WEANING TROUBLE SHOOTING

What’s the best time of the day to introduce a new food? The ideal time to introduce new foods tends to be lunchtime because baby might be too hungry first thing in the morning to wait for his or her milk until after tasting a new food. Also, if baby reacts to a particular food, dinnertime introduction may lead to a less than restful night, so lunch time being in the middle of the day is ideal.

What if baby rejects certain foods, all solids or even the spoon? If baby is not interested in solids, follow their lead and stop for a few days, then try again. But don’t give up, try to stay calm and keep going as this food exploration phase is important. If baby rejects a particular food, don’t offer it for a few days and then try again. It is important that babies get exposed to (and accept!) as many flavours as possible early on.

If baby rejects the spoon, he or she might be trying to tell you that they like feeding themselves so, let them! Weather you decide to go down the route of Baby Led or Spoon Fed Weaning, giving babies the opportunity to handle food, make a mess of it and, if lucky, get some into their mouths is a big step towards food acceptance so encourage it – and get plenty of paper towels!

My baby was unwell after lunch today, could it be a reaction to the foods I introduced? If your baby is sick, has excessive wind or diarrhoea or develops a rash, he or she could be a reacting to a new food.

Our advice is to eliminate that food from the weaning diet and go back to solids baby didn’t react to until the symptoms have improved. Then you can get on with introducing other foods and re-introduce the food baby reacted to in a few days. If there is a reaction to that same food, keep the food off the diet and talk to your doctor or health visitor about it. In many cases the advice is to avoid the food for a while longer and in a few months give it another go. In severe case, your doctor may recommend that you avoid the food altogether and/or refer you for an allergy test. Please note that if your baby reacts to foods such as nuts, eggs or shellfish you should talk to your doctor immediately as it could be caused by a serious allergic reaction.

How much breast or formula milk? At this stage your baby will only swallow tiny amounts of solids and their main source of nutrients will still be breast or formula milk (remember that cow’s milk should not be baby’s main drink until after 12 months of age). Early weaning is more of a taste and texture introduction for baby!

Why is my baby more interested in milk than solids? It might be difficult to get baby interested in solids if he or she is too hungry so it is advisable to offer half a milk feed and then a taste of solids. A full milk feed might make them too full to want to try some veggie purée, so save some milk for later just in case baby is still hungry after his or her solid lunch!