Weening

[East2]

My baby is nearly 5 months, so I will start weening in the next few weeks. Has anyone got any tips for this. I've been told you start on baby rice, is there a better brand, a more organic one people can recommend. How long do they stay on baby rice for. Any help is appreciated.....

[Strawbs]

I use cow and gate baby rice as its dairy free.. I'd introduce rice first, then a few days later maybe some pear (pur?ed with a bit of baby's milk) and work up from there.. Leave a few days in between each new food to watch for allergies. Avoid mango til baby is older.. Have fun! Annabelle karmel books are a good guide as for what foods are good to make but I never followed her meal planner

[Saffron]

Have you read the Baby-Led Weaning book by Raply and Murket? You're welcome to borrow my copy. The library also has a copy. Even if you don't end up doing full-on BLW, it's good to offer Baby finger foods right from the start of weaning. Plus the BLW book also has developmental information on chewing & swallowing, allergies, nutrition, etc. It's a short and interesting read.

As far as first foods good, I found that of all the store-bought breads, pita bread or crumpets had the lowest salt. You can cut them into long strip that Baby can easily hold. Frozen pita bread is also good for teething.

Celery, carrot, broccoli, etc dipped in humous were favourites here. Slices of slippery foods, like peaches, can be coated in baby rice to make them easier for Baby to hold. Some foods that don't seem great for weaning can be made easier for Baby with a bit of ingenuity, like raw apples. Remove the apple's skin, then use the peeler to shave long strips of firm apple flesh for Baby to grip.

I think I also have an Annabele Karmel book you can borrow. I will have a look if you're interested.

Happy weaning. xx

[Bellenden Belle]

I would second the Baby Led Weaning book - there's also a cookbook written by the same authors which has some very yummy recipes and is also full of really useful ideas when you're feeling stuck for what to offer.

I never did baby rice and I've not given any purees either - I don't think any one method is better than the other, just that worked for me and made me and seemingly Baby Belle happy. So we did food that was easily held - broccoli, cauliflower,roasted parsnips, baby potatoes, bread, rice cakes with all manner of things on them (mackerel pate was a big hit - just tinned mackerel and plain yoghurt mixed with some english mustard). The first couple of weeks I found hard - it's as much the change of routine that knocks you for six than anything - but now I'm in the swing of things, and a month on it's great to see him munching on whole apricots, and eating all manner of foods - blueberry pancakes have definitely been the biggest hit so far (particularly since us grown ups had them with streaky bacon and maple syrup whilst Baby Belle happily munched independently on his own)

[oimissus]

whatever method you choose, I don't think you need to bother with baby rice, just go straight in with purees or finger foods or both.

[Pickle]

Agree that baby rice is unnecessary, it tastes horrible and there's no reason why you can't give baby something a bit more interesting to start off with. Both the Baby Led Weaning and Annabel Karmel books are excellent for ideas and tips.

Enjoy!

[Convex]

I liked having baby rice to mix it with stuff as the carbs though, so worth having a packet.

Also good with fruit for breakfasts for the first bit.

[pansy123]

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