Weaning At 6 Months
This is a collaborative post
Are you looking at weaning at 6 months? If so this post has lots of helpful tips and suggestions about starting weaning. I’ve got two children and both have had very different weaning journeys. I started weaning my little boy just before the 6-month mark and he was more than ready. He ate everything that was put in front of him. He was ready for weaning at 6 months. Some babies, like my daughter, don’t take to weaning at 6 months in quite the same way. We’ve just embarked on our weaning journey with her, but although she seems interested in watching people eat food, she’s definitely less interested in eating it herself.
Don’t Put Pressure On
It’s important for either yourself or your baby to feel pressure when starting weaning. I’ve read a lot about weaning food and the NHS says, at this early stage, it’s more important to get your baby comfortable with the idea of eating food, rather than the amount that they eat. If your baby doesn’t seem that interested, you could either leave it for a week or so, or just keep trying very small amounts of food once a day. Signs that your baby is ready for starting weaning include –
- Sit in a highchair and be able to support their head
- Swallow food, rather than spit it out
- Have the ability to put food in their mouths, by themselves. Perhaps you’ve noticed they pick up toys and bring them to their mouth?
Get Prepared
Starting weaning can feel like such a minefield and there’s so much equipment out there. I say keep it simple. If you are planning on spoon-feeding to start with, get yourself a set of dibble bibs. They’ll protect your baby’s clothes and they are easy to throw in the wash. If you are letting baby loose with some finger food, a silicone bib would be better, as it will catch the bits that your baby drops.
Once your child has got the hang of feeding themselves, you’ll probably want something a bit bigger, like a coverall bib. These are longer, have sleeves and generally stop you from needing to change your baby’s clothes after every meal. If you can get one with a pocket, that’s ideal for catching fallen food, if not, double the bibs up with a coverall and a silicone bib over the top. Use a waterproof coverall, it’ll save so much clean-up time and effort when they throw their drink everywhere. Have a look at the Totsi website for bibs and other weaning equipment.
Get yourself a couple of baby bowls or plates and some spoons. Bowls that stick to highchairs are ideal. Austin tended to throw his bowl, so a stick-on one is ideal for this. Well, until they figure out how to get it off, but it’ll be a while before this happens! And to start with, you’ll need a nice soft spoon. Nothing sharp or hard as this will be too rough on their gums. Save the metal spoons and forks for when they are older. When weaning at 6 months, you’ll also need to think about a cup. The NHS recommend a free-flow cup as it gets babies used to sipping drinks and it’s better for their teeth.
If you are starting weaning food, you’ll want to puree or mash some of the food you make. A good potato masher will do the job, as will a fork or even a ricer. I do have a handy tip, I use a spice/mini blender. Quite often when you are preparing purees, especially when weaning at 6 months, you might only be pureeing a small amount of each vegetable. A big blender won’t work as there is so little food. A hand-held blender is okay, but I find they often leave big chunks. A spice or a mini blender is ideal as they are designed for small amounts of spices, so are perfect for small amounts of food. They are also easy to clean and take up less room in your kitchen.
The other thing you’ll need to think about is a highchair. We’ve tried lots of different ones and for ultimate comfort for baby and practicality, I don’t think you can beat a Joie highchair.
What To Feed Baby
Start with vegetables and fruits. Wash, peel, chop and cook your vegetables and fruits to make them soft and manageable for your baby. Try to give them a variety of tastes, not just sweet vegetables and fruits. This will help them become less fussy as they are older.
I started with vegetables. Carrots, butternut squash, potato, aubergine, cauliflower, parsnip, cabbage and sweet potato. All cooked and then pureed. We grow a small number of vegetables in our garden, so where I can, I use these as I know they are organic and taste yummy.
Then I added in fruits. Apples, pears, mango, banana, peach, plum, nectarine. For the harder fruits like apples and pears, I stewed them in water and then pureed them. If you are giving babies fruits like blueberries and grapes, these must always be cut up as they are such a choking hazard when they are whole.
When I prepared my weaning food, I did it in bulk. Making a few portions of each vegetable, as it can take babies up to 10 times to like something. I used little storage pots, which I label and put into my freezer. A lot of people swear by using weaning freezer cubes and then popping the frozen cubes into bags in the freezer. Just thawing the number of cubes you need. I personally find the pots easier, especially when you move on to mixed meals.
When weaning at 6 months, you can also start to add in other foods, not just vegetables and fruit. If you are introducing anything that is a known allergen such as peanuts, fish or gluten, start with a small amount and keep a close eye out for any allergic reactions. If you are using cow’s milk, it’s best to use it in cooked dishes – for example making your own white sauce for fish pies. If you are giving cereal, you could use breastmilk or formula as the milk.
Other foods which can be introduced when weaning at 6 months include full-fat dairy products such as pasteurised cheese and yoghurt. Full fat is best for this age, as babies need the fat to help with brain development. Check the labels on your yoghurts as some of them have added sugar. You don’t want to be giving sugar to your child at this stage.
When you are cooking food for babies, don’t add salt. Babies can only tolerate a small amount of salt and there’s salt in things like bread and cheese, so they’ll already be getting some if they are consuming these foods. Check the labels on food, as you’ll be surprised at what has salt in it. If you want to cook things like casseroles and soups, you can buy low-salt stock cubes.
When you introduce baby snacks, there are lots of brands out there that cater to the low salt and sugar market. We tend to give fresh fruit, cheese, yoghurt or vegetable sticks for snacks, but some of the melty finger foods are ideal for getting babies used to feeding themselves.
Baby Led Weaning
This is where babies are given the control to feed themselves. Babies are given finger food and they help themselves, rather than purees on a spoon. I personally like a combination approach, as I think babies benefit from practising feeding themselves, but also it’s good to help and encourage them to try new things by spoon-feeding. I think you need to make your own choice based on your baby. Some babies prefer spoon feeding, some will try and grab the spoon. Some parents prefer to leave their baby to try finger foods on their own. It’s your baby, you choose what weaning method works for you.
One thing I will say is it’s well worth getting yourself on a local baby first aid course. We did one when I was pregnant with Austin and it was such an eye-opener. You hope that you never have to use it, but if you do, it’s better to have a good idea of what to do in a choking situation.
The main thing is to relax and enjoy weaning your baby. Whether you are weaning at 6 months, earlier or later, be confident and prepared and enjoy introducing a varied diet for your little one. That way, they’ll be set up for life.
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