Moving on in weaning – a confusing process

by | Apr 28, 2018 | 6-12 months, Feeding Difficulties, Introduction of solids

Through recent correspondance with parents, it has become apparent to me again, how difficult the progression through weaning can be, as you are bombarded with advice from friends, family members and books. In reality, your baby is an individual and it does not matter what people say or write, a one-fits-all approach just does not work for every baby. That is something that I can reassure every parents, that their child is unique and therefore will require a unique approach.

I like providing parents with a structured way of introducing foods as this way they can keep track of what foods were trialled, how the baby liked the foods and also in my allergic children if there were any reactions. Therefore, I usually suggest starting with  one food, which is then followed by other new food(s). Introduction of weaning food is cumulative, so for example if you have started with carrots and your baby tolerates carrots you then try potato, but you can mix your carrots with the potato. So you are constantly trying  a new food but can mix this with existing foods.

I have provided below an example of a couple of days-weeks:

Start: Carrots

Then: Carrots and potato

Then: Carrots and potato and a pear  (new food)

Then: Carrots, potato and courgette (new food) and pear as a dessert

Now start with 2 meals per day

Then: Potato and courgette (one meal) and another meal of pear and porridge (new food)

Then: Potato, courgette and butternut (new food) and another meal porridge with apple (new food)

As you can see it is an easy process of constantly expanding the foods your child is given and of course repeating foods already trialled to ensure that tastes are accepted. Research has found that some foods (tastes) will need at least 15 introductions before a baby likes the new food, so please do not give up if your baby is not a big fan of a new food and repeat the food many times.

So when do you move from 1-2 -3 meals? I usually suggest going to 2 meals very quickly (when you have introduced 3 or more foods) and when protein are introduced (i.e. meat, chicken, fish, lentils) to move to 3 meals. There is no “rule” that says you have to do this, but I have found this works really well.

Of course what follows on from going up in solid volume is the cutting down of breastfeed/formula. I have in a previous blog entry provided some guidance on routines and milk feeds, but I want to reiterate what I have said before, that responsive feeding is the best feeding method, which means we respond to a child’s appetite and satiety cues. If a child refuses to drink or eat then we stop, if they signal more, then we offer more (please see previous blog entry on portion sizes). This means, that as you go up in volumes of solids, your child would signal which feeds or bottles they are not that keen on and these are the ones you cut out/reduce and adjust your feeding regime around this. It does of course occur that sometimes they love the breast or the bottle too much and would rather take the breast or bottle rather than take solids. If this occurs then it is worth having a chat with your health visitor (in the UK) or dietitian to help you decide which feed should be cut out/reduced to give you maximum benefit with creating appetite for food.

The most important message to come out of this blog entry is that your child is unique and will not always fit into a regime set out by a book/another person. As long as you respond to feeding cues, increase the variety of foods (as explained above), move up in texture and adjust volume of feed/breastfeeding frequency as your child signals, the vast majority of cases babies thrive and do well.