made us beefburgers with a bbq sauce from there last Saturday, they were really moist and tasty.
I've made things like chicken meatballs, chicken loaf, curry, meatballs, veggie lasagne, french toast etc. Also stuff like Semolina which is the easiest thing ever, but I'd never thought about it before and Alex loves it.

 

[Wobbles]

So being easily confused at the moment there is 2 kinds/ways of weaning?

Could someone give me a run down - kind of the jist of both ways just to give me a small idea. Not quite ready yet but an idea would be good I think x

Which book/s do you have? Theres loads I noticed! (Well a fair few).

 

[lauren-kate]

BLW is giving your baby larger pieces of food, and letting them feed themselves, whereas the 'usual' way of weaning would be introducing purees and using a spoon to feed them, gradually building up to coarser textures and larger pieces of food.

I have Annabel Karmel's New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner, and the Top 100 Baby Purees. They contain a lot of useful information as well as lots of recipes and ideas. The meal planner is quite good as it goes through what they can be eating at each age. x

 

[lorrilou]

Well ive just been to baby clinic with callum and spoke to hv about his feeding and had him weighed, he has gained less than a lb in 4wks and dipped quite abit under his line which given that he is feeding constantly he should really have put more on, she has advised me that i should start weaning him now.

 

[Kina]

Well ive just been to baby clinic with callum and spoke to hv about his feeding and had him weighed, he has gained less than a lb in 4wks and dipped quite abit under his line which given that he is feeding constantly he should really have put more on, she has advised me that i should start weaning him now.

Gosh I'm surprised about that It's normal for babies weight gain to slow down significantly as they get older and as a health professional she should not be advising something that could cause damage to your baby.

 

[beanie]

when can you start this then?

so far I thought, when she is getting older I will give her a selection of fingerfoods, where she can choose from anyway.

yeah you can do,people I know who used the puree method of weaning tended to start with purees that were blended then went on to mashing food, then leaving bigger lumps and introducing finger foods but I am not sure of the ages they started. I used finger foods at 5 1/2 months, would give Seren strips of steamed veg, banana and pear etc. When she gotpast the 6 month stage I then introduced toast with peanut butter, or cheese on toast, strips of meat etc etc. It is one of the benefits of later weaning as it just meant Seren could take whatever she wanted off our plates at dinner and I didn't have to worry about avoiding certain foods.

lorrilou, sorry I don't know ifyou are formula feeding or braestfeeding but a slower weight gain in one week isn't unusual. If you are breastfeeding, do you have the breastfeeding charts, as formula fed babies growth is very different and it can make it look like a breastfed baby is doing badly weightwise when in fact they are doing fine. Seren had a few weeks when she dippedunder herline, but then other weeks when she had put more on. If you feel that you need to wean then that is your choice but I didn't want you to feel pressurised into doing so because of your HV, mine said the same thing and Seren was just not ready at 19 weeks.

 

[Wobbles]

Im still Mum in training but for some reason your HV has kinda shocked me Lorrilou! Sounds a bit wrong somehow and thats her first instinct on one visit!

So to go straight to finger food can someone give a me a rough idea how the feeds went each day! Like wake up - milk 12 - finger food & ... etc Hope that makes sense.

 

[beanie]

i never really followed any kind of routine wobbles so not sure I am much help. Seren was feeding on demand sowould have milk when she hasked forit during the day but when introducing solids I would just offer her food when we ate, i.e. she would have her milk in the morning and then when I had breakfast she would be offered bits of toast, scrambled egg or would have a bowl of cereal, likewise at lunch time she would be offered bits of what we were eating. I found that as time went on she dropped her feeds until at the end she was only having one feed in the morning but I would make sure she had a beaker of either water or milk available throughout the day.

 

[lauren-kate]

Not sure if this is helpful to anyone, but I found it quite interesting to read: https://babyledweaning.blogware.com/

 

[Kina]

I was kind of the same as Beanie with BLW Ella. I'd offer toast or something like that in the morning, rice cakes/strips of pear/avocado during the day and steamed veggies from our tea at meal times. She's either sit in her highchair, bumbo or walker with it Or sometimes her inflatable ring

 

[lorrilou]

i think with callum its because he is having a 6oz bottle every hour or so and probably should have gained more weight than he did. I was looking at nicole's weight chart in her book and i know all babies are different but she constantly gained weight and was always above her line, and i know that i had to start her on solids at 3months for pretty much the same reason (nt the weight thing but bottle every hour.)

Dont know whether its just pure coincidence but i did try him with a very small amount of baby rice yesterday and he seemed alot more settled and slept right through last nite, which is great but by no means the reason i am starting him on solids.

 

[Wobbles]

Caitlins on the line ..... perfectly normal all babies are different she told my OH! Also commented that she was a very alert baby with good eye contact.

 

[Wobbles]

i never really followed any kind of routine wobbles so not sure I am much help. Seren was feeding on demand sowould have milk when she hasked forit during the day but when introducing solids I would just offer her food when we ate, i.e. she would have her milk in the morning and then when I had breakfast she would be offered bits of toast, scrambled egg or would have a bowl of cereal, likewise at lunch time she would be offered bits of what we were eating. I found that as time went on she dropped her feeds until at the end she was only having one feed in the morning but I would make sure she had a beaker of either water or milk available throughout the day.

Did you find with Seren weaning was very confusing? My heads mashed

When you say beaker of milk do you mean expressed or cow?

 

[Helen]

Did you find with Seren weaning was very confusing? My heads mashed

I'd say don't worry too much. I was just the same before we got started and hadn't got a clue. The whole thing just seems totally daunting. In the end it all sort of just evolves as you get braver and try them on new things.

 

[mickey]

I take it easy with weaning

I think the health professionals are blowing this topic out of proportion and I am sure all this scientific blabla makes us feel more insecure!
as well, again we need to buy a lot of books! (not, that I am not getting one )

following your instincts is the best you can do

I do not stick to a regular pattern, every day at this and this time we have our baby-puree!

I just give her new stuff as I feel like it is good for her.

e.g. she had banana for three days and than nothing else than breastmilk again.
(as well as I wanted to check how long it takes, her stool is getting back to the same as it was before in order to find out what her gut is doing - on the second day without banana it has returned to the ordinary runny mustard-coloured blast )

now I will try her on pear, afterwards I am planning to give her carrot etc., all with a close eye on how her stool and her skin is reacting!

btw, does anybody kiss-feed?

this is the most natural way of introducing solids and as well as you will chew it prior it is pre-digested.

I was just wondering, as Juleika always comes with her mouth close to my mouth and opens it widely, as if she wants to be kiss-fed.

 

[Helen]

btw, does anybody kiss-feed?

TBH I didn't know it had a name! I haven't fed them directly from my mouth but I very often put things in my mouth to test them, chew a bit or bite a bit off for them.

The gruesome bit is when you let them put their half-chewed food into your mouth!

 

[mickey]

The gruesome bit is when you let them put their half-chewed food into your mouth!