Author Topic: Too much information......any tips please  (Read 4457 times)

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Offline Florena49

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Too much information......any tips please
« on: April 15, 2014, 16:50:33 pm »
lO will be 6months on the 25th and we are thinking of starting solids then. There is so much information out there, its overwhelming, and its all so different in regards to what foods are best and when to give them, before or after milk. Any tips or maybe any links to weaning charts?
Viktoria

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Offline larren

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2014, 18:31:01 pm »
DD just turned 6m and we started solids about a week ago. We're doing BM first, right at WU, then after I've gotten DS breakfast ready, about 30m later, I offer her solids. The rule is one new food every 3-4 days to rule out any allergies. We order I plan to introduce food types is veggies, then fruits, then grains. I make my own baby food and use wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com as a guide

Offline MasynSpencerElliotte

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2014, 18:50:49 pm »
They just changed all the recs here (Canada) and basically you feed them everything starting from 6 months (leaving a couple days in between new foods) instead of holding back on the more allergenic foods. Meat is suggested as a first food for iron over cereals and they suggest you go by development rather than age ie baby is ready if they are able to sit independently, pick up things and put in their mouth and have lost the tongue thrust reflex. Most babies hit that around 6 months but of course some are sooner, some later. Formula or breastmilk should be the main source of nutrition so that is why solids are generally given after milk feeds so they don't take away from that.
Heidi




Offline creations

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2014, 21:52:19 pm »
I agree there is so much information out there and so many varying 'rules' but I think you could get just as many differing opinions here about weaning.
In the UK guidance is almost anything from 6 months, no need to introduce one food at a time or to do 3 or 4 days of the same food (and IMO that causes more gastro problems. My LO is firmed up or constipated by carrots, you'd think carrots a great first food and they were but they wouldn't have been great for 4 days running without any other food to counteract the effect - ie prunes, neither would I introduce prunes alone for 4 days, imagine the nappies and cramps!). There are limits though, very very little salt (I followed salt regs rigidly since I read about an increase of babies with problems due to high salt diets and I'm sure the mums didn't even realise), no sugar, no honey, no whole nuts, no raw fish. The limits are few but important.  Many/all areas now advise BLW (baby led weaning, there's a support thread and recipe threads with with food ideas) rather than puree weaning, but if you choose the puree route it's worth noting that finger foods are still advised to be introduce from 6 months, the time of offering purees is short, like a couple of weeks before it goes thicker, then mashed then lumps and rapidly moves to regular family meals, it isn't months and months of puree the way many people still think of weaning because babies were much younger when people offered purees for a longer time.

My advice would be to alter your cooking to make it baby friendly rather than making specific puree foods for baby. I stopped adding salt to all meals at the point of cooking and that way I could offer DS everything I ate.  His salt allowance for the day would be used up in a piece of cheese and half a slice of bread, or a spoon of canned tuna mixed through pasta for instance. I also learned to make sugar free biscuits, muffins, pancakes etc which I'd never made before.  I chose BLW and it was amazing, a wonderful experience, but by cooking with baby in mind you could puree/mash all or part of the family meal if you didn't choose BLW.  Long and short is, home cooking from fresh produce and a balance of the food groups is the best thing to feed your LO, whether it is pureed or finger food or mashed, whether it's a recipe from this baby recipe book or that one this web site or that is neither here nor there. Not really. There are apparently benefits to BLW in terms of speech development and fine motor skill but I can't imagine it hindering a baby's speech by being fed puree. What I really loved about BLW was that we sat and ate together, we both ate, I didn't feed, he fed himself, and I really do think this set up a great eating habit, and DS learned a lot about food from watching me eat and from learning that meal times are times we come together as a family, that they matter.
That's my thought :)


Offline lauradj

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2014, 02:01:20 am »
There is a TON of information.  You really just need to go with your gut and do whatever works best for you. 
Unlike many parents here, my husband and I chose not to do Baby Led Weaning.  My DS is just 8 months and he's mostly off purees and has things mashed with some finger foods.  I don't mind making him his own meals for now, I have a cooking day on Sunday and I'm set for the week.  I offer the bottle first thing in the morning, then solids but for the rest of the day it's solids first and bottle about an hour or two later.  It works for us.
Also, remember not to get hung up on what other babies are doing.  I've gotten myself in a tizzy on more than one occasion because my DS has always been light and he's not a big eater.  Whenever that happens, my MIL calls me up and reminds me that DH was only 19lbs at a year old.  Then my Mom calls and reminds me I was only 20lbs.  We are a tall, skinny people and that's just how we roll.  As long as your baby is content, alert and developing all is well. 
Go with your gut!   ;D


Offline Florena49

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2014, 08:33:46 am »
Thank you ladies you are right everyobes experiences are different, i looked at the BLW and although i like the idea, somehow it has been installe in me that we should get started with pureed foods, so i think we will go with that. How many breast feeds do you keep a day when yo start weaning, we have 4 during the day at the moment and 2 at night and at shat stage do you generally replace a feed with food?
Viktoria

Mum to Oskar 25/10/2013 and Maksim 19/07/2015

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2014, 09:55:32 am »
Hi Florena,

If you did want to go down the purée route as I did, the Annabel Karmel books are excellent. She has some fantastic recipes and DD has enjoyed just about all of them! I have the 100 best purées one I think.

It's a bit of a faff cooking most of her meals separately but as DH and I eat so many chillies, our food isn't really suitable for her. Imagine the nappies!  ;)

In the beginning I found DD wasn't too keen on carrots but as I was offering them for breakfast, I quickly realised that might've been the case... I wouldn't want carrots for brekkie either!!

Oh and I've kept all the bottle feeds as is (sure someone will help re bf) and just offered solids around an hour later... Means lots of feeding generally within the day!

Hth xx
« Last Edit: April 16, 2014, 09:57:48 am by Kellyjs »



Offline creations

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2014, 18:17:12 pm »
at shat stage do you generally replace a feed with food?
milk is the primary food until 12 months old so you're a way off yet.
Around 10 or 11 months you might find some of the milk feeds dropping in which case switching one milk feed for a snack with water may help to up the intake of milk on the other feeds. Usually it's mid morning or mid afternoon that is switched, then the other, retaining 2 milk feeds at WU and BT until 12 months (and beyond). So for no and several months you will bf as usual, same times, same amount.
I see no reason to ever give solids before milk, unless LO is getting towards 12 months and taking huge amounts of milk and almost no solids in which case it would be time to consider more encouragement. Milk as usual then solids an hour later is very common. Gradually the milk might go a bit more than 4hrs because of naps moving but the longer time between milk E is fine then as they have the solids meal between to keep them going.


Offline Florena49

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2014, 16:52:04 pm »
Thank you Creations thays what i thought.

Kellyjs funny enough i was looking at the recipes too, wonder if i can download the book on my phone, ill give it a whirl.
Viktoria

Mum to Oskar 25/10/2013 and Maksim 19/07/2015

Offline lauradj

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2014, 22:31:07 pm »
There's also an Annabel Karmel website that I use a lot.  I have two of her books but I want as much variety in my baby's diet as possible so I'm always looking for new recipes.


Offline Florena49

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2014, 12:56:15 pm »
Ladies just wanted to thank u all, we are sort of doing a combination pf both, so purees which i dont hold for 4 days, usually 2 days and anything he is able to hold and suck on, at the moment its baby biscuits and toasted bread. So far we have tried pumpkin, carrot, courgette and pear. I found that lunchtime is the best time to offer solids, he seems very interested and willing.
I did try and give solids twice a day, but he was a bit gassy in the night.... So i think we will skip dinner for now and stick with lunch.
Viktoria

Mum to Oskar 25/10/2013 and Maksim 19/07/2015

Offline lauradj

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #11 on: May 03, 2014, 17:36:56 pm »
I'm glad things are going well so far!  We did lots of fiddling around in the beginning too until we found the right combination for us.  There's no strict system you must adhere to.  Also, should your LO become a tad bunged up (as mine did), embrace prunes.  They are magic.  :D Have fun!


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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #12 on: May 04, 2014, 09:23:43 am »
embrace prunes.  They are magic.
Agreed :)
It amazing how much parents focus on poo!  I was oddly proud of myself for being able to naturally control DS's poo by adding prunes when he was too firm and carrots when he was too loose.  :D


Offline Florena49

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #13 on: May 05, 2014, 23:44:32 pm »
Eh, focus on poo.... How did u give prunes? I think he needs it, he is gassy in the night an went without a poo for 12 hours overnight, which is very unusual for him
Viktoria

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #14 on: May 06, 2014, 08:40:40 am »
I just handed him a prune :)
I bought the bags from the dried fruit section, prunes without pips, they are very moist and soft.
When he was 6 months if he started to struggle to hold it I would help him by holding the prune and letting him move his mouth towards it (rather than putting it in his mouth) so he was still in control of how much he ate but he had help when it was too slippy to hold. But mostly he just did it himself, gummed bits off, bit by bit until the lot was gone.
If you don't like the idea of offering as a finger food you could whizz one in with a spoon of yoghurt or milk and give it as a puree/paste. You can also soak in hot water to make them even softer.

We bought a can of prunes much more recently which had a very strong effect on DS (too strong!) so I'd say if you get canned then give half a prune or just a little of the juice and see how it goes (maybe you can freeze the rest in ice cube trays for individual portions?).


Offline Florena49

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #15 on: May 06, 2014, 08:54:26 am »
Thank you Creations, im happy with finger foods, he has baby biscuits and sucks on toasted rye bread and a bit of banana as well so he can hold food if he is interested. Ill try soaking them to start with and see how he does.
Viktoria

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Offline MasynSpencerElliotte

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #16 on: May 06, 2014, 15:31:52 pm »
By that age all of my kids went 12 hrs without a poo overnight (in fact DD3 has not pooped at night since she was 4 wks -lol prob just jinxed myself there!)...perhaps he is just gaining more control? We do either prune juice in a bit of water or puree in her oatmel for breakfast when she is bunged up (I find it takes a good 3-4 hrs for it to work so that way if she has a big poo it happens before her nap & doesnt cause her to wake).
Heidi




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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #17 on: May 06, 2014, 15:55:18 pm »
Thank you Heidi, it did cross my mind, im just so used to him literally having a poo after every feed, that him having it once a day is scary, he is also a little gassy, which made me think he is clogged up. He only had one poop toda and that was after his last nap, but it was huge!!! Like everything that accumulated during the day came out.
Viktoria

Mum to Oskar 25/10/2013 and Maksim 19/07/2015

Offline MasynSpencerElliotte

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #18 on: May 06, 2014, 19:20:06 pm »
E goes a couple/ three times during the day after feeds but never after a nf. But if he is gassy then probably uncomfy!
Heidi




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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #19 on: May 07, 2014, 14:58:54 pm »
Yay to prunes is all i can say! ;D
Viktoria

Mum to Oskar 25/10/2013 and Maksim 19/07/2015

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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #20 on: May 07, 2014, 16:16:23 pm »
 :D


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Re: Too much information......any tips please
« Reply #21 on: May 08, 2014, 15:08:47 pm »
Lol!
Heidi