Sorry for the radio silence on here, I'm not quite sure where November went! I struggled to find the time to blog.
But I'm back with a post on how weaning is going with Winnie, now that she is 6 months old.
We've waited until she was 6 months, as per the NHS guidelines because these are guidelines I cannot ignore. I'm not passing any judgement on Mums that choose to wean earlier than this, the choice is personal afterall.
We, well I, decided that we would go down the baby-led weaning route, mainly due to the fact that we spoon fed Matilda when we weaned her, and she isn't the greatest eater. Apparently a baby that has been baby-led weaned will be a better eater as they get older. I don't know if there is research on this, but I came across a motherhood blog that said because they learnt to chew first rather than swallow, this has something to do with it. I can't really remember (!) but it stuck in my mind and from speaking to other mums I know, the babies that were led fed appear to be excellent eaters.
So to prepare for this, I bought the bib above and the Nuby net feeder from Tesco. Now I will be honest, I haven't actually used the feeder yet. But the bib is of course a God send as it catches any discarded food and it protects Winnie's clothes. The Tommee Tippee cup is from Morrisons but all major supermarkets sell them.
The first food we tried with Winnie was banana, cut up into finger size pieces. This makes it easier for her to grab hold of and feed herself with. However, it is quite slippery so it was kind of just shooting out of her hand and on to the floor! It makes a good first food though because it is soft.
Anyway, the banana was a hit, so I carried on with this for the next 3 days. I had come across some other reading material that suggested giving the same food over a 4 day period to see if a baby reacts badly to that food, making it easier to eliminate foods that cause any issues. I also only gave her solid food once a day. Afterall, at this early stage, it is all about introducing Winnie to food, the new textures and tastes. It isn't about her having 3 meals a day every day.
Once we had finished with the banana, we tried buttered toast. Winnie loved this! Well who wouldn't when it is smothered with real butter? Ok, not 'smothered' - she is only 6 months - but we don't eat margarine - GROSS! That stuff is like plastic...I digress.
3 weeks in and I am now giving her a little something to try at most meal times (although breakfast on playschool days is hard because we are so limited on time and Winnie is currently waking up around 8am!)
So far we've given her cooked carrot, blueberry rice wafers, mash potato (ok so not exactly a finger food but she enjoyed smushing it around the highchair!) apple, cucumber and broccoli. With the apple and the cucumber, I removed the skin as they're too tough at this early stage. The broccoli went down well, but since giving it to her, she's had an upset tummy. Now this could actually be a bug, or down to teething - but I'll lay off giving it to her until she's a bit older, just to be safe.
All in all, she is really interested in food, and grumbles if she runs out. Admittedly, most of it does end up on the floor, she isn't taking a lot in, but that is completely normal.
My top tips for weaning would be:
1) Be confident! Babies can handle these cooked or soft finger foods really well (providing there are no health issues where a professional has advised otherwise) so enjoy this new experience together! It's a really exciting step in their development and can be a lot of fun!
2) Watch baby at all times when you're feeding them, the situation could change in an instant if you're not in charge and observing everything that the baby is eating.
3) Prepare for mess! There will be banana mush in between fingers, toast crumbs under their chin rolls, and a whole lot of mess on your floor. If you've got carpet, get a cheap waterproof tablecloth to put under the highchair to protect the floor. We have wood flooring downstairs so it's easy to just wipe clean.
4) Don't forget to start introducing water, if you haven't already. We have the training cup from Tommee Tippee, but Winnie can't figure it out just yet, she might be a bit too young, so I've been putting some cooled boiled water in one of her bottles for now.
I am looking forward to introducing more foods in the coming weeks, ready to blow her tiny mind with new fruits and veg - haha! I'm also hoping it will encourage her big sister Matilda to try vegetables again.
Are you weaning your little one? How have you found it so far?
Any questions on our weaning journey, please do comment below!
Thanks for reading, as always...
Chloe x
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