Weaning

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Weaning - March 2019

For some parents weaning can be a stressful experience. I personally found introducing solids to my first two children difficult due to conflicting advice and lack of support. After successfully weaning my third baby, I have created my top five tips for introducing solids:

1. Mixed Method I found a mix of baby led weaning and pureed foods an easy way to introduce lots of different tastes and textures.
2. Realistic expectations I found the NHS website on weaning a very useful tool and a great way to gain realistic expectations for your baby's weaning journey. 'At the beginning, you only need to give your baby solid foods once a day, at a time that suits you.' I found this advice very useful and eased the pressure of thinking my baby needs to try solids three times a day,
3. Avoid preparing large pots of food During the weaning process for my first two children I prepared lots of pureed foods to freeze. I batch cooked lots of meals and ensured to include fresh vegetables and fruit. When they refused to try or eat these well prepared pots of deliciousness, I felt disheartened and like I was failing. The third time round I gave baby whatever I was eating at tea time, this eased the pressure and I felt much more relaxed. This resulting in baby being relaxed and trying lots of new foods.
4. Treat weaning as a sensory experience For babies who have only had milk up until the weaning point, trying solid foods is a huge sensory experience. Not only are they experiencing new tastes, they are experiencing new textures, smells, colours and shapes. That is why in the early days we should celebrate exploration of new foods as a huge success. I know that in the early days my Son would touch, squeeze and hold the food but rarely put it in his mouth, and when he did he would pull a face or spit it out. This is all very normal and I praised him for just playing with the food. Over a short period of time he went from playing with food to tasting and enjoying all kinds of tastes and textures. I like to use the moto 'food is for play until 12 months of age', this has been a brilliant moto and again relieves the pressures and unrealistic expectations of weaning.
5. Let baby guide you Follow your baby's cues, they will tell you if they have had enough, would like more or none at all. Some days they may make huge progress and other days show very little interest, this is okay and all part of the journey. Continue to provide milk and feed baby on demand and don't be tempted to reduce milk. Remember all babies are different and you know them best, try not to compare your baby to their peers. If you are concerned, do contact your help visitor for support.

If your child is past the weaning stage and is a fussy eater, our parent workshop 'Fussy Eaters' can help to improve your child's eating habits. All workshops can be found on our 'For Parents' page.