Weaning your baby

Weaning is the process of moving your baby's diet away from milk - whether breastfed or bottle - by gradually introducing new foods and textures. It's a long process, always messy and sometimes frustrating, but an interesting and rewarding one.

When should I start weaning?

Current medical advice is to stick to milk until your baby is 26 weeks (6 months), but it's very possible that your baby will want to start sampling new foods before this time. Signs of this include increased interest in the foods you're eating and signs of hunger even after a full bottle.

If you think you might need to start weaning before 26 weeks, have a chat with your health visitor - but it's unlikely to be a problem so long as your baby is healthy and is still getting plenty of milk.

What foods should I start with?

Up until now, your baby has only fed on milk, and so her first solids should be largely milk-based, and not tasting too strongly of anything else. A good example is baby rice, a fine powder which turns her normal milk into a puree without altering the taste. Trying to feed her a few spoonfuls of this will soon let you know if she's ready.

If baby rice is successful, you can gradually start introducing other bland-ish food purees such as potato, carrot and parsnip, making each one with a small amount of her normal milk. Creme fraiche is also a good 'dessert' option.

Try to limit the introduction of new foods to one at a time every couple of days, so that you can judge if any new food causes a bad reaction or allergy.

After a month or two of pureed vegetables and fruits, it's probably time to ring the changes by introducing pureed meats and fish, if desired.

Finger foods

At around the age of 6-8 months your baby may be ready to start chewing on finger foods such as baby biscuits, rice cakes, and in the case of our baby, olive flavoured breadsticks! Hopefully, your baby will have a tooth or two by now, which will help at this stage.

The next stage

If finger foods are successful, consider making the texture of her spoon feeds a little coarser, to engourage her to chew. Over time, you should be able to move to chopping foods rather than whizzing them, and she'll soon learn to feed herself with her fingers. At this point, give her a spoon to hold when you're giving her yoghurt or other smooth foods, so she can start to learn to use it to feed herself.

As her food becomes more solid, it becomes drier, so it's essential that you introduce drinks at the same time. Start with water, before moving on to diluted fruit juices (not citrus, yet).

Foods to avoid

Use your common sense when trying new foods. It's unlikely that your 8 month old will enjoy leftover chicken madras for example! But as well as common sense, there are some foods to avoid until your child is at least 12 months old:

Nuts and seeds
Shellfish
Citrus fruits
Undercooked egg, or foods containing unpastuerised eggs eg mayonnaise
Foods with excessive gluten

The reasons for this are to avoid developing allergies (nuts, gluten), or possible exposure to bacteria (eggs, shellfish). Your baby's digestive system needs time to develop before it can handle these foods. In all cases, her food should be throughly cooked to avoid the chance of food poisoning, which can be serious in a young child.

How long does weaning last?

This will vary from child to child, but eventually solids will form the major part of her diet, with milk becoming just another drink, from a cup rather than a bottle. After 12 months you can leave behind breast milk or formula and move onto normal full-fat cow's milk.

Final thoughts

There is strong evidence, both scientific and anecdotal, that the foods eaten during weaning 'teach' the child's sense of taste, with long lasting effects. Too much salt or sugar in the early months will lead to a taste for such foods in later life, while a varied and healthy mix of foods will tend to lead to an appreciation of healthier foods in later life.