Starting Solids

Tips for weaning your baby

By Annabel Karmel

What weaning’s all about

Weaning is a gentle process, involving slowly and sensitively replacing your baby’s regular milk with healthy, delicious, nutritious food, which will fill her with energy and encourage optimum growth and development. You have a window of opportunity between 6 and 12 months of age when your baby will tend to eat pretty well, so take advantage of this to introduce a variety of new flavors that will hopefully set her on a path of healthy eating for life.

Your baby’s usual milk
From around six months, your baby’s regular milk will no longer provide her with all the nutrients she needs—in particular, vitamin D and iron—and her stores of these start becoming depleted by this stage. This is one reason why now is the ideal time to begin weaning, as missing nutrients need to be provided by food. It is, however, very important to remember that your baby’s milk will continue to form a significant part of her nutrition for many months to come, giving her the fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals she needs. What’s more, feeding your baby her milk will remain an important source of comfort and will help to continue the bonding process. Your baby will need breast milk or formula until she is at least 12 months old, when her diet is varied enough to offer the correct balance of nutrients. Breastfeeding can be successfully continued alongside the introduction of solid

Premature babies
Many people think that babies who are born early may be a little late in many stages of development, as they catch up on time lost in the womb. While it is important to monitor your baby’s developmental milestones, weaning your little one usually doesn’t need to be delayed past six months. Actually, babies born early miss out on some of the normal nourishment that occurs in the womb during the latter stages of pregnancy. In particular, they may need nutrients such as iron and zinc, because these are only stored in the baby’s body in the last weeks of pregnancy, and therefore some premature babies need extra nutrition or supplements in order to “catch up.” Also, weaning may take them a little longer than full-term babies. If your baby seems ready, talk to your doctor. When you begin, go for nutrient-dense foods, such as avocado, potatoes, and apricots, which will help to build her up.

There is plenty of research to suggest that breast milk continues to offer antibodies well into toddlerhood, which can help your little one resist infection. It also contains a readily absorbed form of iron, as well as protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, making it a perfect complement to a healthy, varied diet. When starting solids, breastfeed your baby as usual, or, if she is on formula, make sure she gets at least 840ml (28oz) per day. Most parents find it easiest to continue with the morning and evening feeds and fit the other milk feeds around mealtimes, gradually giving a little less as their baby takes more solids. Feed your baby after her first solids instead of before, so that she is hungrier and more willing to try foods being offered. Top her off by filling her tummy with a milk feed once she’s had a few spoonfuls of puréed fruit, vegetables, or rice.

Introducing a mixed diet
When you begin to wean your baby, you’ll be introducing her to new tastes in the form of baby rice, vegetables, and fruit. At the outset, she’ll take these in the form of a liquid purée so that it’s similar to her milk—it should be almost the same consistency as yogurt—and then progress to lumpier, thicker purées, then lumps. Variety is the order of the day. Introduce her to a new food every day or so. The greater the variety, the easier it will be to progress to a healthy, nutritious diet. One or more spoonfuls swallowed represents success in the early days, so don’t panic if she doesn’t manage a whole bowl. Remember, the first stage of weaning is about introducing new tastes and teaching the art of eating, and it can take some time. So offer each new taste and if she doesn’t like what’s being offered, put it aside and try again another day.

Tips for starting weaning

Getting it right from the start will make the process of weaning your baby over the coming months much easier. Later on in the book, we’ll look at the various setbacks that can arise, and the best ways to deal with them. However,
before you even put that first spoonful into your baby’s mouth, it’s helpful to be aware of the top tips for successful weaning:

• Make sure your baby is ready. Pushing a young, reluctant baby will make the start of the weaning process upsetting for you both.

• Babies sometimes find the process a little clinical and become upset when mealtimes no longer involve the comfort of sucking milk. When offering your baby her very first taste or two you may find it easier to hold her on yourlap, as this will help her feel loved and secure.

• When babies feed from the breast or a bottle they instinctively push their tongue forward. Now your baby needs to learn to keep her tongue at the back of her mouth. If she has trouble with a spoon, try dipping a clean finger in the purée and let her suck your finger for the first few mouthfuls.

• Laugh, smile, sing, and taste your baby’s food at mealtimes—she’ll want to join in the fun by copying you and eating it herself.

• Avoid feeding your baby when she’s tired, irritable, or very hungry. At these times, she’ll want one thing only—milk.

• Don’t get too hung up about portion sizes or nutrients. If the food is wholesome and fresh and she’s eating a little, you’ve done well.

• Try not to compare your baby with others. All babies develop at their own speed and take to different foods at different stages. It is no reflection on their intelligence or abilities.

Weaning truths and myths

The process of weaning is surrounded by myths. We’ve got grandma telling us that babies need to be weaned at three or four months in order to sleep through the night, then reports suggesting we’re giving babies a lifetime of health problems if we do it sooner than six months. So what is the truth?


Sleeping through
Many babies continue to wake up at night, which can be exhausting for parents. If this is the case with your little one, once the weaning process is underway make sure you give him a nutritious evening meal that contains a carbohydrate, a protein, and a vegetable. Protein in particular takes a long time to digest and may help to keep your child satisfied for a longer period of time if he is waking up due to hunger.

Teething and weaning
The development of teeth doesn’t mean your baby is ready for solids. Some babies cut their first milk teeth around four months, which is early for weaning, while others show no signs of teething until well after six months.

Weight gain
It’s often suggested that underweight babies benefit from early weaning; however, research shows that continuing with milk feeds encourages your baby to reach his optimum weight as initial foods (fruit and vegetables) are often low in energy.

Late weaning and allergies
Some parents have been advised to wean their babies later than six months because of a family history of allergies. The idea is that their immune systems would be more mature later on and better able to cope with allergens. In fact, research has found that later weaning has no impact on the development of allergies but may make it more difficult to encourage your baby to eat solid foods. What’s more, he runs the risk of becoming iron deficient, as his regular milk will not contain enough to meet his needs. Weaning at around six months is ideal.

Avoiding wheat, meat, and dairy
Some parents decide to keep their babies’ diets clear of wheat, meat, and dairy. However, cutting out whole food groups is dangerous. Dairy is an important source of calcium and vitamin D—vital for teeth and bone growth. It’s also a good source of protein. Wheat is a source of gluten, which can cause problems in a minority of babies; however, it is also a great source of carbohydrates, B vitamins, and fiber. After six months, it’s a healthy addition to your baby’s diet. As for meat, there are few other such readily available sources of easily absorbed iron.

Odd bowel movements
If foods reappear undigested in your baby’s diaper, you may think he’s not ready for weaning. Be assured that many foods seem untouched by the digestive process, but some goodness will have been absorbed. Until they are about two, babies cannot completely digest husked vegetables and fruit skins. Peeling, mashing, and puréeing encourages foods to be digested.

Excerpted from Starting Solids / Copyright 2010 Annabel Karmel / DK Publishing