Where do i start??

[tobytoes]

Hiya guys, need a bit of help. My baby girl is coming up to 6 months and im starting to think about weaning but the advice is all so different and confusing and to be honest im quite scared of doing something wrong. At the moment she is breastfed exclusively. The advice says that she should be able to sit up by herself but shes not able to as yet so do i have to wait until she can before i start any weaning even though shes 6 months? ? Also my health visitor said because shes breastfed for six months shes skipped the puree' stage and can go straight on to finger foods?? Is that right? Just wonder where you all started and if your baby was sitting up when you did start and what you gave your LO's. .....also how many times a day?? Thanks in advance!x

[givemeaclue]

My dd didn't sit up till after she could walk! If can't sit up feed in bouncy chair or similar. I used bouncy, lots of bibs etc and washed the cover a lot! You do need to start weaning sounds like health visitor has given you good advice, babies need to be chewing by six months for speech development as well as nutrition.

[FredFredGeorge]

It's quite hard to do things wrong unless you are extremely neglectful. You can offer up food whenever you want, once a day, three times a day, whatever, the easiest I think is just to offer them part of what you're eating whenever you're eating. There's certainly no requirement for purees.

When you say she's not sitting up - do you mean her head control in a high chair is not good enough to pick up food from the tray and put it in her mouth? Or do you mean she's a bit wobbly sat on the floor and topples over now and then but her head is pretty controlled? If it's the former, she's probably not really ready for food, if it's the second that's quite normal for weaning.

But whatever you do - unless you start feeding inappropriate food, it's not really possible to get it wrong.

[daisydee43]

My dd had purees at 4mths as no longer wanted milk. She learnt to sit up at 7 months and its definitely easier to feed her now. At 6 months my dd was having mainly baby food in jars (the from 7mths ones with lumps in) but I'd try purée first since she's never had food before. Finger food not easy as they want to squish it in hands, I feed my dd by cutting sandwich or banana into tiny bits and putting in her mouth. The only things she can eat unsupervised seems to be the Heinz 7mth+ biscotti and mini croissants...

[Jayne266]

My baby is about to start weaning and can't sit up I found a high hair that has a high back and can recline into different positions. I have been trying first tastes for the last two weeks am personally not happy to try finger foods yet (prob when 7 months for me).

[tobytoes]

Thanks everyone. fred she can sit in a chair or bumbo but cant sit unaided on the floor so i guess thats right for her age then? Thr advice is so confusing,i thought she needed to be sitting totally unaided. jayne im going to get her a highchair i think rather than feed her on my lap,our house is tiny tho so ill have to get a small one hehe.x

[FredFredGeorge]

tobytoes Yep she sounds quite normal and ready from a head control state - Get an Ikea Antilop if you can, cheap and easy and then try offering her something to eat.

[JezzaJ9]

My DS2 is the same age and its all changed since DS1 who started puréed food and baby rice at 19 weeks. But it's been amazing we have just been offering him bits when we eat, sticks of carrots, pear, runner beans, broccoli, toast he is loving it as its social with all of us at the table too. Not sure how much is going in but he is EBF and his poo is definitely getting thicker... I do however give yoghurt on a spoon, I give him a spoon too and try to load it up but he seems to be okay with both. Very proud parents just seeing how quickly he is chewing and trying to sip from a sippy cup. Good luck and don't stress enjoy it and ignore the mess x

[tobytoes]

Haha thanks jezza it will be quite exciting to see her try and eat something. What do you put in his sippy cup?x

[tobytoes]

Thanks fred ill look into that high chair.x

[LiviaAugusta]

DD was sitting fine in a high chair but not quite stable unsupported when we started weaning. She was obviously ready though and we started a couple of weeks before the recommended age - no dairy or gluten until 26 weeks though just to make sure. She was EBF and we went straight for BLW this time after playing about with purees for a few weeks first with DS. Because she was mainly tasting to start with she still had liquid poo for a while and the mess was amazing - a cheap shower curtain on the floor helped and the dogs put on loads of weight! Now she's a few months in and I'm still yet to find a food she doesn't like. The mess continues though as she's starting to experiment with throwing...

[FredFredGeorge]

tobytoes Water in the cup - leave breast milk as her calorie filled drink. She'll not actually need much anyway until she's eating more.

[JezzaJ9]

Tobytoes yes cooled boiled water in a cup and he can't actually pick it up that accurately but he is trying so again I help him xx

[FredFredGeorge]

No need to for cooled boiled water, just regular tap water is good.

[LittleAbruzzenBear]

This thread is really helpful. DS2 will be 6 months on the 24th so this is top of my mind at the mo! Interesting about skipping the puree/baby rice stage as he is certainly interested in what we eat and I was wondering if we could start with offering a little of what we have. I want to try more BLW this time round. With DS1 we started before 6 months with spoon-feeding and purees and although he ate it all, I am convinced he was fussy with things like meat and pasta a few months on because of it.