Weaning- A Few Questions...

[LisaJ1986]

a great started is avacado.. i wouldnt even bother with baby rice (unless you really want to).. i would just give fruit purees and veggie.. if your baby doesnt like veggies you can add apple or pear puree to them..(thats what jar food does to add sweetness)

Good luck let the mess... begin

I'm gonna go get some bits this week to try. I was a very fussy child so i suppose this way is better to avoid that for future.

 

[Jade&Evie]

Just been through Midna's link and it just made me feel guilty for starting early.

I was weaned at 12 weeks and I'm fine- no allergies and not a fussy eater at all.

Go with what yu think is best x

 

[Jade&Evie]

Hi there is some great info in here ..also for early introduction of solids.

http://www.healthpromotionagency.org.uk ... 20easy.pdf

Midna, your advice is great BUT you have to realise that sometimes you make people feel bad! Not every baby goes by the book and I know you've been lucky that Seed got to 6 months but Evie definately won't- as a lot of other babies won't. I only read half the link because I could see where it was going.

No mum should be made to feel guilty about weaning before 6 months. No-one would do it if they didn't think that their baby was ready for it and sometimes I think it's bullied into you that weaning before 6 months is just wrong and there's not as much info out there for you. I'd have loved to leap straight into BLW at 6 months but it's not gone that way and that's why I'm asking.

Still In Ya Fanclub though...

 

[lisa&alex]

dont you dare feel guilty!

angel and evie are your babies.. you know whats best.. its got nothing to do with anyone else.

 

[LisaJ1986]

That wasn't aimed at Midna, it was very useful telling me what i needed. It just baffled me a bit as i haven't done my homework as i should have. I wish i did stick it out longer as my HV is quite strict on the 6month thing. I'll go shopping this weekend to get some variety.

Sorry for hijacking your thread Jade.

 

[Jen & Her Men]

Hun dont feel guilty.

The recommended range for weaning is between 4 to 6 months. Your baby is within that range.

This debate has been done to death recently and im not going to rebash old ground, there aint any point saying it all again.

All I will say is that nothing should make you feel guilty about how you choose to wean your baby. She is your little girl and none of us have the priviledge to know her as you do. You are making an INFORMED decision to wean based on YOUR knowledge of YOUR baby. People who have similar experiences are in the best place to give you advice. A text book / literature cannot begin to cover the needs and demands of every single baby on the planet and show me 2 text books that say EXACTLY the same thing and give EXACTlY the same advice....Im sure if you did a google search you would also be able to find hundreds of documented cases of where babies were weaned on the early side of the recommended age and have been healthier and happier for it.

As i say, its all down to personal choice and as you know your baby better than anyone, your the person in pole position for making the right decision.

Once you have made that decision, we are here to give you support and advice on how best to achieve your aim.

Good luck chick

 

[LisaJ1986]

I'm sure i'll have lots of questions. Obviously the last thing i want is to cause a debate, i'm just feeling very emotional tonight. I got mad coz i couldn't express to mix her rice, i got dribbles. Standing in the kitchen 'milking' my boobs just pushed me a bit. I'm trying to learn her signals but i feel like a right dummy. I'm sure it'll come with time though. I'm just feeling sorry for myself and panicking over nothing.
Thanks girls! You're all so much better than a text book.

 

[Jen & Her Men]

dont worry hun your not causing a debate

im just trying to reassure you that your doing the right thing - you have made an informed choice about the needs of your baby. There is sooo much advice out there that sometimes it can be detrimental rather than helpful as it can be soooo confusing and so easy to feel guilty and worry that your doing the right thing.

Thats why Im such a big believer in mothers intuition. Yes, get your facts right so you can make an informed decision, but if you know the guidelines and take them into consideration and weigh up the pros and cons of applying them completely to your baby then you cant go far wrong.

As Jade said, in the case of a lot of babies, the guidelines dont work 100% when it comes to weaning, although remember that they still do say 4 to 6 months. So your still within that anyway.

Just trust your instincts hun. You will be fine I promise.

 

[Squiglet]

Don't get yourself upset with the new rules about weaning at 6 months. Its a well known fact that if you get yourself stressed over the whole meal thing with your kids, you get them to associate that feeling with food and it can cause problems with them being fussy eaters in the future... the rule was 4 months when I had Tia and now its changed...but Tia is fine... Lil miss was weaned early due to the paediatrician saying it would help lil miss and her reflux better than pumping her full of drugs.... it didn't but thats a different story... shes a nice strong healthy little girl..

The only reason I mentioned the rusks is because once you get them with that sweet tooth it causes hours of endless problems getting them to eat a proper meal later on... and if you start with veg instead of fruit that helps too At the moment they don't know any better but once they become self asserted toddlers your basically screwed... Train em now... so you don't have to later... I give lil miss rusks but its a "dessert" never a main meal.

I can't express enough to give milk and do lil miss cereal in the morning, so I brought the preprepared formula and mix it using that... Expressing is an art and its dam hard and I still struggle every day with it... Don't worry too much....

 

[LisaJ1986]

I did notice the difference tonight with the rice instead of the rusk she's had all week. But thankfully she's only had it for a few days so i think i did it in time. Lol.

You are all so wonderful and have made me feel a million times better. Thank you.

 

[newmum]

The only reason I mentioned the rusks is because once you get them with that sweet tooth it causes hours of endless problems getting them to eat a proper meal later on... and if you start with veg instead of fruit that helps too At the moment they don't know any better but once they become self asserted toddlers your basically screwed... Train em now... so you don't have to later... I give lil miss rusks but its a "dessert" never a main meal.

True about the 'sweet 'tooth' (or sweet no tooth ) thing. I usually try to go with a savoury option first because I think I will have to work less hard to get her to like sweet things! Later on I gave my LO some bread to suck / chew on instead of rusks.

 

[Manda&Thomas]

can i quickly ask if bannana would be ok to give in his rice? id mash it up
he has banana and orange porrige but hes not keen on the texture of it
xx

 

[lisa&alex]

are you making the porriage yourself mand? how are his bowels has he not been for a poo in a few days? if he hasnt orange juice in his cereal is a great idea if he is loose then maybe just stick with the banana and porriage. bananas, avacados,pears, apples, carrots sweet potatoe,potatoes, sweede, spinach (i use the frozen blocks) are great starters. all jar foods add apple or pear to main meals to sweeten them.

charlotte used to prefure fruit to veg.. but it doesnt matter.. she still prefures it now.. but dont most kids? fruit is better than sweets.. making informed choices as jen said.. feed your baby puree pears and apples instead of chocolate pudding wont give them a sweet tooth. giving the chocolate pudding probably would.

i dont think it matters if babies prefure fruit its just as good as vegs... ted doesnt care.. he eats whatever..

 

[Manda&Thomas]

thanks hun he gets the porridge out of a box i wouldnt know how to make my own im a rubbish cook!!!
he is very regular with his pooh everyday so no worries there
i no he cant have pears as i was told it would agravate his cleft something about them being to strong
will raid the local fruit and veg shop tomorrow then see what i can get,
also for veg im guessing i cook it all first then purery it up? also do i add milk to it or just give it like that?
xx

 

[Jen & Her Men]

It depends on the texture really. I find stuff like carrot and sweet potato blend really nicely together so dont tend to need milk. Other stuff like potato and broccoli can need a helping hand with a dash of milk.

 

[Manda&Thomas]

thanks hun
will have an afternoon of exsperimenting then
xx

 

[Jade&Evie]

I am going to make my purees up this weekend while my mum has Evie and I can experiment on my own!

Will be making a trip to the greengrocers on Friday afternoon and I plan to pick up: Carrots, Sweet Potato, Apples, Pears, Swede, Parsnip and Plum. How long can they stay in the freezer for. If she's having a new food every 4 days that's about 6 weeks stuff Would it be best to just do half this weekend and maybe another half in a few weeks? And am I right in thinking banana can't be frozen?

Have bought some of these: has anyone used them? My mum thinks they are a fab idea!

xx

 

[Jen & Her Men]

Hi Jade

I think Happy Chick has one of those feeders?

They are supposed to be fab for starting out so baby gets taste without risk of choking

I kinda do a batch for the week and freeze em and use them in the week so im not sure the max you can freeze for..

 

[happy-chick]

Hi Jade

I think Happy Chick has one of those feeders?

They are supposed to be fab for starting out so baby gets taste without risk of choking

I kinda do a batch for the week and freeze em and use them in the week so im not sure the max you can freeze for..

Yeh i have one of those feeders, they are excellent! Ellies loves fruit in hers & it means I can leave her with food & not have to worry about choking etc. Its really handy in the car too when shes crying, I take out a tub of fruit (apple/pear/melon etc) and just give her it in the feeder which keeps her entertained until we get to where we're going x

 

[Squiglet]

We have a feeder... its great... food can be kept for 3 months in the freezer... 6 weeks if you made it with milk...

all jar foods add apple or pear to main meals to sweeten them.

er... why do that? it seems a tad unnecessary