Weaning your baby onto solid food can be a daunting experience. Mum is usually very nervous about how to start weaning her baby, how much to feed and how to move on with the various steps.
What I usually say to a new Mum is "try to be relaxed about feeding your baby and don’t do too much research". It's not hard to find somewhere on the web that recommends you don’t give a certain food to your baby!
A baby can survive on milk alone for the first year, but food is introduced because your baby needs to learn to feed. So when you have a day when they won’t accept any food – and it will happen, end the meal and wait for the next meal before offering food again, making sure they have taken their milk.
Here we have given a comprehensive guide on weaning your baby with some simple healthy recipes to get your started.
When to start weaning your baby
Guidelines tell us that we should start at 6 months of age but new research is showing that this might in fact be too late. Each child is different but we would suggest you start at 5 ½ months so you can go slowly for the first few weeks and then speed it up at 6 months. Check out our blog on When to Start Weaning for our expert advice.
How to start weaning your baby
A guide showing when to introduce each meal and the portion sizes for each stage using our Weaning Pots. Our guide on How to Start Weaning is full of tips and advice on how to start on your weaning journey.
What foods to feed your baby in the first year
While your baby’s first food should be fruit and vegetables purées it is important to increase texture at six moths and introduce different tastes including meat and fish. Check out Foods to Feed your Baby for the First Year for more info.
When to introduce meat to your weaning baby
Many parents leave meat until later then 7 months and then they have a hard time introducing to their baby. Meat and fish have a different texture so it is important to introduce around six months so they are more likely to accept it. Check out our advice on When to Introduce Meat to your Weaning Baby for a clear guide.
Introducing Finger Foods
It is very important for every parent to introduce finger food at six months of age. They may not grasp it until seven months but will go on to enjoy finger foods. If you leave it later then seven month it becomes very difficult for baby to accept.
First Taste Recipes:
Size 4-6 Months & 6-7 Months Weaning Pots
Parsnip and Pear Puree
Papaya and Apple Rice Pudding
Apple Prune and Cinnamon Purée
Recipes to Increase Texture:
Size 7-8 Month Weaning Pot & 8-9 Month Weaning Pots
Chicken and Vegetables Purée
Salmon & Sweet Potato Purée
Finger Food Recipes:
Toddler & Child Portion Pots
Mac & Cheese Muffins
Homemade Oatcakes
Roasted Sweet Potato and Cinnamon
