Weaning fun...don't let it be stressful!
Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant
If you are approaching the weaning stage with your baby, you might be feeling quite overwhelmed with the amount of advice and products which are out there on the market. We’ve written this blog to help guide you through!
While in this blog we have referred to ‘baby’ in the singular, the advice is of course the same if you have more than one baby - twins , triplets or more.
When should I start to wean my baby on to solid food?
First of all, it is important that you follow official guidelines in relation to when you should start weaning your baby. Current guidelines set by the NHS and WHO (The World Health Organisation) suggest that you should start to wean at around 6 months old (and no later than this).
You should not offer any solid foods to your baby before they are 17 weeks (just over 4 months) old at the absolute earliest but leaving it until they are closer to 6 months is advised. This solid food is not to be given instead of milk but alongside it and milk should remain your child’s main source of nutrition until 12 months. Weaning is often referred to as ‘complementary feeding’, with the solid food complementing the milk feeds. If your child has a medical condition or was born prematurely, you should consult with your doctor or health visitor prior to starting the weaning process.
How do I know if my baby is ready?
You know your baby and so will know when he or she is showing signs of being ready to start weaning. Sometimes weaning is started before the child is ready, perhaps because they are doing things like chewing their fist (this is very often just developmental for the child; they have found their hand and are finding it interesting to chew on!) or because they seem to want extra milk feeds or have started to wake in the night. If your baby does start to wake in the night, especially around 4 or 5 months old, this is often related to a change in the baby’s sleep pattern rather than because of hunger. Despite lots of well-meaning advice you may be given, feeding a baby solid food is not likely to get them sleeping through the night!
Three clear signs that your baby could be ready for solids are:
(Source: https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/ready-or-not/)
they are able to stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
they are able to coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so that they can look at food, pick it up and put it to their mouth
they are able to swallow food, rather than spit it back out.
The weaning essentials…!
Equipment - Be prepared with equipment such as highchairs, small pots, spoons and ice cube trays (or similar) for batch cooking. Have a mat which is wipeable to go under the highchair to make it easier for you to clean up any mess at the end of a mealtime. Don’t worry about the mess! See it as a positive thing - exploration of food is essential in the early months of weaning. It is a whole sensory experience - taste, smell, touch and hearing!
Which approach? - Decide which approach you think that you want to take. There are several options to choose from:
o Baby-Led weaning. This is where you offer your baby a variety of finger sized pieces of food and allow them to feed themselves (https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/around-6-months/). Baby-led weaning can only be started once baby is 6 months or is able to sit unaided in a high chair and move food from a table/plate/bowl to their mouth.
o Spoon feeding. This is where you feed your baby pureed food.
o Or you can do a mix of the two options. You can offer foods on the highchair tray which your baby is able to take to their mouth independently and then also have a small bowl of puree/mashed food which you give alongside.
Fluids – Remember that milk is the main source of nutrition for the first 12 months of your baby’s life. With mealtimes, always offer water in a free flow sippy cup. Free flow sippy cups are easier for your child to use and it will also make it easier for them to transition to an open cup when they get older. Time wise, try to keep solid foods / mealtimes away from milk feeds so that they don’t have everything at the same time. If this happens it can impact on the milk feed and also mean that they are not so interested in the solid foods.
Homemade vs packet / jar food – We always promote cooking homemade food for babies so that you know exactly what has been added to the food and what your baby is eating. However, we also understand that you might need to use packets and jars when you are out and about as a back-up if you are not able to take your own food with you, or you might want to keep some in your nappy bag in case you are held up or if you are travelling. Giving your baby home-cooked food every day is really beneficial for your baby – jar / packet food doesn’t have the same texture or taste of homemade foods and can mean that your baby gets used to the flavours of jar/packet food and then may find it difficult to accept freshly cooked foods. You don’t want to create this issue and so starting and continuing with homecooked food where possible is the ideal way to go! Which leads us on to….
Batch cooking – This is a great way to help make the weaning process easier for you, meaning that you are not having to cook small amounts of food each day. You can make batches of certain foods, put them into ice cube trays (or lots of companies now make pots for this purpose) and then freeze the foods. You can then empty the cubes into zip lock bags and put them back into the freezer. At mealtimes take a selection of different vegetables, protein and fruit out for each meal. Always remember to label what is in the bag and don’t make too much! Only freeze enough food for one week at a time. If you make too much food for the freezer you will be tempted to stick with the same foods and texture to use it up, and this will prevent you from moving on (with different flavours or lumpier foods) as quickly as your baby might need to.
Cooking inspiration – Have some weaning cook books to give you inspiration. Many books on the market now give recipes which are suitable for the whole family to eat. This is ideal so that when you are cooking for your baby you can cook for yourselves at the same time.
Allergies or intolerances – If you already know that your baby has an allergy or intolerance you should consult with your GP or health visitor first. When starting to wean your baby you should keep a record of what they have tried each day (even if there are no known allergies or intolerances). If your baby has any type of reaction it will provide you with a reference to look back on your notes and see what might be causing it.
You and your eating – If you are fussy eater, think about how you are going to approach this with your baby. You need to make sure that you are offering them a wide range of foods and, if there are foods which you particularly don’t like, it is a good idea to ask your partner or another adult to offer this. This means that tasting this new food will be a positive experience for your baby and you won’t feel uncomfortable with the smell, texture or even the thought of the food that you are offering.
Foods to avoid before 12 months – Honey, foods with added salt or sugar, unpasteurised soft cheeses, hot chillies. Liver should only be given once a week maximum and oily fish should be limited to twice a week maximum.
Vitamins and Milk – From 6 months to 5 years it is recommended that all babies and children are given vitamin A, C and D each day. However, if your baby is having more than 500ml of infant formula a day then vitamin supplements are not required as formula is fortified with these vitamins. If you are breastfeeding, then a daily vitamin D supplement should be given to your baby (regardless of whether you are taking a vitamin D supplement or not).
Getting started with weaning
Time of day –Start foods when your baby is not too tired or too hungry. Don’t expect them to take too much to start with, weaning is about introducing flavours and tastes it is not about ‘filling them up’ or meant to be their main source of nutrition. When first starting, look at late morning or lunchtime as a time to introduce solid foods first. This gives your baby the time to digest the food and, if there are any issues such as wind or baby feeling uncomfortable, you will know about this in the afternoon rather than in the middle of the night! Start with one meal per day and then slowly increase to two meals. Within 2-3 weeks you should be up to 3 meals per day which could look something like this:
o Breakfast an hour or so after their morning milk feed
o Lunch between their mid-morning and mid-afternoon milk feed
o Dinner at least a couple hours before their bedtime milk feed.
Facial expressions – Babies will make faces when they taste foods and that it is ok. Try not to make faces back at them (other than positive ones such as smiling etc) which could indicate a negative feeling from you, as very often your baby is just exploring the taste and texture of the food and are actually enjoying it! If you respond by asking if they don’t like it or saying, “isn’t it very nice?” they will start to make this association. Positivity all the way!
Pushing the food out – You may find in the first week or so your baby will push the food back out of their mouth with their tongue. They are learning how to eat and their only prior experience of using their tongue is drinking from the breast or bottle and so when learning to take solids using their tongue in a different way can take some getting used to! Again, don’t take this to mean that your baby doesn’t like the food, it is just about your baby learning to coordinate this new experience with what happens with their body.
Foods to start with – Avoid baby rice as it doesn’t have any nutritional value! If your baby is ready to start with weaning, you should start with ‘real’ food which has ‘real’ flavour and taste! Always try to start with vegetables and especially green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, spinach etc as they have a more bitter flavour. By introducing these vegetables first, it will develop your baby’s taste buds to be more accepting of these flavours and you can then start to introduce other vegetables from here. Starting with fruit will only develop the sweet taste buds and you want to make sure that your child will favour savoury in the long term.
Progress with your baby – Many people talk about stage 1, 2 and 3 weaning. This is not something that we would suggest following as this can hold you back from progressing with your baby. Your baby may be ready for more lumpy foods earlier in the process and, if you are working within the stages, this can mean that you are waiting to move them on which can then mean that you are missing the window of opportunity to do this with your baby. If your baby is ready to accept more finger foods and is coping with lumps why only offer them smooth purees? Don’t be worried if your child is ready to skip what would be referred to as stage 1 - this is ok if your baby is coping, happy and enjoying the experience!
It’s not always savoury followed by sweet – Don’t always offer fruit or sweet foods after savoury as this starts poor associations. Think about only offering one course (if your baby has eaten well they don’t always need to have a pudding/dessert), savoury followed by savoury (having a ‘cheese and biscuits course’ can work to again stop the savoury followed by sweet association) or even doing sweet followed by savoury as this then does not start the sweet ‘treat’ association.
Finger foods – Finger foods can be introduced from 6 months. Don’t worry about baby’s lack of teeth! Gums are really hard and many babies can eat finger foods and break them down purely with the use of their gums. If they haven’t got any teeth yet then this can be a good way of helping to get them to come through – especially if your little one is suffering with sore gums.
Gagging vs choking reflex – Your reaction to this needs to be calm. If your baby is gagging, avoid smacking them on the back or panicking or this will raise anxiety in the baby. Your baby has a natural gag reflex and giving foods at this stage is right for them developmentally as this gag reflex will go - after this point babies will struggle to accept lumps if they have never been given them. Obviously if your child is choking then you must act – parent first aid courses are good to attend to give you added confidence in dealing with these situations. This video from St John’s Ambulance shows you how you will know if your baby is choking and what you should do to help them dislodge whatever is stuck in their airway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oswDpwzbAV8
Don’t force or trick when feeding as this will lead your baby into not trusting you. Very often people will put savoury on the spoon but then pretend it is coming out of a yogurt pot or even dip the spoon in yogurt so the baby thinks this is what they are having. This might get that extra spoonful in, but your baby will just build up more and more resistance to eating off the spoon as they can never be too sure what they are getting.
Let your baby self-regulate – Allow your baby to tell you when they have had enough. Self-regulation is a life skill and can be learnt from this stage on. If your baby turns away or pushes the food away then ask them if they have finished, give them a couple of minutes and try again. If they still refuse then just wipe them off and get them down from the table.
Try to avoid the use of wet wipes – if you continually wipe your baby’s face and hands during the mealtime process they are losing the sensory opportunity that they need to explore what the food feels like etc and will also develop the feeling of needing to be clean all the time. Try to have a flannel which you use only at the end of the meal for their hands and face.
All about timings – Take care not to rush the process, but also don’t make it last too long! 20 to 30 mins maximum for a mealtime is plenty. Very often we are focussing on what the baby is eating and can rush the process, so give them spoon after spoon which can mean that they have finished in a matter of minutes. If this is the case try to make sure that you are putting the spoon in the bowl and giving at least a couple of seconds between spoonfuls so that your baby can register what it is they are eating - mindful eating can start from weaning!
Eating out and about
Eating out and taking your own food – this is a social event but by taking your own food to the restaurant for your baby to eat you can be sure of what is in it and that it doesn’t contain too much salt or sugar. Using the bowls and plates from the restaurant can help to make your baby feel part of the whole event and can also help to encourage them to eat more!
Avoid giving food on the move to distract your baby – this doesn’t create a good association with food and can create the need to eat for distraction or comfort or to stop boredom. If your baby needs a snack or meal when you are out and about, make sure that you stop and ideally sit down (even if it is on a park bench) so that the focus is on the food and what process is taking place. Eating on the go only leads to the association of food being something that we ‘just do’ with no real thought as to what is being eaten or any focus on the actual act of eating and enjoying food.
Using highchairs at a restaurant – can be a bit hit or miss as to how good they are or even if they will have enough highchairs in the restaurant to provide you with one. There are travel highchairs or seats you can take with you which you might want to look at if you are a family who eat out a lot or if you travel so that you are never in the situation where you are without a highchair.
Finally, some weaning top tips:
Take care not to distract your baby – avoid reading, singing or toys at a mealtime and make it much more about talking and interacting, but with baby being very clear that this is a mealtime and time to eat.
Be Adventurous with flavours and tastes, the more tastes your baby experiences before 12 months the more they will have developed taste buds which accept more foods. Your baby needs to try something at least 10 times before developing a taste for it, so it is important that you keep introducing new tastes to them.
Make it social - eat together! Where possible, eat with your child/ren as this promotes table manners, positive eating experiences and stops you only concentrating on your what your baby is (or isn’t) eating! Don’t worry about mess and let your baby explore food with their hands if they wish – this gives them the confidence to bring it to their mouths and the opportunity to be able to explore in their own time and at their own pace.
If you are interested in reading more about the weaning process, these websites contain some really useful information:
Infant Toddler Forum - Weaning
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