HOME

BOOKMARK

NEWSLETTER

Join our newsletter to receive news of offers and discounts

Search

AS FEATURED IN...


Lucy Siegle On Eithical Living: Sunday March 5, 2006 The Observer

Weight Watchers®.co.uk. Now with an online plan.

Navigation


Parening Books

Search Now:
Amazon Logo


Weaning A Baby Onto Solid Food


The best time to wean your baby onto solid food is at about age 6 months. This is because your baby's mouth will start to change around that time to help her cope with the transition. Another guide is to start when baby doubles in weight.

Before then your baby's digestive system and kidneys are able to cope only with breastmilk and formula. But don't leave it too late as baby may find it difficult to adapt to swallowing food, and she will need a balanced varied diet.

What You Will Need

  • Bibs - and plenty of them! At first she will spit out more than she swallows and feeding will be very messy.
  • Unbreakable bowls and spoons.
  • Lidded containers for storing the food.
  • A food processor. You could manage with a fork and a sieve, but the one thing you won't have plenty of is time, so a blender will make life easier.

You don't need a high chair, not at this stage anyway. Baby won't be able to hold her head up until about age 12 months, so feed her while she is in your lap or in a seat that supports her head.

Foods To Try And Some To Avoid

  • Baby rice is usually the first solid for babies, it has a low protein content and is unlikely to cause an allergic reaction. Mix with milk (expressed breast milk or formula) to make the rice easier to swallow. Rice also has the advantage that it can be mixed with both vegetables and fruit, so after a few days, mix in a little puréed potato, vegetable or fruit. You may wish to start with vegetables to ensure she establishes a taste for savoury foods as well as the sweeter fruits.
  • Foods to try include: potato, carrot, swede, parsnip, sweet potato; and apple, banana and pear. Cook where appropriate and purée. If the result is too dry or lumpy, add milk (breast milk or formula).
  • Avoid cow's milk until she is about 12 months old. Other dairy products like cheese and yoghurt can be introduced after a month or so.
  • Avoid soft-boiled eggs; nuts; blue-veined cheese; salt; sugar or sweeteners, including those found in fruit drinks and squashes; bread and pasta; and rusks.

The Transition

The move from milk to solid food can take place only gradually. At first, solids should take the place of one of the milk feeds. Then, over the next 3 or 4 months, introduce more solid food and cut down on the milk; and chop and cut food rather than purée after a few weeks.

Vegetarian

If you are vegetarian and want your baby to avoid meat and fish, this should not be a problem. The same nutrients present in meat are also available in other foods and you will be familiar with what is required for a balanced diet. However, if you are a vegan, your baby could miss out on certain vitamins as well as sufficient protein. Prolong breastfeeding as long as possible, and take expert advice on any necessary supplements.

Baby's In Charge

Of course no two babies are the same and there are no rules laid down regarding exact timing. Appetites vary too and your baby will tell you by her actions whether she needs to be 'topped-up' with a bottle of milk.

*******************************************************************

Author: Tony Luck who runs a website offering advice to moms-to-be and new moms. Included on the site is the Chinese Conception Chart which supposedly tells you whether the baby you are expecting will be a girl or boy.


MORE RESOURCES:

The Guardian

Baby's First Foods Should Be Finger Foods
MedPage Today
By Nancy Walsh, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Baby-led weaning emphasizes infant self-feeding with solid finger foods from the outset, rather than parental spoon-feeding with purees. This study found that compared with the spoon-fed group, the baby-led ...
Forget the mush – baby-led weaning puts the joy back into mealtimesThe Guardian
Maybe babies don't need the spoon-fed mushLos Angeles Times
Baby's better off feeding himselfGlobe and Mail
Jezebel -Healthcare Today -Health.com
all 98 news articles »


NICU babies sleeping with HALOs
nwitimes.com
With a $2500 contribution from the Nathan C. Splant Foundation, Community Hospital staff has been able to spread the message of safer sleeping practices and provide HALO SleepSacks for babies born in the NICU. Displaying a SleepSack are, ...
Donation helps SUID programPost-Tribune

all 2 news articles »


Us Magazine

Beyonce Reveals Sexy Post-Baby Body 1 Month After Giving Birth
Us Magazine
'Look at how amazing I look after only 4 weeks of my baby's birth! Her surrogate mom, of course is still catching up with her sleep and recouping after the c-section.' Everybody's pregnancy is different, granted but this chick is so damn ridiculous.
Beyonce dons red for first post-baby eventCNN (blog)

all 555 news articles »


Daily Mail

Chun Chun: 15.5 pound baby is biggest ever born in China
Daily Mail
By Mail Foreign Service Chun Chun, who was delivered on Saturday, is possibly the country's heaviest baby on record. Mother and baby are both in good condition in a local hospital in Xinxiang city, Henan province. The arrival was auspiciously timed, ...
Massive Baby Sets Record!KHQ Right Now
Chinese mum's 7kg son 'nation's biggest baby'Ninemsn
A 15.5 Pound Baby Breaks Records In ChinaHollywood Life
GlobalPost (blog) -IBTimes.co.uk
all 183 news articles »


It's a Boy for Robert Downey Jr.!
People Magazine
Baby boy weighs in at 7 lbs., 5 oz., is 20 inches long and joins big brother Indio, 18, Downey's son from his previous marriage. “I could never really stay mad at him, but I can tell you it genuinely wasn't something we planned to reveal,†Susan, 38, ...

and more »


ABC15.com (KNXV-TV)

PD: Abandoned baby left at Phoenix home
ABC15.com (KNXV-TV)
PHOENIX - Phoenix police say an abandoned baby was left in the front yard of a Phoenix home Tuesday afternoon. Sgt. Tommy Thompson, of the Phoenix Police Department, said the resident returned to her home near 7th Avenue and Greenway Parkway and found ...
Newborn baby abandoned outside of Valley homeKTAR.com

all 20 news articles »


Bikya Masr

18 babies killed in Syria's Homs as power cut
Bikya Masr
CAIRO: Activists in Homs have reported that at least 18 premature babies died on Wednesday at a local hospital after electricity was cut, causing their incubators to shut down. “The babies were in al-Walid Hospital in al-Waar neighbourhood near the ...
Syria: Homs under 'heaviest' shelling yetBBC News

all 14,428 news articles »


Ten Major Corporations Support Babies and the Power of Cause Marketing
Sacramento Bee
The March of Dimes® announced its national sponsors as it kicked off the 2012 March for Babies® the nation's first and most beloved charitable walking event. The annual March for Babies walk will take place this spring in nearly 900 communities across ...

and more »


MD News

Babies at Highest Risk for Child Abuse, New Study Says
Yahoo! Contributors Network
Babies are not all sweet smiles and breast-milk breath. They are a stressful, time-consuming, and emotionally trying experience. If the economy stresses parents out enough for them to hurt their children, just imagine what the stress of a new baby does ...
Ending Violence Sparked By Baby's CryNPR (blog)
Babies most abused in USWFXL FOX 31
Child Abuse Hospitalizations Too HighdailyRx
Fox News -Washington Times
all 119 news articles »


Lao babies sold to foreigners?
GlobalPost (blog)
The government of Laos is investigating claims that an official scooped up abandoned babies from villages, rigged their adoption papers and sold them to foreigners for up to $5000 per infant. His customers, according to Radio Free Asia and AFP reports, ...

and more »

Google News