Being a new parent is scary enough. It’s not like you’re taught in school how to actually care for a helpless little human. You’re learning on the job and trying your best, which can be made difficult when you receive unclear or contradictory information. In this blog, I hope to be answering the most common types of questions around weaning and feeding little ones.

Milk, be it breastmilk, formula, or a combination, should be a child’s sole source of nutrition until they are around 6 months old. At around 6 months old, that is when it’s recommended to start weaning. Weaning is the process of introducing food into little one’s diet.

Always first speak with your healthcare professional before making any changes to little one’s diet.

The reason why the word “around” is used is because each baby is unique. Some babies show signs of readiness sooner than 6 months, some later, some require earlier or delayed weaning to more complicated conditions etc.

Why does weaning start at 6 months?

Weaning begins at 6 months because this is the time little one is often developmentally ready to receive foods. Little one is constactly developing, physically and cognitively, and it’s at this time that little one is able to accept non-liquid foods in their mouth. To meet little one’s growth and nutritional needs, foods need to be introduced because milk is no longer able to completely satisfy those needs. For example, babies are born with great iron stores which being to deplete (reduce) at around 6 months of age. This means, more iron is needed to be consumed in the diet to meet little one’s needs, and that’s why food is required to be introduced.

What signs show little one is ready?

Signs little one is ready for food can be confusing. The three main signs are:

• When little one is able to bring objects to their mouth

• When little one is able to sit and hold themselves and their heads steady

• When they show an ability to chew

These signs are important because it ensures little one is developmentally ready for food and makes the process more safe. Many people begin thinking their little one is ready when they watch them eat and/or reach out, with the above signs still missing. While it’s cute, it doesn’t confidently mean they are completely ready just yet.

Weaning too early, what’s the big deal?

The signs or readiness and starting around 6 months are important in order to protect little one.

It’s also important to remember that little one’s digestive system is still very young, and there are serious risks associated with weaning too early. For example, is weaning were to begin too early, it can result is a reduced amount of milk had, because little one is full from the food, and therefore malnutrition. Weaning to early can also cause digestive strain, where the digestive tract cannot yet handle digesting foods and cause unpleasant symptoms. Also, weaning too early can mean little one doesn’t have the oral skills to maneuver foods in their mouths adequately and make it unsafe.

Why are there baby food products 4-6 months old?

This is because weaning can begin as early as 4 months, but never before 4 months. The foods used to introduce before 6 months must be completely pureed and smooth. Why would someone begin weaning this early? Because their baby shows readiness signs and their healthcare professional has suggested they start. Is there a nutritional need to start earlier than 6 months? No. These products exist for the babies who begin showing signs early and are convenient for parents.

How do I go about it?

You can begin with purees, finger foods (baby-led weaning) or a mixture. Purees are necessary is you are staring before 6 months, and you can begin introducing finger foods once little one is 6 months. You can begin with a spoonful amount and see how little one reacts, offering more if they show interest. Begin at a time most convenient for you and when little one is happy and content. Over several days, continue doing this and slowly increasing the amount (led by baby of course). Baby-led weaning is the process of allowing little one to feed themselves. They pick up the food, place it in their mouths and eat it themselves. While finger foods are easiest for babies to grabs and handle, it’s possible to also do with purees where you place the food on the spoon, allow little one to hold it and help them guide it into their mouths. Eating is a skill in itself, and using cuterly is another.

What food to use?

Whether you are using purees or finger foods, it’s best to start with vegetables. As humans, we like sweet-tasting foods, it’s the bitter tasting foods that we need to become accustomed too, like vegetables. It’s also best to start with choosing 1 vegetable at a time.

If you want to make it into a puree, you can:

1. Wash and peel the vegetable

2. Boil/steam it

3. Blend it with a bit of milk or formula.

If you want to make finger foods, you can:

1. Wash and peel the vegetable

2. Cut into 1cm thick, chip-like shapes

3. Steam until thoroughly soft but holding its shape

Think variety - both food and textures

Some parents get too caught up with offering “healthy” choices that they forget the other factors which are important which is exposure. Between 6-12 months, you want to expose little one to as much variety as you can. You want to expose them to as much variety of foods - fruits and vegetables, breads and pastas, meats, meat products like eggs, fish, dairy products like yoghurts and cheese and beans and legumes. You want to expose them to as much texture variation as you can - purees, semi-purees, finger foods, soft, rough, smooth etc. You want to help little one is have a wide variety of accepted foods and textures - this will help them have a varied diet, important for health. As they grow, at 7, 9 and 10 months, you can introduce the same foods in different forms.

My little one doesn’t like a certain food

Understand that eating is new. There are all these new flavours, things in their mouths, new things to learn to maneuver with their tongues. If little one seems like they aren’t enjoying a food, it may not be the food but the novelty of the situation. If they don’t seem to have liked something, don’t worry too much. Continue to offer it every now and then. Don’t stop offering something you think they may not enjoy, because you take away the opportunity for them to come around. You control what is offered and when, they control what they consume.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have any questions, pop them in the comments below.

References:

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/39335/9241542373_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/

https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528681/