Weaning

Your baby is growing up! We can’t believe you are looking at weaning baby already, but as they reach 6 months, you will start to think about introducing food to their diet. It can be confusing at first where to start and I’m sure your health visitor has given you some advice, if not then do ask, but we take a look at a couple of different approaches parents take when introducing food to their babies. Pureed Food: Most parents start weaning with single fruits and vegetables which are cooked through and then blended and cooled. Pureed food is a more traditional method of weaning, by pureeing baby’s food they may eat more at the earlier stages compared to baby-led. Then once they are used to pureed food you can make the food more textured and gradually move to solids at about 7-8 months. The main benefit of using this method is it is usually a little less messy than baby-led weaning as you control the spoon. It may also be easier to introduce iron rich foods earlier on for example meat and leafy greens, which may be difficult to chew at first. Also, some parents prefer this method as they worry about gagging or choking. When introducing foods, try not to introduce more than one food that could trigger an allergic reaction, just in case. These include; milk, eggs, food containing gluten, nuts, seeds, soya, shellfish and fish. For more information about food allergies click here. Baby Led Weaning (BLW): Baby led weaning introduces solids to baby straight away at 6 months, rather than you spoon feeding them. Baby will choose what they want to try and how much. You simply offer baby similar foods to what you are eating, being careful not to add any salt and to cook meat and eggs thoroughly. This method is considered more sociable as baby can join in with family mealtimes and it is also less labour intensive as you don’t need to spend time making purees. Simply offer finger sized portions of your food to baby to try and see what they think. With BLW you may need to offer more milk than if you were introducing purees, but this will reduce as they get use to chewing and digesting the food. Also, some research has suggested BLW can result in less fussy eaters and obesity. Mix Method: Some parents do a combination of pureed and solid food from 6 months. This method can help introduce iron rich food earlier than if they were exclusively being BLW. It also encourages baby to self-feed and use a spoon earlier than if they were being fed exclusively by you, as well as encouraging them to try different textures and tastes. During mealtimes, offer baby water from an open or free-flow cup. Whichever option you and TOH choose for baby enjoy, this is a great stage and something both you and baby can enjoy.

Source:

https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/around-6-months/