need help with quick weaning, please!!

[Sarah J]

i am just about to start solid food with my five and a half month old and need some advise, please.

ideally i would have waited until he was six months but he is due to start nursery in a few weeks ( ) and i would prefer to have him pretty much established on solids by then (to reduce any stress caused by this big change in his care, i didn't want to also introduce a new way to eat at the same time).

in keeping with my idea to start him at six months i would like to introduce mashed food, rather than pureed, and encourage finger foods, such as a baton of streamed carrot, straight away (well within a week or so)  -- would this be OK?  

also.. i would also like to start with proteins like cheese, lentils, beans and yoghurt's (he will be veggie) within a couple of weeks.   am i being too hasty, do you think??  

he will be 24 weeks when i intend to start (at the weekend) and starts nursery on 14 march, by which time i would like him to be on three meals a day. he has been exclusively bf and i do intend to continue until... whenever!!!

i would appreciate your thoughts, i basically want to get stuck in and wean him as per six months when he will be five and a half months  

[tylersmommy]

I understand your reasons for wanting to get solids established quickly, but I encourage you to go at your baby's pace. Remember that this is a totally new experience for him and pushing him along when he isn't ready may cause both of you quite a bit of stress. Start with one meal a day and let him get used to it, adding another meal when he seems up for it. It's certainly feasible to have him on 3 meals a day by mid-March, but ONLY if that's what he's comfortable with.

I don't recommend starting with mashed food right off the bat. His diet has consisted of only liquid until now, and it's important to start with food that he won't choke on. First foods tend to be barely thicker than liquid because new solids eaters don't know how to handle anything else. Mashed foods require babies to gum them and squish them around with their tongues before swallowing, and that's a skill that they usually acquire as you gradually thicken their purees. Same with finger foods and steamed carrot batons. These require some "chewing" and new solids eaters simply don't have the skills to eat these foods yet. Most babies start finger foods after they're well established on purees. Starting with finger foods and mash first poses a big risk of choking. Your best bet is to start with purees first and see how he does. If he takes them well, you can certainly start to thicken them according to his comfort level. I'd hold off on finger foods until he starts taking mash with lumps.

As for proteins, yogurt can be introduced at 6 mo. It's usually recommended to hold off on cheese until about 8 mo, although cottage cheese can be introduced at 7 mo if your baby will accept the thicker texture. Most guidelines I've seen for beans suggest waiting until 9 mo because they often cause gas and are difficult to digest. A younger baby's digestive system usually isn't mature enough to handle them. Tofu is another great source of protein and it can be introduced at 7 mo. There's really no hurry to introduce protein rich foods because your baby's main source of nutrition should still be breastmilk for several more months, so he'll be getting all the nutrition he needs. Solids are mainly for learning for now.

Good luck, and let us know if you have any other questions!

[Sarah J]

thanks for getting back to me with that very useful advice.  i have since been to baby clinic and been advised to start weaning as ds has stopped gaining weight (bit of a worry but have been reassured that is most certainly due to needing more than milk).  health visitor has said i need to go quickly since he now needs the food to put on weight and not just for practice so i will have to start before the weekend. 

thanks again