Weaning

[The Tiggster]

1st time Mum looking for any advice from you parents on weaning. I know to start on baby rice but what time of day did you find bes to start, how long did you go with rice before introducing other purees, did you offer cooled boiled water with meals, etc, etc.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Joefish999]

I'm a 2nd time dad and we started weaning around 4 months (against recently changed advice!) with both of ours. They were both showing signs of being hungry and more unsettled - they would never have waited until 6 months!

We started the baby rice at breakfast, our logic being that if it didn't agree with them they had all day to get over it, unlike teatime just before bed!

Once they showed they could manage the baby rice at breakfast we moved onto 3 meals a day almost immediately, only giving small amounts, again being led by the baby.

After that it was a matter of trying new, simple, tastes with almost every meal. some they liked, some they didn't and you can always knock up a bit of baby rice if your creation is rejected.

The most important thing is to be led by the child and to make it relaxed and fun! If they don't eat much at one meal they'll make up for it at the next, or the next. And they should be getting most of what they need from their milk anyway.

Good Luck!

[pipparooney]

Hi there

I found offering a little baby rice mid morning when my baby wasn't hungry or tired worked best for us. The thing was just to get him used to food on a spoon rather than it been a constant in the bottle. Once the rice is was taken ok i moved on to the breakfast cereal. Then onto purees.

The trick is to find a time when you have the time to spend and when your baby is in a good mood. Dont worry if your baby doesn't take to it staight away. Just try again another day. You health visitor should also be able to offer you some good advise.

All babies are different just go with you baby he/she will direct you.

Good luck! now they get real messy!!

[lou 26]

I used to make up a small amount of baby rice and gave it just before/during/after a bottle. It was trial and error as to when my daughter would take it at first, depending on how much she cried for her bottle, but I always made sure she had just a little bit around bottle time, after Id got her used to eating a little each time i cut out one bottle at breakfast and gave her some baby porridge then once that was established I cut out the lunchtime bottle etc.

[Sparkles3]

Agreeing with what others have said, choose a time when your baby is hungry - but not absolutely ravenous and screaming for milk. Initially, I used to just give a tiny bit mid morning before the 1100(ish) bottle. Also try to ensure that you are both relaxed and happy - there's no rush as everything needed is coming from the milk. If he/she doesn't want it, don't worry and try again the next day or later in the week.

I would suggest introducing the solids slowly, starting with quite a runny mixture so it is closer to the consistency of the milk. Initially, your baby may be happy to suck a little of the food from a clean finger to get used to the taste if the spoon is rejected (but do perservere with the spoon else you're setting yourself up for all sorts of problems later!!).

Like Joefish999, I weaned my 2 children at 4 months. I offered cooled boiled water with meals from about 5-6 months when my babies were having a little more of the food, up to that point, they were just having their milk feeds with their food.

For me the advantage with baby rice is that you can mix up as little as you want initially so there is less waste. I also used some of the powdered meals, as they are the same principle - you can just do a tiny amount if you want. However, if you make up some purees into little icecubes, once baby starts eating more, they are quite a good size. At 6 months, we were mostly into purees of various types (see Annabel Karmel's book if you are in need of recipe ideas) - some liked, some not! Baby rice is quite sweet, so don't stay with it too long before moving onto vegetables, to try and encourage a different taste - I think most babies prefer the fruit purees anyway, but my friend's baby loved spinach (not so great in the nappy - lol!).

Good luck, enjoy your baby, lots of (messy) fun ahead!!