Weaning helllllp

[claire2711]

just a "quickie" cos its boxing day and i want a drinky! 8)

well we have started giving wee man a bit of baby rice today and yesterday, and he lurves it! so tomorrow we are going to start on the purees (maybe sweet potato YUM) got a couple o Qs....

when can i start him on things like baby cereal?
how long should he be on "one meal a day", when to give him food more times a day?
do we give him the same amount of milk?

any other tips/ideas is great thanks ladies


PS hope y'all had a BRILLIANT xmas!!!!

 

[LisaJ1986]

Some cereal say from 4 months on the box so as long as you get those ones.
Sweet potato/carrot etc are brilliant first foods. Stick to 1 meal for 2-3 weeks then move onto 2.
Just carry on milk as usual as it's still his main source of everything he needs.

 

[claire2711]

do you give their usual milk feed before food, or after?

 

[LisaJ1986]

They say before, but i found it better after. Angel always had her food, then half an hour later she wanted milk. It was better for me and she was happier. Try taking her off the boob mid-feed i'd hear about it!!!

 

[Magic Monkey]

Check the ingredients of cereals even if they say 4 months, as they often aren't suitable. I bought some Farleys rusks last week that say suitable for weaning 4-6 months big on the front, and the first ingredient is wheat flour!

We started at 5 months too, and did one meal a day for about 2 weeks, then 2 for a couple of weeks and then onto 3. We offered milk first until she was 6 months, then offered it afterwards after that. At around 7 months we started staggering milk and food so that she had something every 2 hrs.

We have always followed LO's lead with milk, we carried on offering the same until she stopped having as much, then we made bottles smaller, but stuck with the same number of them. She dropped her mid morning bottle at about 8 months and is looking like she will drop mid afternoon in the next month, so it takes a while.

 

[Squiglet]

Take it slow and easy. Its weaning, so its introducing new tastes and textures... they don't actually need food as their main nutrient source until they are 1....Remember, milk is still so vastly important at his age. Food is just empty calories and a baby's stomach struggles to absorb the nutrients from food. Leave him on one meal for now. Don't worry about introducing any others for a little while, he'll let you know when he's ready. Start with one puree at a time... and try him one flavour for 3 days before trying something else a)if something disagrees with him then you'll know exactly what it is (for example banana makes lil miss terribly constipated so we don't give her them that often) b)they won't get bored because they don't know any different and they didn't get bored of a milk only diet for 4 months

If you are going to introduce cereals, go for the gluten free ones. Early introduction to gluten has been linked to the increase in coeliac disease... plus gluten is generally a difficult substance to digest even in adults. In Spain no babies under 6 months are given gluten due to this, under national medical advisement.

And in general... have fun, take the led from your baby, relax and remember milk first

 

[claire2711]

thanks girls

i dont know what i'd do without this place, my HV and books etc are useless compared to you girls!

 

[sparky]

Hi hon, we started Isla on the same day!! birthday buddies for sure!

She loves it too, i have been giving her half a rusk under supervision, she goes mental when she sees it coming and its been helping the teething! that and a couple of spoons of puree for lunch she likes to suck the puree off the rusk!