The right time to start weaning your little one
It can be tricky to work out when your baby is ready to be weaned off milk and onto food. Here Dr David Tuthill, Officer for Wales for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), offers some practical advice for parents
Weaning is a major milestone for parent and baby and often marks the start of a beautiful friendship between parent and food blender.
Get ready for hours of fun blending numerous fruits and vegetables and making small, baby-friendly renditions of your favourite meals.
The foods you give your baby have the potential to shape their taste buds for the rest of their life so this is an important step. But when will you know the time is right to get blending?
By the age of four to six months, it is safe to start giving your baby tastes of individually pureed or mashed fruits and vegetables.
You’ll know when your baby is ready to make this exciting transition when they chew their fists, start waking in the night when they usually slept through, watch you intently when you eat or want extra milk feeds.
There’s two ways parents can wean their baby – baby-led weaning and spoon-fed weaning.
Babies get a great deal from both so it really comes down to personal choice.
Some babies experiment more with food if they feed themselves whereas others enjoy being fed by someone else. Whichever you choose, make sure they eat a varied diet of soft or mashed fruits and vegetables such as parsnip, sweet potato, carrot, potato, apple or pear.
At the beginning, the amount your baby eats is less important as they get most of their nutrients from milk.
Babies only need very small amounts at this stage – around the size of one to two ice cubes. Keep offering different foods, including foods your baby has rejected before as it can take a little while for them to accept new textures and flavours.
Once you have given your baby tastes of lots of different fruits and vegetables, try combining some.
Once you feel confident your baby is moving the food around in his or her mouth properly you can then try small pieces of cooked meats and pasta, hard-boiled eggs and toast.
You can increase the portion by up to four ice cubes as they approach eight to 10 months.
Finger foods such as banana and avocado are also a great way for babies to try new foods. Letting your baby feed themselves if they want to and letting them eat at their own pace will help them get to grips with their new found skill.
Once your baby has mastered the art of eating, try introducing them to some home-cooked dinners.
Providing you don’t add salt or use stock cubes, tempt their taste buds and try giving them some of your dinner.
By the age of nine months, they should be eating three meals a day – a mix between soft finger foods and mashed or chopped foods.
By 12 months they can eat three meals a day (chopped if needed) plus breast or whole cows’ milk and healthy snacks such as rice cakes, fruit and vegetable sticks.
Always stay with your baby when they are eating in case they choke.
Offer your baby one pureed vegetable at a time to start with – they rarely react to these.
Some foods if not introduced early may cause allergy.
Foods to typically look out for include cow’s milk (although only offer this or mix it with foods after the age of one), eggs, foods that contain gluten such as wheat, barley and rye, foods containing crushed nuts or seeds and fish and shellfish.
Offer these foods in small amounts initially. Symptoms of an allergic reaction can include rashes, sneezing, wheezing, swollen tongue, lips or eyes or vomiting.
Give your child an antihistamine if they have a skin rash. Call 999 immediately if you think your child is having a nasty allergic reaction involving their breathing or conscious level.
If you know your baby has eczema, introducing smooth peanut butter from four to six months around three times a week may reduce future allergies.
This may work for baked/cooked egg too. Consult your GP if you are unsure. There will be advice soon from the British Dietetic Association so look on their website.
Introduce a cup from around six months and offer sips of water with their meals. An open or beaker cup will help your baby learn to sip and is better for their teeth.
So now your baby is eating, what happens to all that milk they used to drink?
As babies get older they usually naturally drop a feed but once they’re eating three meals a day they usually only need about 12 ounces of milk a day because they get the required nutrients from food.
Breastfed babies should continue to be offered their morning and evening feeds but if they look for more during the day there is no harm in giving it to them.
Formula-fed babies around eight months old only need two milk feeds a day of around six ounces – one in the morning and one in the evening.
Once your baby is 10 months old, you can drop a feed as all their nutrients should be coming from their diet.
It’s recommended that babies from birth to one are given a daily supplement of vitamin D.
From the age of six months, it’s recommended they also have vitamin A and C but babies drinking around pint of formula milk a day do not need to take supplements as it is already added to their formula milk. Find out more from your pharmacist.
Weaning is a major milestone in your journey through parenthood.
Embrace the blender and get excited about what’s to come.
And remember, if you need advice, talk to your health visitor, GP or paediatrician – they will be more than happy to help.