Reached the weaning stage and wondering where on earth to start? Jordana Smith, a licensed dietitian and nutritionist at Malaak Mama and Babycare, shares her expert advice to help you and your little one make a start on your food journey. Let the fun (and mess, so much mess) begin…
What are the signs that my baby is ready to wean?
There are three main signs of readiness:
1. Baby can sit with some assistance and has good neck control. When testing this we want baby to be able to hold themselves in the seated position for around five seconds.
2. Baby has lost their tongue thrust reflex. The tongue reflex is present in the earlier months to prevent baby from choking, if something is brought into the mouth, baby can push it out. We want this to be gone by the time we start solids, because if it is still present, your baby’s automatic response will be to spit out the food. This creates a negative space around eating and both parent and baby become anxious.
3. Baby has good hand eye co-ordination. We want baby to be able to bring something towards their mouths, as the goal is for baby to feed themselves.
Baby showing an interest in food and trying to grab food is not necessarily a sign. Once babys reach four months, they do become more aware of things around them and show more interest in everything and this is a natural progression of their development.
We need all the signs to be present in order to start solids, although we would never push baby past six months of age as the need for iron outweighs the readiness signs.
What age does this usually happen?
This normally happens are around six months; but can happen anywhere from four to six months.
Do I need to carry on with formula or breast milk?
Yes, you need to continue with milk – breast or formula – as this remains the main source of nutrition until the age of one. The amount offered won’t change but baby may start to show signs of wanting less.
What sort of routine should I be getting my baby into once I start weaning?
The most important routine to start is creating the environment of where baby will be eating. This will start to teach baby what is expected of them once they sit in the highchair. At first you will look at the routine of milk first, waiting around 30 to 60 minutes, and then offering a solid meal. After around nine months this pattern will swap, so it would be food first, followed by milk around 30 to 60 minutes after that.
Should I opt for baby-lead weaning, or give my baby purees?
Tricky question. I always suggest that the parent to do what they feel comfortable with, as any anxiety that they experience will create anxiety in baby, which will make it more difficult for baby to concentrate on eating and even affect their appetite.
Regardless of your method, the most important thing to focus on is responsive feeding (or what is known as Baby Led Feeding). It is also important to note that it doesn’t have to be an ‘either, or’ decision. You can do a combination of both (this is what I mostly recommend), and even if you have started with purees, all babies need to be eating whole foods by the age of nine months.
How do I start weaning with purées?
The only time you need to start with purées is if baby is not showing readiness signs. When starting with purées, you should aim for a yoghurt texture, so the purée should be thin and if you were to pour it off a spoon it would run off slowly and not get stuck. Since we still want to follow responsive feeding, you won’t feed the purée to baby, but rather bring the spoon up towards the baby and allow baby to come towards the spoon. When the spoon is in the mouth, avoid pulling the spoon out and using the palate to clear the spoon. We want to focus on the lip working the purée off. Also, don’t clean your baby’s chin or mouth when feeding, wait until the end and baby is done to clean.
Is it okay to buy ready-made purée?
It is always best to make everything homemade. The issue with ready-made purées is that since it is manufactured it will always taste, smell, feel the same, so baby has the same sensory response every time they eat. They become used to this and start to become fussy with homemade foods, as these will always taste, smell, feel different. I would only suggest using these foods, for what they were originally made for – times of emergency and for convenience (for example on a flight). When using them always serve them from a plate and don’t offer them from the jar or squishy bag, as this also becomes familiar and safe for baby meaning that eating other foods becomes more difficult.
What is Baby Led Weaning?
With BLW, the idea is that baby feeds themselves. It is only safe to start BLW if all the readiness signs are met. You need to prepare the food soft enough that if you squish it between your fingers, it becomes a mash. You should offer the food in a suitable size, so the length and thickness of an adult index finger. You can offer a spoon, however it would be preloaded and baby would need to pick up the spoon themselves.
How safe is it?
There is no significant difference in the risk of choking between BLW and puree feeding provided all the readiness signs are present. If they aren’t then there is an increase risk in choking when offering whole foods.
What sort of snacks should my baby be having?
I don’t recommend any snacks for babys until they reach 11 months, and this is only for some babies. We have a culture now of snacking and unfortunately it does negatively affect how our babies eat. I so often see parents worrying about a picky eater, when in actual fact baby is just hungry at meal because they are having too many snacks.
